the subject are inscriptions comparing the four seasons to four ages of man and Two Unknown
verses quoted from Anthologia Latina. Still, none of these elements has its anal- Paintings...
ogy in the image itself. It is very likely that these prints were known in Venice
in the 1570s; an inventory of Andrea de Fuschis, an engraver, mentions a series
of prints published by Cock, although it does not mention these specific works.
In this regard the case of the Warsaw paintings is much clearer: their ico-
nography was obviously based on Netherlandish prints.34 On the other hand,
however, we should not ignore the role contemporary Italian painting played
in these and other works by Pozzoserrato. His frescoes in the Villa Chiericati
alla Longa followed the traditional patterns of Venetian masters, as well as both
series of the seasons and months mentioned by Carlo Ridolfi most probably did.
Concluding Remarks
In our article we have attempted to show that the paintings from the Warsaw
private collection are a confirmation of the cooperation at a specific time (1583)
of two Netherlandish artists who settled down permanently or temporarily
in Treviso. This cooperation was far from mere teacher - assistant/pupil rela-
tion. Stylistic features of the landscape indicate that, although he was influ-
enced by Toeput, Joos de Momper's own skills and his individual manner were
already developed at that time. On the example of these landscapes we can
thus finally characterize the early period of Momper's artistic activity and state
that he also painted small staffage figures in his works.
We have referred to several paintings and drawings by both Toeput and
Momper whose compositions are closely related to our Winter and Summer. The
works from the Rhode Island Providence Museum, Kupferstichkabinett in Basel,
or the National Museum in Warsaw prove Pozzoserrato's interest and inventive-
ness in rendering the subject of the seasons, and, what is of the greatest impor-
tance for us, his authorship of the discussed paintings' composition. On the
other hand, the comparison with the drawings from the Fitzwilliam Museum,
the National Gallery of Art in Washington, or the Yale University Art Gallery,
New Haven, and, finally, with Collaert's prints after Momper's drawings shows the
importance of the latter's Italian journey: the ideas and motifs he became famil-
iar with in the 1580s would reappear in his artistic practice for a long time. As
previously mentioned, we can trace the general compositional scheme of these
prints - and of our paintings! - back to Netherlandish printmaking of the 2nd
half of the 16th century. The cooperation of Momper and Toeput gave these
inspirations an interesting epilogue: the Northern Renaissance iconography of
the seasons, reworked by Netherlandish artists in Veneto, was enriched with
34 As mentioned earlier in this article, for the general overview of Toeput's dependence
on Northern prints in his season series see: Larcher Crosato, Di "Quattro Stagioni"..., pp. 119-130.
151
verses quoted from Anthologia Latina. Still, none of these elements has its anal- Paintings...
ogy in the image itself. It is very likely that these prints were known in Venice
in the 1570s; an inventory of Andrea de Fuschis, an engraver, mentions a series
of prints published by Cock, although it does not mention these specific works.
In this regard the case of the Warsaw paintings is much clearer: their ico-
nography was obviously based on Netherlandish prints.34 On the other hand,
however, we should not ignore the role contemporary Italian painting played
in these and other works by Pozzoserrato. His frescoes in the Villa Chiericati
alla Longa followed the traditional patterns of Venetian masters, as well as both
series of the seasons and months mentioned by Carlo Ridolfi most probably did.
Concluding Remarks
In our article we have attempted to show that the paintings from the Warsaw
private collection are a confirmation of the cooperation at a specific time (1583)
of two Netherlandish artists who settled down permanently or temporarily
in Treviso. This cooperation was far from mere teacher - assistant/pupil rela-
tion. Stylistic features of the landscape indicate that, although he was influ-
enced by Toeput, Joos de Momper's own skills and his individual manner were
already developed at that time. On the example of these landscapes we can
thus finally characterize the early period of Momper's artistic activity and state
that he also painted small staffage figures in his works.
We have referred to several paintings and drawings by both Toeput and
Momper whose compositions are closely related to our Winter and Summer. The
works from the Rhode Island Providence Museum, Kupferstichkabinett in Basel,
or the National Museum in Warsaw prove Pozzoserrato's interest and inventive-
ness in rendering the subject of the seasons, and, what is of the greatest impor-
tance for us, his authorship of the discussed paintings' composition. On the
other hand, the comparison with the drawings from the Fitzwilliam Museum,
the National Gallery of Art in Washington, or the Yale University Art Gallery,
New Haven, and, finally, with Collaert's prints after Momper's drawings shows the
importance of the latter's Italian journey: the ideas and motifs he became famil-
iar with in the 1580s would reappear in his artistic practice for a long time. As
previously mentioned, we can trace the general compositional scheme of these
prints - and of our paintings! - back to Netherlandish printmaking of the 2nd
half of the 16th century. The cooperation of Momper and Toeput gave these
inspirations an interesting epilogue: the Northern Renaissance iconography of
the seasons, reworked by Netherlandish artists in Veneto, was enriched with
34 As mentioned earlier in this article, for the general overview of Toeput's dependence
on Northern prints in his season series see: Larcher Crosato, Di "Quattro Stagioni"..., pp. 119-130.
151