A courtyard of a Venetian Palace
Oil Painting
ca. 1620 (painted)
ca. 1620 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The courtyard of a Venetian palace filled with elegantly dressed and posed figures in conversation, playing music and drinking. A green arbour shelters a splashing fountain in the middle ground and frames the classical palace beyond. At left, visitors disembark from gondolas on the lagoon. Louis de Caullery (ca. 1580 - 1621, Antwerp) was a pioneer in the genre of courtly gatherings in Flemish painting of the 17th century. He probably came from the village of Caulery near Cambrai, but moved to Antwerp in 1594 to train with Joos de Momper and was accepted as a Master there in 1602. While the date he went to Italy in uncertain, his works reveal that he spent time in Venice, Florence and Rome. He was particularly interested in genre painting and dealt with a high variety of scenes: carnivals on ice, fireworks, bull-fights, open-air entertainments, allegories of the five senses and get-togethers in the spirit of the Fontainebleau School. His figures are particularly elongated and strike elegant poses and are generally characterised with smooth pale faces and broad foreheads. His colour palette reveals the influence of the Italian painters: half tones, ocher-yellow, Veronese green and Burgundy red. He was particularly interested in the depiction of architecture and was skillful in representing his figures and their settings in perspectivecomposition and figures in 698-1883 are reminiscent of many of de Caullery's caprricci, fantastical painted compositions which combine features of imaginary and/or real architecture, in a picturesque setting. Two other works attributed to the artists also include a verdant cupola/arbour in the centre mmiddle groundwithin a rectangularly defined space receding into the distance such as A Garden Festival (Denis Vanderker Gallery, Winter 1967-68) and Elegant companionship under a garden bower (Rijksmuseum, inv. A 1956). The couple walking hand in hand at center left is a particularly popular motif and reappears throughout de Caullery's oeuvre in works such as the Galant companionship at a Venetian Palace (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, inv. 873-1-237).
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A courtyard of a Venetian Palace |
| Materials and techniques | Oil on oak panel |
| Brief description | Oil painting, 'A Courtyard of a Venetian Palace', attributed to Louis de Caullery, ca. 1620 |
| Physical description | The courtyard of a Venetian palace filled with elegantly dressed and posed figures in conversation, playing music and drinking. A green arbour shelters a splashing fountain in the middle ground and frames the classical palace beyond. At left, visitors disembark from gondolas on the lagoon. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | A Courtyard of a Venetian Palace
About 1620
In the early 17th century, Venice was the musical capital of Europe. A centre for instrument making and music publishing, it became the home of opera, a new form of sung drama that developed around 1600. Music was also a popular form of private entertainment, as shown in this fantasy of a gathering in a Venetian courtyard.
Italy (probably Venice)
Possibly by Louis de Caullery
Oil on oak panel(09.12.2015) |
| Object history | Purchased, 1883 |
| Historical context | The composition and figures are reminiscent of many of de Caullery's cappricci, fantastical painted compositions which combine features of imaginary and/or real architecture, in a picturesque setting. Two other works attributed to the artists also include a verdant cupola/arbour in the centre middleground within a rectangularly defined space receding into the distance such as A Garden Festival (Denis Vanderker Gallery, Winter 1967-68) and Venus, Bacchus and Ceres with Mortals under a Garden Bower (Rijksmuseum, inv. SK-A-1956). The couple walking hand in hand at center left is a particularly popular motif and reappears throughout de Caullery's oeuvre in works such as the Galant companionship at a Venetian Palace (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, inv. 873-1-237). The treatment of the greenery and of the costume in 698-1883 is less sophisticated than the Rijksmuseum picture however, suggesting that the work is not by the artist's own hand but a contemporary artist working in the style of de Caullery. Louis de Caullery (ca. 1580 - 1621, Antwerp) was a pioneer in the genre of courtly gatherings in Flemish painting of the 17th century. He probably came from the village of Caulery near Cambrai, but moved to Antwerp in 1594 to train with Joos de Momper and was accepted as a Master there in 1602. While the date he went to Italy in uncertain, his works reveal that he spent time in Venice, Florence and Rome. He was particularly interested in genre painting and dealt with a high variety of scenes: carnivals on ice, fireworks, bull-fights, open-air entertainments, allegories of the five senses and get-togethers in the spirit of the Fontainebleau School. His figures are particularly elongated and strike elegant poses and are generally characterised with smooth pale faces and broad foreheads. His colour palette reveals the influence of the Italian painters: half tones, ocher-yellow, Veronese green and Burgundy red. He was particularly interested in the depiction of architecture and was skillful in representing his figures and their settings in perspective. |
| Production | A letter from H. Gerson of the Rijsbureau voor Kunsthisstoriesche Documentatie (RKD) dated 20 April 1948 to Mr. Graham Reynolds (Deputy Keeper, Dept. of Paintings at V&A) states that, in consultation with de Vries, they are not convinced that the picture is by de Caullery and state that the quality of the architecture is week. They propose a German attribution. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | The courtyard of a Venetian palace filled with elegantly dressed and posed figures in conversation, playing music and drinking. A green arbour shelters a splashing fountain in the middle ground and frames the classical palace beyond. At left, visitors disembark from gondolas on the lagoon. Louis de Caullery (ca. 1580 - 1621, Antwerp) was a pioneer in the genre of courtly gatherings in Flemish painting of the 17th century. He probably came from the village of Caulery near Cambrai, but moved to Antwerp in 1594 to train with Joos de Momper and was accepted as a Master there in 1602. While the date he went to Italy in uncertain, his works reveal that he spent time in Venice, Florence and Rome. He was particularly interested in genre painting and dealt with a high variety of scenes: carnivals on ice, fireworks, bull-fights, open-air entertainments, allegories of the five senses and get-togethers in the spirit of the Fontainebleau School. His figures are particularly elongated and strike elegant poses and are generally characterised with smooth pale faces and broad foreheads. His colour palette reveals the influence of the Italian painters: half tones, ocher-yellow, Veronese green and Burgundy red. He was particularly interested in the depiction of architecture and was skillful in representing his figures and their settings in perspectivecomposition and figures in 698-1883 are reminiscent of many of de Caullery's caprricci, fantastical painted compositions which combine features of imaginary and/or real architecture, in a picturesque setting. Two other works attributed to the artists also include a verdant cupola/arbour in the centre mmiddle groundwithin a rectangularly defined space receding into the distance such as A Garden Festival (Denis Vanderker Gallery, Winter 1967-68) and Elegant companionship under a garden bower (Rijksmuseum, inv. A 1956). The couple walking hand in hand at center left is a particularly popular motif and reappears throughout de Caullery's oeuvre in works such as the Galant companionship at a Venetian Palace (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, inv. 873-1-237). |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 698-1883 |
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| Record created | March 6, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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