CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

The Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille is one of the largest museums in France. The remarkable collection of paintings by artists of the Northern School is one of the jewels in its crown. The constitution of the collection owes a lot to the geographical location of the town as, before its conquest by Louis XIV in 1667, Lille belonged to the Spanish Netherlands. During the seventeenth century, the churches and monasteries of Lille were hung with paintings by the most prominent Flemish masters, in the service of the Catholic Reformation. The Franciscan Recollects called on Anthony van Dyck and Thomas Willeboirts, the Dominicans favoured Jeremias Mittendorff, the Capuchins Peter Paul Rubens – who also painted for the church of Saint Catherine – whilst Jan Boeckhorst and Jan Cossiers were responsible for the church of Saint Maurice, to name but a few. After the French Revolution, some of the paintings were confiscated from the Church and these eventually formed the nucleus of the museum of painting, having been listed in the inventory of 1795. Christ on the Cross, by Van Dyck and Rubens’ Descent from the Cross (fig. 1) figure among the masterpieces in the new museum. The group of paintings from Lille was joined by other works confiscated during the Revolution, which were to be part of the State consignment after the Napoleonic decree of 1801. Among these are the Saint Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy by Rubens and The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Gaspard de Crayer. Other church paintings were donated, such as Boeckhorst’s Martyrdom of Saint Maurice in 1860, or given in long-term loan to the museum, like Rubens’ Martyrdom of Saint Catherine in 1965. These altarpieces, which reflect the artistic genius of the Counter Reformation, are the jewels in the collection of Flemish paintings.

Although historical events and government policies laid the first building blocks of the museum of painting, it was the efforts of certain people which also contributed significantly to the enrichment of the collections, in particular to the Northern School.

Édouard Reynart (1802-1879), who was director of the museum from 1841 until his death in 1879, is one of these people. Trained as a painter, this passionate curator had innumerable friends amongst the artistic community. He also maintained invaluable contacts with collectors and dealers in Paris. Over four decades, his talent and energy allowed him to make large numbers of major acquisitions, some them truly exceptional. In 1861 he acquired the Temptation of Saint Anthony by David Teniers the Younger, one of the artist’s favourite subjects (as a follower of Hieronymous Bosch). The Ascension of the Chosen People by the Flemish primitive painter Dieric Bouts was bought in 1863. In 1956, the Louvre provided the pendant and left-hand shutter of a probable triptych, The Fall of the Damned as a long-term loan. Two portraits by Jan Anthonisz van Ravensteyn, Portrait of a Man and Portrait of a Woman, in an exceptional state of conservation and in their original mounts, arrived to enrich the Dutch collection in 1868. A spectacular ceremonial still life by Pieter Boel, Allegory of the Vanities (fig. 2) was acquired in 1878 for the considerable sum of 8.000 francs. This masterpiece challenges the spectator’s comprehension of the meaning of life and its inescapable end. These three examples illustrate the taste and wisdom with which the acquisitions policy was pursued during these years.

The second half of the nineteenth century was a truly magnificent period for the museum. And the financial resources devoted to acquisitions was also spectacular. Purchases abounded, but so did gifts and bequests, particularly during the final thirty years of the century. The energy expended by Reynart for the enrichment of the collection was matched by the generosity of the donors – whom he greatly encouraged.

In 1873, Alexandre Leleux (1812-1873) bequeathed 122 Dutch and Flemish paintings to the collection. Leleux, a great collector, was born and died in Lille; his father was the founding editor of the Écho du Nord, the newspaper whose editor Alexandre was later to become. A childless bachelor, he bequeathed his large collection to the city of his birth. A Bouquet of Flowers by Roeland Savery, a Wheatfield by Jacob Ruisdael, an Interior by Jacobus Vrel, a Fiddler by Jan Steen, Butchering the Pig by Isaack van Ostade, a Resurrection of Christ by Benjamin Gerrtisz Cuyp are some of the most remarkable paintings to have emerged from the collection of this passionate and enlightened collector. This large group illustrates the taste of the middle classes of the period for paintings that faithfully reflected real life; it represents a considerable proportion of the collection today.

A third figure of the same generation also played an important role in this fruitful period. Antoine Brasseur (1819-1886), an abandoned child born in Lille and brought up in the city orphanage, became a picture dealer in Cologne. He amassed a large collection, including works belonging to the Dutch and Flemish seventeenth century. As an act of gratitude to the city of his birth, he left his whole collection to the city of Lille. He made several gifts after 1878 and one bequest, leaving to the museum a total of more than 125 paintings. A striking Classical Bull Race in the Ruined Colosseum by the Mannerist painter Maerten van Heemskerck; a Young Man Smoking a Pipe and Neglecting his Studies, a masterpiece of the School of Leiden, still resisting all attempts at an attribution; The Skaters by Isaack van Ostade, a picturesque scene, emblematic of the Dutch Golden Age, one of the many ‘ijsvermaak’ painted by the artist; a Rembrandtesque Head of an Old Man by Jan Lievens; a Portrait of a Woman by the much admired portrait painter Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt – to name but a few.

In addition to the paintings from his collection, this generous donor also left his entire fortune to the museum. Income from his bequest played an important part in the museum’s dynamic acquisitions policy up to 1893. It enabled the purchase of three paintings in 1888: Portrait of a Boy of Fifteen Years Old, a masterpiece by Jan Cornelisz Verspronck, a pupil of Frans Hals; The Tribute Money by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, a biblical subject in the manner of his teacher, Rembrandt; Jesus in the House of Martha and Mary by the Flemish painters Erasmus Quellinus and Jan Fyt, a scene from the bible used as the pretext for a sumptuous still life. In 1890, Interior of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft with the Tomb of William the Silent (fig. 3), a masterpiece by a specialist in the genre, Emmanuel de Witte, was acquired for the not inconsiderable sum of 11,500 francs. A sketch for the Descent from the Cross by Rubens was bought in 1893. Worth noting finally is Europa and the Bull by Jacob Jordaens bought in 1908; Jordaens brilliantly uses a mythological subject to illustrate his skill as an animal painter.

The purchase of major works of art continued after the death of Edouard Reynart. At the heart of the Flemish collections, Jordaens is the most lavishly represented artist (ahead of Rubens), with about fifteen works by him or from his studio. During this magnificent period, two paintings by the artist were acquired: in 1881 A Huntsman with his Dogs within a Rubens-style landscape and, in 1890, The Temptation of Saint Magdalene (fig. 4). This youthful masterpiece effectively combines the realism of the figures with the vividly contrasting lighting effects derived from the art of Caravaggio via the Flemish experience. Nearly a century later, in 1894, a final work by the Master of Antwerp was purchased, Portrait of a Man. This painting pays homage to a genre in which Jordaens seldom expressed himself – and incidentally, such works are seldom to be found on gallery walls in Flanders.

Finally a Vanitas by Jan Sanders van Hemessen, personified by a spectacular angel with butterfly wings, made its way into the collection. This outstanding painting, exceptional both for its quality and its iconography, was bought in 1993 and is one of the museum’s greatest masterpieces.

The Dutch collection also saw numerous additions. Work by artists already represented was acquired. For example, a third still life by Abraham van Beyeren was added to the collection in 1883. Other major figures of the Golden Age made their appearance, including Jan van Goyen. A large painting of his maturity, The Skaters, was bought in 1886. This scene corresponds admirably to the similar scene by Isaack van Ostade, purchased the previous year. The next century was to see other important acquisitions, and a number of gaps were filled. One of these acquisitions, The Resurrection of Lazarus, a masterpiece of exaggerated Mannerism by Joachim Wtewael, was bought in 1990. The exclusive and silent world of Baltasar van den Ast’s Fruit, Shells and Insects, added to the collection in 1977, is another example of a recent acquisition.

Even though some of the greatest names remain absent, the collection in Lille presents us with a priceless reflection of the specificity and diversity of Dutch painting. The different genres are represented, with a preponderance of portraits, images of a rising middle class proud of its success. The School of Rembrandt occupies a special place: some of the most remarkable works in this style joined the collection as recently as the early years of the twenty-first century. Jan Lievens, Rembrandt’s collaborator then rival, made his way into the inventory for the first time thanks to the Brasseur donation in 1878. Three other works by the artist were subsequently added, the most recent in 1977. With the Portrait of a Man Appearing at the Window by Salomon Koninck in 1889, the collection gained a fine example of the kind of illusionist scene initiated by Rembrandt. A rare artist and gifted disciple of Rembrandt, Willem Drost entered the collection in 2002 with Old Lady at her Window (fig. 5), which was attributed to Rembrandt for many years. In 1962, a major work by Jan Pietersz Lastman, an Entombment (fig. 6), in an exceptional state of conservation and in its original frame, entered the collection. Another painting, Hippocrates and Democritus, by the artist Lastman (in whose studio Rembrandt began his apprenticeship) was purchased in 2003. This is the most recent purchase of any painting belonging to the Dutch seventeenth century. As well as enumerating these inspiring purchases, we should also recall some names that have already been mentioned, Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp and Gerbrand van den Eeckhout who, with others including the too little-known painters of the de Wet family, also contribute to the rich detail of this panorama.

Donatienne Dujardin is Curator of Foreign Painting (1500-1800) at Palais de Beaux-Arts in Lille. She has been a member of CODART since 2022.