Offered by Galerie Nicolas Lenté
16th to 18th century furniture, paintings and works of art
Madonna and Child with Angels
Attributed to Louis de Caullery (1565 -1622) for figures & Abraham Govaerts (1589 - 1626) for landscape
17th century Antwerp school, circa 1620
Oil on copper, h. 40 cm, w. 59,5 cm
Framed: h. 56 cm, w. 76 cm
Related works:
• Louis de Caullery, (49.8 cm x 36.6 cm), inv. 1484, Lille, Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse, inv. 1484
(https://art.rmngp.fr/fr/library/artworks/louis-de-caullery_la-sainte-famille-enceintee-d-anges-musiciens)
• Public sale Dorotheum, Vienna; 17/10/2021, lot n 811, oil on copper: 36.6 cm x 50.5 cm)
A common practice in Antwerp at the beginning of the 17th century, collaboration between two artists combining their talents in different specialties (figures or landscapes) allows for the best possible result.
This fruitful collaboration is brilliantly illustrated by our painting.
Against a wooded landscape, the Virgin sits with her son Jesus on her knees. They are surrounded by adoring angels. Some offer them a bowl of fruit, filled with apples and grapes (symbolizing the redemption and sacrifice of Christ). Leaning against the twisted tree trunks, the angelic trio gives a small concert, playing the violin, lute, and harp. While at the feet of the Virgin, three cherubs gather flowers to make a floral crown for Mary.
All the figures are richly dressed in colorful and sparkling fabrics, which allows the painter to display his full palette and expertise in modeling elegant draperies.
To reinforce the sovereignty of the Virgin, she is depicted bathed in light like her son Jesus.
This work offers us a composition in the pure style of Caullery, combining delicacy, bold colors, and incomparable gentleness of the faces.
For his part, Abraham Govaerts excels in the art of landscape, here he immerses us in an idyllic atmosphere of a clearing bordered by a small stream. Majestic oaks with skillfully drawn foliage stand in the middle, while mysterious misty openings lead our gaze towards the horizon. The
hill where a castle stands is bathed in a mist that is reminiscent of the works of Jan Brueghel, who may have been his master.
Although the subject of the Virgin and Child surrounded by angels in a landscape is traditional in Flemish painting, it is not based on any biblical story. However, in some versions, the presence of Saint Joseph could associate it with the "Rest on the Flight into Egypt." Several hypotheses put forward by art historians suggest as a source of inspiration the engravings of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) or works by Flemish artists such as Hans Memling or Jan Van Eyck. The theme was pursued with great enthusiasm by the Antwerp Mannerists. From the end of the 16th century, the Counter-Reformation accentuated the importance of the Marian cult, which became the spearhead of the fight against heretics. Episodes linked to the Virgin would have a significant impact on art, particularly in Antwerp, where major reconstruction and decoration work took place in churches severely affected during the Iconoclastic Revolt.
Louis de Caullery, like a number of his colleagues, also naturally devoted himself to this theme.
Abraham Govaerts multiplied his collaborations with painters specializing in figures to meet the demand for this type of work. Among others, we can cite Louis de Caullery, Frans Francken II (1581-1642), and Pieter Van Avont (1600-1652).
