David Rijckaert II

Apples, pears, plums and other fruit with walnuts in a wan-li bowl

David Rijckaert II (1586, Antwerp – 1642, Antwerp), was a Flemish painter and art dealer active in Antwerp. He contributed to the early development of still lifes as and independent genre through his delicate rendering of banquets and sumptuous tabletop still lifes.

Life

David Rijckaert II was born in Antwerp in 1586. His father was David Rijckaert the Elder, a brewer and a staffage painter of wooden statues who had become a master of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1585.[1] His mother was Catharina Rem.[2] His younger brother was the landscape painter Martin Ryckaert. David trained with his father and became a master of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1607-1608.[1]

Still life with a lemon and capon

David Rijckaert II spent his entire career in Antwerp. He married Catharina de Merre on 19 July 1608. The couple had at least two children: Catharina in 1610 and David III in 1612. Some records note a second daughter Martina born in 1616. Possibly they had a second son by the name of Pauwels who also became a painter.[2][3] He married a second time with Jacobmijne Pallemans who survived him.[1] In addition to his activities as a painter, David Rijckaert II was also active as an art dealer.[4]

David Rijckaert II died in 1642 in Antwerp where he was buried on 3 October of that year.[1]

David Rijckaert II was the teacher of his son David III, who became a prominent genre painter. His pupil Gonzales Coques was a leading Antwerp portrait painter and married his daughter Catharina.[1][5]

Work

Still life with a silver-gilt covered cup

David Rijckaert II was earlier believed to have been a painter of still lifes as well as landscapes. The current view is that he did not paint landscapes as the attribution of landscapes to him was the result of a mix-up with his brother Martin, a prominent landscape painter. Genre scenes formerly attributed to him were likely by his son David III.[1]

There are currently only about 15 still lifes attributed to David Rijckaert II. He is a relatively mysterious and obscure artist since art historians are still in the process of putting together his œuvre from a few signed works. New attributions still occur such as in 2009 when the Still life with a lemon and capon in the Rijksmuseum Twenthe was attributed to Ryckaert.[6] As his style is close to that of the leading Antwerp still life painters Osias Beert and Jacob Foppens van Es, some of his works were previously attributed to these two artists.[4] This is for instance the case with the Still life with lobster at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, formerly attributed to Osias Beert and the Still life with oysters, fruit, biscuits and ornamental tableware in the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, formerly attributed to Osias Beert and Jacob Foppens van Es.[7][8] His still life paintings also show similarity to those of the German artist Georg Flegel and to a lesser extent his contemporary, the Antwerp still life artist Jacob van Hulsdonck.[2]

Still life with shells with a nautilus, vases, glasses and Chinese porcelain

The known works of David Rijckaert II fall into two categories: sumptuous still lifes of porcelain, expensive glassware, silverware, pewter dishes, etc. and so-called ‘banketjes’, i.e. banquet or breakfast pieces depicting food on a tabletop.[2]

Ryckaert’s compositions are painstakingly constructed with meticulous attention to detail. The objects and forms are arranged in separation from each other on the inclined surface of a table. By juxtaposing food, dishes and precious objects within various planes in space David Rijckaert II is able to increase their legibility. The frontal and distributive presentation is still archaic while his attention for detail and strong realism show his adherence to the Flemish tradition. Characteristic for his style are the dark abstract backgrounds and the bright, enamel-like colours.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 David Rijckaert II at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 David Rijckaert II (Antwerp, 1586 – Antwerp, 1642), Still life with a Silver-gilt covered Cup, Glasses, a Plate of Oysters, a Capon and a Chinese porcelain Plate with Sweets at Floris van Wanroij Fine Art
  3. ↑ David Rijckaert III at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)
  4. 1 2 David Rijckaert (II) (1586–1642), Still life with shells, a nautilus, vases, glasses and Chinese porcelain at Christie’s (French)
  5. ↑ Gonzales Coques at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)
  6. ↑ F.G. Meijer, 'Herkend: Een stilleven van David Rijckaet II', Magazine Rijksmuseum Twenthe 2009, nr. 1, p. 26-28 (Dutch)
  7. ↑ Still life with lobster at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)
  8. ↑ Still life with oysters, fruit, biscuits and ornamental tableware at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)
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