Provenance:
• collection Roose-Rubens, Château de Bouchout;
• Léopold de Beauffort Collection
• Château Houpoigne;
• private collection.
Sold to the Brussels Museum
In the 16th century,...
read moreProvenance:
• collection Roose-Rubens, Château de Bouchout;
• Léopold de Beauffort Collection
• Château Houpoigne;
• private collection.
Sold to the Brussels Museum
In the 16th century, the Notre-Dame du Sablon’s neighbourhood was subject to considerable development. Close to the court of the former dukes of Burgundy and Charles the Fifth, the former horse market square was embellished with a growing number of town houses and aristocratic palaces. The local church benefited from the favours of princes, and many military guilds decided to establish themselves there. The Place du Sablon and its church became emblematic of court life in Brussels, and the celebrations that took place there quickly became a fashionable subject in popular imagery in Brussels.
On 16th May 1615, the ruler of the Netherlands participated in the oath ceremony of the guild of crossbowmen. As the representative of the sovereign, she had to shoot down the plume at the top of the church spire with an arrow from a crossbow to become queen of the corporation. Here, the scene represents the Archduchess shortly after having succeeded in shooting down the “popinjay”. Eleven days later, the town magistrate voted in favour of a considerable gift of 25,000 florins to honour her. Isabella decided that the revenue from this sum would serve as a permanent allowance dedicated each year to six poor young girls, who would participate in a procession around the Sablon on Whit Monday: the “Procession of the Maidens”.
Our painting focuses on a portrayal of the Sablon with particular attention to the details and the anecdote. The scene where the Infanta Isabella is holding the crossbow is situated on the far left of the panel. Just like numerous religious compositions painted in the Netherlands at the time, the main scene is relegated to the background of the picture. The Infanta is very small, giving prominence to the musicians, the army rabble and the crowd of onlookers in front of the church.
Depicting such an event also allowed the artist to paint one of the town’s most important neighbourhoods. The architectural grouping that constituted the square is painted with great finesse and precision. In order to establish the monumentality of the Sablon, the painter has taken care to depict the surroundings. The well-informed eye of the historian can easily spot the residences of the great princely families of the Hapsburg court: among them is the Tour and Taxis residence, the former Hôtel d’Orange Nassau and the Hôtel d’Edgmont.
The last of the three known versions to still belong to a private collection, our painting seems to have been at the origin of two others which are kept at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels and the Château de Gaasbeek in Flemish Brabant respectively. The desire of a rich sponsor who was present at the “Grand Serment”, this painting perfectly concords with the taste of the period for depicting major events that marked city life. Denijs van Alsloot, David Teniers the Younger and Peter Snayers, all three contemporaries of Sallaert, were also renowned for this genre.
Painted with grace and precision, this work is a unique testimony of court life in Flanders at the beginning of the 17th century.
Brussels ca. 1590 – ca. 1657/58
We know that Antoon Sallaert joined the Brussels guild in 1606 after having served as an assistant to Michel de Bordeau, an unknown painter officiating in the...
read moreBrussels ca. 1590 – ca. 1657/58
We know that Antoon Sallaert joined the Brussels guild in 1606 after having served as an assistant to Michel de Bordeau, an unknown painter officiating in the capital of the southern Netherlands at the time. Having also worked in Antwerp, probably in Rubens’ studio, Antoon Sallaert became a master of his guild in 1613 and was elected dean in 1633 and in 1648.
His main sponsor was the Order of the Jesuits. Although he was known for his religious compositions, the painter was not averse to illustrating the little everyday events of life in Flanders. Living in Brussels, he naturally included cartoons and tapestries in his work. The large volume of cartoons he produced (no fewer than a hundred and twenty are known to have been made before 1646) bears witness to his active participation in the expansion and development of tapestry in Brussels. Antoon Sallaert also practised engraving and drawing. In fact, the precepts acquired during his collaboration with Rubens are the most visible in his drawings.
A multi-talented painter, Antoon Sallaert is now considered to be one of the leading painters in Brussels at the time of Archduke Albert and Isabella.
