Michiel Coxie

Michiel Coxie the Elder, Michiel Coxcie the Elder or Michiel van Coxcie, Latinised name Coxius (1499 – 3 March 1592), was a Flemish painter of altarpieces and portraits, a draughtsman and a designer of stained-glass windows, tapestries and prints. He worked for patrons in the principal cities of Flanders. He became the court painter to successively Emperor Charles V and King Philip II of Spain.

Highly respected by his contemporaries, Coxie was given the nickname the Flemish Raphael as some of his contemporaries regarded him as being on an equal level as the Italian master. This also reflected his contemporaries' appreciation that his study of classical Antiquity and the art of Renaissance masters like Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci during his 10-year residence in Italy had left an important mark on his style. His innovative style and bold compositions were in the centuries after his death an inspiration to Flemish artists including Peter Paul Rubens. He was thus an important artistic link between the artists of early Netherlandish painting and the Flemish Baroque. Coxie was also a copyist and produced a well-known copy of the Ghent Altarpiece by the van Eyck brothers as well as a Descent from the Cross by Rogier van der Weyden.

Life Early life and training No records survive about the early life and training of Michiel Coxie. His year of birth has been determined to be 1499 through deduction from later sources. The place of his birth also remains uncertain. It is generally assumed that he was born in Mechelen as this was the first place he appears to have returned to after his long-term residence in Italy.

Foreign travel The earliest documents attesting to Michiel Coxie's life and activities date to the period of his residence in Rome. The Florentine artist and artist's biographer Giorgio Vasari knew Coxie personally. He recounts that Coxie was commissioned by Cardinal Willem van Enckevoirt to paint frescoes in the Santa Maria dell'Anima. Work on the frescoes likely commenced around 1531. As the fresco technique is a painting technique typical of the Italian Renaissance and virtually unknown in contemporary Flemish painting, it must be assumed that by the time Coxie started work on the frescos he had already resided in Italy for a period of time so as to familiarise himself with this technique. It is not entirely clear how long he stayed in Liège. It may be that for a while he travelled between Mechelen and Liège. Another son called Willem was born in Mechelen in 1545 or 1546. Willem also became a painter but no existing works by him are known.

Upon his return to the Low Countries Coxie became a sought-after artist who gained many commissions. The first important one was the 1540 commission for The Holy Kinship (now in Stift Kremsmünster, Kremsmünster, Austria). This work, probably commissioned by the Antwerp Hosemakers Guild for their altar in the Antwerp Cathedral, is a monumental triptych showing at the centre the Virgin Mary with her mother Anna, Christ and John the Baptist. The scene is set in an overwhelming Renaissance architecture with many figures. With this work Coxie offered the general public in Flanders its first confrontation with the monumental, grand style of the High Renaissance. Coxie may also have designed the tapestries for Phillip II's Royal Palace of Madrid depicting episodes of the life of Cyrus II, based on the writing of Herodotus.

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, then the ruler over the Low Countries, commissioned many works from Coxie. Coxie also gained commissions from many other prominent persons such as the Morillon family for whom he painted the Triptych with the triumph of Christ (M – Museum Leuven). Guy Morillon, originally from Burgundy, was one of the most prominent notables of Leuven and a secretary to king Charles V. Coxie further designed the decorations for the joyous entry of then crown prince Philip II in Brussels in 1549 and a series of portraits of the Habsburg rulers. When in 1555 king Charles V stepped down from the throne in favor of his son Philip II, the new ruler maintained the royal support for Coxie. Philip tasked Coxie with making a true-to-life copy of the Ghent Altarpiece by the van Eyck brothers.

When in 1566 the Beeldenstorm caused the destruction of many religious objects he is said to have attempted to defend Mechelen against the iconoclasts. This shows that he was at heart a devout Catholic and a loyalist of the Habsburg court. The Beeldenstorm caused the loss of a large portion of Coxcie's existing works. This era of religious turmoil saw the painter facing many other setbacks. This illustrates the extent of the support by powerful figures which the artist enjoyed at that time. Even the Duke of Alva bestowed favors on him and his family when he granted Michiel and his son Raphael dispensation from the compulsory billeting of Spanish soldiers at their homes.

The first important work he realised upon his return to Flanders after his stay in Italy shows all the key characteristics of his style and the contribution he made to Flemish painting. The triptych of The Holy Kinship (now in Stift Kremsmünster, Kremsmünster, Austria) was painted in 1540 for the Antwerp Hosemakers Guild's altar in the Antwerp Cathedral. It is a monumental triptych showing at the centre the Virgin Mary with her mother Anna, Christ and John the Baptist. The scene is set in an overwhelming Renaissance architecture with many figures.