Cornelis Mahu

Cornelis Mahu (1613 – 16 November 1689) was a Flemish painter of still lifes, genre paintings and seascapes who showed a very high level of craftsmanship in his compositions.

Life Mahu was born in Antwerp. Nothing is known about his training before he became master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1638. In 1633 he married Brigitta Wolfvoet, who was the daughter of the painter and art dealer Victor Wolfvoet I and brother of the painter Victor Wolfvoet II. It is possible that his father-in-law was his master.

In addition to his son Victor, he had three pupils of whom Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen the Elder is the best known. His son Victor (c. 1665 – 1700/01) continued painting genre scenes in the style of his father. He stressed realism in his still lifes. He also painted Flemish style still lifes more in the style of Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder.

Genre scenes Cornelis Mahu was a skilled painter of genre scenes depicted in an interior or outside setting. He was inspired by the various subjects developed by David Teniers the Younger, Adriaen van Ostade and Jan Miense Molenaer such as barn interiors, guardroom scenes and tavern interiors. These lively paintings are full of figures with exaggerated and rough features.

Mahu painted a Guardroom with the Release of St. Peter (Sold at Agraa Art on 17 October 2004), which is freely inspired by two compositions of David Teniers the Younger in the Wallace Collection and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden. It is possible that in line with the moralizing intent of the genre, the armour is a reference to the vanitas motif of the transience of power and fame. The composition also includes a religious scene of the 'Release of St. Peter', which is visible through a gate in the background of the painting. This inclusion of a religious scene in a larger composition is reminiscent of the work of 16th century painters in Antwerp such as Pieter Aertsen and Joachim Beuckelaer who placed small religious scenes in the background of lush scenes of markets.

Marine paintings Although better known for his still lifes and genre scenes, Mahu produced a number of seascapes that show his originality. The seascapes usually depict ships on a wild sea occasionally with a harbour scene or ships in distress. His palette uses a mixture of greens and browns. Mahu's marine scenes with their heavy clouds and raging seas are similar to those of Bonaventura Peeters, the leading representative of the "monochrome" movement in marine painting. Other marine paintings show a similarity with those of the painter Jan Porcellis.