6.5 Eichstätt, Freising, Ingolstadt, Regensburg
Before we end our tour of Southern Germany in Munich, we take a detour to Eichstätt. Here we meet the still-life painter Dirk Valkenburg (1675-1721), who -- on his way to Vienna -- lingered with Bishop Baron von Knobel [1]. The catholic clergy had an eye for Dutch trained artists, as is evidenced by the fact that Albrecht Sigismund of Bavaria, Bishop of Freising and Regensburg (1623-1685), employed the Rembrandt-pupil Christopher Paudiss (1625-1666). Admittedly, not much similarity to Rembrandt can be traced in his altar pieces in the cathedral of Freising [2].1 Was Paudiss that much under the influence of Italianate religious art or did he want to demonstrate his patron that he could serve him ‘fashionably’? A very strange effect indeed is produced by the Martyrdom of St. Erasmus of 1662 (Vienna) [3] with figures derived from Rembrandt’s Leiden paintings, but painted completely inditinct and blurred.2 The genre and animal pieces [4-5] by the artist are his best works; also his biblical cabinet pieces are more Rembrandtesque than the large altar pieces.
1
Dirk Valkenburg
Hunting still life with a dead hare, partridges and other dead birds in a landscape, dated 1698
Munich, Alte Pinakothek, inv./cat.nr. 5775
3
Christopher Paudiss
Portrait of a bearded old man with hat, dated 1663
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, inv./cat.nr. GG 775
2
Christopher Paudiss
The cleansing of the temple, dated 1663
Freising, Diözesan Museum für Christliche Kunst, inv./cat.nr. F 30
4
Christopher Paudiss
The court butcher of Freising, dated 1664
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, inv./cat.nr. 5278
5
Christopher Paudiss
Saint Jerome hearing the trumpet of the Last Judgement, dated 1664
Munich, Alte Pinakothek, inv./cat.nr. 4690
Franz C. Reicher (active 1679-1701) painted such altar pieces in Ingolstadt, but for the private market he liked to copy for instance an etching by Jan Gillisz. van Vliet after Rembrandt [6-7] or to create his own composition in the manner of Rembrandt.3 Also Regensburg was visited by a Dutch artist: Jan van Ossenbeeck (c. 1624-1674) [8] was here for some time and one assumes that he was influenced by the Flemish-trained Carl Borromäus Andreas Ruthard.4
6
Franz C. Reicher after Rembrandt
St Jerome in penitence, dated 1690 or 1691
Lviv, private collection Ossilinski
7
Jan Gillisz. van Vliet after Rembrandt
St Jerome in penitence, 1631 gedateerd
London (England), British Museum, inv./cat.nr. S.168
8
Jan van Ossenbeeck
Italianate landscape with cattle drinking from a water source
Karlsruhe, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, inv./cat.nr. 1915
Notes
1 [Van Leeuwen 2017] Sumowski 1983-1994, vol. 4, p. 2313, 2317, no. 1554, ill. p. 2327.
2 [Gerson 1942/1983] For O. Benesch (Benesch 1924A, fig. 127) particularly this painting is the connecting link between the Rembrandt followers of the 18th century. In my opinion, he used other sources to recreate the early Rembrandt style.
3 [Gerson 1942/1983] Copy after Rembrandt’s ‘Hieronymus’ (Hofstede de Groot no. 188) in the collection Ossolinksi, Lemberg (signed in monogram and dated 1653/1). Another ‘Hieronymus’ in the manner of Karel van der Pluym and Constantijn à Renesse, monogrammed and dated 1653 in the collection G. Koch, Munich 1921. [Van Leeuwen 2017] The copy of Reicher probably was not basesd on the print in reverse, but on the original (now lost) painting of Rembrandt (Schuckman/Royalton-Kisch/Hinterding 1996, p. 46, note 5). Reicher did use Dutch prints for his paintings, such as print by Jan Hamensz. Muller of Belshazzar's Feast (RKDimages 224659).
4 [Van Leeuwen 2017] Sandrart 1675, vol. 2, Buch 3, p. 320; Ember 1974, p. 91. Ossenbeeck was shortly in Regensburg in 1664 and stayed mainly in Vienna from 1659 until his death. See § 7.3.