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Nymphs and Satyr
Cornelius van PoelenburghBefore 1667
Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom
Poelenburch trained with Abraham Bloemart in his native Utrecht, then travelled to Rome by 1617, remaining in Italy for at least six years. He is one of the most important of the so-called 'first generation' of Dutch Italianate artists, part of that initial group who, along with Claude Lorrain, developed the new genre of classical landscape.
From 1627 until his death Poelenburch worked in Utrecht - with the exception of a brief period as court artist to Charles I of England, from 1637 to 1641. He was one of the most popular artists of his day, particularly admired for his figures.
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Details
- Title: Nymphs and Satyr
- Creator Lifespan: 1667
- Date: Before 1667
- Physical Dimensions: w512 x h384 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil
- Work Notes: N. Sluijter-Seiffert cautiously expresses some doubt as to the attribution (letter on file, 1997)
- Work Nationality: Dutch
- Support: Panel
- Provenance: London, Noel Desenfans, 1785-1807: London, Christie's, Desenfans sale, 12 May 1785, lot 29; London, Christie's, Desenfans private sale, 8ff. Apr. 1786, lot 61; ?London, Christie's, Desenfans sale, 14 Jul. 1786, lot 13 (bt Podd but bt in?); London, Skinner and Dyke, Desenfans sale, 28 Feb. 1795, lot 27; London, Sir Francis Bourgeois, 1807-1811; Bourgeois Bequest, 1811; 1813 inv., no. 340.
- Inscriptions: C.P
- Further Information: CORNELIS VAN POELENBURCH (1594-1667) was the most important artist in the first generation of Dutch Italianates. He studied with Abraham Bloemaert, the Mannerist Utrecht painter before moving to Rome in 1617, where he is recorded as a member of the Schildersbent, the association of Dutch and Flemish artists based there, by 1623. In Rome he saw the landscapes with Classical ruins of Paul Bril, which were a significant source of inspiration. He influenced Bartholomeus Breenbergh, who was in Rome from 1619, so much so that it is difficult to tell their work apart: both produced small delicate Italian scenes, and many Poelenburch paintings are still mistakenly assigned to Breenbergh. His small landscapes always contain Biblical, mythological or genre figures and are mostly painted on panel or copper. The present work fits firmly within his oeuvre: a naked nymph and a satyr, both beating tambour-like drums, dance with abandon round a semi-draped female figure with a putto peeping out from behind her back.
- Artist: van Poelenburgh, Cornelis
- Acquisition Method: Bourgeois, Sir Peter Francis (Bequest, 1811)
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