4.6 The Painters in Antwerp
Most of the 75 remaining paintings are landscapes or hunting scenes, some are winter scenes or townscapes. Besides one still life in the style of Osias Beert (c. 1580-1623) [1],1 some biblical and mythological scenes are represented, in particular from Ovid's Metamorphoses. As to be expected, none of the paintings in the Winter Room is signed, although one is dated 1613 [3], as Gerson already remarked.
Peter Snayers (1592-after 1666) produced one painting, now divided into two. The greater half is a painting now on the south wall of the Winter Room, a battle scene, showing a convoy being attacked by Spanish soldiers [2]. The cut-off section is mounted on the north wall, and was originally the right-hand third of Snayers’ picture. This and three paintings on the east wall have indeed been trimmed approximately 15 cm at the top, which contributed to the earlier assumption that the paintings were in Christian IV's collection prior to the fitting-out of the Winter Room [4-6]. However, the frame around the painting of Snayers on the south wall carries a mark in the form of a five-pointed star, drawn in red chalk and presumably issued by an Antwerp frame maker. As the trimmed painting was framed before shipment to Denmark, we must assume that the trimmed part, now on the north wall, was supplied separately.2
1
manner of/circle of Osias Beert (I)
Still life with drinking vessels, fruit and pastries, c. 1617-1620
Copenhagen, The Royal Danish Collection - Rosenborg Castle
3
Peter Snayers
Cavalry battle with assault on a convoy, c. 1617-1620
Copenhagen, The Royal Danish Collection - Rosenborg Castle
2
follower of Louis de Caullery
Venetian harbour scene with carnival revellers, dated 1613
Copenhagen, The Royal Danish Collection - Rosenborg Castle
4
manner of Joos de Momper (II)
Mountain landscape with travellers, before 1600
Copenhagen, The Royal Danish Collection - Rosenborg Castle
5
manner of/circle of Sebastiaan Vrancx
Preaching of John the Baptist, c. 1617-1620
Copenhagen, The Royal Danish Collection - Rosenborg Castle
6
manner of Joos de Momper (II)
Mountain landscape with a drunk and riders, c. 1617-1620
Copenhagen, The Royal Danish Collection - Rosenborg Castle
Notes
1 According to Ertz possibly by Osias Beert (Ertz 1986, p. 312), but according to Fred Meijer (RKD, November 2014) in the style of Beert, but not from his own studio.
2 See § 4.13.
3 Ertz 1986, pp. 312-320. I thank Marijke de Kinkelder for reviewing Ertz’ attributions on behalf of the Gerson Digital Project.
4 The name of the Antwerp imitator of Rosenborg Castle is an invention of Marijke de Kinkelder (formerly at the RKD, 2014), who also found the comparisons to Bril, Savery and Verhaecht.
5 The author of this article attributed a group of paintings in the Winter Room at Rosenborg Castle to an artist which he named the Rosenborg Master and concluded that, among others, a group of landscapes in the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Rome are by the same hand (Wadum 1987A). Independently, Marijke de Kinkelder named this artist the Master of the Hunting Scenes in 2002 and compiled an oeuvre of at least 11 paintings. During the Gerson project De Kinkelder recognized that these two nameless artists were one and the same: the Master of the Rosenborg Hunting Scenes. Much earlier Sturla Gudlaugsson (1931-1971) studied the works in the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Rome, naming the artist the Master of the Pallavicini landscapes (Visual Documentation, RKD). Seven works by the master are to be found in this collection (four illustrated here).