CHRISPIJN VAN DEN BROECK (1530-1590)

(to be attributed to) The Last Supper, ca. 1575-1580. Panel (cradled). Crispijn van den Broeck is mainly known for his drawings, after which many engravings were published by Christopher Plantin (1520-1589), Peeter Baltens (1527-1584) and Gerard de Jode (1516/17-1597) amongst several others. No fewer than 146 certain attributed or signed sheets are known to this day, after which 89 prints were made. His painted oeuvre, on the contrary, is extremely rare.¹ Chrispijn van den Broeck was born in Malines in 1523/24 but probably moved at a young age to Antwerp where he was inscribed as a master in the Saint-Luces guild by 1555. Like many artists of his generation, he most likely travelled to Italy to complete his education as an artist, although no proof of this journey can be found to this date. Nevertheless, his work shows much affinity with the Venetian masters and illustrates a good knowledge of Italian architecture which he frequently incorporates into the backgrounds of his compositions. On the other hand, he may have acquired this knowledge of Italian renaissance art when he was working as a companion in the large workshop of Frans Floris I until the latter died in 1570. This panel painting depicting a colourful Last Supper illustrates a strong influence of Frans Floris' work, which situates the present painting with certainty amongst his followers. The attribution to Van den Broeck however, is based upon a style comparison with his drawings housed in the collection of many prestigious print rooms in Europe and beyond. One drawing with a similar Last Supper composition was attributed to Van de Broeck by I. Q. Regteren Altena (1899-1980). The sheet was sold at his auction at Christie’s, Amsterdam, 13.05.2015, lot 98. Although the figures are placed in a different arrangement around the table, they appear to be the same characters with similar features. For example, the appearance of John in red and the old, grey, balding apostle correspond to the similar figures in the drawing. In addition, the other bearded apostles, with their dark, curly hair that is fairly long on the neck and their pronounced noses, bear a strong resemblance to the other figures on the Regteren Altena sheet. A similar stylistic comparison, albeit with other compositions, applies to several signed drawings including a Circumcision in The British Museum (inv. 1858,0417.1564) in which a similar canopy can be found; a 1574 dated Descent of the Holy Spirit in the Muzeum Narodowe (inv. Rys.Ob.d.705 MNW) in Warsaw and a Capture of Christ in the Rijksmuseum (inv. RP-T-1884-A-295) which similar faces for the male figures can be found. Lastly, if we compare this grand panel with the few signed paintings, it is striking that the present Last Supper has more nuance in the glazing layers and fine highlights in the faces. The KMSKA preserves two of such signed panels, including a Last Judgement (inv. 380) and a panel linked to the rhetorician guild (inv. 553). 1. cf. Paul Wescher, 'Crispijn van den Broeck as painter', Jaarboek Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, 1974, p. 171-185. 112 x 158 cm (132 x 180 cm)