Cornelis de Baellieur

1607 – 1671

Flemish painter. He was apprenticed to Anton Lisaert in 1617. According to Van den Branden, only nine years later did he become a master in the Antwerp Guild of St Luke, of which he was dean in 1644-45. His son, of the same name, also became a painter, but there is no concrete evidence of his work. Cornelis de Baellieur the Elder was a painter of small figures and was closely associated with Frans Francken II; he may even have worked in his studio. The only known signed and dated work by de Baellieur is the Interior of a Collector's Cabinet. This picture, which depicts a sumptuously decorated interior with visitors admiring the oil paintings and objets d'art, confirms the skill of this little-known artist. The influence of Francken is evident in de Baellieur's frequently signed biblical paintings, for example Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (Dresden, Gemäldegalerie and Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum), the Idolatry of Solomon (Innsbruck, Schloss Ambras) and the Adoration of the Magi (Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts). Nevertheless, de Baellieur's figures are striking for their meticulous quality. It is impossible, however, to assess how highly his contemporaries regarded him, owing to the lack of source material. To the modern viewer, his compositions appear somewhat garish, since in his biblical paintings he favoured juxtapositions of whitish-yellow, violet and pink tones. His style is easily recognizable: stereotypical figures with doll-like faces, slightly protruding eyes and steeply sloping shoulders.

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