Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts at Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

19 mai 2023

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts at Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'oeil with Studio Wall and Vanitas Still Life, 1668, oil on canvas, 152cm (h) x 118cm (w). Signed: C. N. Gysbrechts, F. Ao. 1668. Inscription: [Betegnet på seddel, der er stukket ned bag blindrammen i vanitas-billedets nederste venstre hjørne:] A Monsuer/Monsuer Cornelius Norbertus/ Gijsbrechts Conterfeyer ggl. In./ Coppenhagen. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMSst537.

In addition to the signature "C. N. Gysbrechts, F.A.O. 1668" the painting also bears the painter’s "callingcard" in the form of a note bearing the address "A Monsuer / Monsuer Cornelius Norbertus / Gijsbrechts Conterfeÿer ggl. In. / Coppenhagen." The painting shows a wooden wall with a canvas mounted on a temporary stretcher resting on a shelf that also bears the painter’s paraphernalia. The canvas shows a still life with symbols of death and resurrection, a so-called vanitas still life.It was presumably this painting that secured Gijsbrechts the position as Court Painter to the Danish kings, first Frederic 3. (1609-1675) and later Christian 5. (1646-1699). During his four-year sojourn in Copenhagen Gijsbrechts created an extraordinary series of paintings that aimed to convince spectators that they were facing real, three-dimensional objects rather than flat paintings. The genre is called trompe l’oeil (deception of the eye) and is typical of the Baroque style with its predilection for witty illusionism, metaphor, and allegory. The genre was also popular in the rest of Europe where princes and monarchs used such paintings to amuse diplomats and distinguished guests with their clever deceptions. (Source: Eva de la Fuente Pedersen, OTHERTEXT, 1/1/2005)

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'oeil. Board Partition with Letter Rack and Music Book, 1668, oil on canvas, 123.5cm (h) x 107cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS3059.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'Oeil with Trumpet, Celestial Globe and Proclamation by Frederik III, 1670, oil on canvas, 132cm (h) x 201cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMSst461.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'Oeil. A Cabinet of Curiosities with an Ivory Tankard, 1670, oil on canvas, 99.5cm (h) x 89.5cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS3076.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'Oeil with Christian V's equipment for Riding to Hounds, 1671, oil on canvas, 85.5cm (h) x 77.5cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS3065.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'Oeil with Falconer's Bag and other Equipment for Falconry, 1671, oil on canvas, 89.5cm (h) x 77.5cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMSst460.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'oeil with Violin, Music Book and Recorder, 1672, oil on canvas, 117cm (h) x 80cm (w). Inscription: Betegnet på et brev forneden til højre: A Monsieur/Monsr Gijsbrechts Kon./terfeyer von Ihr Konigl/Mayt von Dannemarcken/ggl./In/Coppenhagen. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS1908.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'Oeil with Pistols, 1672, oil on canvas, 89.5cm (h) x 77cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS3062.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'Oeil with Riding Whip and Letter Bag, 1672, oil on canvas, 90cm (h) x 77cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS3066.

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'oeil of a Letter Rack with Proclamation by Frederik III, 1672, oil on canvas, 145.5cm (h) x 183cm (w). Signed 'C. N. Gijsbrechts. Ao 1672'. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS1901.

Note: Envelopes were not used in the seventeenth century; in-stead, letters were folded up and sealed with red wax and a signet. This letter rack holds many letters, opened and un-opened, as well as wax sticks marked by soot from being heated over a candle. There is also a vanity case, a large purse, combs, writing imple-ments, sheet music, a pair of scissors and much more. In the middle hangs a large doc-ument: a proclamation bearing the calligraphic headline “….Tertius Dei Gratia ….”, the Latin introduction used for proclamations during the reign of Frederik III. Given that Frederik III died two years before the painting was created, its proclamation offers a kind of memorial to the late king, who appointed the Flemish artist Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts as court painter in 1668. (Source: Eva de la Fuente Pedersen, EXHIBITIONTEXT, 1/1/2015)

Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts (1625 – 1675), Trompe l'Oeil. Board Partition with a Still Life of Two Dead Birds Hanging on a Wall, 1670-74, oil on canvas, 77cm (h) x 52.2cm (w). Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, KMS3030.