Geertgen tot Sint Jans
Encyclopedia
Geertgen tot Sint Jans also known as Geertgen van Haarlem, Gerrit van Haarlem, Gerrit Gerritsz, Gheertgen, Geerrit, Gheerrit, or any other diminutive form
of Gerald, was an Early Netherlandish painter
from the northern Low Countries
in the Holy Roman Empire
. No contemporary documentation for his life has been traced, and the earliest published account of his life and work is from 1604, in Karel van Mander's Schilder-boeck.
According to van Mander, Geertgen was probably a pupil of Albert van Ouwater
, who was one of the first oil painters in the northern Low Countries
. Both painters lived in the city of Haarlem
, where Geertgen was attached to the house of the Knights of Saint John, perhaps as a lay brother
, for whom he painted an altarpiece
. In van Mander's book he states that Geertgen took the name of St. John without joining the order, thus his last name "tot Sint Jans" was derived from the order's name and means "unto Saint John".
in the Holy Roman Empire
, around the year 1465. The assignment of Leiden as his birth place is traceable to a 17th century print by Jacob Matham
, where he is referred to as Gerardus van Leydanus. There is no known archival evidence for this claim by Matham. This print of The Lamentation of Christ from 1620, shows in the lower left corner "Cum privil. Sa Cae. M. - Gerardus Leydanus Pictor ad S. Ia Bapt. Harlemi pinxit" indicating he was a painter from Leiden at St John the Baptist in Haarlem. In the lower right hand corner it says "Theodorus Matham Sculpsit. Iac Matham excud.", which means that son Theo made the sketch from the painting, and father Jacob Matham engraved it. It was printed in Haarlem in 1620, indicating that the painting was still there at that time. According to van Mander, this painting of the Lamentation was originally on the inside right door of a wood-panel triptych
for the high altar of the St. John's church in Haarlem, and was sawn into two paintings after the Protestant Reformation
. Both sides are quite fragile and are located in separate museums today. Modern acceptance of Leiden as Geertgen's birth place is roughly traceable to Johann Kessler's dissertation of 1930.
He died, probably still in his twenties, around the year 1495, in Haarlem, where he was buried in the commandry. Modern scholars have attempted to calculate the artist's death date with the information from The Painting-Book (Middle Dutch
: Het Schilder-Boeck) by Karel van Mander, published in 1604. There are some archival traces that suggest he may in fact have lived into the 16th century.
Though it seems a sleepy little suburban community of Amsterdam
today, in the 14th century Haarlem was a major city. It was the second largest city in historical Holland after Dordrecht
and before Delft
, Leiden, Amsterdam
, Gouda
and Rotterdam
. In 1429 the city gained the right to collect tolls, including ships passing the city on the Spaarne river. At the end of the Middle Ages
Haarlem was a flourishing city with a large textile industry, shipyards and beer breweries.
Around 1428 the city was put under siege by the army of Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut
. Haarlem had taken side with the Cods in the Hook and Cod wars
, and thus against Jacoba of Bavaria. The entire Haarlemmerhout
wood was burnt down by the enemy. In 1469 the commandry of St. John in Haarlem was promoted to a special status that fell directly under the grand Prior of Germany. Before that it was a subordinate commandry of the Balij of Utrecht, which had 12 commandries reporting to it. The commandry of St. John became quite wealthy from donations by the local families Berkenrode
, Assendelft, van Brederode
, Tetrode
, Schoten
, and Adrichem. Schoten was also the location of a St. Lazarus church (currently part of Het Dolhuys
) that later came into the possession of the St. Janskerk.
for an altar of the Knights of St. John at Haarlem, the two sides of which were sawn apart in about 1600, and are now in Vienna
as The Legend of the Relics of St. John the Baptist
, and the Lamentation of Jesus. The rest was destroyed during the siege of Haarlem
in 1573.
As is typical of the art of the time it was done primarily on oak
panels with oil paints made by mixing pigments with drying oil. This allowed the painter to build up layers of paint to provide different visual effects.
The number of works attributed to him (varying between 12 and 16) is under dispute among scholars who discuss the artist (Kessler, Boon, Snyder, Chatelet, Fiero, and Koch).
His paintings are in the collections of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
, the Gemäldegalerie
in Berlin
, the National Gallery, London
(Nativity at Night), the Musée du Louvre (The raising of Lazarus) in Paris
, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum
in Vienna
.
said of Geertgen "Truly he was a painter in his mother's womb", although Dürer's journal of his Netherlandish travels doesn't mention the painter, and it has been suggested that Van Mander was using a form of epideictic rhetoric to build esteem for a fellow Haarlemer.
on wood panels
. His paintings depict scenes derived from the New Testament
and belong to the early Dutch School
. Some of his paintings were destroyed
during the Reformation
. Around twelve surviving paintings are attributed to him (see below), with others believed to be copies by others of lost originals by him. Painting at that time was a trade to which one entered by apprenticeship at a young age in an established workshop. With modern techniques it is now possible to see some underdrawing
s that Geertgen made on his panels.
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
of Gerald, was an Early Netherlandish painter
Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish painting refers to the work of artists active in the Low Countries during the 15th- and early 16th-century Northern renaissance, especially in the flourishing Burgundian cities of Bruges and Ghent...
from the northern Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. No contemporary documentation for his life has been traced, and the earliest published account of his life and work is from 1604, in Karel van Mander's Schilder-boeck.
According to van Mander, Geertgen was probably a pupil of Albert van Ouwater
Albert van Ouwater
Albert van Ouwater was one of the earliest artists of Early Netherlandish painting working in the Northern Netherlands, as opposed to Flanders in the South of the region.-Biography:...
, who was one of the first oil painters in the northern Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. Both painters lived in the city of Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, where Geertgen was attached to the house of the Knights of Saint John, perhaps as a lay brother
Lay brother
In the most common usage, lay brothers are those members of Catholic religious orders, particularly of monastic orders, occupied primarily with manual labour and with the secular affairs of a monastery or friary, in contrast to the choir monks of the same monastery who are devoted mainly to the...
, for whom he painted an altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
. In van Mander's book he states that Geertgen took the name of St. John without joining the order, thus his last name "tot Sint Jans" was derived from the order's name and means "unto Saint John".
Biography
Though van Mander calls him Geertgen tot Sint Jans, painter from Haarlem, indicating he was from Haarlem, it is possible that he was perhaps born in Leiden, then in the Burgundian NetherlandsBurgundian Netherlands
In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands refers to a number of Imperial and French fiefs ruled in personal union by the House of Valois-Burgundy and their Habsburg heirs in the period from 1384 to 1482...
in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, around the year 1465. The assignment of Leiden as his birth place is traceable to a 17th century print by Jacob Matham
Jacob Matham
Jacob Matham , of Haarlem, was a famous engraver and pen-draftsman.-Biography:He was the stepson and pupil of painter and draftsman Hendrik Goltzius, and brother-in-law to engraver Simon van Poelenburgh, having married his sister, Marijtgen...
, where he is referred to as Gerardus van Leydanus. There is no known archival evidence for this claim by Matham. This print of The Lamentation of Christ from 1620, shows in the lower left corner "Cum privil. Sa Cae. M. - Gerardus Leydanus Pictor ad S. Ia Bapt. Harlemi pinxit" indicating he was a painter from Leiden at St John the Baptist in Haarlem. In the lower right hand corner it says "Theodorus Matham Sculpsit. Iac Matham excud.", which means that son Theo made the sketch from the painting, and father Jacob Matham engraved it. It was printed in Haarlem in 1620, indicating that the painting was still there at that time. According to van Mander, this painting of the Lamentation was originally on the inside right door of a wood-panel triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
for the high altar of the St. John's church in Haarlem, and was sawn into two paintings after the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. Both sides are quite fragile and are located in separate museums today. Modern acceptance of Leiden as Geertgen's birth place is roughly traceable to Johann Kessler's dissertation of 1930.
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500...
: Het Schilder-Boeck) by Karel van Mander, published in 1604. There are some archival traces that suggest he may in fact have lived into the 16th century.
Though it seems a sleepy little suburban community of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
today, in the 14th century Haarlem was a major city. It was the second largest city in historical Holland after Dordrecht
Dordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
and before Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, Leiden, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
and Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. In 1429 the city gained the right to collect tolls, including ships passing the city on the Spaarne river. At the end of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Haarlem was a flourishing city with a large textile industry, shipyards and beer breweries.
Around 1428 the city was put under siege by the army of Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut
Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut
Jacqueline of Wittelsbach was Duchess of Bavaria-Straubing, Countess of Hainaut and Holland from 1417 to 1432...
. Haarlem had taken side with the Cods in the Hook and Cod wars
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against...
, and thus against Jacoba of Bavaria. The entire Haarlemmerhout
Haarlemmerhout
The Haarlemmerhout is the oldest public park of the Netherlands. It lies on the south side of Haarlem, on the same old sandy sea wall that is shared by the public park Haagse Bos in the Hague and the Alkmaarderhout in Alkmaar.-History:...
wood was burnt down by the enemy. In 1469 the commandry of St. John in Haarlem was promoted to a special status that fell directly under the grand Prior of Germany. Before that it was a subordinate commandry of the Balij of Utrecht, which had 12 commandries reporting to it. The commandry of St. John became quite wealthy from donations by the local families Berkenrode
Berkenrode
Berkenrode is a former village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is first mentioned as a 'Heerlijkheid' in 1284, though first mention of a castle is found much later in 1466. Thi sis because the family Van Berkenrode preferred to live on the Grote Markt in Haarlem...
, Assendelft, van Brederode
Van Brederode
The lords of van Brederode were a noble family from Holland that played an important role during the Middle Ages. The earliest documented members appear in the 13th century in the region of Santpoort, at Castle Brederode.-History:...
, Tetrode
Tetrode (family)
Tetrode, also given as van Tetrode and spelled variously as Tetterode, Tetteroo, Tettero, Thetrode and Tetroe, was a Dutch medieval noble family which later became a prominent patrician family in Holland. The most famous member of this family was the 16th-Century sculptor Willem Danielsz van...
, Schoten
Schoten (Netherlands)
Schoten is a former village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It was located between Haarlem and Santpoort.Schoten was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1927, when it was merged with Haarlem...
, and Adrichem. Schoten was also the location of a St. Lazarus church (currently part of Het Dolhuys
Het Dolhuys
Het Dolhuys is a national museum for psychiatry in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The museum was founded in 2005 in the newly renovated former old age home known as Schoterburcht, located just across the Schotersingel from the Staten Bolwerk park. The whole complex is much older than that however,...
) that later came into the possession of the St. Janskerk.
Painting
Of the paintings mentioned by Van Mander, the only one to survive is one wing of his triptychTriptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
for an altar of the Knights of St. John at Haarlem, the two sides of which were sawn apart in about 1600, and are now in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
as The Legend of the Relics of St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, and the Lamentation of Jesus. The rest was destroyed during the siege of Haarlem
Siege of Haarlem
The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. From December 11, 1572 to July 13, 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, whose loyalties had begun wavering during the previous summer...
in 1573.
As is typical of the art of the time it was done primarily on oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
panels with oil paints made by mixing pigments with drying oil. This allowed the painter to build up layers of paint to provide different visual effects.
The number of works attributed to him (varying between 12 and 16) is under dispute among scholars who discuss the artist (Kessler, Boon, Snyder, Chatelet, Fiero, and Koch).
His paintings are in the collections of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the Gemäldegalerie
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
The Gemäldegalerie is an art museum in Berlin, Germany. It holds one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. It is located on Kulturforum west of Potsdamer Platz. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
(Nativity at Night), the Musée du Louvre (The raising of Lazarus) in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Reception
Van Mander states that Albrecht DürerAlbrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
said of Geertgen "Truly he was a painter in his mother's womb", although Dürer's journal of his Netherlandish travels doesn't mention the painter, and it has been suggested that Van Mander was using a form of epideictic rhetoric to build esteem for a fellow Haarlemer.
Technique
Like most painters of his time, he painted with oil paintOil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
on wood panels
Panel painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
. His paintings depict scenes derived from the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and belong to the early Dutch School
Dutch School (painting)
The Dutch School were painters in the Netherlands from the early Renaissance to the Baroque. It includes Early Netherlandish and Dutch Renaissance artists active in the northern Low Countries and, later, Dutch Golden Age painting in the United Provinces.Many painters, sculptors and architects of...
. Some of his paintings were destroyed
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
during the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. Around twelve surviving paintings are attributed to him (see below), with others believed to be copies by others of lost originals by him. Painting at that time was a trade to which one entered by apprenticeship at a young age in an established workshop. With modern techniques it is now possible to see some underdrawing
Underdrawing
Underdrawing is the drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. These artists "underdrew" with a brush, using hatching strokes for...
s that Geertgen made on his panels.
Music
In his Glorification of Mary, the figures of Maria with her baby are surrounded by three circles of halo. Within the halo are all sorts of musical instruments. This painting shows some of the oldest pictures of musical instruments known in the Netherlands. The baby Jesus is playing with a pair of bells, and seems to be playing music with an angel in the outermost halo, holding an identical set of bells:List of works
- The raising of Lazarus (1480s)
- St Bavo with falcon (c. 1490)
- The Lamentation of Christ (after 1484)
- The Holy Kinship (c. 1485–1496)
- Adoration of the Magi (c. 1490)
- Adoration of the Kings (c. 1485)
- St Bavo with Donor - the left side of the Adoration of the Kings from ca. 1485
- St. Hadrian with Donor - the right side of the Adoration of the Kings from ca. 1485
- Madonna and child (c. 1490)
- John the Baptist in the Wilderness (c. 1490)
- The Glorification of Mary (c. 1490–1495), also named Virgin and Child
- Nativity at Night (c. 1490?)
External links
- Geertgen tot Sint Jans at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
- Geertgen van Haarlem in Northern Renaissance Art (1966) by Wolfgang Stechow Het leven van Geertgen tot S. Ians, Schilder van Haerlem in Het schilder-boeck (1604) by Karel van Mander
- Literature on Geertgen tot Sint Jans