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Simon de Vos
Christ Carrying the Cross, Old Master, Flemish, De Vos, Religious Scene, Rubens

1635

About the Item

The scene of Christ carrying the cross is imagined in a rocky landscape. Two soldiers press the cross onto his shoulders, another leads him, holding the rope. A line of soldiers and prisoners moves from right to left. In front of them the three Marys kneel and pray for Christ. A nursing woman, symbol of Caritas, sits in the right foreground. Some dogs and playing kids enliven the scenery. Simon de Vos was born in Antwerp, and was first taught by Cornelis de Vos. In 1620, at a very young age, he joined Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke. Sometime after this De Vos left for Italy and for Rome. There he seems to have lived some years. He joined the group of Dutch and Flemish painters active in Rome, the so-called Bamboccianti. De Vos was impressed by the German painter Johann Liss (1597-1631) which can be seen by stylistic traces in his works of that time. In 1626 Simon de Vos was in Aix-en-Provence, where he met the Flemish painter Jan Cossiers. He returned to Antwerp in 1628 and worked in the studio of Rubens, with whom he collaborated. De Vos married a sister of the painter Adriaen van Utrecht. He worked in Antwerp for most of his life and was one of the most important painters of the city. De Vos' first works were cabinet pictures of genre scenes, including various “merry companies” and group portraits. These compositions were reminiscent of contemporary Dutch painters, such as Dirck Hals and Pieter Codde. After 1640 De Vos painted mostly religious and historical subjects. In these works the influence of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony Van Dyck becomes evident. De Vos’ paintings after c. 1640 appear to have a more emotional approach; the figures often show exaggerated gestures and movements. The colours are bright, intense and lucent. The present painting is an example for De Vos style during the transition period between two different artistic approaches. The rather thin and dramatically animated figures as well as the intense colours are characteristic. Certain elements such as the mother with the child or the playing kids can be found in various works by the artist. The subject Christ carrying the cross seems to have been of interest to De Vos. There are several versions of this subject by his hand. One variant, formerly at Christie’s, shows strong parallels with the present picture. The whole composition and some elements are closely related, for instance the nursing mother, the group of the three Marys and the thiefs who press the cross onto Christs shoulders. The difference between these two works is that the present one shows more width in the foreground. One can assume that both paintings were created around the same time. The dating of the variant to “1631” gives us a terminus post quem. Two other versions of the subject (one of them dated to “1634”) seem to proof that the two mentioned paintings stand at the beginning of the creative process. Both compositions are inverted. The figures move from right to left. New elements such as Jerusalem’s city architecture and its city gate have been added and the staffage differs from the other versions. Works by Simon de Vos can be found in the museums of Antwerp, Brussels and London amongst many others. Christ Carrying the Cross, Old Master, 17th Century, By De Vos, Religious Scene
  • Creator:
    Simon de Vos (1603 - 1676, Flemish)
  • Creation Year:
    1635
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 23.04 in (58.5 cm)Width: 33.27 in (84.5 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Greven, DE
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU155027942662

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