DOI article:
Tomalak, Mirosław: Two Unknown Paintings by Lodewijk Toeput and Joos de Momper the Younger
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.72800#0139
Mirosław ties with his other compositions,2 the landscape, which is clearly the centre
Tomalak of the authors (or authors') attention, does not match his style. In the pres-
ent study we wish, therefore, to argue that both pictures must have been exe-
cuted in cooperation with Joos de Momper the Younger (1564-1635) during
his trip to Italy and his apprenticeship at the workshop of Toeput. The latter,
however, can be still recognized as the author of the figures of Janus, Ceres,
and Apollo. Meanwhile, small genre scenes and staffage figures of haymakers,
travellers, or dressed-up participants of the carnival procession were already
painted by Joos de Momper.3 The suggested authorship and date were confirmed
by Dr Klaus Ertz who examined both paintings in August 2006.
The discovered and reattributed works should extend our knowledge of the earliest
period of Momper's artistic activity, namely the one which still remains rather obscure
due to a small number of paintings and constant debates on their dating. In addi-
tion, through comparative analysis with other compositions by Momper and Toeput
the article will provide an insight into the cooperation of the two artists, and may help
to define the mutual relations between the Masters and his assistants work.
The second aim of this paper is to present the two paintings as a perfect
example of changes occurring in the iconography of the seasons by the end of
the 16th century. It is not possible to examine its complexity thoroughly, nor is it
the ambition of the author. Nevertheless, the unique conditions of the execution
of the paintings in the workshop of a Flemish painter living in Veneto in col-
laboration with a young artist, but already an independent guild master who
had just come to Italy from Antwerp, do not only make it worthwhile analysing
the pictures within the context of Netherlandish art, but also comparing their
composition with a few contemporary Italian works.
Joos de Momper's Italian Journey and the Authorship
of the Warsaw Paintings
Although we do not have any documents which would prove Joos de Mom-
per's journey to Italy, it is generally accepted that the painter must have travelled
2 See for example the drawings Lot and his Daughters, Frankfurt, Städelsches Kunstinstitut;
Ceres, Venus with Cupid and Bacchus, National Museum in Warsaw; Venus with Amor, Basel,
Öffentliche Kunstsammlung.
3 According to Klaus Ertz, many summer and winter landscapes by Joos de Momper were
painted in cooperation with other artists, mainly with Jan Brueghel the Elder or the Younger
(see i.e. in Klaus Ertz, Josse de Momper der Jüngere (1564-1634): Die Gemälde mit kritischen
Oeuvrekatalog, Freren 1986, Kat. 321, 322, 324, 327, 333, 400-404). It had been thus doubted
whether Momper ever painted staffage scenes by himself. But in the Warsaw landscapes this is
the only possibility: plump figures resemble so much Momper's style in his drawings, and the use
of thin brush strokes is so close to his manner of painting trees or grains that attributing them
to Toeput is not likely. It would be interesting to reexamine some later works by the artist and
reconsider the authorship of staffage attributed to the Brueghels.
138
Tomalak of the authors (or authors') attention, does not match his style. In the pres-
ent study we wish, therefore, to argue that both pictures must have been exe-
cuted in cooperation with Joos de Momper the Younger (1564-1635) during
his trip to Italy and his apprenticeship at the workshop of Toeput. The latter,
however, can be still recognized as the author of the figures of Janus, Ceres,
and Apollo. Meanwhile, small genre scenes and staffage figures of haymakers,
travellers, or dressed-up participants of the carnival procession were already
painted by Joos de Momper.3 The suggested authorship and date were confirmed
by Dr Klaus Ertz who examined both paintings in August 2006.
The discovered and reattributed works should extend our knowledge of the earliest
period of Momper's artistic activity, namely the one which still remains rather obscure
due to a small number of paintings and constant debates on their dating. In addi-
tion, through comparative analysis with other compositions by Momper and Toeput
the article will provide an insight into the cooperation of the two artists, and may help
to define the mutual relations between the Masters and his assistants work.
The second aim of this paper is to present the two paintings as a perfect
example of changes occurring in the iconography of the seasons by the end of
the 16th century. It is not possible to examine its complexity thoroughly, nor is it
the ambition of the author. Nevertheless, the unique conditions of the execution
of the paintings in the workshop of a Flemish painter living in Veneto in col-
laboration with a young artist, but already an independent guild master who
had just come to Italy from Antwerp, do not only make it worthwhile analysing
the pictures within the context of Netherlandish art, but also comparing their
composition with a few contemporary Italian works.
Joos de Momper's Italian Journey and the Authorship
of the Warsaw Paintings
Although we do not have any documents which would prove Joos de Mom-
per's journey to Italy, it is generally accepted that the painter must have travelled
2 See for example the drawings Lot and his Daughters, Frankfurt, Städelsches Kunstinstitut;
Ceres, Venus with Cupid and Bacchus, National Museum in Warsaw; Venus with Amor, Basel,
Öffentliche Kunstsammlung.
3 According to Klaus Ertz, many summer and winter landscapes by Joos de Momper were
painted in cooperation with other artists, mainly with Jan Brueghel the Elder or the Younger
(see i.e. in Klaus Ertz, Josse de Momper der Jüngere (1564-1634): Die Gemälde mit kritischen
Oeuvrekatalog, Freren 1986, Kat. 321, 322, 324, 327, 333, 400-404). It had been thus doubted
whether Momper ever painted staffage scenes by himself. But in the Warsaw landscapes this is
the only possibility: plump figures resemble so much Momper's style in his drawings, and the use
of thin brush strokes is so close to his manner of painting trees or grains that attributing them
to Toeput is not likely. It would be interesting to reexamine some later works by the artist and
reconsider the authorship of staffage attributed to the Brueghels.
138