Jan Snellinck

Jan Snellinck or Jan Snellinck (I) (c. 1548 – 1 October 1638) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and designer of tapestries, prints and frescoes. He is known for his large altarpieces and was also recognized as a leading battle painter in his time. Snellinck was active as an art dealer and art collector.

Life Jan Snellinck was born in Mechelen, the son of Daniël Snellinck I, a painter and hawker, and Cornelia Verhulst (alias: Bessemeers). His mother came from a family of established artists in Mechelen. Her father and numerous uncles were painters. Her sister Mayken Verhulst married the prominent painter Pieter Coecke van Aelst and was the mother-in-law of Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Another sister Elisabeth married the prominent printmaker and publisher Hubertus Goltzius.

Jan Snellinck maintained a close relationship with the Brueghel family and was a witness at the weddings of both Pieter Brueghel the Younger in 1588 and Jan Brueghel the Elder in 1599. He was also present at the banquet held on the return of the latter from his study trip to Italy.

Snellinck studied with his father as a watercolor painter. He converted to the Calvinist faith but converted back to Catholicism after the Spanish retook Flanders.

In 1574 Snellinck was in Antwerp where he got married on 10 July of that year to Helena de Jode, a daughter of the printmaker and publisher Gerard de Jode. The couple had three sons named Daniel, Gerard and Jan who all trained under their father to become painters. A grandson called Cornelis and a great-grandson called Jan were painters in Rotterdam. His first wife died on 12 September 1581. He remarried in 1586 to Paulina Cuypers (alias Boschmans), who was a relative (possibly the sister) of the mother of Anthony van Dyck. The couple had 10 children of whom three sons became painters. During his initial years in Antwerp Snellinck relied more on his art dealing than on his art making to make a living. In 1577 he received his first pupil and the next one would follow only five years later. Of the 16 pupils he would receive during his very long career, only Abraham Janssens would make a name for himself. The tapestries were then given by Archduke Albert to King Philip III before 1621 or sent to King Philip IV after the death of Archduchess Isabella in 1633. They remained in the royal tapestry collection.

Work

Jan Snellinck is known for his landscapes, religious and allegorical compositions. His religious subjects are often crucifixion scenes. Snellinck also painted battle scenes and elegant companies. He was also active as a painter of tapestry cartoons and a designer of prints.

Snellinck was described by contemporary art historian Karel van Mander as a battle painter and was thus the first Flemish war artist. However, very little is known about his work in this area.

Snellinck is known to have painted the cartoons for a number of tapestry sets woven in Flanders. He worked on a set of seven tapestry works, which were commissioned by the city of Antwerp to be used as decorations during the celebrations during the joyful entry of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella Clara Eugenia in the city on 10 December 1599. The tapestries, together with the cartoons, were gifted to the Archdukes after the event. Non glorietur fortis in fortitudine sua et non-glorietur dives in divitiis sui, from the 'Parvus Mundus' Snellinck's designs were used in various publications, some of which were published by his father-in-law Gerard de Jode, a prominent publisher of his time. One of these publications was the illustrated bible Thesaurus veteris et novi Testamenti published by Gerard de Jode in 1585. The prints were designed by at least 14 Flemish artists including Maerten de Vos, Crispijn van den Broeck, Pieter van der Borcht the Elder and Marten van Cleve. To Jan Snellinck have been attributed the design of about 50 prints in this illustrated bible. De Jode relied for the Thesaurus largely on existing prints and likely ordered missing designs from his son-in-law Snellinck. Snellinck also provided the designs for the emblem book Μικροκόσμος. Parvus Mundus (the Small World) by Laurentius Haechtanus. This book was published by Gerard de Jode in 1579. Seven design drawings of Snellinck for the publication are in the collection of the Rijksmuseum were they are attributed to Crispijn van den Broeck. Two further designs are in the British Museum were they are attributed to Karel van Mander.