Saturday, October 2, 2021

Jacques de Gheyn III (Talent Choked by Prosperity)

Rembrandt
Portrait of Jacques de Gheyn III
1632
oil on panel
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London

Jacques de Gheyn III
Head of a Bearded Man
ca. 1620-30
drawing
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Jacques de Gheyn III
Fantastic Heads
1638
etching
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Jacques de Gheyn III
Fantastic Heads
1638
etching
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Jacques de Gheyn III
Fantastic Heads
1638
etching
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Jacques de Gheyn III
Fortuna offers the Cornucopia to Hercules
1617
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
The Laocoön
1619
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
Mars Sleeping
ca. 1618
etching
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Jacques de Gheyn III
Apostle Paul
ca. 1616-20
etching and drypoint
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
Apostle Peter
ca. 1616-20
etching and drypoint
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
Seven Wise Men of Ancient Greece
Chilo Lacedaemonius
1616
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
Seven Wise Men of Ancient Greece
Cleobulus of Lindus
1616
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
Seven Wise Men of Ancient Greece
Solon Salaminius
1616
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
Seven Wise Men of Ancient Greece
Thales Milesius
1616
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn III
Triton sounding a Conch
ca. 1616-20
etching
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

"From an early age, Jacques de Gheyn III was destined for an artist's career.  His grandfather was a successful draftsman and glass-painter, and his father, Jacques de Gheyn II, was an illustrious draftsman, engraver, and painter.  As a boy, de Gheyn studied classical subjects while also receiving careful artistic training from his father, who appears to have been his only instructor.  By 1616 de Gheyn had fully mastered the skills of etching and engraving.  That same year, he created a series of drawings, The Wise Men of Ancient Greece, which was overwhelmingly well-received by his contemporaries.  This series consisted of seven drawings of individual, seated, elderly figures, wrapped in heavy cloaks and reading the books for which they were best known.  Two years later, at age twenty-two, de Gheyn and his compatriot Constantijn Huygens traveled to England, where de Gheyn arranged visits to important collections.  He also made sketches in chalk or pen and ink of antique sculptures at Arundel Castle, home to the passionate collectors the earl and countess of Arundel.  After his father's death in 1629, de Gheyn's artistic activity waned, leading Huygens to remark that his talent had been "choked by too much prosperity."  De Gheyn spent his later years amassing a significant art collection, including works by Rembrandt, Jan Lievens, and Hans Holbein; he also served as the canon of Utrecht's Mariakerk.  He died on June 5, 1644, leaving a small body of work distinctive in its variety of subjects and realism."

– biographical sketch from the Getty Museum, Los Angeles