19 GERARD VAN OPSTAL
Flemish (active in Flanders
and Paris), circa 1605-1668
Marine Scene, circa 1640
Alabaster
61.9x 101.8x7.3 cm
(24^3 /s x 40Vi6 x 2^7 /s in.)
85.SA.167.1The sculptor Van Opstal was trained in his native Brussels, but little is known of his
activity before he left for Paris to work for Cardinal Richelieu. He received commissions
related to the decoration of the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Palais de Justice, and the
Palais Royal, and in 1648 he was a founding member of the French Academie Royale
de Peinture et de Sculpture.
One of five related alabaster reliefs in the Museums collection, this work was
probably created as part of the architectural decoration for a state or municipal building
with a maritime function. In a tumultuous, windblown scene, five bearded fishermen
and six winged putti haul a net with fish into their boat. Van Opstal's style was strongly
influenced by the dynamic Baroque works of his fellow countryman, the painter Peter
Paul Rubens. This is evident in the Museum's relief, which is permeated by a series
of cascading rhythms, created by the curves of the bellies of the pudgy putti and the
curved backs, bulging muscles, and billowing clothing of the straining fishermen.
Moreover, the carving of the alabaster creates a series of small planes that constantly
shift in direction, contributing to the sense of a flickering movement across the
urface. This is a technique often found in small ivory reliefs, a medium in which
Van Opstal excelled. PF62 EUROPEAN SCULPTURE