Explore the Konstkamers about the Art historical context and inspiration of this artwork, The Art Gallery of Jan Gildemeester Jansz.
According to the art historian C.J. De Bruyn Knops, the subject of the work – an art collector at home, showing his art collection to his friends – is unique in Northern-Netherlandish painting before 1800. In Flemish (Southern-Netherlandish) painting, this genre was common in the 17th century; it was executed by masters like Willem van Haecht, David Teniers, Gillis van Tilborgh and Gonzales Cocques, but in the Northern Netherlands the subject didn't become popular. Probably Adriaan de Lelie had seen such works while studying in Antwerp. However, the Flemish 'konstkamers' ('art rooms') looked very different: they used to depict imaginary architecture, and probably not reality as seen by the painter. The Art Gallery of Jan Gildemeester Jansz, on the contrary, is a very accurate depiction of a real space.
Northern-Netherlandish Gillis van Tilborgh Gonzales Cocques Antwerp David Teniers Jan Gildemeester art collector Southern-Netherlandish Jan Gildemeester Jansz collection Adriaan de Lelie Willem van Haecht Netherlands