Cornelis van der Geest

Cornelis van der Geest (1555 – 10 March 1638) was a spice merchant from Antwerp who used his wealth to support the Antwerp artists and to establish his art collection. He was also the dean of the haberdashers' guild. He was portrayed repeatedly by Anthony van Dyck, including in the 1620 Portrait of Cornelis van der Geest.

Willem van Haecht, whom van der Geest employed as a curator of his collection, painted van der Geest's collection several times, including in a painting showing the visit of the governors of the Spanish Netherlands, Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia to the collection (Rubenshuis, Antwerp). Van der Geest owned two paintings by the prominent Antwerp painter Quentin Matsys and/or his workshop, one of which, a Madonna, van der Geest is pointing to in the Rubenshuis painting. Other artworks included in this painting are Woman at her toilet by Jan van Eyck, a still life by Frans Snyders, Ceres Mocked by Adam Elsheimer, Danaë by Van Haecht, Battle of the Amazons and a portrait by Peter Paul Rubens, Pancake bakery by Pieter Aertsen, a drawing of Apelles painting Campaspe by Johannes Wierix and a hunting scene by Jan Wildens. The painting also shows some of Van der Geest's sculptures, with copies of the Venus de' Medici, the Farnese Hercules, and the Apollo Belvedere.

Maecenas

Van der Geest also acted as a maecenas. He arranged for Rubens to get the order for a triptych for the Saint Walpurga church in Antwerp, which resulted in the Elevation of the Cross, now in the Cathedral of Antwerp. Similarly, the order for the 1630-1632 Triptych of Saint Ildephonsus, intended for the Saint James church, but now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, was given to Rubens through the influence of Van der Geest.

Van der Geest also financed a memorial plaque for Quentin Metsys, hung on the outside of the tower of the Antwerp Cathedral.