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The Four Evangelists
c.1625. Oil on canvas. h134 x w118cm. h53 x w46 1/2 in. Musee du Louvre, Paris
By Jacob Jordaens
1593-1678
ABOUT THE PAINTING:
The four Evangelists contemplate the Scriptures which in turn inspire their own writings. Jordaens gives us an insight into their personalities as they are absorbed in the study of the sacred text with the rest on the table. The half-length figures dominate the space, almost obliterating the background of red velvety drapery and a glint of sky. A pupil of Peter Paul Rubens, Jordaens has captured his master's vivid colouring, brushwork and skill in portraying natural flesh tones. The vigorous realism of the composition owe far more to the influence of Caravaggio, however, whose style Jordaens would have seen reflected in works by the Italian painter's followers in Utrecht. Although his early paintings were technically weak, but robust, Jordaens developed as an artist, his style became more sombre and he was later patronized by the kings of Spain and Sweden. - 'The Art Book, Phaidon, pg 239'
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Jacob Jordaens, Flemish painter, born in Antwerp, specialized in genre and banquet scenes, and religious paintings. JJ trained under Adam van Noort for eight years from 1607, marrying his daughter in 1616, the year he was admitted to the Antwerp Guild as a painter in tempera and watercolour. The greatest stylistic influence on his work was that of Caravaggio, notably in his use of strong contrasts of light and shade, and figures of an earthy realism. In 1621 JJ became head of the Antwerp Guild and from about this time ran his own large and successful workshop, whilst at the same time working for Rubens, initially alongside van Dyck. When van Dyck left for Italy in 1622, Jordaens became Rubens' principal associate until the latter's death in 1640. Rubens was undoubtedly the greatest influence on the work of Jordaens' mature period. As with Rubens, JJ's female figures are amply fleshed, his male figures robust and powerful looking, and yet he retains the early influence of Caravaggio in the somewhat coarser physical types he chooses and the stronger contrasts of light and shade which are so characteristic of much of his work (e.g. Christ driving the Merchants from the Temple, c1650, Paris, Louvre). Despite becoming a Calvinist in about 1655, JJ continued to work for Catholic clients, although his conversion seems to have imparted a certain restraint to his later work. - Edited by CCPI, From 'The Bulfinch Guide to Art History'
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