Omschrijving | BOOKSALE Aetas Aurea Vol. XIII. In this long-awaited monograph Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (1562-1638) is presented as an adherent of sixteenth-century artistic theory, in particular as taught by Karel van Mander in the so-called Haarlem academy. According to this erudite Flemish immigrant, Dutch artists were shamefully backward with respect to mastery in rendering the nude, the great accomplishment of the modern Italian masters. He must have viewed the art of his younger friend - who had taken his advice and overcome these shortcomings by pursuing a lengthy period of intense study 'from life' - as the ultimate fulfilment of his ambition to elevate Dutch history painting to the level of Italian art. Eight chapters are dedicated to the biography of Cornelis Cornelisz, his triple training as an artist, his artistic development, his training of pupils, his influence on the art of his time, his reputation among contemporaries, and the appreciation of his art through the centuries. A ninth, concluding chapter treats the iconographical aspects of two exceptional commissions which the artist received from the Amsterdam poet Hendrick Laurensz Spieghel, and the programmatic underpinnings of his greatest performance, the decoration of the Prinsenhof in Haarlem. Six appendixes contain original transcriptions of seventy-five documents concerning the artist and his family, including the unique list of art left by Cornelis Cornelisz, as well as other relevant sources. Five catalogues list the complete oeuvre of Cornelis Cornelisz, which comprises 303 paintings, either preserved or known from contemporary sources, a mere thirteen drawings, seven works in oil on paper, five models for prints, and twenty-three prints after his inventions. The remaining material is dealt with in a list of works (mentioned in inventories, sales catalogues, and similar sources) which cannot be traced to existing works, and in a list of rejected attributions. The catalogues are ordered iconographically, whereas the thirty-two colour plates and 365 plates in black and white are arranged in chronological order, so that an integral picture is created of the artistic production of Cornelis Cornelisz. In addition to the plates, eighty-five figures have been included, many of which illustrate the nature of Cornelis's study material, which consisted mainly of prints and drawings reproducing antique statues and paintings by the classical Italian masters. Extensive indexes enhance the accessibility and usefulness of the volume. |
