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{{Short description|Flemish painter (1590–1661)}} |
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⚫ | '''Daniël Seghers''' or '''Daniel Seghers'''<ref>Other name variations: Daniël Segers, Daniël Zegers, Daniël Zeghers</ref> (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661<ref name="rkd"/>) was a Flemish [[Jesuit]] brother and [[Flemish Baroque painter|painter]] who specialized in flower [[still life]]s. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of |
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⚫ | '''Daniël Seghers''' or '''Daniel Seghers'''<ref>Other name variations: Daniël Segers, Daniël Zegers, Daniël Zeghers</ref> (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661<ref name="rkd"/>) was a Flemish [[Jesuit]] brother and [[Flemish Baroque painter|painter]] who specialized in flower [[still life]]s. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of flower garland painting.<ref name="grove">Irene Haberland, "Seghers, Daniel," ''Grove Art Online''. [[Oxford University Press]], [accessed 15 February 2015].</ref> His paintings were collected enthusiastically by aristocratic patrons and he had numerous followers and imitators.<ref name="martin">John Rupert Martin, "A Portrait of Rubens by Daniel Seghers," ''Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University'', vol. 17 (1958), pp. 2–20.</ref> |
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==Life== |
==Life== |
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[[File:Daniël Seghers and Simon de Vos - A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Mocking of Christ.jpg|thumb| |
[[File:Daniël Seghers and Simon de Vos - A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Mocking of Christ.jpg|thumb|left|265px|''Garland of flowers surrounding a mocking of Christ'', figures by [[Simon de Vos]]]] |
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Seghers was born in [[Antwerp]]. He moved with his mother to the [[Dutch Republic]], probably [[Utrecht]] around 1601, following the death of his father Pieter and the conversion of his mother to [[Calvinism]].<ref name=benezit>[http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00167019 Seghers, Daniel ( |
Seghers was born in [[Antwerp]]. He moved with his mother to the [[Dutch Republic]], probably [[Utrecht]] around 1601, following the death of his father Pieter and the conversion of his mother to [[Calvinism]].<ref name=benezit>[http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00167019 Seghers, Daniel (1590–1661), Painter] in Benezit Dictionary of Artists</ref><ref name=rkd>[https://rkd.nl/explore/artists/71799 Daniël Seghers] at the [[Netherlands Institute for Art History]] {{in lang|nl}}</ref> He possibly started his initial training as an artist in Utrecht.<ref name=rkd/> The young artist returned to Antwerp by 1611, where he was enrolled in the [[Guild of Saint Luke]] as a pupil of [[Jan Brueghel the Elder]].<ref name="grove" /> |
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Seghers re-converted to [[Catholicism]] and in 1614 he became a [[novitiate|novice]] in the [[Jesuit]] order in [[Mechelen]].<ref name="martin" /> Seghers is recorded in [[Brussels]] in 1621 where he is known to have produced two flower garland paintings for the [[Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula]]. In 1625 Seghers took his final vows as a Jesuit priest. Sources differ regarding his status in the Jesuit order: some claim that he was ordained a priest in 1625,<ref name="grove" /> while others argue that he remained a [[lay brother]].<ref name="martin" /> |
Seghers re-converted to [[Catholicism]] and in 1614 he became a [[novitiate|novice]] in the [[Jesuit]] order in [[Mechelen]].<ref name="martin" /> Seghers is recorded in [[Brussels]] in 1621 where he is known to have produced two flower garland paintings for the [[Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula]]. In 1625 Seghers took his final vows as a Jesuit priest. Sources differ regarding his status in the Jesuit order: some claim that he was ordained a priest in 1625,<ref name="grove" /> while others argue that he remained a [[lay brother]].<ref name="martin" /> |
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After his ordination in 1625 Seghers left for Rome where he stayed for two years. In Rome, Seghers had the opportunity to work on projects with the leading painters: he collaborated with [[Nicolas Poussin]] on a few religious paintings, while for Cardinal Ludovisi, Seghers painted a flower garland around an oval cartouche filled with putti by the hand of the Italian painter [[Domenichino]]. The composition is referred to as ''Double wreath surrounding a medaillion with the triumph of love''.<ref name=bar/> |
After his ordination in 1625 Seghers left for Rome where he stayed for two years. In Rome, Seghers had the opportunity to work on projects with the leading painters: he collaborated with [[Nicolas Poussin]] on a few religious paintings, while for Cardinal Ludovisi, Seghers painted a flower garland around an oval cartouche filled with putti by the hand of the Italian painter [[Domenichino]]. The composition is referred to as ''Double wreath surrounding a medaillion with the triumph of love''.<ref name=bar/> |
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Seghers returned to his native city in 1627 where he continued to work as a painter for the remainder of |
Seghers returned to his native city in 1627 where he continued to work as a painter for the remainder of his life.<ref name="grove" /> Seghers was visited in his studio in Antwerp by the [[Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria]] (in 1635), [[Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria]] (in 1641), [[Christina, Queen of Sweden|Queen Christina of Sweden]] and Charles II, King of England (both in 1649). He is known to have painted a cartouche of flowers for Charles II. His work was also much admired by his fellow artists, including Rubens.<ref name=col>[http://www.colnaghi.co.uk/floral-still-life Daniel Seghers, ''Flower still life''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127120053/http://www.colnaghi.co.uk/floral-still-life |date=27 January 2016 }} at Colnaghi</ref> |
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His pupils included [[Jan Philip van Thielen]], [[Ottmar Elliger]] and Ignace Raeth and likely also [[Andries Bosman]].<ref name=rkd/><ref name=bran>Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, p. 1134 {{ |
His pupils included [[Jan Philip van Thielen]], [[Ottmar Elliger]] and Ignace Raeth and likely also [[Andries Bosman]].<ref name=rkd/><ref name=bran>Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, ''Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool'', Antwerpen, 1883, p. 1134 {{in lang|nl}}</ref> |
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==Work== |
==Work== |
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[[File:Daniel Seghers - Flowers in a vase.jpg|thumb|270px|A vase of flowers]] |
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===General=== |
===General=== |
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Seghers was exclusively a flower painter. It is not easy to establish a chronology for Seghers' paintings since he only dated his works in the period |
Seghers was exclusively a flower painter, mainly of cartouches and flower garlands as well as pure flower paintings. He was very prolific and 239 works are currently attributed to the artist.<ref name=flowers>[https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/daniel-seghers-flowers-in-a-glass-vase-6217393-details.aspx?from=salesummery&intobjectid=6217393&sid=f6a58ab1-a19c-4a98-8021-a844785eb019 Daniel Seghers, ''Flowers in a glass vase with a red admiral butterfly''], Christie's London auction of 4 July 2019, lot 4</ref> It is not easy to establish a chronology for Seghers' paintings since he only dated his works in the period 1635–1651. Possibly there was a stylistic development in his flower garlands from the initial almost uniform garlands towards garlands composed of three or four groups of flowers. Stylistically, there is clearly in his early work a recognisable influence of Jan Brueghel the Elder.<ref name="grove" /> From 1630 on Seghers strived for a livelier painting of flowers in arrangements that look more natural. His flowers in this later period light up against a dark background and have a sculptural character.<ref name=bar>[http://barokinvlaanderen.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be/en/biography/daniel-seghers Daniël Seghers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702055846/http://barokinvlaanderen.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be/en/biography/daniel-seghers |date=2 July 2015 }} at Baroque in the Southern Netherlands</ref> |
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[[File:Daniel Seghers - Flowers in a glass vase with a red admiral butterfly.jpeg|thumb|265px|''Flowers in a glass vase with a red admiral butterfly'']] |
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Like his master Brueghel, Seghers used flowers and plants that grew in his home country and in particular cultivated garden flowers and he did not respect the blooming seasons of the flowers he painted together.<ref name="grove" /><ref name=bar/> |
Like his master Brueghel, Seghers used flowers and plants that grew in his home country and in particular cultivated garden flowers and he did not respect the blooming seasons of the flowers he painted together.<ref name="grove" /><ref name=bar/> He had a preference for locally-grown roses and tulips that are just about to bloom.<ref name="grove" /> In his detailed rendering of flowers and plants, Seghers betrayed the skill of a miniaturist.<ref name=tento/> |
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Many of Seghers' paintings are [[oil paint|oil]] on [[copper]], a support often used for [[cabinet painting]]s. |
Many of Seghers' paintings are [[oil paint|oil]] on [[copper]], a support often used for [[cabinet painting]]s. |
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===Garland paintings=== |
===Garland paintings=== |
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A majority of Seghers' work is in a distinctively Flemish genre, which is referred to as 'garland paintings'. Garland paintings are a special type of still life developed in Antwerp by Seghers' master Jan Brueghel the Elder in collaboration with the Italian [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]] [[Federico Borromeo]] at the beginning of the 17th century.<ref name="freedberg">David Freedberg, "The Origins and Rise of the Flemish Madonnas in Flower Garlands, Decoration and Devotion", ''Münchener Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'', xxxii, 1981, pp. 115–150.</ref> |
A majority of Seghers' work is in a distinctively Flemish genre, which is referred to as 'garland paintings'. Garland paintings are a special type of still life developed in Antwerp by Seghers' master Jan Brueghel the Elder in collaboration with the Italian [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]] [[Federico Borromeo]] at the beginning of the 17th century.<ref name="freedberg">David Freedberg, "The Origins and Rise of the Flemish Madonnas in Flower Garlands, Decoration and Devotion", ''Münchener Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst'', xxxii, 1981, pp. 115–150.</ref> Other artists involved in the early development of the genre included [[Hendrick van Balen]], [[Andries Daniels]], [[Peter Paul Rubens]] and Seghers himself. The genre was initially connected to the visual imagery of the [[Counter-Reformation]] movement.<ref name="freedberg"/> It was further inspired by the cult of veneration and devotion to [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] prevalent at the [[Habsburg]] court (then the rulers over the Southern Netherlands) and in Antwerp generally.<ref name="freedberg"/><ref name=merriam>Susan Merriam, ''Seventeenth-Century Flemish Garland Paintings. Still Life, Vision and the Devotional Image'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012</ref> |
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[[File:Daniël Seghers and Domenichino - Double wreath surrounding a medaillion with the triumph of love.jpg|thumb| |
[[File:Daniël Seghers and Domenichino - Double wreath surrounding a medaillion with the triumph of love.jpg|thumb|270px|left|''Double wreath surrounding a medaillion with the triumph of love'']] |
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Garland paintings typically show a flower garland around a devotional image, portrait or other religious symbol (such as the [[Sacramental bread|host]]).<ref name=merriam/> |
Garland paintings typically show a flower garland around a devotional image, portrait or other religious symbol (such as the [[Sacramental bread|host]]).<ref name=merriam/> By the second half of the century secular themes such as portraits and mythological subjects also decorated the central part of the many paintings made in this fashion.<ref name="martin" /> Seghers innovated the concept of his teacher Brueghel by including a stone [[cartouche]] as the framing elements for the flower garland.<ref name="grove"/> He also painted garland paintings of the [[Pietà]] in which the flowers were substituted by thistles, thorns, deadly nightshade and other noxious plants as a reference to crown of thorns and the suffering of Christ. An example is the early collaboration with Poussin ([[Musée Thomas-Henry]]) for which Poussin painted the ''[[:File:Nicolas Poussin and Daniel Seghers - Pietà - Musée Thomas-Henry.jpg|Pietà]]'' figure and Seghers the garland.<ref name=burl>Christopher Wright, ''A Virgin and Child by Poussin in Brighton'', The Burlington Magazine Vol. 116, No. 861 (Dec. 1974), pp. 755–757</ref> |
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Garland paintings were usually collaborations between a still life and a figure painter.<ref name=merriam/> |
Garland paintings were usually collaborations between a still life and a figure painter.<ref name=merriam/> Seghers himself generally only painted the flowers and the central subject was filled in later by another artist.<ref name="grove" /><ref name="martin" /> This spirit of artistic collaboration, which was seen in the earliest flower garland paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder and [[Peter Paul Rubens]], is, in fact, a notable quality of Flemish painting in 17th-century Antwerp.<ref>Anne T. Woollett, Ariane van Suchtelen, ''et al''., ''Rubens & Brueghel: A Working Friendship'', Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-89236-847-1}}</ref> |
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While many of Seghers' collaborators on his garland paintings were anonymous local artists, he often collaborated with leading Antwerp figure painters. There is often uncertainty or disagreement about the identity of collaborators on specific artworks even though Seghers himself compiled a list of the flower still lifes, which he had |
While many of Seghers' collaborators on his garland paintings were anonymous local artists, he often collaborated with leading Antwerp figure painters. There is often uncertainty or disagreement about the identity of collaborators on specific artworks even though Seghers himself compiled a list of the flower still lifes, which he had painted and the patrons for whom he had painted them.<ref>[https://rkd.nl/explore/images/197108 For instance, some scholars have rejected the attribution to Simon de Vos] of the cartouche in the painting ''The Holy Family in a Flower Garland'' at the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]] and attributes it to Erasmus Quellinus II</ref> In the catalogue he gave a description of each of his paintings, his collaborator and the number of paintings he produced. As the catalogue is incomplete, the collaborators are not always known with certainty.<ref name=list>Dolf Heyselbergs, ''Daniël Seghers' (1590–1661) contributie aan de Sint-Ignatiuskerk te Antwerpen Een jezuïetenkerk gedecoreerd door een jezuïtische schilder'', Fase 1 Kunstwetenschappen Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 2011–2012 {{in lang|nl}}</ref> It is known he often worked with [[Cornelis Schut]], [[Erasmus Quellinus II]], [[Abraham van Diepenbeek]], [[Simon de Vos]], [[Jan van den Hoecke]], [[Gonzales Coques]] and Rubens.<ref name="grove" /><ref name="martin" /> [[Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert]] is also mentioned as his collaborator.<ref>Cataloge van de Bloemstukken, die ik selfs met mijn hand heb geschildert en voor wie. «Catalogue of the flower still lifes, which I have painted myself and for whom»</ref> It is possible that Seghers collaborated with Rubens on a garland painting for the [[Saint Carolus Borromeus church]] in Antwerp.<ref name=list/> During his stay in Rome he also collaborated with [[Poussin]] and Domenichino.<ref name=burl/> |
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Unlike in his later collaborations, Seghers is believed to have added flower garlands to existing paintings by [[Domenichino]] during his residence in Rome.<ref>Richard E. Spear, "Domenichino Addenda," ''The Burlington Magazine'', vol. 131 (Jan. 1989), p. 15, n. 67.</ref> |
Unlike in his later collaborations, Seghers is believed to have added flower garlands to existing paintings by [[Domenichino]] during his residence in Rome.<ref>Richard E. Spear, "Domenichino Addenda," ''The Burlington Magazine'', vol. 131 (Jan. 1989), p. 15, n. 67.</ref> |
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The garland paintings are often of a large size. The ''[[:File:Daniël Seghers and Cornelis Schut (I) - Saint Ignatius in a cartouche with flowers and cherubs.jpg|Saint Ignatius in a cartouche with flowers and cherubs]]'' ([[Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp]]), which measures about 190 to 299 cm and includes not only a cartouche painted by Cornelis Schut but also angels attributed to [[Jan van Balen]].<ref name=list/> |
The garland paintings are often of a large size. The ''[[:File:Daniël Seghers and Cornelis Schut (I) - Saint Ignatius in a cartouche with flowers and cherubs.jpg|Saint Ignatius in a cartouche with flowers and cherubs]]'' ([[Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp]]), which measures about 190 to 299 cm and includes not only a cartouche painted by Cornelis Schut but also angels attributed to [[Jan van Balen]].<ref name=list/> |
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===Reception=== |
===Reception=== |
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Daniel Seghers' art was widely admired during his lifetime, generating great interest from collectors. His style was continued and followed by others including [[Jan Philip van Thielen]], [[Andries Bosman]], [[Jan Anton van der Baren]], [[Frans Ykens]] and [[Jan van den Hecke]].<ref name="martin" /><ref name=tento>Dra. Huguette Vanagt. ''Daniel Seghers (Antwerpen |
Daniel Seghers' art was widely admired during his lifetime, generating great interest from collectors. His style was continued and followed by others including [[Jan Philip van Thielen]], [[Andries Bosman]], [[Jan Anton van der Baren]], [[Frans Ykens]] and [[Jan van den Hecke]].<ref name="martin" /><ref name=tento>Dra. Huguette Vanagt. ''Daniel Seghers (Antwerpen 1590–1661) Guirlande met de H. Theresia van Avila'', in Openbaar Kunstbezit in Vlaanderen, 1968/14, p. 14 {{in lang|nl}}</ref> His work influenced artists such as [[Jan Davidsz. de Heem]] in Antwerp and [[Juan de Arellano]] in Madrid.<ref>Langdon, Anthony. "Seghers, Daniel." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 15 February 2015.</ref> |
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His paintings were highly prized and collected at the court of [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederik Hendrik]] in |
His paintings were highly prized and collected at the court of [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange|Frederik Hendrik]] in [[The Hague]].<ref name="martin" /> There, the art collector and secretary to the prince [[Constantijn Huygens]] praised the paintings in poetry and corresponded numerous times with the artist,<ref name="martin" /> writing that one could almost smell the flowers.<ref name=Huygens>[http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/Dutch/Huygens/HUYG45.html Huygens praise of Seghers' painted flowers (in Latin), In Praestantissimi Pictoris Dan. Segheri Rosas].</ref> The Dutch poet [[Joost van den Vondel]] also wrote highly of Seghers' paintings.<ref name="martin" /> Other collectors included [[Christina of Sweden]], [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], [[Philip IV of Spain]], [[Maria de' Medici]], [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], who visited the artist in 1649, and [[Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria]], the Italian collector [[Scipione Borghese]] and the Antwerp collector and patron of Anthony van Dyck, [[Cornelis van der Geest]].<ref name="grove" /><ref name="martin" /><ref name=flowers/> |
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His paintings were usually not sold through traditional contacts such as art dealers, but were instead presented as gifts by the Jesuit order and used for the adornment of churches. They served as stimulants to religious contemplation and as powerful instruments of diplomacy. In 1631, for example, Seghers sent a Crown of Flowers to [[Marie de' Medici]] on the occasion of her visit, together with the [[Isabella Clara Eugenia|Infanta Isabella]], to the College of St. Ignatius. His compositions clearly carried a symbolic and |
His paintings were usually not sold through traditional contacts such as art dealers, but were instead presented as gifts by the Jesuit order and used for the adornment of churches. They served as stimulants to religious contemplation and as powerful instruments of diplomacy. In 1631, for example, Seghers sent a painting of a ''Crown of Flowers'' to [[Marie de' Medici]] on the occasion of her visit, together with the [[Isabella Clara Eugenia|Infanta Isabella]], to the College of St. Ignatius. His compositions clearly carried a symbolic and devotional element, which was in line with the doctrines of the Jesuits.<ref name=col/> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Flemish still life painters]] |
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[[Category:Painters from Antwerp]] |
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[[Category:Flower artists]] |
[[Category:Flower artists]] |
Latest revision as of 11:13, 7 April 2024
Daniël Seghers or Daniel Seghers[1] (3 December 1590 – 2 November 1661[2]) was a Flemish Jesuit brother and painter who specialized in flower still lifes. He is particularly well known for his contributions to the genre of flower garland painting.[3] His paintings were collected enthusiastically by aristocratic patrons and he had numerous followers and imitators.[4]
Life
[edit]Seghers was born in Antwerp. He moved with his mother to the Dutch Republic, probably Utrecht around 1601, following the death of his father Pieter and the conversion of his mother to Calvinism.[5][2] He possibly started his initial training as an artist in Utrecht.[2] The young artist returned to Antwerp by 1611, where he was enrolled in the Guild of Saint Luke as a pupil of Jan Brueghel the Elder.[3]
Seghers re-converted to Catholicism and in 1614 he became a novice in the Jesuit order in Mechelen.[4] Seghers is recorded in Brussels in 1621 where he is known to have produced two flower garland paintings for the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. In 1625 Seghers took his final vows as a Jesuit priest. Sources differ regarding his status in the Jesuit order: some claim that he was ordained a priest in 1625,[3] while others argue that he remained a lay brother.[4]
After his ordination in 1625 Seghers left for Rome where he stayed for two years. In Rome, Seghers had the opportunity to work on projects with the leading painters: he collaborated with Nicolas Poussin on a few religious paintings, while for Cardinal Ludovisi, Seghers painted a flower garland around an oval cartouche filled with putti by the hand of the Italian painter Domenichino. The composition is referred to as Double wreath surrounding a medaillion with the triumph of love.[6]
Seghers returned to his native city in 1627 where he continued to work as a painter for the remainder of his life.[3] Seghers was visited in his studio in Antwerp by the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria (in 1635), Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (in 1641), Queen Christina of Sweden and Charles II, King of England (both in 1649). He is known to have painted a cartouche of flowers for Charles II. His work was also much admired by his fellow artists, including Rubens.[7]
His pupils included Jan Philip van Thielen, Ottmar Elliger and Ignace Raeth and likely also Andries Bosman.[2][8]
Work
[edit]General
[edit]Seghers was exclusively a flower painter, mainly of cartouches and flower garlands as well as pure flower paintings. He was very prolific and 239 works are currently attributed to the artist.[9] It is not easy to establish a chronology for Seghers' paintings since he only dated his works in the period 1635–1651. Possibly there was a stylistic development in his flower garlands from the initial almost uniform garlands towards garlands composed of three or four groups of flowers. Stylistically, there is clearly in his early work a recognisable influence of Jan Brueghel the Elder.[3] From 1630 on Seghers strived for a livelier painting of flowers in arrangements that look more natural. His flowers in this later period light up against a dark background and have a sculptural character.[6]
Like his master Brueghel, Seghers used flowers and plants that grew in his home country and in particular cultivated garden flowers and he did not respect the blooming seasons of the flowers he painted together.[3][6] He had a preference for locally-grown roses and tulips that are just about to bloom.[3] In his detailed rendering of flowers and plants, Seghers betrayed the skill of a miniaturist.[10]
Many of Seghers' paintings are oil on copper, a support often used for cabinet paintings.
Garland paintings
[edit]A majority of Seghers' work is in a distinctively Flemish genre, which is referred to as 'garland paintings'. Garland paintings are a special type of still life developed in Antwerp by Seghers' master Jan Brueghel the Elder in collaboration with the Italian cardinal Federico Borromeo at the beginning of the 17th century.[11] Other artists involved in the early development of the genre included Hendrick van Balen, Andries Daniels, Peter Paul Rubens and Seghers himself. The genre was initially connected to the visual imagery of the Counter-Reformation movement.[11] It was further inspired by the cult of veneration and devotion to Mary prevalent at the Habsburg court (then the rulers over the Southern Netherlands) and in Antwerp generally.[11][12]
Garland paintings typically show a flower garland around a devotional image, portrait or other religious symbol (such as the host).[12] By the second half of the century secular themes such as portraits and mythological subjects also decorated the central part of the many paintings made in this fashion.[4] Seghers innovated the concept of his teacher Brueghel by including a stone cartouche as the framing elements for the flower garland.[3] He also painted garland paintings of the Pietà in which the flowers were substituted by thistles, thorns, deadly nightshade and other noxious plants as a reference to crown of thorns and the suffering of Christ. An example is the early collaboration with Poussin (Musée Thomas-Henry) for which Poussin painted the Pietà figure and Seghers the garland.[13]
Garland paintings were usually collaborations between a still life and a figure painter.[12] Seghers himself generally only painted the flowers and the central subject was filled in later by another artist.[3][4] This spirit of artistic collaboration, which was seen in the earliest flower garland paintings by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, is, in fact, a notable quality of Flemish painting in 17th-century Antwerp.[14]
While many of Seghers' collaborators on his garland paintings were anonymous local artists, he often collaborated with leading Antwerp figure painters. There is often uncertainty or disagreement about the identity of collaborators on specific artworks even though Seghers himself compiled a list of the flower still lifes, which he had painted and the patrons for whom he had painted them.[15] In the catalogue he gave a description of each of his paintings, his collaborator and the number of paintings he produced. As the catalogue is incomplete, the collaborators are not always known with certainty.[16] It is known he often worked with Cornelis Schut, Erasmus Quellinus II, Abraham van Diepenbeek, Simon de Vos, Jan van den Hoecke, Gonzales Coques and Rubens.[3][4] Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert is also mentioned as his collaborator.[17] It is possible that Seghers collaborated with Rubens on a garland painting for the Saint Carolus Borromeus church in Antwerp.[16] During his stay in Rome he also collaborated with Poussin and Domenichino.[13]
Unlike in his later collaborations, Seghers is believed to have added flower garlands to existing paintings by Domenichino during his residence in Rome.[18]
The garland paintings are often of a large size. The Saint Ignatius in a cartouche with flowers and cherubs (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp), which measures about 190 to 299 cm and includes not only a cartouche painted by Cornelis Schut but also angels attributed to Jan van Balen.[16]
Reception
[edit]Daniel Seghers' art was widely admired during his lifetime, generating great interest from collectors. His style was continued and followed by others including Jan Philip van Thielen, Andries Bosman, Jan Anton van der Baren, Frans Ykens and Jan van den Hecke.[4][10] His work influenced artists such as Jan Davidsz. de Heem in Antwerp and Juan de Arellano in Madrid.[19]
His paintings were highly prized and collected at the court of Frederik Hendrik in The Hague.[4] There, the art collector and secretary to the prince Constantijn Huygens praised the paintings in poetry and corresponded numerous times with the artist,[4] writing that one could almost smell the flowers.[20] The Dutch poet Joost van den Vondel also wrote highly of Seghers' paintings.[4] Other collectors included Christina of Sweden, Charles I, Philip IV of Spain, Maria de' Medici, Charles II, who visited the artist in 1649, and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, the Italian collector Scipione Borghese and the Antwerp collector and patron of Anthony van Dyck, Cornelis van der Geest.[3][4][9]
His paintings were usually not sold through traditional contacts such as art dealers, but were instead presented as gifts by the Jesuit order and used for the adornment of churches. They served as stimulants to religious contemplation and as powerful instruments of diplomacy. In 1631, for example, Seghers sent a painting of a Crown of Flowers to Marie de' Medici on the occasion of her visit, together with the Infanta Isabella, to the College of St. Ignatius. His compositions clearly carried a symbolic and devotional element, which was in line with the doctrines of the Jesuits.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Other name variations: Daniël Segers, Daniël Zegers, Daniël Zeghers
- ^ a b c d Daniël Seghers at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (in Dutch)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Irene Haberland, "Seghers, Daniel," Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, [accessed 15 February 2015].
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k John Rupert Martin, "A Portrait of Rubens by Daniel Seghers," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, vol. 17 (1958), pp. 2–20.
- ^ Seghers, Daniel (1590–1661), Painter in Benezit Dictionary of Artists
- ^ a b c Daniël Seghers Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine at Baroque in the Southern Netherlands
- ^ a b Daniel Seghers, Flower still life Archived 27 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine at Colnaghi
- ^ Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden, Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool, Antwerpen, 1883, p. 1134 (in Dutch)
- ^ a b Daniel Seghers, Flowers in a glass vase with a red admiral butterfly, Christie's London auction of 4 July 2019, lot 4
- ^ a b Dra. Huguette Vanagt. Daniel Seghers (Antwerpen 1590–1661) Guirlande met de H. Theresia van Avila, in Openbaar Kunstbezit in Vlaanderen, 1968/14, p. 14 (in Dutch)
- ^ a b c David Freedberg, "The Origins and Rise of the Flemish Madonnas in Flower Garlands, Decoration and Devotion", Münchener Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, xxxii, 1981, pp. 115–150.
- ^ a b c Susan Merriam, Seventeenth-Century Flemish Garland Paintings. Still Life, Vision and the Devotional Image, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012
- ^ a b Christopher Wright, A Virgin and Child by Poussin in Brighton, The Burlington Magazine Vol. 116, No. 861 (Dec. 1974), pp. 755–757
- ^ Anne T. Woollett, Ariane van Suchtelen, et al., Rubens & Brueghel: A Working Friendship, Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2006. ISBN 978-0-89236-847-1
- ^ For instance, some scholars have rejected the attribution to Simon de Vos of the cartouche in the painting The Holy Family in a Flower Garland at the Kunsthistorisches Museum and attributes it to Erasmus Quellinus II
- ^ a b c Dolf Heyselbergs, Daniël Seghers' (1590–1661) contributie aan de Sint-Ignatiuskerk te Antwerpen Een jezuïetenkerk gedecoreerd door een jezuïtische schilder, Fase 1 Kunstwetenschappen Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 2011–2012 (in Dutch)
- ^ Cataloge van de Bloemstukken, die ik selfs met mijn hand heb geschildert en voor wie. «Catalogue of the flower still lifes, which I have painted myself and for whom»
- ^ Richard E. Spear, "Domenichino Addenda," The Burlington Magazine, vol. 131 (Jan. 1989), p. 15, n. 67.
- ^ Langdon, Anthony. "Seghers, Daniel." The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 15 February 2015.
- ^ Huygens praise of Seghers' painted flowers (in Latin), In Praestantissimi Pictoris Dan. Segheri Rosas.
External links
[edit]Media related to Daniel Seghers at Wikimedia Commons