DOI Artikel:
Kozieł, Andrzej: Rembrandt van Rijn and Michael Willmann, or a story of dispelling a certain myth
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14573#0168
154
ANDR/IJ KO/Il 1,
1. Michael Willmann and Rembrandt van Rijn (the inicial
D), [in:] Ch. Krumbhermer, Die Wanderer auf die
Bruche. Kiinstlerschicksale der Barockzeit, Breslau 1942,
p. 14. Photo A. Kozieł
cian abbey in peripheral Lubiąż (Leubus) in Silesia and painting mainly religious pictures for the Catholic
audience, Willmann was supposed to follow spiritually the trace of Rembrandt, who never travelled to Italy,
who never pursued court splendour either, and the main stream of his création constituted the works with
religious subjects. To eut a long story short, it was a myth of Willmann as "Silesian Rembrandt" - a pupil
following his master not only in an artistic, but also in a spiritual way.
I
Undoubtedly one of the main sources of this myth was Willmann's (Willemans's) biography published
by Arnold Houbraken in Groote Schouburgh... in 1718. Thanks to this publication we become aware of the
young painter from Kônigsberg who, after his arrivai in Holland, "was kindly welcomed by artists and art
lovers for his polite behaviour and talent" and who began his artistic éducation in Jacob Backer and Rem-
brandt's workshops. Moreover, "he fancied their art and company as well as the conversations with both of
them so much that he gave up the idea of travelling to Italy..."3.
Houbraken based his knowledge about Willmann on the artist's comprehensive biography published by
Joachim von Sandrart in 1683 in the Latin édition of Teutsche Académie der В au-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Kun-
ste4. It was a basic and trustful source of information about the artist's sojourn in Amsterdam, as it must have
corne directly from Willmann5. However, Houbraken misinterpreted and misused it. Sandrart is unambiguous
3 "...wegen seines gefàlligen Benehmens und seines Talentes bei den Kïmstlern und Kunstfreunden willkommen war. Er
schloss sich zumeist an J. Backer und Rembrandt an, an dereń Kunst, Gesellschaft und Geschprâchen er so viel Geffalen fand, dass
er sein Vorhaben, nach Italien zu gehen, aufgab..." - Arnold Houbraken s Grosse Schouburgh der niederlàndischen Maler und
Malerinnen, translated into German byA. von Wurzbach, Wien 1880, vol. 2, pp. 233-234.
4J.von Sandrart, Academia nobilissimae Artis pictoriae..., Norimbergae et Francoforti 1683, vol. 2, book 3, p. 393.
5 Joachim von Sandrart never had a chance to meet Willmann in person, he did not know his works either, hence it is assumed
that Willmann's published biography was based on the curriculum vitae prepared for Sandrart by the artist from Lubiąż himself.
Most probably he was also the one to propose publishing of his own biography in the Latin édition of Teutsche Académie der Bau-,
Bild- und Mahlerey-Ktinste. For the circumstances of publishing Willmann's biography within Sandrart's work, see A. Kozieł,
ANDR/IJ KO/Il 1,
1. Michael Willmann and Rembrandt van Rijn (the inicial
D), [in:] Ch. Krumbhermer, Die Wanderer auf die
Bruche. Kiinstlerschicksale der Barockzeit, Breslau 1942,
p. 14. Photo A. Kozieł
cian abbey in peripheral Lubiąż (Leubus) in Silesia and painting mainly religious pictures for the Catholic
audience, Willmann was supposed to follow spiritually the trace of Rembrandt, who never travelled to Italy,
who never pursued court splendour either, and the main stream of his création constituted the works with
religious subjects. To eut a long story short, it was a myth of Willmann as "Silesian Rembrandt" - a pupil
following his master not only in an artistic, but also in a spiritual way.
I
Undoubtedly one of the main sources of this myth was Willmann's (Willemans's) biography published
by Arnold Houbraken in Groote Schouburgh... in 1718. Thanks to this publication we become aware of the
young painter from Kônigsberg who, after his arrivai in Holland, "was kindly welcomed by artists and art
lovers for his polite behaviour and talent" and who began his artistic éducation in Jacob Backer and Rem-
brandt's workshops. Moreover, "he fancied their art and company as well as the conversations with both of
them so much that he gave up the idea of travelling to Italy..."3.
Houbraken based his knowledge about Willmann on the artist's comprehensive biography published by
Joachim von Sandrart in 1683 in the Latin édition of Teutsche Académie der В au-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Kun-
ste4. It was a basic and trustful source of information about the artist's sojourn in Amsterdam, as it must have
corne directly from Willmann5. However, Houbraken misinterpreted and misused it. Sandrart is unambiguous
3 "...wegen seines gefàlligen Benehmens und seines Talentes bei den Kïmstlern und Kunstfreunden willkommen war. Er
schloss sich zumeist an J. Backer und Rembrandt an, an dereń Kunst, Gesellschaft und Geschprâchen er so viel Geffalen fand, dass
er sein Vorhaben, nach Italien zu gehen, aufgab..." - Arnold Houbraken s Grosse Schouburgh der niederlàndischen Maler und
Malerinnen, translated into German byA. von Wurzbach, Wien 1880, vol. 2, pp. 233-234.
4J.von Sandrart, Academia nobilissimae Artis pictoriae..., Norimbergae et Francoforti 1683, vol. 2, book 3, p. 393.
5 Joachim von Sandrart never had a chance to meet Willmann in person, he did not know his works either, hence it is assumed
that Willmann's published biography was based on the curriculum vitae prepared for Sandrart by the artist from Lubiąż himself.
Most probably he was also the one to propose publishing of his own biography in the Latin édition of Teutsche Académie der Bau-,
Bild- und Mahlerey-Ktinste. For the circumstances of publishing Willmann's biography within Sandrart's work, see A. Kozieł,