Joos de Momper the Younger

Joos de Momper the Younger or Joost de Momper the Younger (c. 15645 February 1635) was a Flemish landscape painter active in Antwerp between the late 16th century and the early 17th century. Brueghel's influence is clearly evident in many of de Momper's paintings. His work is situated at the transition from late 16th-century Mannerism to the greater realism in landscape painting that developed in the early 17th century. He achieved considerable success during his lifetime.

Life Joos de Momper was born in an artistic family of Antwerp and was named after his grandfather who was a landscape painter. He learned to paint from his father who was a painter, art dealer, printer and publisher.

In 1581 he became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke at only 17 years old.

On 4 September 1590 he married Elisabeth Gobijn. The couple had 10 children of whom Philippe de Momper became a painter. His pupils were Louis de Caullery and his son Philippe de Momper.

Work Grotto Landscape with a Hermitage, c. 1630, together with Jan Brueghel the Younger, private collectionDe Momper primarily painted landscapes, the genre for which he was highly regarded during his lifetime. Only a small number of the 500 paintings attributed to de Momper are signed and just one is dated. The large output points to substantial workshop participation. He often collaborated with figure painters such as Frans Francken II, Peter Snayers, Jan Brueghel the Elder and Jan Brueghel the Younger, usually on large, mountainous landscapes, whereby the other painters painted the staffage and de Momper the landscape. His works were often featured in the prestigious gallery paintings of collections (real and imagined) from the early seventeenth century.

De Momper's works are chiefly inspired by the steep craggy Alpine slopes and high rock masses depicted in Pieter Brueghel the Elder's work. His closeness to Jan Brueghel the Elder would have played a role in his exposure to the Bruegel idiom. This is also seen in some of the motifs of De Momper's work which go back to Pieter Bruegel's inventions, such as winter landscapes and grain harvests. One of his works representing a Storm at Sea was previously attributed to Pieter Brueghel but is now generally ascribed to de Momper.

Another influence on De Momper was the work of the Flemish landscape specialist Lodewijk Toeput, who went on to make a career in Italy. De Momper emphasized stylization over naturalistic effects and used depth and atmosphere to achieve his goal of spatial construction. Large Mountain Landscape – Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna Dune Landscape with Travelers and Cattle – National Museum, Warsaw Mountain Landscape with Campers and a Broken Tree – National Museum, Warsaw

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