Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts

Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts or Gysbrechts was a Flemish painter who was active in the Spanish Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden in the second half of the seventeenth century. He was a court painter to the Danish royal family. He specialised in trompe-l'œil still lifes, an artistic genre which uses visual tricks to give viewers the illusion that they are not looking at a painting but rather at real three-dimensional objects. He also created many vanitas still lifes.

Details about the life of Gijsbrechts are scarce. It is not known with certainty where and when he was born. His activities in the final years of his life are also undocumented. His name is not mentioned in the contemporary art historical literature. It is assumed that he was born sometime between 1625 and 1629 in Antwerp. He married Anna Moons on 26 April 1648 in the St. James' Church in Antwerp. Their eldest son Franciscus was baptised in the same church on 25 February 1649.

On 16 November 1659, Gijsbrechts joined the Sodaliteit van de bejaerde jongmans ('Sodality of Elderly Bachelors'), a fraternity for bachelors established by the Jesuit order. Between 18 September 1659 and 18 September 1660 he was registered as a 'wijnmeester' (i. i.e. son of a master) in the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp.

His earliest known painting, the Vanitas still life with a young Moor presenting a pocket watch (at Ader Paris on 9 April 1990, lot 61) is dated 1657. In the early 1660s he was probably in Germany where he spent time, among other places, in Regensburg. Some art historians believe that he may have been in Emperor Leopold I's service in Regensburg, even though no records to prove such relationship have yet been found. It is assumed that Gijsbrechts moved in 1664 or 1665 to Hamburg where he stayed for a few years. In Hamburg he may have been in contact with the painter Georg Hainz, who had connections to the Danish court. This may have led to an introduction, since from 1668 to 1672 he worked as a court painter in Copenhagen. He had his studio in the Royal Garden by Rosenborg Castle and from 1670 he called himself court painter.

His most prolific period as a painter falls in the short period of his stay at the court of the Danish kings Frederick III from 1668 to 1670, and thereafter Christian V from 1670 to 1672. The bulk of his known artistic output was created during this period. In the period from 1670 to 1672 he received payment for several paintings, including paintings for Rosenborg Castle. In contemporary court records he is referred to as 'dend brabandskemaler' and 'Gisbrecht brabanske maler' (the painter from Brabant). These records confirm his Flemish roots. Most of the 22 paintings Gijsbrechts painted in Copenhagen were for the King's Perspective Chamber which was part of the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities. The Perspective Chamber displayed a selection of trompe l'oeil works, perspective boxes and architectural paintings made from the central perspective. Art historian Eva de la Fuente sees in the Perspective Chamber a symbolic representation of a "worldview with the autocratic king at the centre. He is the one who dominates and understands the hidden context of things in the world. Dressed in appropriate martial virtues, he appears as a collector of the marvellous creations of art and nature". An inventory from 1690 records that 15 of the 29 paintings in the Perspective Chamber were made by Gijsbrechts.

After leaving Copenhagen, he is believed to have been in Stockholm, where in 1673 he painted a large letter rack commissioned by the bourgeoisie of the town. He likely also worked for the Swedish king.

In 1675 he is recorded in Breslau (Wrocław). From this year dates his last known work. No firm records of him after this time exist. Possibly he resided in Bruges in Flanders after this time. A painting with the inscription 'A monsieur/ Monsieur Gijsbrechts/ schilder geghenwoordig/ tot Brughe', auctioned on 14 December 2010 could possibly refer to him. However, the painting is generally dated to the period from 1664 to 1668, i.e. prior to his stay in Scandinavia.

It is not known when or where he died.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023