Provenance: private collection
A close contemporary of Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Maerten van Cleve executed a series of paintings with the theme of village weddings. He clearly influenced...
read moreProvenance: private collection
A close contemporary of Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Maerten van Cleve executed a series of paintings with the theme of village weddings. He clearly influenced Brueghel’s paintings of peasant scenes. The two paintings presented here are part of a series of five episodes: the bridal procession, the fiancé’s procession, giving the presents to the bride, the wedding feast and the blessing of the bridal bed. Analysed by Georges Marlier, this series was copied by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. Attached to his home country, van Cleve painted the world around him with sincerity. Village fêtes and rustic interiors were his trademark. Here, he invites the viewer to the wedding, joining the fiancé’s procession and the intimate moment following the consent of the bride and groom: the blessing of the bridal bed.
Maerten van Cleve portrays a wedding procession composed of the fiancé and his family and friends. Painted like a frieze, the composition reveals the different stages of a traditional wedding in Flanders in the 16th century. Present in the centre of the painting, wearing a small red hat, the future husband is on his way to join his bride. Guests and musicians gaily accompany him. Behind this joyful group is a delicate country landscape, where the trees open the way to the church where the religious ceremony is to take place.
The second scene takes place in a rustic interior from the second half of the 16th century, decorated with a solid wood dresser next to the bridal bed. The house’s main room is enlivened with the married couple and the guests, as well as the officiating priest. With a touch of humour, the painter places a plump bride in the middle of the scene. Holding her chamber pot, the young woman is clearly distraught at the sight of the bed and has to be supported by three women and a peasant. Positioned on the threshold, the drunken husband observes the scene, a jug held to his mouth, seemingly enjoying the goings-on.
The two works are painted with a light, vibrant touch in lively tones. The painter makes the colours sing, especially the reds, but also the blues and the greens by applying them onto the very fine greys, beiges and bistres.
The two works are painted with a light, vibrant touch in lively tones. The painter makes the colours sing, especially the reds, but also the blues and the greens by applying them onto the very fine greys, beiges and bistres.
1527 – Antwerp – 1581
Maerten van Cleve was the son of the painter Willem van Cleve and the pupil of Frans Floris. In 1551, he became a Master of the Antwerp guild, the very same year as his ...
read more1527 – Antwerp – 1581
Maerten van Cleve was the son of the painter Willem van Cleve and the pupil of Frans Floris. In 1551, he became a Master of the Antwerp guild, the very same year as his contemporary, Pieter Brueghel the Elder. It is important to note that van Cleve never travelled to Italy, even though this was customary at the time for numerous young painters from northern Europe. The influence of Pieter Aertsen can clearly be seen in his early works. The popular, peasant scenes of his later works prove the artist’s taste for the universe of Pieter Brueghel. Like the latter, Maerten van Cleve painted many aspects of life in the countryside with an acute sense of reality. We know that Pieter Brueghel the Younger, who was inspired by the work of his famous father, also drew inspiration from several of van Cleve’s paintings.
A number of characteristics can be found in all the works of the Maerten van Cleve: the women’s white headdresses are larger than those painted by the Brueghels, and the strings are sometimes knotted above their heads. In addition, his paintings are never complete without a dog, which is nearly always portrayed in profile.
This exceptional artist worked with his brother Hendrik, a landscape painter, as well as with the Grimmers and Gillis van Coninxloo.
