7.2 Johannes Lingelbach
According to Houbraken, Johannes Lingelbach (1622-1674) left Amsterdam in 1642 to travel to France, and some two years later he set out for Rome.1 His stay in Rome is firmly documented in the years 1647, 1648 and 1649.2 In 1647 and 1648 he lived in Strada Paolina and in 1649 he moved to Porto di Napoli. In 1647 he had two roommates, 'Abram Jansens' (Abraham Janssens II, Antwerp 1616–after 1649 Rome) and 'Cornelio Denan'. According to Alison Stoesser, Cornelio Denan may be Cornelis de Wael (1592–1667).3 This would have had important consequences for Lingelbach’s career in Rome, because De Wael was also active as an art dealer with an extensive network, particularly in that city.4 However, I believe that 'Cornelio Denan' refers to the artist Cornelis de Man (1621–1706) from Delft.5 According to Houbraken, De Man travelled to Paris, Florence, Rome and Venice. Before he went to Rome, he spent two years in Florence working for a wealthy patron.6 From the parish archives we can assume that De Man was in Rome in 1647 and left in the same year. Meanwhile, Cornelis de Wael appears in the Roman parish archives as 'Cornelio de Vale' in the years 1657, 1658 and 1659.7
Where Lingelbach is concerned, we can be sure from his marriage certificate that he was in Amsterdam in April 1653.8 Little is known about the period between 1650 and 1653. However, based on a letter of 1675 from Francesco Oddi to Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici (1617–1675), which contains a list of painters, sculptors and architects working in Naples from 1640 onwards, we can assume that Lingelbach also spent time in Naples, where he may have been active before his return trip to the Netherlands.9 One of his paintings is believed to depict Mount Vesuvius [7]; on stylistic grounds that is usually dated to the late 1650s. In fact we know of no works from his time in Italy, whereas there are signed and dated paintings of almost every year after his return to Amsterdam.10
7
Johannes Lingelbach
View of the port of Naples with the Eruption of the Vesuvius, c. 1655-1660
Private collection
Notes
1 Houbraken 1718-1721, vol. 2 (1719), p. 145-146: ‘[…] maar wel dat hy gespoort tot reislust, zig in den jare 1642 van Amsterdam naar Vrankryk begaf en naa verloop van twee jaren naar Romen, daar hy zyn Konst met yver en vlyt oeffende tot het jaar 1650, wanneer hy op den 8 van Bloeimaand, op Zondag, van Romen, zyn te rug reis door Duitschland nam, en in Wiedemaand weder in goede gezontheid tot Amsterdam aanquam’. Horn/van Leeuwen 2021, vol. 2, p. 145-146: ‘[… ] but I can say that spurred on by wanderlust, he went from Amsterdam to France in 1642, and after the passing of two years on to Rome, where he practiced his art with effort and diligence until 1650, when on the 8th of May, on a Sunday, he undertook his return journey though Germany and arrived in Amsterdam in good health in June’.
2 Hoogewerff 1942, p. 118, 119, 121: ‘1647: Aan de overzijde van dezelfde straat: Signor Abram Jansens d’Anversa, pittore, com. Cornelio Denan, com. Partito. Giovanni Lingba, comunicato; 1648: Aan de overzijde van dezelfde straat: Signor Abram Jansens, d’Anversa, pittore, comunicato. Giovanni Lingla, pittore, comunicato. Ugo Nois, pittore, comunicato. Twee huizen verder woont nog steeds Nicolò Poussin; 1649: Horto di Napoli. Giovanni Linghebal, pittore, comunicato. Filippo Leitens, compagno, comunicato’.
3 Stoesser 2018, p. 52, 98.
4 Ibid. As shown by Stoesser, the de Wael brothers were active as artists and art dealers in Antwerp, Genoa and Rome. Their extensive network of friends and clients stretched from the northern Netherlands to Sicily.
5 For more information on Cornelis de Man: Bassett 2003.
6 Houbraken 1718–1721, vol. 2 (1719), p. 99: ‘Parys was de eerste Stad daar hy stil hield om zyn Konst te oeffenen; maar om den trek dien hy naar Rome had, liet hy zig daar niet langer dan een jaar ophouden, wanneer hy voortreisde op Lion en van daar door Lombardyen naar Italien’; Horn/van Leeuwen 2021, vol. 2, p. 99: ‘Paris was the first city in which he stopped to practice his art, but because of the attraction of Rome he did not remain there for longer than a year, when he travelled on to Lyon and from there to Lombardy in Italy’.
7 Hoogewerff 1942, p. 147, 149.
8 De Vries 1885, p. 159: ‘Ondertr: 26 April 1653. Johannes Lingelbach, van Francfort am Meyn, schilder, won. op de Roosegracht, out 29 jaer, een vader sieck hebbende, en Tietje Hendrix Poussi, van A, woon inde Corsiesteech, geass. met haar moeder Hilletie Baerents, hy vertoont acte van consent vande vader’.
9 Porzio/Sman 2018–2019, p. 56. Baldinucci 1975, p. 362: ‘Nota de’pittori, scultori et architettori che dall’anno 1640 sino al presente giorno hanno operato lodevolmente nella città e Regno di Napoli’; p. 364: ‘Giantibach fiammingo, morto 4 anni sono’. Oddi seems to suggest that Lingelbach died in 1671, but this is incorrect, since he is known to have died in 1674. See Burger-Wegener 1976, p. 19, with reference to Gemeentearchief Amsterdam, begraafregister 1134/3, Nov. 1674. On 3 November 1674 Johannes Lingelbach was buried in the Oude Luthersche Kerk.
10 Kren made an attempt to attribute some of Lingelbach's works to his period in Italy. These are characterised by a smaller size, relatively few figures, and a setting of anonymous streets and taverns. In his later paintings the number of figures and buildings is greater and the space is more complex. However no conclusive evidence is provided. Kren 1982, p. 45–62; Schatborn 2001, p. 124.