Justus van Egmont

Justus van Egmont or Joost van Egmont (1601 – 8 January 1674) was a painter and a tapestry designer during the 17th century. After training in Antwerp with Gaspar van den Hoecke and working with Anthony van Dyck, van Egmont also worked in Peter Paul Rubens' workshop. He moved to France in 1628 where he was a court painter for the House of Orléans. In France he helped to found the Académie de peinture et de sculpture. He later returned to Flanders where he worked in Antwerp and Brussels. He is mainly known for his portrait paintings, although he also painted some history subjects, and produced designs for five different tapestry series. However, the absence of any evidence for such a trip to Italy and the lack of any discernible Italian influence on the style or compositions of his later work have cast some doubts as to whether he really travelled to Italy.

After a stay in Italy in 1618, While living in Antwerp, he had a relationship with Emerentia (Emerentiana) Bosschaert who bore him three sons out of wedlock: Joost (Justus), Konstantijn (Constantine) and Theodoor (Theodore) who were born between 1623 and 1627. Their relationship was later regularized and the couple would have more children including sons Bonaventura and Philippe and daughters Prudentia, Marie and Anna Catharina.

The artist's success allowed him to amass a fortune which he invested into real estate in Antwerp and its surrounding areas. Starting from 1650 he signed some paintings and documents with 'Justus Verus d’Egmont'. This reflected his aspiration to be recognized as an aristocrat (just like his illustrious masters van Dyck and Rubens) based on his claim to be a descendant of the famous house of Egmont. He made several applications to get his claim to a noble title officially sanctioned but it is not clear whether or not he succeeded. His estate included a large collection of artworks of Flemish as well as foreign artists such as Pourbus, Rubens, Salviati, Holbein, Tintoretto, Brueghel and Vredeman de Vries.

In his tapestry designs Van Egmont showed a preference for large vertical flamboyance. They include expressive facial expressions, as well as monumental figures in dramatic poses, all recognizable elements of Flemish High Baroque. His figures are drawn with very lively lines which occasionally disrupt the integrity of the overall composition. He also often used pseudo-exotic costumes and settings. His designs were commissioned by the leading weaving workshops of his time, such as the Van Leefdael-Van der Strecken-Peemans association, and the workshop of Geraert van der Strecken. These series were commercially successfully as shown by the multiple editions produced.

Selected works