Cornelis van Haarlem

Born into wealth, the young Cornelisz van Haarlem studied in Rouen and Antwerp before returning to his native city Haarlem, where he settled permanently in 1580-81. In 1583, aged 21, he received his first official commission, a militia company portrait, the Banquet of the Haarlem Civic Guard (Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum). His close association with Karel van Mander , who arrived in Haarlem in that year, and Hendrick Goltzius, who had settled there in 1577, led to the formation of the so-called  ‘Haarlem Academy’. Only around 15 of his drawings have survived, a much smaller number than that of Goltzius and Jacques de Gheyn II, and it is unclear whether he drew directly from life. Their focus on integrating theoretical concepts with painting practice resulted in a richness of references to the antiquity. This was no doubt complemented by Cornelis’s personal interest as an art collector, as we know from the surviving inventory of his estate, which included plaster, wax and clay sculptures in addition to antique marbles, bronzes, artists’ drawings, and paintings. Sometime before 1603, Cornelis married the daughter of the burgomaster and ended up inheriting 1/3 of his in-law’s estate. He became city painter of Haarlem and received numerous commissions from the town.

Like most artists Cornelis was required to paint portraits, but among the 300 odd paintings that have survived, his best works are religious and mythological. His earliest paintings reveal the influence from his Antwerp years, especially from  Jan Massys. In 1588, the publication of Goltzius’s engravings after five of his paintings — the fall of Tantalus, Icarus, Phaeton, and Ixion, and a fifth, Two Followers of Cadmus Devoured by a Dragon (London, National Gallery), marked the his ascent to fame. Particularly spectacular is his large Fall of the Titans of 1588-90 in the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen where the highly exuberant gestures, soft forms and Spranger-like expressions are an exemplary display of late mannerist virtuosity, analogous to the work of some of Michelangelo’s Italian followers. It was acquired during the artist’s lifetime, in 1621, by the Danish King Christian IV of Denmark.