RKD STUDIES

The Flemish painter Jan van Gelder (1621–1685) was born in Antwerp in 1621 to Chiara or Clara Sustermans, sister of the well-known Justus Sustermans (1597–1681), and a drapery merchant. He began his artistic training in the atelier of Andries Snellinck (1587–1653), and, as shown by the studies of Lidia Righi in the Archivio di Stato di Modena (ASMo, Historical archives of Modena),¹ he arrived in Italy around 1649. Within the Duchy of Modena he served as court painter to the Este family from 1651 until 1681, and as aiutante di camera for Alfonso IV (1634–1662) [16] for seven years, from 1656 to the Duke’s death in 1662. He lived in Modena for more than 35 years, and died there in 1685. In that time he experienced the climax and decline of the Este family’s patronage, and became connected to other artists working under the duchy of Francesco I (1610–1658), Alfonso IV, Laura Martinozzi (1639–1687) and Francesco II (1660–1694). Various suggestions can be put forward to explain his arrival in Italy. The first is that he may have been summoned by his uncle Justus Sustermans, who in 1649 had been invited to Modena by Francesco I to paint the portraits of the dukes of Este. Other possibilities are that he may have been on a training journey, as it was common for Flemish and Dutch artists, or that he may have gone to Italy hoping to find fame and rewards, as his uncle had before him.²

Giuseppe Campori³ and Adolfo Venturi⁴ were the first historians to provide more detailed information on Jan van Gelder: the former highlighted the relationship between the painter and the Gonzaga court of Novellara, as we will see, and the latter studied his activity at the Este court in the second half of the 17th century. Subsequent literature on this topic added little about his early years⁵ and mentioned him only as a copyist of portraits,⁶ mainly those by Sustermans.⁷ More recently, however, the historical and artistic character of Modena in the time of Francesco I was revealed thanks to the publication of an important book edited by Stefano Casciu, Sonia Cavicchioli and Elena Fumagalli. Here the essay by Lisa Goldenberg Stoppato⁸ sheds new light on the figure of Van Gelder, thanks to her analysis of unpublished documents in the Archivio di Stato di Modena and the Archivio di Stato di Firenze. This painter is only now emerging from oblivion, and that calls for a new wave of studies on his human and artistic life. Although he was highly esteemed at the Este court, his name is not mentioned in the inventories of Sassuolo and Modena or in the 18th- and 19th-century Modena guidebooks.⁹

As mentioned above, Jan van Gelder worked for the Gonzaga court in Novellara, a minor court which was very close to the more famous one of their ‘cousins’ in Mantua. The counts of Novellara were a cadet branch of the Gonzaga dynasty since they did not descend from the firstborn line, but in spite of this they played a key role in several respects. First of all, the Gonzaga family of Novellara was the most enduring cadet branch of the family: they ruled for a total of 357 years, from 1371 until 1728, almost equalling the Gonzaga of Mantua, who ruled for 379 years. Ruling uninterrupted for such a long time was made possible by the absence of any other local noble families that could equal the Gonzagas’ economic and political power. Their importance also brought members of other powerful families to accept or propose marriages: Camillo I (1521–1595), for example, married Barbara Borromeo, the niece of St Charles Borromeo, and Camillo II (1581–1650) took as his wife Caterina d’Avalos, on her mother’s side the niece of the Duke of Urbino, Francesco Maria della Rovere. Camillo II's daughter Lavinia first married the imperial councillor Wratislao Furstenberg and then Otto von Harrach, of the family who owned the Bohemian glassworks. The Gonzaga of Novellara were active on both the national and the international scene: they were councillors of popes, commanders and diplomats. Like many other lords of the time, they were characterised by good governance and cunning, as well as by an interest in music, literature, and the collection of works of art.¹⁰

The defining features of these small dominions located between Modena, Reggio, Parma and Mantua were on the one hand their alliance with the major lords, and on the other their will to claim privileges and autonomy of government. Simultaneously they wanted to establish themselves on both the national and the international level and to create a strong local cultural identity linked to the dynasty: 'While such small states aspired to some degree of autonomy, they were also part of a nexus of political and economic arrangements that made them critically dependent upon the larger states in the area […]. At the same time, through the practice of arms the states of the Po Valley attached themselves to Spain and the Empire following the treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, inserting themselves in the complex game of international diplomacy in the process; in consequence, while they were weak in political terms, in diplomatic ones their contacts were extensive. At the height of their prosperity and influence during the sixteenth century, such small urban centres were sometimes of considerable cultural and musical interest'.¹¹

Where Novellara is concerned, the extraordinary art collection of the Gonzaga family was a significant demonstration of this aspect. The starting point of the collection can be traced back to Camillo I and his brother Alfonso I (1529–1589); the former, who had been a soldier in Flanders for ten years, brought to Novellara a considerable number of Flemish works of art. The apex of the collection was reached with Camillo II and his son Alfonso II (1616–1678), who were very much interested in contemporary painting. The inventories compiled between 1727 and 1729 after the death, respectively, of Camillo III (1649–1727) and his son Filippo Alfonso (1700–1728), and the inventory compiled in 1769 after the death of Filippo Alfonso’s sister, Ricciarda (1698–1768), record a great number of paintings, sculptures, engravings, jewels, pieces of silverware, ivories, ceramics, books, incunabula, medals, tapestries, carriages, litters and musical instruments. More specifically, in Filippo Alfonso’s collections, some 1,006 works of art were recorded – excluding sculptures and drawings – 50 of which could be attributed to Correggio (c. 1489–1534). Other artists represented included Guido Reni (1575–1642), Parmigianino (1503–1540), Guercino, Tiziano (1488/90–1576), Raphael (1483–1520), Annibale Carracci (1560–1609) and Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619).¹²

From the analysis of unpublished documents preserved in the Archivio Storico Comunale di Novellara (Municipal Historic Archive of Novellara), including letters, registers and payment orders, new aspects of Van Gelder’s life and activity for the court of Novellara emerged: these include, for instance, his relationship with Count Alfonso II [17] and his son Camillo III [18], his social network, his clients, and, in consequence, the works of art that he executed. These pieces of information made it possible for us among other things to add new elements to his catalogue, which had only featured a small number of works. The analysis of the letters published by Giuseppe Campori,¹³ together with investigation in the Archive of Novellara, shows that Van Gelder worked not only for Alfonso II but also for Camillo III, even when Alfonso was still alive. Thus he did not work for the court just for a short period of time or for occasional jobs: he was closely linked to it. Furthermore, the letters in the corpus of the correspondence show that Modena was the place from which Van Gelder wrote. Thus he was working for Novellara while he was working for the Este family and living in Modena. However, as the painter himself tells us, a licence granted by the Duke of Este was necessary for him to move to the court of Novellara.¹⁴

For the court of Novellara he made portraits and several other paintings. Thanks to the Libro Mastro – a ledger recording the income and expenditure of the court – we even get to know the price of some of them. For instance, 9 doppie were paid for three paintings, and 7 lire were paid to take these paintings from Modena to Novellara [19-20].¹⁵ From a document dated 14 May 1668 we get to know that the painter was in financial difficulties, asking Alfonso II for help.¹⁶ This situation was probably linked to the fact that the widow of Alfonso IV d’Este, Laura Martinozzi, assumed the regency of the state in the name of her son Francesco II from 1662 to 1674, and sacrificed the promotion of all activities connected to art in favour of a more rigid economy aimed at reorganising the budget of the state. This was the moment when several artists left the court. Van Gelder, however, remained, and begged the Duchess to consider him a loyal painter, given the fact that he had been serving the Este family for many years. Unfortunately he did not receive the answer he was hoping for.¹⁷ From the payment order associated with the letter addressed to Alfonso II we can see that after a few months he received from Giacomo Galuppi 1,240 lire as payment for some paintings, probably executed in the previous year [21].¹⁸

In other letters we can see the important role played by the painter at the court of Novellara: in 1668 he informed the Count of his return to Modena from Vienna, where he had gone to take two portraits to Ferdinand, Count of Harrach, Alfonso II’s nephew (see below). These works depicted members of the Gonzaga family, since Ferdinand had expressed his desire to have the portrait of Alfonso II as well.¹⁹ In 1676 the painter sent two other portraits from Modena which he had made for the Count of Novellara. These were commissioned by a doctor, Antonio Ferrarini at the request of Alfonso IV’s brother, Alfonso d’Este. They are of Maria Beatrice d’Este (1658–1718), Duchess of York, who married the Duke of York and future King of England James II Stuart (1633–1701) in 1673, and of her brother, the Duke of Modena Francesco II (1660–1694).²⁰ This last document gives us crucial information: Van Gelder states that the money will be well spent; he tells Alfonso II that the other lords usually give him 4 or 5 doble for each painting. This information is very important, since it reveals how much the painter was paid and, in consequence, the value of his works [22r-22v].

16
Justus Sustermans
Portrait of Duke Alfonso IV d'Este, c. 1654
Modena, Galleria Estense, inv./cat.nr. 3472

17
Cesare Gennari
Portrait of Alfonso II Gonzaga conte di Novellara(1616-1678), dated 1666
Modena, Galleria Estense, inv./cat.nr. R.C.G.E. 43

18
Marc'Antonio Donzelli
Portrait of Camillo III Gonzaga Count of Novellara (1649-1727), 1694
Novellara, Museo Gonzaga

19
AGN, Amministrazione II serie reg. 279, c. 39v. February 22nd, 1667. Courtesy of Historical Archive, Novellara (photo: Jasmine Habcy)

20
AGN, Amministrazione II serie reg. 279, c. 39v. February 22nd, 1667, detail. Courtesy of Historical Archive, Novellara (photo: Jasmine Habcy)

21
AGN, Amministrazione I serie b. 44. June 30th, 1668. Courtesy of Historical Archive, Novellara (photo: Jasmine Habcy)