Provenance:
• Baron of Mentzingen collection - Graf Andlau;
• Wilfried Greif collection – New York;
• private collection
Khun, Charles L., A catalogue of German Paintings of the Middle Ages and...
read moreProvenance:
• Baron of Mentzingen collection - Graf Andlau;
• Wilfried Greif collection – New York;
• private collection
Khun, Charles L., A catalogue of German Paintings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in American Collections, Cambridge, 1936, pp.27 n°23, reproduction VII, dated 1535.
With his own particular delicateness, Bartholomeus Bruyn presents us with the portrait of a couple of notables. Each benefiting from unique precise, transparent and careful details, these two portraits are perfect examples of the artist’s work at its peak.
The faces stand out against a green background, thus allowing a highly subtle rendering of the models’ complexions, as well as the fabrics of their clothing. This same green with golden highlights can be seen in the portrait of a woman at the Oberlin Museum in Ohio. Our two portraits also share a three-quarter view. With the light coming from the right, the perfect shadows of the bodies give the illusion of space. The supple volume of the fabrics allows the painter to create a “tactile” portrait. The fur, linen and plush velvet mingle with the lustre of the pearls, the felt and the embroideries, playing with the light to emphasise the sumptuous variety of materials.
The portraits are filled with details that illustrate the social rank of the couple and reveal a hidden meaning. The hands of the young woman are decorated with several rings. Wearing a white cornet on her head, she says her rosary. Opposite, her husband, whose shoulders bear a heavy fur, is also holding a rosary. Faithful to his era, the relationship with the sacred and the symbolism of objects is clearly visible in all Bruyn’s works. He is careful to portray his models as devout, worthy representatives of Cologne’s high society, just as fulfilled in their spiritual lives as in their business. Filled with details associated with the fashion and tastes of the era, we can even suggest a plausible date for the painting. Comparing the frame of our diptych with the one in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and comparing the style of clothing worn by the couple with the portraits in the museums of Cologne and Berlin, we can date our diptych at around 1534.
Composed of two distinct panels, the diptych is enriched on the back with a memento mori depicting a skull and illustrating a maxim painted in gothic script. Written in old Flemish, the text says that “There is no defence against death.” Placed in a niche facing forwards, this skull perfectly resembles the one in the Hermitage Museum’s collection. Probably executed to accompany a similar diptych, this panel with practically identical dimensions is altogether typical of Bruyn’s works. Borrowed from Nordic humanist culture, he integrates the aspect of vanity with that of the portrait.
Cologne or Wesel ca. 1493 - Cologne 1553-1557
A painter of religious subjects and portraits, Bartholomeus Bruyn the Elder began working in Cologne in 1515 where he served on the town council,...
read moreCologne or Wesel ca. 1493 - Cologne 1553-1557
A painter of religious subjects and portraits, Bartholomeus Bruyn the Elder began working in Cologne in 1515 where he served on the town council, occupying a variety of posts. He was a member of the town’s guild in 1518 and 1521. He painted a wide range of paintings, but he is most famous for his work as a portraitist. He executed lively, expressive portraits of Cologne’s patricians: mayors, wealthy merchants and scholars.
Contrary to his contemporaries Lucas Cranach and Hans Holbein, Bartholomeus Bruyn never worked in the service of a princely court. Keen to paint portraits that were unique and close to reality rather than idealised images, Bruyn rapidly became the accredited portraitist of the haute bourgeoisie and notables of Cologne. Attaching great importance to the singularity of each of his models, Bruyn succeeded in revealing the intimate details of members of German high society in the 16th century.
The artist does not only focus on the face; the fabrics, jewellery and hands provide clues as to the identity of the person in the portrait. His works were primarily influenced by Jan Joos van Calcar and Joos van Cleve, before being influenced by the Dutch masters Jan van Scorel and Martin van Heemskerk, who journeyed through Italy. Bartholomeus Bruyn seems to have been very close to Joos van Cleve, his master and probably his father-in-law. In 1529, he received an order for an altarpiece from the chapter of the church of Saint Victor in Xanten, which he finished in 1534/1536. The majority of his altar paintings, which he painted or were painted by his large studio that his son Bartholomeus the Younger later took over, can be found in Xanten and Essen. Bartholomeus Bruyn can be considered as the main representative of the pictorial tradition which developed in Cologne between the 15th and 16th century.
