3.5 From Rome to Turin: Open Questions
As noted in the previous paragraph, the commission for Chieri Cathedral suggests a connection with Piedmont from the early 1650s, something that merits further study. The circumstances that took Miel to Turin at the end of 1658 also need to be clarified. Archival documents show that Charles Emmanuel II called him there.1 On the basis of that, Giovanni Romano argued that Miel may have arrived in the entourage of ‘monsignore di Fossano’,2 but so far we have no further evidence of a relationship with a prelate from Fossano . However, from reading Miel’s last will, drawn up in Rome on 26 September 1658, just a few months before he left the city, it is possible to infer that he had connections with some people from Piedmont. He gave 50 scudi to don Umilio, a priest from Piedmont, and he left to a certain ‘Gio.[vanni] Bergeria sabaudo […] quattro luoghi di monti’ (i.e. public debt securities). Miel also left 25 scudi to the ‘Ill[ustrissi]mo Musanti, auditore di S[ua] A[ltezza] Serenissima di Savoia’.3 We do not know who these men were, but further investigation may lead to interesting insights concerning Miel’s acquaintances in Rome.
At the same time, both Miel’s wills, of 1654 and 1658, confirm that during his years in Rome he maintained relationships with some of his compatriots. He mentions the still-life painter Joannes Fijt (1611–1661), then living in Antwerp; the Flemish prelate Stephen van der Goes, chamberlain to Pope Innocent X, and his brother Balthasar, based in Ancona and patron of Luigi Gentile (Louis Cousin, 1606–1667/1668).4 Miel also left in his will ‘un quadro per l’altare di San Pietro e San Paulo apostoli’ to the Confraternity of San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi.5 Finally, both wills were executed by Jacques de Grave, with whom Miel lived in Rome between 1648 and 1652.6
In Turin Miel did not abandon either genre or history painting. On the contrary, he used what he had learnt in Rome to fulfil the copious requests of the Duke of Savoy, who employed him extensively in the decoration of the Palazzo Reale and the Venaria Reale. In addition to these official commissions, Miel produced paintings for the art market, such as Company of Soldiers [34], signed and dated 1659, during his time in Turin. Although this painting shows a more mature style than that demonstrated in his early works, it testifies to Miel’s continued production of paintings of daily life. Its owner was the Archbishop of Turin,7 an interesting fact, for it further confirms the approval of the bambocciate, the esteem for Miel’s work, and its diffusion among collectors of high social standing.
Due to the lack of documents, it is difficult to know the situation of the art market and collecting in Turin.8 However some paintings by Miel, yet to be fully examined, testify to his employment apart from official commissions for the ducal residences. I would like to present here a few examples that could provide a direction for future research on Miel’s period in Turin. There are two small paintings, similar in terms of subject and size: the Hunt of Diana [35] of the Musei Civici in Genoa, currently held in the Palace of Venaria Reale near Turin,9 and the Hunt of Diana [36] in Benappi Fine Art.10 The repetition of some details, such as the bloodhound caressed by Diana and the inclusion in the foreground of the still life with rabbit and doe that represent the spoils of the hunt, suggests that Miel reused them at his patrons’ requests. Given the style of these two paintings, they must belong to Miel’s years in Turin. What is more, they depict on a small scale the subject of the hunt, a theme that Miel had not explored in Rome, but which he had executed on a monumental scale in the Palace of Venaria Reale as a series of paintings on the themes of the hunt and the story of Diana.11 Miel also painted sacred subjects, such as the Annunciation in a private collection in Piedmont, discovered years ago by Alberto Cottino, of which the original location is still unknown.12
In conclusion, this selective analysis of Miel’s overall pictorial production reveals a versatile painter, who on one hand was able to develop a personal language that combined Flemish and Roman artistic culture, and on the other could adapt his style to the context in which he was working in order to satisfy his patrons.
34
Jan Miel
Soldiers resting near ruins in an Italianate landscape, dated 1659
35
Jan Miel
Diana and hunting nymphs, 1658-1664
Turin, Reggia di Venaria
36
Jan Miel
Diana with hunting nymphs, c. 1658-1664
London (England), art dealer Benappi Fine Art
Notes
1 Turin, Archivio di Stato, Sezioni Riunite, Camera dei Conti, Piemonte, Patenti controllo finanze, art. 689, 20 ottobre 1658, mazzo 138, ff. 65r–65v; already in Vesme 1963–1982, vol. 2, p. 686–687.
2 Vesme 1963–1982, vol. 1, p. 109; Romano 1981, p. 323.
3 Bertolotti 1885, p. 22–23.
4 Kren 1978, vol. I, p. 18–19. On the patronage of Balthasar van der Goes: Bodart 1970, vol. I, p. 157; Diamantini 2007, p. 130; Polverari 2014.
5 Bertolotti 1880, p. 142.
6 Kren 1978, vol. 1, p. 19.
7 Kren 1978, vol. 2, p. 102–103 cat. A82a.
8 On this topic: Cifani/Monetti 1993.
9 Its original provenance is still unknown, however the fact that in 1938 it entered the collection of Palazzo Bianco in Genoa as a bequest of the Marquise Laura Gropallo, is truly interesting: Goria 2018, p. 226, note 71. Despite Miel’s relationship with the brothers Agostino and Giacomo Franzone, there is no trace of his presence in Genoa, which is quite unexpected because Agostino, who died in that city in 1705, was appointed in 1664 by Miel as his universal heir. The inventory of the painter’s estate is still missing, but one can imagine that he left some works to his patron. On the last will: Vesme 1963–1982, vol. 2, p. 688.
10 The original patron of this picture is still unknown. I would like to thank Ezio and Nadia Benappi for bringing the painting to my attention and for allowing me to publish it. I would also like to thank Enrica Roberto for providing me with a good photograph.
11 On the Hall of Diana at the Venaria Reale: Goria 2018 with bibliography.
12 From the Boselli collection of San Giorgio Canavese: Cottino 1985, p. 365.