Venus – Gortzius Geldorp (1553 – 1618)

Oil on panel – Flemish school around 1600 – Gortzius Geldorp
As if in ecstasy, her eyes raised to the sky, probably in the direction of the star that bears her name, the goddess offers the viewer a part of her femininity, an attribute of her carnal beauty. These mythological figures of great sensuality are the transcription of the works of the transalpine geniuses of the cinquecento carried out by the painters of the North after their trip to Italy. At the forefront of the latter, Frans Floris (c. 1519 – 1570), whom his compatriots nicknamed the Flemish Raphael, excelled. But our representation of the goddess of beauty is, quite clearly, the work of an eminent Flemish painter active in the articulation of the 16th and 17th centuries, and a wide range of clues leads us to consider Hans von Aachen (1552 – 1615) or Gortzius Geldorp as being the possible authors. Indeed, the style of these two artists is very similar, and the works of the latter have often been confused with those of the former. But the soft transitions from shadow to light, the color palette with dominant browns and the bluish tones in the skin tones lead to the particular art of Geldorp. And the examination of an autograph work, almost identical to ours and of similar dimensions, monogrammed GGF and dated 1612 (sale Grogan & Company, sale of December 2, 2012, lot 5) allowed to sweep away all doubt, confirming the paternity of our painting.

Our goddess is placed in majesty in an elegant casseta frame in blackened and gilded wood.
Dimensions: 48 x 39 cm – 66 x 57 cm with the frame
Sold with invoice and certificate.

Geldorp Gortzius (Leuven 1553 – Cologne c. 1619). His name seems to indicate that his family would have originated from the village of Geldorp in North Brabant. Oddly enough, his first name is not mentioned in any source and his signature provides no clue to this because he signed "GG" (the initials of his family name). According to Karel van Mander (1548 – 1606), Geldorp went to Antwerp around 1570 where he entered the studio of Frans Francken the Elder (1542-1616) and then that of Frans Pourbus the Elder (1541-85) where he perfected his mastery of the art of portraiture. Through his natural abilities, Gortzius gained in importance and became painter to the Duke of Terranuova, Carlo d'Aragona Tagliavia, whom he regularly accompanied on his diplomatic missions, notably during the peace negotiations of 1579 between Spain and the Netherlands in Cologne where he settled permanently. Geldorp was a renowned history painter, but most of his surviving works, some seventy paintings, are portraits (he was the favourite portrait painter of the Cologne elite). Karel van Mander said of him that he "is one of the best portrait painters that can be cited" and that "by his beautiful manner he showed the way to many artists".

Bibliography:
- VAN MANDER, Karel, Lives of the Most Illustrious Painters of the Netherlands and Germany, 1604, reprint translated Les Belles Lettres, 2002
- FUSENING, Thomas, Hans Von Aachen: (1552-1615) Court Artist in Europe, Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2010
- De MAERE, Jan, Sensuality and Voluptuousness - The Female Body in Flemish Painting of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Silvana Editoriale, 2010
- BRADBURNE, James M., Rudolf II & Prague: the Court & the City, Thames & Hudson, 1997
- Eros und Mythos. Kunst am Hof Rudolfs II, Exhibition Catalogue, Kunsthistorische Museum Wien, 1995