Abraham Janssens

(Antwerp circa 1575–1632)
Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist,
oil on canvas, 117 x 97 cm, framed
Provenance:
Private European collection, since the 1960s

We are grateful to Joost Vander Auwera for endorsing the attribution of the present painting after examination in the original.

The present unpublished painting relates to the composition of the Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist by Abraham Janssens, now conserved in the Kremer Foundation, Amsterdam, dating from circa 1617–1620 (see P. van der Ploeg et al. (eds.), Niederländische Malerei: die Sammlung Kremer, exhibition catalogue, Munich 2008, pp. 108–113, file no. 23). This work is the only known autograph replica of the canvas in the Kremer collection.

After his apprenticeship with Jan Snellinck I (1548–1638), Janssens continued his studies in Italy. He was in Rome in 1598, and again in the spring of 1601, as a pupil of his compatriot Willem van Nieulandt the Elder (1561(?)–1626). During this period Janssens was able to study both works of classical antiquity and the great masterpieces of Italian Mannerism, while also being aware of Caravaggio’s innovations.

Returning to Antwerp in 1601, he quickly established himself as one of the city’s most important artists, alongside Rubens. The two artists influenced each other and this marked a further evolution in Janssens’ style. The present work is a significant example of the artist’s mature phase, in which the figures are monumental, almost sculptural, and arranged in an extremely balanced composition.