Wolfvoet II Jan Wildens, The Coronation of St Agnes

Wolfvoet II

1612 Antwerp - 1652 Antwerp

Jan Wildens

1586 Antwerp - 1653 Antwerp

The Coronation of St Agnes

Oil on copper. 56 x 73 cm. Provenance

London, Private collection

Victor Wolfvoet was an unusual artist active in Antwerp whose works have only recently begun to be researched, especially in the publications of Gregory Martin, Bert Schepers and Diaz Padron. Although it is not known for certain that Wolfvoet studied under Rubens, his works are certainly heavily influenced by those of the great master from Antwerp. The painter's compositions are frequently based on paintings, drawings and prints by Rubens, especially works from the last two decades of his career. As Wolfvoet's paintings tend to be small compositions painted on copper with a recognisable style, it is not appropriate to speak of “copies”. Evidence is mounting that Wolfvoet did in fact learn his trade in the studio of Peter Paul Rubens.

The present work supports this assumption, as it could not have been painted without direct access to Rubens's designs. It is based on a drawing that was reproduced in a mirrored version in a copperplate engraving by Willem Panneels (ca. 1590/1610-1634, fig. 1). Wolfvoet owned various works by Rubens, but these did not include a drawing with a depiction of Saint Agnes.

The landscape in the present work is painted with as much attention to detail as the figure. The composition and the fine rendering of the trees and the view of Rome indicate the hand of a specialist such as Jan Wildens, with whom Wolfvoet is known to have collaborated on occasion and who also worked in Rubens's studio. The scenery is reminiscent of his “Landscape with Mercury and Argus” which features figures by Jacob Jordaens (now housed in the Norton Simon Museum in Passadena) and of many of his drawings from the 1630s.