Artist's Magazine - USA (2020-05)

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arlyinthe1500s,Antwerpwas

theleadingindustrialand

financialportinWestern

Europe.Breweries,textilefactories,

sugarrefineriesandthediamond

tradethrived.Sodidthecity’sart,

withAntwerpatthecenterofthe

FlemishRenaissance.International

bankruptcyandwarendedAntwerp’s

prosperityinthesecondhalfofthe

16thcentury,however,andmanyof

itsresidentstooktheirmoneyand

fledtoAmsterdam.Flanders’loss

heraldedtheDutchGoldenAge.

YetAntwerpretaineda prominent

positionintheartswellintothe17th

centuryonthestrengthofFlemish

paintersRubens,vanDyckand

Jordaens.ThevitalityofRubens’art

andworkshopalonewasastonishing.In

themidstofthecity’sdecline,Antwerp

wascentraltotheBaroquemovement.

Integraltothiscreativeenviron-

mentwasFransSnyders(Flemish,

1579–1657).Hewasananimalier—

anartistspecializingintherealistic

portrayalofanimalsubjects—and

wasthefirstartisttomakeanimals

intheirhabitatsthefocusofmajor

paintings.Theartistexcelledin

a subgenreofstilllifepainting—the

depictionofdeadfauna—thatwould

laterbeminedbyRembrandt,Goya,

Chardin,EnsorandSoutine,among

others.Snydersalsocollaboratedwith

othermasters,includingRubens,

whena compositioncalledforthe

inclusionofa deer,wildboarorbirds.

TodaywemayknowSnydersbetter

fromvanDyck’sportraitintheFrick

Collection,inwhichheappearsasan

elegantandworldlysoul,thanforhis

ownsubstantialbodyofwork.His

workwassubstantialineverysense

oftheword.CanvaseslikeStillLife

WithDeadGame,Fruits,andVegetables

ina Marketoverflowwiththetac-

tilestuffsofnature.Suchdisplays

ofabundanceshowcaseSnyders’

masteryandprovideevidencethat

Antwerpremainedanenergetic

marketplacewellafteritsheyday.

Jerry N. Weiss is a contributing writer

to art magazines and teaches at the

Art Students League of New York.

A Master of

Feathers and Fur

Flemish artist FRANS SNYDERS contributed his

special painting talents to the Dutch Golden Age.

by Jerry N. Weiss

Still Life With Dead Game,

Fruits, and Vegetables

in a Market

by Frans Snyders

1614; oil on canvas, 83½x121¼

Snyders
frequently
revisited favorite
motifs. Scientific
scholar Roger J.
Lederer writes,
“Insome of
Snyders’
paintings, the
mute swan is
a centerpiece,
with its heavy
white body
splayed across
a table, and its
long neck and
head draped
over the edge.”
The juxtaposition
ofa swan and
a deer was a
prominent
feature in several
ofSnyders’ large
marketplace still
lifepaintings.

The artist excelled in a subgenre of still life

painting—the depiction of dead fauna.