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Jan Boeckhorst
Boeckhorst, Rubens, Saint Ursula, Decorative Old Master, Woman, Baroque, Flemish

c. 1645

About the Item

Johann Boeckhorst (Münster 1604 - Antwerp 1668) Saint Ursula Oil on canvas, 112 x 86 cm Provenance: New York, Christe's, 20.3.1981, lot 88 (as Van Diepenbeeck's circle) The present painting has only recently been rediscovered. It was not known in the art historical literature, nor had it ever been exhibited in public before. It is an important work by Johann Boeckhorst, which he created in his middle creative phase. It depicts St. Ursula with the ten thousand virgins. Ursula is said to have lived between 300 and 400 AD as the daughter of a Christian king. She committed herself to eternal virginity, but was betrothed by her father to the pagan King Aetherius of England. She agreed under certain conditions. Within three years, Aetherius was to be taught Christianity and baptized. She herself wanted to make a pilgrimage to Rome with ten companions and 11,000 virgins. The journey took them across the North Sea and the Rhine through Cologne and Basel and from there on foot to Rome. In Cologne, an angel appeared to her in a dream, foretelling her coming martyrdom. On the return journey from Rome, the pilgrims were attacked by the Huns in Cologne. The king of the Huns coveted Ursula. As she refused him, she was shot with an arrow and her companions murdered. Johann Boeckhorst was one of the most successful successors to the famous Baroque painters Peter Paul Rubens and Anthonis van Dyck. He came from an old Münster family. The second of a total of twelve children, Johann Boeckhorst was born in Münster between 1603 and 1605. At first, it seemed as if he, like his other siblings, would enter ecclesiastical or political service. However, he was the only one of his family to opt for an artistic career. He moved to Antwerp in the middle of the Thirty Years' War. This city was then one of the centers of the Counter-Reformation and the most important and influential Baroque artists were based there. In Antwerp, Johann Boeckhorst trained as a painter under a master unknown to us today. He soon became a freelance master and was employed by the important Rubens workshop. He maintained friendly contacts with famous painters of his time such as Frans Snyders, Anthonis van Dyck and Jan Wildens. He worked on the most important commissions of the time, such as the entry of Cardinal Ferdinand into Antwerp, the so-called Pompa Introitus and the decoration of the Torre de la Parada hunting lodge near Madrid. He also created paintings and large picture cycles for the Antwerp art market, for churches and for wealthy citizens of the city. His success grew after the death of the great masters Rubens and Van Dyck. He followed in their footsteps with other artists of his generation. He enjoyed an exemplary reputation as a painter of history paintings and portraits in particular. The formal language of this painting is reminiscent of other depictions of female saints, such as Saint Helena (Antwerp) and Saint Barbara (location unknown). The virtuoso rendering of the materiality is particularly impressive and is reminiscent of paintings such as King David (Ghent/Greenville). Technically, it shows Boeckhorst's typical composition of a grayish ground on which the decorative elements, such as the cloak, were then placed. The work is made to be seen from a distance; the shiny parts of the robe and the jewelry only really come into their own at a greater distance. It can be assumed that this painting was created for a church interior and was perhaps part of a series of depictions of saints.
  • Creator:
    Jan Boeckhorst (1604 - 1668, German)
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1645
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 44.1 in (112 cm)Width: 33.86 in (86 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Greven, DE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1550213461822

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