17 Works, July 2nd. is Theodoor Rombouts' day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #179

Rombouts, Theodor (Dirck) van. 1597-1637; Utrecht, Adriaen van. 1599-1652

Kitchen, c. 1630s

Oil on canvas

153,5x197,5 cm

Hermitage

Entered the Hermitage between 1763 and 1770; the collection of Catherine the Great

Theodoor Rombouts (2 July 1597 – 14 September 1637) was a Flemish painter who is mainly known for his Caravaggesque genre scenes depicting lively dramatic gatherings as well as religiously-themed works. He is considered to be the primary and most original representative of Flemish Caravaggism. These Caravaggisti were part of an international movement of European artists who interpreted the work of Caravaggio and the followers of Caravaggio in a personal manner.

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

Allegory of the Court of Justice of ‘Gedele’ in Ghent, circa 1627

Oil on canvas

435 × 382 cm (14.2 × 12.5 ft)

Museum of Fine Arts Ghent 

In 1627 the town council of Ghent commissioned this monumental painting. It was intended for the Alderman’s courtroom of ‘Gedele’. The figures in this allegory are a tribute to those who commissioned the work and to the city of Ghent. 

At the top, seated on a throne, is the Virgin of Ghent with the lion of Ghent at her feet. Next to her are five orphans and on the stairs four judges are seated on either side. They symbolise the Second Bench of Aldermen. The women in the centre symbolise the three virtues, namely Strength, who has her arm around a column, Wisdom, who is holding a magnifying glass while busily writing, and Temperance, who is pouring water into the wine. The soldiers in the left foreground are supposed to maintain order. On the right is the River Scheldt, represented by the figure of a naked man with a horn of plenty and a pitcher of water. The woman on his right, with the dragon spouting water, represents the River Lys, the second river to bring prosperity to the city of Ghent. More on this painting

 Attributed to Theodore Rombouts

The execution of a judgment

Oil on canvas

96 x 125 cm.

Private collection

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

Allegory of the five senses, c. first half of 17th century

Oil on canvas

Height: 207 cm (81.4 in); Width: 288 cm (113.3 in)

Museum of Fine Arts Ghent

Each man in this painting symbolizes one of the five senses. The old man with glasses and a mirror represents Sight. The chitarrone, a type of bass lute, stands for Sound. The blind man is symbolic of the sense of Touch. The jolly man with a glass of wine in his hand portrays Taste, and the elegant young man with a pipe and garlic, Smell. The garlic, wine, music and mirror refer to the fallacy of sensory perception and the transience of life. The Ghent bishop, Antoon Triest, who also owned several paintings by Dutch masters, ordered this canvas from Rombout. More on this painting

Rombouts was born in Antwerp as the son of Bartholomeus Rombouts, a wealthy tailor, and Barbara de Greve. He was a pupil of Frans van Lanckvelt in 1608 and later also studied under Abraham Janssens and possibly Nicolas Régnier in Antwerp. 

His initial works were in the idiom of his master Abraham Janssens who was one of the earliest Flemish artists to paint in a Caraveggio influenced style combined with strong Classicist tendencies. This is clear in the early composition Cephalus and Procris (See below)

(Hermitage Museum, 1610s) which was painted before the artist left for Italy. In its three-dimensionality and use of Classical forms this composition is clearly indebted to Janssens.

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

Cephalus and Procris, c. 1610s

Oil on canvas

Height: 112 cm (44 in); Width: 165 cm (64.9 in)

Hermitage Museum

Cephalus was married to Procris, a daughter of Erechtheus, an ancient founding-figure of Athens. One day the goddess of dawn, Eos, kidnapped Cephalus when he was hunting. The resistant Cephalus and Eos became lovers, and she bore him a son. However, Cephalus always pined for Procris, causing a disgruntled Eos to return him to her, making disparaging remarks about his wife's fidelity. 

Once reunited with Procris after an interval of eight years, Cephalus tested her by returning from the hunt in disguise, and managing to seduce her. In shame Procris fled to the forest, to hunt. In returning and reconciling, Procris brought two magical gifts, an inerrant javelin that never missed its mark, and a hunting hound, Laelaps that always caught its prey. The hound met its end chasing a fox (the Teumessian vixen) which could not be caught; both fox and the hound were turned into stone. But the javelin continued to be used by Cephalus, who was an avid hunter.

Procris then conceived doubts about her husband, who left his bride at the bridal chamber and climbed to a mountaintop and sang a hymn invoking Nephele, "cloud". Procris became convinced that he was serenading a lover. She climbed to where he was to spy on him. Cephalus, hearing a stirring in the brush and thinking the noise came from an animal, threw the never-erring javelin in the direction of the sound – and Procris was impaled. As she lay dying in his arms, she told him "On our wedding vows, please never marry Eos". Cephalus was distraught at the death of his beloved Procris, and went into exile. More on Cephalus and Procris

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

Prometheus

Oil on canvas

154 x 222.5

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Prometheus was the Titan god of forethought and crafty counsel who was given the task of moulding mankind out of clay. His attempts to better the lives of his creation brought him into conflict withZeus. Firstly he tricked the gods out of the best portion of the sacrificial feast, acquiring the meat for the feasting of man. Then, when Zeus withheld fire, he stole it from heaven and delivered it to mortal kind hidden inside a fennel-stalk. As punishment for these rebellious acts, Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora(the first woman) as a means to deliver misfortune into the house of man, or as a way to cheat mankind of the company of the good spirits. Prometheus meanwhile, was arrested and bound to a stake on Mount Kaukasos (Caucasus) where aneagle was set to feed upon his ever-regenerating liver (or, some say, heart). Generations later the great hero Herakles (Heracles) came along and released the old Titan from his torture. More on Prometheus

His monumental genre pieces were painted on horizontal canvases. He also painted a few religious and mythological works on horizontal canvases, as is the case with Christ Driving the Money-changers from the Temple (See below) (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp).

Theodoor Rombouts

Christ Driving the Money-changers from the Temple

Oil on canvas

168 x 238,5 cm

Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp

Jesus is stated to have visited the Temple in Jerusalem, where the courtyard is described as being filled with livestock, merchants, and the tables of the money changers. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade." More on the expulsion

He traveled to Rome in 1616 and stayed there until 1625. He was recorded in the Roman parish of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte. It is possible that on a visit to Florence he met the Caravaggist Bartolomeo Manfredi and worked for Cosimo II de' Medici. In 1622 he also travelled to Pisa.

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

The two musicians, c. circa 1616-1625

Oil on canvas

Height: 200 cm (78.7 in); Width: 121.3 cm (47.7 in)

Spencer Museum of Art

Two standing figures on a shallow ledge. Male plays stringed instrument and wears a hat with multicolored feather He wears blue and orange with a red cape. Female holds songbook and wears a red dress with a blue apron and stripped fabric wrapped around her head. A stringed instrument and three books lay at their feet. Blue drapery crosses from top center to center right.

These costumed musicians sway as they sing, conveying the activity of performance. Rombouts may be alluding to harmony in love as well as music. His scene may serve as a warning to the viewer about the potential for discord by rendering the lute at the bottom with a broken string. More on this painting

The composition The two musicians (See above) (Spencer Museum of Art) likely dates from the artist's Italian period. The typically Italian costumes, the rather mannered poses, the vague indication of space and stereotypical rendering of heads, hands and drapery point to a style preceding that of the genre scenes he painted after 1625.

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

The Tooth Extractor, c. between 1620 and 1625

Oil on canvas

Height: 118 cm (46.4 in); Width: 223 cm (87.7 in)

Museo del Prado 

A traveling tooth puller has displayed on the table, around which numerous figures gather, all his surgical instruments, described with astonishing fidelity by the painter. In addition to the diplomas or degrees, perhaps false, that certify his training, his best letter of introduction is experience, proven by the necklace of molars that he wears around his neck. Prospective clients watch your work carefully and wait for their turn. More on this painting

Upon his return to Antwerp in 1625 he became a master of the Guild of St. Luke. In 1627 he married Anna van Thielen, who was from a noble family and the sister of Jan Philip van Thielen. As his wife's family was not from Antwerp but from the Mechelen area, Rombouts had been required to obtain before the wedding a dispensation from the Antwerp City Council to consume the marriage outside Antwerp in order not to lose his Antwerp citizenship rights. The year after the wedding the couple had a daughter. His wife's brother Jan Philip van Thielen became his pupil in 1631 but would become a still life painter rather than a genre or history painter like Rombouts.

Anthony van Dyck  (1599–1641)

Anna van Thielen, wife of the painter Theodoor Rombouts with their daughter

Oil on panel

Height: 123 cm (48.4 in); Width: 90.5 cm (35.6 in)

Alte Pinakothek 

Theodoor Rombouts, (1597–1637)

Musical company with Bacchus, circa 1630

Oil on canvas

Height: 106 cm (41.7 in); Width: 163 cm (64.1 in)

Kremer collection

The circa 30 pictures by Rombouts known today - of which only 12, including the one described here, are signed - were probably all painted after his return to Antwerp in 1625. Our painting shows both the artist's self-portrait and portrait of his wife. More on this painting

Rombouts regularly included portraits of himself and his wife in his genre paintings (See above). An example is the Musical company with Bacchus (See above) (The Kremer Collection); and Rombouts' wife with their daughter in the Alte Pinakothek Munich.

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637) 

Card players

Oil on canvas

Height: 100 cm (39.3 in); Width: 225.5 cm (88.7 in)

Museo del Prado

Rombouts, Theodor (Dirck) van. 1597-1637

Playing Cards, c. late 1620s

Oil on canvas

143x223,5 cm

Hermitage 

Entered the Hermitage between 1763 and 1770; the collection of Catherine the Great

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

Card and Backgammon Players. Fight over Cards, c. from 1620 until 1629

Oil on canvas

Height: 1,500 mm (59.06 in). Width: 2,410 mm (94.88 in).

Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

In a tavern a card player has drawn a knife and is about to attack his victim, firmly grabbing his short hair. The victim, a fellow player from the other side of the table, cries out and seeks to ward off the blow with an open hand. The light falls harshly onto this brawl from the left, accentuating the drama of the tense situation.

The card players, the half-figure composition, the realism, and the stark contrast between light and darkness (chiaroscuro) are all elements borrowed from the Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio, whom Rombouts got to know during a prolonged stay in Italy. By making uncontrolled anger the main subject of the painting the Flemish painter draws on an ancient Dutch tradition for creating moralising depictions of the seven deadly sins. Wrath was one of them. More on this painting

In the period 1628–1630 Rombouts was deacon of the Guild in Antwerp. In 1635 Rombouts collaborated with other artists on the programme of the decorations of the Joyous Entry of Cardinal-infante Ferdinand in Antwerp, which was under the general direction of Rubens. He died in Antwerp not long after the completion of this decorative project.

The popularity of the Caravaggio movement lost steam after 1630. Rombouts abandoned chiaroscuro effects for more tempered lighting, smoother transitions and a lighter palette. A good example of this is The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherina (Saint James's Church (See below) (Antwerp). This late style approaches the later work of Rubens, with whom he collaborated in the realization of the decorations for the Joyous Entry of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand in Antwerp in 1635. A late work directly influenced by Rubens is the Descent from the Cross (1636, St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent) (See below), which directly cites Rubens' treatment of the same subject of roughly two decades earlier (Antwerp Cathedral).

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

St Augustine of Hippo washes the feet of Christ, c. 1636

Oil on canvas

Height: 258.3 cm (101.6 in); Width: 200.9 cm (79 in)

Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp 

St. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354 - 430) was an Algerian-Roman philosopher and theologian of the late Roman, early Medieval period. He is one of the most important early figures in the development of Western Christianity, and was a major figure in bringing Christianity to dominance in the previously pagan Roman Empire. He is often considered the father of orthodox theology and the greatest of the four great fathers of the Latin Church (along with St. Ambrose, St. Jerome and St. Gregory). More on St. Augustine of Hippo

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

Descent from the Cross, c. 1636

Oil on canvas

Saint Bavo Cathedral Ghent

The Descent from the Cross, or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion. In Byzantine art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the 10th century. The Descent from the Cross is the 13th Station of the Cross.

Other figures not mentioned in the Gospels who are often included in depictions of this subject include St. John the Evangelist, who is sometimes depicted supporting a fainting Mary, and Mary Magdalene. More on the decent from the cross

Theodoor Rombouts  (1597–1637)

The Denial of Saint Peter

Oil on canvas

Height: 94 cm (37 in); Width: 206 cm (81.1 in)

Liechtenstein Museum

The Denial of Peter refers to three acts of denial of Jesus by the Apostle Peter as described in all four Gospels of the New Testament.

All four Canonical Gospels state that during Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, he predicted that Peter would deny knowledge of him, stating that Peter would disown him before the rooster crowed the next morning. Following the arrest of Jesus Peter denied knowing him thrice, but after the third denial, heard the rooster crow and recalled the prediction as Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then began to cry bitterly. This final incident is known as the Repentance of Peter.

The emotional turmoil and turbulent emotions behind Peter's denial and later repentance have been the subject of major works of art for centuries. Examples include Caravaggio's Denial of Saint Peter, which is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. More on The Denial of Peter

Rombouts’ composition and figures are based on a version of this theme by Caravaggio, which the Dutch artist would have been able to see in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. In it, too, recent arrivals interrupt a group in conversation. The significance of the scene is accentuated by dramatic lighting that impressively illuminates the moment of sudden insight. More on this painting

Rombouts' pupils were Nicolaas van Eyck, Jan Philip van Thielen and Paulus Robyns. More on Theodoor Rombouts

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