Jacob Jordaens, 'Portrait of Cornelis van Diest (?) and his Wife', 1636-8

Portrait of Cornelis van Diest (?) and his Wife

Jacob Jordaens

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This full-length double portrait of a married couple is a powerful image of the pride and prosperity of seventeenth-century Flanders and its citizens. Dressed in costly black silk garments, both sitters are looking confidently at us. The woman sitting in a red velvet upholstered armchair sports an abundance of gold jewellery. The man standing proudly to the right holds a tall staff and displays a bold red sash and an ornate sword; all three suggest that he held a military office. The portrait seems to have a slightly comical note: the man looks bemused, and his expression is mirrored by the little dog looking straight at us.

The sitters are almost certainly Cornelis van Diest, dean of the guild of cloth manufacturers and captain of the city militia in Antwerp, and his wife Lucretia Courtois. They were probably acquainted with the artist.

In-depth

The woman and man in this theatrical double portrait are presented as if they are on a stage. We look up at the sitters, positioned on a raised dais and in front of an architectural set with elements derived from Greek and Roman classical antiquity. A red curtain hangs down on one side.

Dressed in costly black silk garments and looking confidently at us, the portrait of the married couple is a powerful image of the pride and prosperity of seventeenth-century Flanders and its citizens. The woman sitting in a red velvet upholstered armchair sports an abundance of gold jewellery. Standing proudly to the right, the man has a commanding presence: he holds a tall staff with one hand and rests the other on his hip, his elbow turned out towards us. He displays a bold red sash and an ornate sword. The sash, sword and staff all suggest that this man held a military office. The portrait seems to have a slightly comical note: the man’s head is paired with the stone face of a laughing satyr on the pilaster next to him, and his bemused expression is mirrored by the little dog looking straight at us.

The portrait was initially painted three-quarter-length: a horizontal seam running the width of the canvas at a point just level with the man’s knees indicates that the composition was subsequently extended. We do not know whether the patron wished for a full-length portrait at a later stage or if the artist decided on the change.

Once thought to represent Govaert van Surpele (1593–1674) and his wife, from Diest in South Brabant, the sitters in this portrait can now almost certainly be identified as belonging to the Antwerp branch of the same family. Cornelis [van Surpele] van Diest, dean of the guild of cloth manufacturers and captain of the city militia, and his wife Lucretia Courtois seem to be the more likely candidates.

Jordaens was not a prolific portrait painter (only around 30 portraits by his hand are known) and it seems that his clientele was exclusively drawn from the well-to-do merchants and burghers of Antwerp. In this case a personal connection between van Diest and Jordaens is likely. From 1634, van Diest owned a house in the same street as the artist’s birthplace, house and studio. Jordaens’ father was also a linen merchant, so there is a good chance the families were acquainted. The single coat of arms in the background, which was probably added soon after the painting was completed, may also be significant for the identification of the sitters. Govaert van Surpele’s wives were from distinguished families with their own coat of arms, which would have been included in the painting, while the family of Lucretia Courtois lacked any armorial insignia.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Portrait of Cornelis van Diest (?) and his Wife
Artist: Jacob Jordaens
Artist dates: 1593 - 1678
Date made: 1636-8
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 213.3 × 189 cm
Acquisition credit: Acquired from the 11th Duke of Devonshire by application of the 1956 Finance Act, 1958
Inventory number: NG6293
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Frame: 21st-century Replica Frame

Provenance

Perhaps coll. the van Surpele family of Diest. Thomas Scawen sale, Cocks, 26 January ( = 2nd day), 1742/3 (49) sold for £117. Coll. the 4th Duke of Devonshire (1698–1755) by 1743 when noted by Vertue at Devonshire House, London; exh. at the B.I., 1837 (143); R.A., 1895 (122); Jordaens Exhibition, Antwerp, 1905 (75); Exhibition of Works of Flemish and Modern Belgian Painters, Guildhall, 1906 (88); R.A., 1910 (121); R.A., 1927 (159); R.A., 1938 (38); Devonshire Collection Exhibition, Agnews’, 1948 (27); on loan to Manchester City Art Gallery, 1949; ceded by the 11th Duke of Devonshire in lieu of death duties, 1958, under the terms of the Finance Act of 1956; exh. Jacob Jordaens Exhibition, The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1968/9, (44).

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Gregory Martin, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School: circa 1600–circa 1900’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Bibliography

1833

J.D. Passavant, Kunstreise durch England und Belgien, Frankfurt am Main 1833
1854

G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
1889

H. Hymans, 'Jordaens (Jacques)', in Biographie Nationale. Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles 1889, vol. 10
1895

C. Phillips, 'Old Masters at the Academy', Daily Telegraph, I-III, 1895, pp. 230, 235
1905

A. Bredius, 'Die Jordaens-Austellung in Antwerpen', Kunstchronik, XVII/3, 1905
1905

H. Hymans, 'Correspondance de Belgique. L'Exposition Jordaens à Anvers', Gazette des beaux-arts, XLVII/2, 1905
1905

P. Buschmann, Jacques Jordaens et son œuvre: Étude publiée à l'occasion de l'exposition Jordaens (exh. cat. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 27 July - 15 October 1905), Brussels 1905
1906

M. Rooses, Jordaens, sa vie et ses oeuvres, Amsterdam 1906
1906

P. Daniëls, 'A propos d'un tableau de Jordaens', Bulletin de l'Académie Royale d'Archéologie de Belgique, I, 1906, pp. 212-4
1910

C. Phillips, 'Old Masters at the Royal Academy', Daily Telegraph, 1910
1937

A.J. Finberg, 'Vertue Note Books, V', The Walpole Society, XXVI, 1938
1953

L. van Puyvelde, Jordaens, Paris 1953
1960

The National Gallery, The National Gallery: July 1958 - December 1959, London 1960
1968

M. Jaffé, Jacob Jordaens, 1593-1678 (exh. cat. National Gallery of Canada, 29 November 1968 - 5 January 1969), Ottawa 1968
1969

R.A. Hulst, 'Review: Jordaens (Ottawa)', Art Bulletin, LI, 1969
1969

E. Haverkamp-Begemann, 'Jacob Jordaens 1593-1678. Zur Ausstellung in Ottawa', Kunstchronik, XXII, 1969
1969

J. Held, 'Jordaens at Ottawa', The Burlington Magazine, CXI/794, 1969, pp. 265-73
1970

G. Martin, The Flemish School, circa 1600-circa 1900, London 1970
1979

H. van den Hove d'Ertsenryk, 'Notice sur la famille van Zurpele, de Diest', L'Intermédiaire des Généalogistes, XXXIV, 1979, pp. 360-1
1982

R.-A. d'Hulst, Jacob Jordaens, London 1982
1982

D.R. Smith, The Dutch Double and Pair Portrait: Studies in the Imagery of Marriage in the Seventeenth Century, Ann Arbor 1982
1982

D.R. Smith, 'Rembrandt's Early Double Portraits and the Dutch Conversation Piece', Art Bulletin, LXIV/2, 1982, pp. 259-88
1986

Martin, Gregory, National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School, circa 1600 - circa 1900, London 1986
1986

E. de Jongh, Portretten van echt en trouw. Huwelijk en gezin in de Nederlandse kunst van de zeventiende eeuw (exh. cat. Frans Hals Museum, 15 February - 13 April 1986), Haarlem 1986
1993

R.A. d'Hulst et al., Jacob Jordaens, 1593-1678 (exh. cat. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 27 March - 27 June 1993), Antwerp 1993
1994

D. Martens, 'Note sur le portrait des "Époux Van Zurpele" de Jacob Jordaens', Revue belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art, LXIII, 1994, pp. 95-6
1999

Z.Z. Filipczak, 'Van Dyck's Men and Women in Humoral Perspective', Jaarboek Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, 1999, pp. 50-69
1999

J. Kirby, 'The Painter's Trade in the Seventeenth Century: Theory and Practice', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XX, 1999, pp. 5-49
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2003

J. Bikker et al., 'Drie portretten van Antwerpse burgers geschilderd door Jacob Jordaens', Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum, LI/3, 2003, pp. 234-73
2008

K. van der Van der Stighelen, Hoofd en bijzaak: Portretkunst in Vlaanderen van 1420 tot nu, Louvain 2008

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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Jacob Jordaens, 'Portrait of Cornelis van Diest (?) and his Wife', 1636-8

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Jacob Jordaens