Frans Geffels

Frans Geffels, known in Italy as Francesco Geffels (25 August 1624 – 18 February 1694), was a Flemish painter, printmaker, architect, stage designer and designer of ephemeral structures for solemn and festive occasions. After training in his native Antwerp, he was mainly active in Mantua, where he was prefetto delle fabbriche to the Duke, a role that gave him the direction of the artistic and construction activities undertaken by the Ducal court. He worked also on projects for the local aristocratic class of Mantua. In addition, he completed projects for the Liechtenstein princes and for the imperial court in Vienna.

He was both a canvas and fresco painter. He created portraits, history subjects, military scenes, architectural scenes and genre art, in particular merry companies. Geffels is mainly remembered as the designer of some of the key examples of Baroque architecture in Mantua.

Life He was born in Antwerp as the son of a laborer in a sugar refinery and a mother who operated a cheese shop. Middeleer was a painter, printmaker and publisher. By 1653 he was already abroad for some time. Geffels was working as an architect at the court. In 1664 Geffens was granted citizenship of Mantua. There existed a close relationship between the Viennese court and the dukes of Mantua through marital links. The Empress Dowager Eleonora Gonzaga (1630–1686) was the third wife of Emperor Ferdinand III and the sister of Charles II Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers. He also participated on a book containing the libretto by Francesco Sbarra for the opera Il pomo d'oro scored by Antonio Cesti, which was staged twice in July 1668 on the occasion of the marriage of Emperor Leopold I and Margaret Theresa of Spain. In the print, the imperial family is shown sitting at the front. In the foreground there is a row of soldiers. Geffels had himself worked on the illusionist ceiling paintings for the court theatre, which are also shown in the print.

As a court painter and architect, Geffels was not prohibited from taking on private commissions. An important private commission was the redesigning of the Sordi Palace for Benedetto Sordi. He created frescoes in the palace and had the sculptor Gian Battista Barberini provide sculptured decoration of the façade and interior of the palace.

He remained in office until his death in Mantua on 18 February 1694. For the Relief of Vienna Geffels relied on a print engraved by Johann Jakob Hofmann after a design by Justus van den Nypoort published soon after the events happened.

Two portraits of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga di Nevers have been attributed to Geffels. The portrait in the Palazzo d'Arco in Mantua has been attributed on the basis of a print made after the portrait which identifies Geffels as the designer. The second portrait is in the Palazzo Sordi. A pendant to this picture depicts the Duke's wife. The portrait shows the Duke at full length with a page on his side who is handing him a letter on a pewter plate. The Duke is wearing a heavy blue coat. The face is rendered with very recognizable features and an absent expression.

Geffels was also a genre painter. A number of merry companies of elegant figures engaging in play, dance, dinner or music playing are attributed to Geffels. His Dinner Party on a Terrace, (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1660s) was previously attributed to the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch. Geffels also painted some paintings of the humbler classes of society, which recalls the paintings of the Bamboccianti. An example is the Antique ruins with a Roma family (Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest), 1660s). It shows some figures who may be Romani people possibly preparing a meal and a shepherd with a herd inside a tunnel-like grotto with Antique architectural elements. The iconographic interpretation of the work is not entirely clear. The inscription 'TEMPORALE AET (E) RNITAS' (temporary eternity) can be read on the relief of the pedestal of a tomb depicted on the left. This may be a reference to the theme of vanitas, i.e. the reflection on the transience of earthly things in general. Below the text there is a relief possibly depicting a sacrificial scene: a female figure is standing on a pedestal with her eyes looking up while at her feet children hold up a garland and the face of an old bearded man is placed between the two children. The tunnel in the picture is likely not an existing Antique structure but was created by combining motifs from different locations, which Geffels may have known through print publications. The work with its complex perspective of the tunnel grotto demonstrates how Geffels was able to put his skill as an architect and theatrical designer to good use in his paintings.

Finally, Geffels also painted religious subjects. He painted an Altarpiece of the Christian Doctrine in the church of San Martino in Mantua. He further painted on the ceiling of a room in the Palazzo Valenti-Gonzaga a series of frescoes on the theme of the Prodigal Son.

Prints Geffels was a printmaker and designer of prints. A number of these prints illustrated ephemeral objects that he had designed himself. This is the case of the Design for the funeral monument of Claudia Felicitas of Austria and the Structures for the funeral of Charles II Gonzaga Nevers.

Geffels collaborated on the publication of Galeazzo Gualdo Priorato's Historia di Leopoldo Cesare, published by Johann Baptist Hacque in Vienna (vols. 1-2, 1670; vol. 3, 1674). The first volume described the political and military successes of Emperor Leopold I between 1656 and 1670. It was illustrated with prints after designs primarily by Netherlandish artists with portraits of European monarchs and important aristocrats, as well as castle scenes, battle scenes, maps and ceremonies. Apart from Geffels whose portrait designs were used for some of the prints, the Dutch and Flemish artists contributing were Cornelis Meyssens, Jan de Herdt, Franciscus van der Steen, Gerard Bouttats, Adriaen van Bloemen, Jacob Toorenvliet, Leonard Hendrik van Otteren (fl. 1670 - 1713) and Sebastian van Dryweghen (fl. 1670-76). German and Italian artists Moritz Lang (fl. c. 1647 - 1670), Johann Martin Lerch (1643 - 1693), Johann Holst (fl. 17th century), Marco Boschini and 'Il Bianchi' also contributed.

Architectural works in Mantua Geffels is mainly remembered for his architectural projects in Mantua. It is not clear where Geffels obtained his architectural training. In his native Antwerp he must have familiarised himself with the home and workshop and annex courtyard garden that Peter Paul Rubens had designed for himself based on his artistic ideals. Rubens had further published in 1622 the Palazzi di Genova, an important book illustrated by himself, which depicted and described the palaces of Genoa in Italy in 72 plates. Geffels certainly had access to this book in Antwerp. Further, working with Daniel van den Dyck during his early years in Mantua must have given him further opportunities to hone his skills as an architect.

The first palace in Mantua for which Geffels made the designs was the Palazzo Gonzaga di Vescovato in Portiolo on which he worked in 1662. He was also involved in the redesign of various other buildings including the villa of his friend Francesco Zanetti in Montanara (also known as Palazzo Cavalcabò), Zanetti's town house in via Corridoni, his own house, the Rabbi's House (1680) and the Church of San Martino in Mantua. The façade of the Church of San Martino is less Baroque then his other works. It is composed of a single giant row of four pilasters with composite capitals framing a central doorway, a rectangular window on each side, and three niches with large shells surmounted by pediments. These niches now contain plaster statues added only in 1739. In the church interior Geffels preserved the aisleless layout, which he enhanced with a decorative stucco frieze. The stuccowork was executed by Giacomo Aliprandi and Michele Costa. The reconstruction works on the church were carried out from 1680 to 1694.

He redesigned the Palazzo Valenti Gonzaga. This was a pre-existing building from the 16th century, which the owners wished to modernize. The façade was transformed into a Baroque style by another Lombard architect. Geffels' contribution is situated in the interior of the palace. He reworked the façade of the inner courtyard, which included a statue of Jove and painted decorations combined with stucco reliefs. The façade at the rear of the courtyard was also remodeled by Geffens. In the palace he redesigned the rooms. In some he painted frescoes while Gian Battista Barberini added decorative stuccowork and statues. The renovation was concluded in 1677.

In the Sordi Palace, also pre-existing, Geffels had a free hand. He worked here again with the sculptor Barberini. The Baroque façade extending over two floors shows a horizontal sequence of paired windows which contrasts with the vertical dynamic created by the balustrades on the belt course. It is richly decorated. The central reception hall is elevated above the cornice. Geffels created in some of the reception halls frescoes of battles: one of the two reception halls is named after the battle of Belgrade against the Turks, in which the owner of the palace was a participant. Gian Battista Barberini provided the rich stuccowork decoration of the façade and interior. Geffels designed an artificial natural environment, decorated with wells, stalactite caves, mythological sculptures for the palace.