Press release 18 January 2008
Two panels, one diptych?
A closer look at diptych by Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen
29/1 - 17/2 and 7/3-30/5
From 29 January, the Bonnefantenmuseum is presenting a small exhibition of the restoration of two sixteenth-century paintings that are often assumed to have formed a diptych. This is not certain, however, as the two panels have very different provenance histories. It was therefore decided to carry out thorough restoration and art-historical research on both paintings. The crucial questions, of course, were whether or not the two panels actually belonged together and where they originated. The results of the research and an overview of the restoration are being presented in the Bonnefantenmuseum from 29 January.
Both paintings were indisputably painted by Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen (1500-1559). On the left-hand panel is a portrait of the Liège cardinal Érard de la Marck and on the right is a depiction of the Holy Family. The paintings are similar in size and appear to be lit from the same light source. A green cloth can also be seen running through both panels.
Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen was probably born in 1500 in Beverwijk, not far from Haarlem. It is not known where he trained as a painter, though we do know that he was employed at the court of the governess Margaret of Austria from 1525 to 1530. In her service, Vermeyen painted portraits, among other things, for which he was held in high esteem. Vermeyen must have made many paintings for Margaret of Austria. We can deduce this, for example, from his request in 1533 for payment due for no fewer than nineteen works. Two of these were portraits of Érard de la Marck, and two others were of the Virgin and Child. It is therefore presumed that the diptych shown here was one of these nineteen paintings.
Érard de la Marck (1472-1538) was prince bishop of Liège from 1505 and he also held other worldly and ecclesiastical positions. In 1521, he became cardinal and was an important adviser to Margaret of Austria. The cardinal was one of the wealthiest people in Europe, and lent money to Charles the Fifth. In Liège, he had a huge Renaissance palace built.
The two panels of the Cardinal and Holy Family will be accompanied in the exhibition by six prints by Vermeyen and one of his other paintings. Another special item is the later copy of the Cardinal, on loan from the Musée d'Art réligieux et d'Art Wallon in Liège. As far as we know, this is the first time that the panel has been seen outside this museum.
The exhibition has been created in close cooperation with the Frans Hals Museum, where a smaller presentation was held last year.
Open to the public: 29/1-17/2 and 7/3-30/5 in connection with the large-scale reorganisation of the presentation Palazzo, collecting Early Italian art in the Netherlands (1900 - 1940).
Beeldmateriaal
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4_erard_de_la_marck,_tijdens_restauratie |
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2_5_cropped_erard_de_la_marck_voor_restauratie |
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1_heilige_familie_voor_restauratie |