3.1 Cologne and Bonn
1
Franz Kessler
Portrait of an unknown man, dated 1620
Private collection
2
Hieronymus van Kessel
Portrait of a woman of the Van Breusegem familie, married to a man of the Van Isegem familiy, dated 1618
Nyköping, Sörmlands Museum
Gotthardt de Wedig
Portrait of Pieter Ostermaan, dated 1627
Bremen, art dealer Galerie Neuse
4
Gotthardt de Wedig
Portrait of Gertrud Kiever (Kyver), wife of Peter Ostermann, dated 1627
Bremen, art dealer Galerie Neuse
Since we have already treated the Cleves area before, we will pay some attention to Cologne, before discussing art at the court of Düsseldorf, the most important centre of Dutch influence in the Rhineland. Cologne had its own artistic tradition and was largely Flemish in orientation.1 The few Dutchmen that stayed there for some time, have no relevance in the total picture of the artistic production. The art of portrait and history painters of the early 17th century, such as Augustin Braun (c. 1570-after 1641), Geldorp Gortzius (1553-in or after 1619)2 from Leuven, his pupil Franz Kessler (1580-in or after 1651) [1], Hieronymus van Kessel (1578-after 1636) [2] and Gotthardt de Wedig (1583-1641) [3-4] have their roots in Antwerp.3 Augustin Braun’s drawings on the other hand are less Flemish and look rather ‘Haarlem’ realistic (for instance in London, British Museum) [5]. But when Geldorp’s portraits [6-7] sometimes seem close to the Ravesteyn-Mierevelt group, this can only be explained by the common style of the times.
5
Augustin Braun
St Luke painting the Virgin, dated 1610
London (England), British Museum, inv./cat.nr. 1873,0510.3530
6
Geldorp Gortzius
Portrait of Eberhard Jabach III (1567-1636), dated 1600
Bonn, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
7
Geldorp Gortzius
Portrait of Anna Reuter (1579-1637), wife to Everhard Jabach III, dated 1600
Bonn, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
8
Christiaen van Couwenbergh
Portrait of Catharina Lucia von Kreps (1653-1699), dated 1658
Cologne, Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, inv./cat.nr. 1940/132
9
Christiaen van Couwenbergh
Portrait of Herwin von Kreps, dated 1658
Cologne, Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, inv./cat.nr. 1940/229
In 1654 Christian van Couwenbergh (1604-1667) settled in Cologne as a portrait painter [8-9].4 The Double portrait of a couple venerating the Madonna with the Christ-child (Cologne, Museum) [10] indicates however that he had completely denied his Dutch origin.5
Once we learn of a painter from Cologne, Hendrick Meerman (c. 1610-after 1650), who went to Amsterdam in 1633 [11] to study there (?) and later was active again in his hometown.6 When we presume that the paintings in the style of Johannes Mijtens by a Johannes Buns (active 1660-c.1670) [12] are by the same artist listed by Merlo as a painter and draughtsman in Cologne,7 then we have mentioned all artists that are not only dead names to us.8
Somewhat different is the activity of Johannes Hulsman (c. 1610-after 1646), who probably came from the Southern Netherlands. One generally assumes he was trained in Antwerp. In view of the altar pieces in churches in Cologne by his hand this seems likely, but his style also can be explained by a local tradition of Flemish-Dutch mannerism.9 His lovely Merry company in a park in Nuremberg [13] reminded Theodor von Frimmel of Dirck Hals (1591-1656), which indeed is striking.10 Another example is the representation of Isaac and Rebecca in Pommersfelden (No. 271) [14],11 which best can be compared to the works of a Netherlandic German like Jürgen Ovens.12 Although Hearing (old attribution, also Pommersfelden, no. 272) is influenced by Frans Hals in its technique, its fanciful guise is worthy of a pupil of Rembrandt.13 So we see how a Flemish trained artist can assimilate Dutch models when the subject is suitable and the customers do not object.
10
Anonymous Germany 3rd quarter 17th century
Double portrait of a couple venerating the Madonna with the Christ-child, 3rd quarter 17th century
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, inv./cat.nr. WRM 741
11
Hendrick Meerman
Portrait of Sara Sweerts de Weert, dated 1636
Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum, inv./cat.nr. B 5791
12
Johannes Buns
Portrait of an unknown woman, dated 1667
13
Johannes Hulsman
Elegant company in a park, dated 1644
Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, inv./cat.nr. Gm 365
14
Johannes Hulsman
Isaac helps Rebecca helps to dismount the camel
Pommersfelden, private collection Arthur Franz Maximilian Graf von Schönborn-Wiesentheid
In portrait painting the Dutch nuance is more strongly emphasized towards the middle of the century. Johann Wilhelm Pottgiesser (1626-after 1680), whose history paintings are designed and treated in Flemish fashion [15], painted some plain Dutch portraits [16-17]. They look like works of Gerard ter Borch on a large scale.14 In a life-size group portrait (collection Schall Riaucour) strangely enough he follows the manner of Honthorst.15
The portraits by Johann Georg Klaphauer (active 1634-1663) are about of the same level as a Michiel van Mierevelt [18-19].16 Yet there were, apart from the aforementioned Rhine-travellers, hardly any Dutch artists that stayed here for a long time. A Jacob de Wet became a member of the painters’ guild in Cologne in 1677, but it is unclear to which Dutch artist this refers.17
15
Johann Wilhelm Pottgiesser
The martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1671
Cologne, S. Aposteln Kirche
16
Johann Wilhelm Pottgiesser
Portrait of a man, c. 1670
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
17
Johann Wilhelm Pottgiesser
Portrait of an unknown woman, c. 1670
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, inv./cat.nr. 2253
18
Monogrammist GIK
Portrait of a man, dated 1651
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, inv./cat.nr. WRM 1734
19
attributed to Johann Georg Klaphauer
Portrait of a woman, dated 1639
Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, inv./cat.nr. 2269
20
Cornelis Biltius
Trompe l'oeil with harnesses and harnesses and militairy drums
Brühl, Schloss Augustusburg
21
Cornelis Biltius
Trompe l'oeil with a stuffed bear and a fox, a hanging boar with hunting gear and a partridge
Brühl, Schloss Augustusburg
Apart from Flemish artists, the elector of Cologne employed only sporadically Dutch artists in Cologne and Bonn such as the still-life painter Cornelis Biltius (1653-after 1686), by whom there are hunting still-lifes with weaponry, painted in the 1670s, in Schloss Augustusburg (Brühl) [20-21].18 A Tromp-l’oeil of 1675 by Johann Michael Hambach (c. 1650-after 1686) from Cologne is certainly influenced by Biltius [22].19 Several anonymous still-lifes in Schloss Brühl look entirely Dutch as well. Deceptively painted illusionistic pictures such as we saw in Hamburg with Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts and Hinrich Stravius were particularly popular, which we also will see later in several other places.20
As an addition to the hunting still-lifes, Alexander van Gaelen (1670-c. 1728) supplied the necessary paintings with hunting scenes and horsemen in the style of Philips Wouwerman, which he introduced in England shortly afterwards [23-24]. In this context we appropriately may leave out Gerard de Lairesse and his cousin Ernest (1636-1718) who represented the school of Liege before they came to Amsterdam.21
22
Johann Michael Hambach
Trompe l'oeil of a wooden rifle rack, a regimental banner, two single-barrelled rifles, a Silesian tschinke, horse saddle with tack and other weaponry, dated 1675
Ingolstadt, Filialgalerie der bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlung Ingolstadt
23
Alexander van Gaelen
The taking and destruction of Heidelberg by the French in February 1689 (?)
Columbia (South Carolina), Charlton Hall Galleries, inv./cat.nr. 213 (2015-12-04)
24
Alexander van Gaelen
The siege of the French in the city of Bonn by the allied troops under Marlborough,1703, after 1703
Brighton (East Sussex), Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, inv./cat.nr. FA 000138
Also landscape painting in Cologne was initially under Flemish influence, as we learn from the example of Johann Toussyn (1608-after 1660) (style Bril-Coninxloo) [25].22 Vincent Laurens van der Vinne worked in 1652 in the studio of an unknown landscape painter Abraham Cuyper in Cologne.23
25
Johann Toussyn
Landscape with the adoration of the Kings, 1632
Cologne, St. Mariä Himmelfahrt (Cologne)
Notes
1 [Van Leeuwen 2017] See Vey 1968.
2 [Van Leeuwen 2017] Veldman 1993, p. 46-47.
3 [Ven Leeuwen 2017] See Vey 1968, Vey 1990.
4 [Gerson 1942/1983] Bredius 1890, p. 223-226; Wichmann 1925, p. 63-65. [Van Leeuwen 2017] De Coo 1965; Maier-Preusker 1991. Meanwhile also two history paintings and a genre scene have surfaced that Couwenbergh painted in Cologne; seven portraits in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum that were attributed to Couwenbergh have been rejected.
5 [Van Leeuwen 2017] The attribution was justly refuted by De Coo (De Coo 1965, p. 410, note 3) and sold by the museum in 1944.
6 [Gerson 1942/1983] According to Thieme/Becker 1907-1953 the Amsterdam and the Cologne painter are two different persons: Hendrick and Heinrich. [Van Leeuwen 2017] Gerson quoted 1640 instead of 1633. The misidentification of the two Meermans came from Wurzbach 1906-1911, vol. 2, p. 130. Indeed they must have been two different painters, since Heinrich became a pupil of Franz Vriendt in Cologne in 1667 and a master in 1680 (Merlo et al. 1895, col. 574). Heinrich was at least two generations younger than Hendrick, who also was born in Cologne.
7 [Van Leeuwen 2017] On Buns: Fechner 1967, Renckens 1967. Merlo et al. 1895, col. 149-151.
8 [Gerson 1942/1983] Such as Joes Kemp, Jan Sebastiaan Loybos, the well-traveled Gillis Schagen (1616-1668), Albert Philipp Willemaert and others.
9 [Gerson 1942/1983] Oldenbourg 1922, p. 144; K. Zoege von Manteuffel in Thieme/Becker 1907-1953, vol. 18 (1925), p. 114-115. Note the Netherlandish-mannerist drawing of 1624, no. 149. [Van Leeuwen 2017] Note the Netherlandish spelling of his name in the signature of this drawing. Vey 1964, p. 125, ill. On Hulsman: Herrmann 1998. For altarpieces Gerson may refer to, see RKDimages 282024 and RKDimages 282045.
10 [Gerson 1942/1983] Frimmel 1892-1898, vol. 1, p. 67-68. [Van Leeuwen 2017] Actually, Frimmel only said that, if Hulsman’s paintings would have been by a forger, he certainly would have put the signature of a bigger name on them, such as Dirck Hals or Bartholomeus van der Helst. Herrmann 1998, p. 128-133, fig. 21, p. 165, no. 12.
11 [Van Leeuwen 2017] Herrmann 1998, p. 175, no. 20.
12 [Van Leeuwen 2017] On Ovens: § 2.2.
13 [Van Leeuwen 2017] This painting, RKDimages 282048, is not by Hulsman but, in my opinion, by an anonymous German painter from the second quarter of the 18th century.
14 [Gerson 1942/1983] Portraits in Aachen, no. 394 and Cologne, nos. 1789 and 2252, although unsigned.
15 [Gerson 1942/1983] Note Dr. C. Hofstede de Groot . [Van Leeuwen 2017] index card HdG; no image known to us.
16 [Gerson 1942/1983] Portraits in Cologne, nos. 1734 and 2269; art dealer Glaser, Cologne. [Van Leeuwen 2017] The latter could not been retrieved.
17 [Van Leeuwen 2017] It most probably concerns Jacob de Wet I (c. 1610-after 1677), who settled his affairs with the intention of going abroad in 1675 (Biesboer/Köhler et al. 2006, p. 339, note 46). The fact that the catholic painter Jacob de Wet I left Haarlem shortly after the 'Rampjaar 1672', which for Catholics was certainly a disaster due to the puritan/protestant takeover of the city government, makes his departure for catholic Cologne very plausible (communication Jan Kosten, February 2017). According to Jager 2016, p. 367 & 369, note 16, the mention of a Jacob de Wet in Cologne cannot refer to Jacob II, as he was at work in Scotland at the time; it can however concern Jacob I, as he had given somebody his power of attorney, because he was planning to be out of the country ('alsoo hij van meeninge was uytlandich te reysen').
18 [Van Leeuwen 2017] Renckens 1953, p. 240-241; Schieckel/Vey 1970.
19 [Gerson 1942/1983] In Ingolstadt. Image in Peltzer 1930, p. 259.
20 [Gerson 1942/1983] Many flower still-lifes by a certain J.C. de Bruyn occurred in Cologne auctions. He could be a painter from Cologne that painted in Dutch style. [Van Leeuwen 2017] Johannes Cornelis de Bruyn (active 1763-after 1828), who was a member of the painters’ guild in Middelburg and later active in Utrecht and Amsterdam. Several of his works can be found in RKDimages. Indeed he seems to have painted for the German market.
21 [Van Leeuwen 2017] Gerard worked in Cologne and Aix-la-Chapelle for Maximilian Henry of Bavaria in 1660; Ernest did the same in 1664 in Bonn.
22 [Van Leeuwen 2017] On Toussyn: Vey 1964, p. 130-131, ill.; Caljé-van den Berg 1973, p. 298 (as Tosijn) and p. 308, note 106.