PAINTING FOR THE MARKET

CoMMERCIALIZATION OF ART IN ANTWERP's GOLDEN AGE

 SEUH
2
STUDIES IN EuROPEAN URBAN HrsTORY (110o-1soo)

SERIES EDITOR

MARcBOONE
 p AINTING FOR THE MARKET
COMMERCIALIZATION OF ART IN ANTWERP' S GOLDEN AGE

FILIP VERMEYLEN

BREPOLS
Under the auspices of the 'lnteruniversity Attraction Poles Programme (Phase V n° 10) -
Belgian State - Federal office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs' Programme

Illustration on cover: Abraham Janssen, Scaldis and Antwerpia, 1608-1609. Antwerp, Royal
Museum of Fine Arts.

© 2003 Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

D/2003/0095/107
ISBN 2-503-51381-6
Printed in the E.U. on acid-free paper
Dedicated to my daughters, Margot and Ella
That they may grow up with a love ofhistory and art
TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures, Graphs, Tables and Appendices IX

List of Abbreviations XI
Acknowledgments XIII

INTRODUCTION 3

PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

CHAPTER 1 THE RisE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540) 15

1.1 Introduction 15
1.2 The Panden until 1540 19
1.2.1 The Dominican Pand (1445-1553) 21
1.2.2 Our Lady's Pand (1460-1540) 24
1.3 The First Export Boom (ca. 1500-1525) 28
1.3.1 Paintings 29
1.3.2 Sculpture 31
1.4 The Slow-Down of the 1520s and 1530s 33

CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585) 35

2.1 Introduction: The Foundations of a Burgeoning Art Market 35
2.2 Temporary Disturbances and Structural Decline (1566-1585) 39
2.3 The Changing Landscape of Art Sales: Old and New Panden
(1540-1585) 46
2.3.1 Our Lady's and the Dominican Panden in Decline:
The End of an Era 47
2.3.2 The Schilderspand: A Checkered History 50
2.4 Art Dealers in Antwerp: A New Profession Emerges 62
2.4.1 Origins 68
2.4.2 An Art Dealer in Close-Up: The Alleyns Family Business 70
2.4.3 Sorne Observations on the Community of Art Dealers
in Antwerp 74
2.5 Exporting Art Across the Globe 79
2.5.1 Paintings 82
2.5.2 Sculpture 85
2.5.3 Tapestries 87
2.5.4 Books and Prints 91
2.5.5 Miscellaneous 93
2.6 Points of Light in Troubled Times: The State of the Art Market
(1566-1585) 100

VII
CHAPTER 3 THE COLLAPSE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1585-1609) 109
3.1 Introduction: The Fall of Antwerp and its Aftermath 109
3.2 The Art Market in Shambles 111
3.3 De Momper and the SchilderspandRevisited: The End of an Era 116

PART II INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER 4 SurrLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET: THE ÜRGANIZATION OF

PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION 121
4.1 Introduction 121
4.2 The Painter's Workshop in Perspective 124
4.3 The Regulatory Environment: The Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke 127
4.3.1 Levels of Control versus Market Forces 130
4.3.2 A Pragmatic Approach: Art Dealers and the Guild 134

CHAPTER 5 THE ENGINES OF DEMAND 141

5 .1 Introduction 141
5 .2 Categories of Domestic Demand 142
5.2.1 Religious Institutions 142
5.2.2 Civic Institutions 144
5.2.3 Private Patronage 147
5.3 Domestic versus International Demand 150

CHAPTER 6 AT THE CROSSROADS OF SurrLY AND DEMAND: THE CoMMERCIALIZATION OF

ART IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ANTWERP 153
6.1 Introduction 153
6.2 Pre-conditions for Commercialization 157
6.3 Ramifications 159
6.4 Antwerp and Bruges 163

CONCLUSION 169

Bibliography 175
Appendices 193
Index 203

VIII
LIST OF FIGURES, GRAPHS, TABLES AND APPENDICES

FIGURES
1 Scaldis andAntverpia (Abraham Janssen, 1609) 2
2 View ofAntwerp (Anonymous, ca. 1540) 14
3 Antwerp (Virgilius Bononiensis, 1565) 22
4 Our Lady's Pand(Hieronymus Cock, ca. 1550) 25
5 Adoration ofthe Magi (Master of the Antwerp Adoration, ca. 1520) 30
6 Zukowo Retable (Anonymous, 1520-1525) 32
7 Caricature of the Duke of Alva (Anonymous, 1572) 42
8 Tapissierspand (Virgilius Bononiensis, 1565) 47
9 The New Bourse (After Pieter Van der Burcht, 1581) 52
10 A Dealers Shop (French or Flemish, late Sixteenth Century) 59
11 ]oris Vezeleer (Copy after Joos Van Cleve, Sixteenth Century) 65
12 Marten Alleyns FamilyTree 72
13A Example of 1543-1545 Export Register Entry 81
13B Example of 1553 Export Register Emry 81
14 ]ezusbeeldje (Early Sixteenth Century) 86
15 Oudenaarde Tapestry (Anonymous, ca. 1550) 90
16 Spinet (Hans Ruckers the Elder, 1591) 93
17 The Wharf ofAntwerp (Sebastiaan Vrancx, ca. 1616-1618) 123
18 Adoration ofthe Magi, Detail (Master of the Antwerp Adoration, ca. 1520) 161
19 Battle ofthe Money-bags and the Strong-boxes (Pieter Van der Heyden after
Pieter Bruegel, after 1570) 162

GRAPHS
Revenues of Our Lady's Pand (1465-1560) 34
2 Renters of Our Lady's Pand (1543-1560) 49
3 Revenues of the Schilderspand (1540-1600) 54
4 Export of Paintings (1543-1545) 82
5 Origins ofTapestries Exported to the Iberian Peninsula (1553) 89
6 New Members of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke (1460-1609) 129

TABLES
New Members of the Guild of Saint Luke (1460-1539) 18
2 Demographic Evolution of Antwerp During the Long Sixteenth Century 37
3 Art Dealers in the Guild of Saint Luke During the Sixteenth Century 66
4 Appearance of Art Dealers in Antwerp (Before 1600) 68
5 Median Price of Flemish Tapestries Exported to the Iberian Peninsula (1553) 89
6 Plantin Book Production by Language (1555-1589) 91
7 The Export of Musical Instruments from Antwerp (1543-1545) 94

IX
8 Annual Export of Paintings and Books from Antwerp to the lberian Peninsula
(1543-1553) 95
9 Annual Export of Musical Instruments from Antwerp to the lberian Peninsula
(1543-1553) 95
10 Top Exporters ofWorks of Art to the lberian Peninsula (1553) 98
11 Export ofWorks of Art from Antwerp to France (1543-1545) 103
12 Paintings in the Dierick Bijns Inventory (1583) 106
13 Masters in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke (1588-1589) 113
14 Art Dealers as Deans in the Guild of Saint Luke (Before 1600) 135
15 Median and Average Number of Paintings in Antwerp Probate Inventories
(1565-1585) 148
16 Composition of Median Painting Ownership According to Subject Category
in Antwerp Probate Inventories (1565-1585) 149

APPENDICES
1 Revenues and Pandmeesters of the Schilderspand 191
2 Jan Van Kessel's Shop at the Schilderspand l 92
3 Art Dealers in Antwerp During the Sixteenth Century 193
4 Excerpts from the Dierick Bijns Probate lnventory, Antwerp Art Dealer in Paris 194
5 Ordinance lssued by the Antwerp Magistrate Concerning Art Dealers
(October 3, 1575) 197
6 Request Submitted to the Antwerp Magistrate by Bartholomeus De Momper
onJune22, 1595 198
7 Request Submitted to the Antwerp Magistrate by Bartholomeus De Momper
on August 7, 1595 199

X
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

A.RA.B. Algemeen Rijksarchief (Brussels)

C.B. Certificatieboeken
cm Centimeter
diss. Dissertation
cxhib. cat. Exhibition catalogue
fol. Folio
G.A. Gilden en Ambachten
h. Height
K.A. Kathedraalarchief
n. Note
N. Notariaat
n.d. No date
nr. Number
P.K. Privilegekamer
r Recto
R.A.A. Royal Academy of Antwerp
Reg. Register
R.K. Rekenkamer
S.A.A. Stadsarchief Antwerpen
S.R. Schepenregister
s.v. Sub verbo
V Verso
vs. Vierschaar

XI
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book is an adaptation of a dissertation which I defended at Columbia

University (New York) in December 2000. I would like to express my gratitude to
Marc Boone, Bruno Blondé and Guido Marnef for including this study in a new
series on urban history in the context of the "Interuniversity Attraction Poles Pro-
gramme - Belgian State - Federal Office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural Affairs."
I owe a great debt to Koen De Scheemaeker who was indispensable in preparing the
manuscript for publication; I could not have done this without him.
My graduate studies and the dissertation on which this book is based have
taken me to the great cities of New York and Antwerp, and have provided me over
the years with ample excuses to travel between the two nations I am attached to
most. Now that my formal training as an historian has corne to some sort of comple-
tion, I would like to thank a number of people on both sides of the Atlantic without
whom this book would never have been written. First of all, my deepest thanks must
go to Wim Smit, my sponsor and advisor at Columbia University. His erudition,
enthusiasm, encouragements and last but not least his rijsttafel made my time in
New York both tremendously enjoyable and an unforgettable learning experience. It
is an honor to be associated with what at least one historian has called the School of
Wim Smit. My thanks also goes to a number of scholars at Columbia who directly
and indirectly influenced my thinking and the way I approached my topic. David
Freedberg introduced me to the wonderful world of art history, and never failed to
stress the need to pursue this research in an interdisciplinary fashion. Others who
played a decidedly stimulating role in my training at Columbia are Martha Howell
and Eugene Rice, both through their courses and by playing an active role in my
orals and dissertation committees. Also, I am grateful to Mathew Jones who was
willing to join the defense committee on short notice. I am indebted to Kate Rudy,
fellow Columbian in Antwerp, not just for proofreading several chapters but foremost
for always maintaining a positive spirit about our respective academic undertakings.
Most of the writing of the book took place while I was employed as a re-
search assistant of the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (FWO-V), as part of the
"Socio-economic context and expansion of Flemish seventeenth-century painting
(1585-1700)" grant. I am deeply indebted to the FWO-V for their logistical and
financial assistance which has made the research for this book feasible. For almost
four years, the Rubenianum (University of Antwerp) was my professional home. My
supervisor at this fascinating art-historical institution, Arnout Balis, deserves aspe-
cial mentioning. His belief in my project and flexibility which allowed me to organize
my own time were a godsend, and Arnout's notorious ability for critical reading of
scholarly texts has saved me from many mistakes and forced me to keep my focus,
specifically in matters of art history. I will fondly remember the many debates
encompassing a broad range of historical and art historical issues we engaged in over

XIII
one or (usually) more pints of beer in one of our favorite Antwerp cafés, and 1 can
only hope that we will continue this practice and our friendship in the years to corne.
Nora De Poorter and her staff were kind enough to let me make full use of the
facilities at the Rubenianum. Furthermore, I thank Christine Van Mulders for her
encouragements and practical support. Natasja Peeters' thorough reading of a part of
the thesis led to numerous suggestions, all of which proved very helpful. A particular
word of gratitude needs to be directed at Karolien De Clippel. Her kindness and
patience (not in the least for letting me monopolize her printer at a crucial time), in
addition to her willingness to read early drafts of various chapters, are very much
appreciated.
Many professors, colleagues and friends at the University of Antwerp have
been a great support ever since 1 started my studies in the field of history as an
undergraduate in 1985. It will suffice to mention Ben Croon, Hilde Greefs, Guido
Marnef, Raymond Van Uytven and especially Bruno Blondé whose unbridled
enthusiasm for the metier has always been an inspiration. 1 also would like to thank
the staff of the City Archives of Antwerp for their cooperation, and Marie-Juliette
Marinus in particular for resolving even the most challenging paleographical problems.
Over the last couple of years, I have been privileged to be part of an interna-
tional workshop on art markets run by Neil De Marchi and Hans Van Miegroet
(Duke University), and my thanks go to both of them for including me. My manu-
script has benefited greatly from these seminars (which were conveniently held in
Antwerp) in the sense that they functioned as a forum where ideas about the
relationship between art and economics have been discussed by specialists from both
America and Europe. Neil De Marchi also took the time to comment on two chapters
of the original dissertation.
My extended family has been there for me from the beginning. Especially
myown parents and my in-laws in the U.S. -each in their own way-were unrelenting
in their support. Last but not least, without my wife Kerri I would not even have
considered pursuing my doctoral studies in the United States, although at this point
1 am convinced that she is the only person in the world who is happier than I am that
this project has corne to a conclusion. For the years of love, dedication and uncon-
ditional support 1 cannot thank her enough.

Antwerp, April 18, 2003.

XIV
INTRODUCTION
 Abraham Janssen, Sea/dis and A ntwerp ia (1608-1609) , oil on panel, 174 x 308 cm. Antwerp,
FIGURE 1:
Royal Museum of Fine Arts.
 When the two battle-weary adversaries of the Eighty Years' War, Spain and
the Dutch rebels, finally entered serious peace negotiations in 1608, the magistrate
of Antwerp called on one of its most promising artists to paint an appropriate scene.
This painting was to be hung in the stateroom of the city's magnificent town hall, in
an attempt to create an atmosphere of reconciliation. The composition which Abra-
ham Janssen (ca. 1575-1632) completed in 1609, Scaldis andAntverpia, would have
been easily recognizable to those who lived 400 years ago, and it remains so to many
inhabitants of Antwerp today (see Figure 1). Two allegorical figures dominate the
painting: the majestically-reclining figure of Neptune personifies the Scheldt, and
the maid of Antwerp reaches out in a gesture oflonging reminiscent of Michelangelo's
Creation ofAdam in the Sistine Chapel. Scaldis obliges the yearning of Antwerp by
holding out the horn of plenty signifying the rewards of long-distance trade.
The timeliness of this painting lies in the theme whereby the prosperity and
indeed survival of the city is linked to the great River Scheldt, 500 yards wide at the
roadstead in Antwerp and the direct connection with the North Sea. For centuries,
the Scheldt has brought commerce and wealth to Antwerp. For that reason it was
and is the city's lifeline. Abraham Janssen, of course, knew from his persona! experience
how desperately his native city depended on this vital trade route.
As a young and aspiring artist, Janssen was training with the painter and art
dealer Jan Snellinck in 1584 and 1585 when Antwerp experienced one of the most
traumatic episodes of its history. Spanish troops had laid in a siege to reconquer the
city from the Protestant rebels who had made it their stronghold, and trade and
industry had corne to a halt. The once thriving commercial hub was completely eut
off from the outside world, and Janssen surely witnessed the disastrous effects on a
city that was held hostage even in the years to corne as the Scheldt remained closed
by the Dutch insurgents. After completing his training in ltaly (1598-1602), he
returned to an Antwerp that was slowly starting to recover from the fall-out of the
reconquest by the Spaniards. ln 1602, Abraham became a master in the Antwerp
Guild of Saint Luke and married into a family of art dealers. 1
The iconography of Scaldis andAntverpia captures the quiddity of the Antwerp
art market during the sixteenth century. The survival of the Antwerp artistic
communitywas dependent on favorable economic conditions and long-distance trade
which allowed artistic talent to settle and thrive in the city. From this perspective, the
composition was a genuine allegory of hope in which the pain ter adequately captured
the city's mood at the end of an extremely troubled era. Janssen completed this scene
in 1609, the end-date 1 have chosen for this study. lndeed, with the signing of the
Twelve-Year Truce on April 9, 1609, the long sixteenth century, during which Antwerp
experienced unprecedented expansion but also had to bear the burden of war and
economic crisis, came to a close.

1 He married Sara Goetkint, daughter of Peter Goetkint and Catharina De Palermo. I will return to the figure of
Peter Goetkint in Chapter 2, sub 6 when his activities as an art dealer will be discussed. Jane Turner, ed. The
Dictionary ofArt (London, 1996), vol. 17, s.v. "Abraham Janssen," by Joost Van der Auwera; Jos Van den Branden,
Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool (Antwerpen, 1883), 478-482.

3
PINTING FOR THE MARKET

The painters, sculptors and other artists of Antwerp did not escape the
whirlwinds of history either. About 1450, the Antwerp art market was one oflimited
proportions and influence. Few Antwerp masters held the prestige that their
counterparts in Bruges did; works of art were commissioned mostly by local patrons,
and the volume was undoubtedly small. At this time, Antwerp was just one of the
many towns that produced art in the Southern Netherlands, and certainly not the
most prominent one. In marked contrast, by 1550, the Antwerp art market had
undergone a profound transformation and impressive expansion both in scope and
importance. Counting manywell-organized proto-industrial workshops that produced
directly for the market, Antwerp was now the undisputed center for the production
and distribution of artwork in the Southern Netherlands and exported art to most of
the known world. Antwerp's altarpieces, paintings, tapestries, books and various other
luxury items found their way to an area stretching from Seville in the south to Gdansk
in the north, and across the Atlantic to the Americas. Art had become a commodity
and was marketed year-round by professional art dealers who handled large orders to
be shipped abroad. The Antwerp art market had become in a relatively short period
of time one of the most modern in Europe, and it is precisely this radical trans-
formation and expansion beginning at the end of the fifteenth century and continuing
throughout the sixteenth century that forms the subject of this book. I will primarily
focus on the market for painting, not just for pragmatic reasons, but also because it
constituted one of the most significant segments of the Antwerp art scene. Never-
theless, the trade in sculpture, tapestries, books, prints and other applied arts will be
addressed in various chapters in attempt to provide a balanced survey of the develop-
ments of the art market as a whole.

Historiography

The Antwerp art market of the sixteenth century has not been the subject of
a comprehensive study, although the last decade or so has witnessed a renewed inte-
rest in the relationship between art and economics in the Low Countries during
Early Modern times. 2 Already in 1976, Lorne Campbell produced an important
survey on the Netherlandish art market in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but

2 The ground-breaking study remains Hanns Floerke, Studien zur Niederlandishen Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte:
Die Formen des Kunsthandels, das Atelier, und die Sammler in den Niederlanden von 15.-18. jahrhundert (Munich
and Leipzig, 1905), but after a silence of many decades, several important publications have appeared. Very recently,
the 2001 conference volume of the Instituto Internationale Di Storia Economica "F. Datini" centered on the
relationship between art and economics: Economia e Arte. Sec. XIII-XVIII (Prato, 2002). Other noteworthy
publications include Michael North and David Ormrod, eds. Art Markets in Europe, 1400-1800 (Aldershot,
Brookfield (USA), Singapore and Sydney, 1998); Maximiliaan Martens, "De dialoog tussen artistieke traditie en
vernieuwing," in Brugge en de Renaissance. van Memling tot Pourbus, exhib. cat. Memlingmuseum and St. Johns
Hospital (Bruges, 1998); Maryan Ainsworth, "The Business of Art: Patrons, Clients, and the Art Markets," in
Maryan Ainsworth and Keith Christiansen, eds. From van Eyck to Bruegel. Early Netherlandish Painting in the
Metropolitan Museum ofArt, exhib. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1998), 23-38; Neil De Marchi
and Hans Van Miegroet, "Novelty and Fashion Circuits in the Mid-Seventeenth Century Antwerp-Paris Art Trade,"

4
 INTRODUCTION

it was not until the (lare) eighties, when John Michael Montias started publishing a
series of books and articles in which he examines the economic aspects of Dutch
painting in the seventeenth century, that historians and art historians were intrigued
by this kind of interdisciplinary research. 3 Montias invigorated and to some degree
redefined the field. His research was often based on the study of a variety of primary
sources, including probate inventories preserved in the archives of Delft and Amster-
dam. A particularly fruitful contribution has been what is now referred to as the
"Montias innovation thesis:" by introducing the concepts of product and process
innovation in painting, new light was shed on the impact of economic factors on
arr. 4 In a nutshell, process innovation denotes a lowering of production costs wit-
hout changing the basic appearance and nature of the (artistic) object. ln Netherlandish
workshops that focused on painting and carved altarpieces, cost-cutting strategies
could entail division of labor, countless reproductions of a particular composition,
and the use of cheaper or fewer raw matcrials such as pigments. Product innovation
generates an entirely new commodity or profoundly changes the appearance of an
existing product. ln the context of art history, this could have resulted in a new genre
in painting, or simply a completely new art form.
Economie historians since then have indeed devoted much attention to art
history, and overall, this approach has had an enriching effect on the study of
Netherlandish art. The intensified interest in the art market füs into the general
trend towards more interdisciplinary research. This approach found an early
culmination in the publication of a collection of essays that explored the interaction
between history and art history edited by Jan de Vries and David Freedberg. 5 A great
score of books and articles have since followed, scrutinizing various facets of the art
market. Many scholars have made valuable contributions to the field of Flemish and
Dutch art. For instance, Ad Van der Woude was the first to attempt to quantify the
total volume of paintings produced in the Dutch Republic, Raymond Van Uytven

journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies," 28 (1998): 201-246; Lynn Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved
Altarpieces, 1380-1550. Medieval Tastes and Mass Marketing (Cambridge, New York and Melbourne, 1998); John
Michael Momias, Le marché de l'art aux Pays-Bas, XVe-XVIIe siècles (Paris, 1996); Marten Jan Bok, Vraag en aanbod
op de Nederlandse kunstmarkt, 1580-1700 (Utrecht, 1994); and Arnout Balis, "Mercado del arte en Flandes en el
siglo XVII," in Rubens y su siglo, exhib. cat. Museo de San Carlos (Mexico Ciry, 1998), 39-45. In addition, the
central theme of the 1999 volume of the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch ]aarboek focused on "Art for the Market."
3 Lorne Campbell, "The Art Market in the Southern Netherlands in the Fifteemh Century," Burlington Maga-
zine 118 (1976): 188-198. John Michael Montias, Artists and Artisans in Delft: A Socio-Economic Study of the
Seventeenth Century (Princeton, 1982); Idem, "Cost and Value in Seventeenth Century Dutch Art," Art History 10
(1987): 455-466; Idem, "Socio-Economic Aspects of Netherlandish Art from the Fifteemh to the Seventeenth
Cemury: A Survey," Art Bulletin 72173 (1990): 358-373; Idem, "Le marché de l'art aux Pays-Bas, XVe et XVIe
siècles," Annales ESC(! 993): 1541-1563. In 1972, Michael Baxandall had already paved the way with his stimulating
work on the commercial practice of the early Renaissance picture trade in ltaly: Michael Baxandall, Painting and
Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy. A Primer in the Social History ofPictorial Style (Oxford, 1972).
4 John Michael Montias, "The Influence of Economie Factors on Sryle," De zeventiende eeuw 6 (1990): 49-57;
Idem, "Cast and Value," 456.
5 David Freedberg and Jan De Vries eds., Art in History. History in Art. Studies in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Culture
(Santa Monica, 1991).

5
PINTING FOR THE MARKET

investigated the correlation between artistic output and the state of the economy of
the Burgundian Netherlands, and Marten Jan Bok examined the structure of supply
and demand for painting in the Dutch Republic. 6 Nowadays, every respectable
exhibition catalogue dealing with art from the Low Countries will devote one or
more essays to the social and economic background of the period, acknowledging
the impact economics may have had on the style, form and content of works of art.

Definitions of "the Market" and "Commercialization''

When contemplating this rich harvest of scholarly publications, it is asto-

nishing that the term "market" has permeated academic discourse to the extent that
it has, very much the same way it has infiltrated most other aspects of Western so-
ciety. These days, virtually every publication on Netherlandish art will include at
least a pro forma reflection on the market. As a result, the term has become increasingly
elusive as it becomes more (over)used, and therefore more effort needs to be made to
determine a clear and pragmatic description of the term, yet most definitions offered
do not do justice to the complexity of the art market. In Early Modern times, the art
market or any other market could, according to Richard Swendberg, denote either
the physical marketplace, the gathering at such a place, the legal right to hold a
meeting at the marketplace, or buying and selling in general. Economists have focused
on the price-setting fonction of the market as the key to the allocation of resources in
any given economy. 7 Economie sociologists, on the other hand, have described the
market as the arena in which various types of "exchange" take place, and as such they
emphasize that the market is a societal phenomenon rather than a purely commercial
one. In my view, it is essential to consider the meaning of the term "market" carefully,
especially when examining this phenomenon during the sixteenth century which
was precisely the time when works of art made their grand entry into the realm of
market economics. For pragmatic purposes, I have defined the art market as the
arena in which works of art are transferred from producer to consumer, either directly
or through a dealer. ln this environment, the buyer can either commission the work
of art or purchase it on the open market. 8
ln the context of this book, it is important to distinguish between the distinct
markets for art which existed simultaneously during the sixteenth century: on the
one hand, the so-called "high art" consisting of high-quality and th us expensive items;

6 Ad Van der Woude, "De schilderijproduktie in Holland tijdens de Republiek. Een poging rot kwantificatie," in
Kunst-zaken. Particulier initiatiefen overheidsbeleid in de wereld van de beeldende kunst, eds. J.C. Dagevos, P.G. Van
Druenen, et al. (Kampen, 1991), 18-50 and 286-297; Raymond Van Uytven, "Speldour or Wealth: Art and Economy
in the Burgundian Netherlands," Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society 10 (1992): 101-124; Bok,
Vraag en aanbod
7 Richard Swendberg, "Markets as Social Structures," in The Handbook ofEconomie Sociology, eds. N.J. Smelser
and Richard Swendberg (Princeton and New York, 1994), 255.
8 For an alternative but not dissimilar definition of"art market," see Dictionary ofArt, vol. 1, s.v. "Art Market," by
Bruce Tattersall.

6
 INTRODUCTION

and a market for cheaper, inferior paintings on the other hand. The works of art that
belonged to the first category were almost exdusively commissioned by local or foreign
elites and institutions, while the low end of the Antwerp art market tended to be
fueled by serial production offered for sale on the open market and which attracted a
more socially diverse clientele. 9
To be clear, this study does not concern itself directly with the sumptuous
altarpieces by Metsijs, the exquisite Bruegel scenes, or the refined Italianate Floris
paintings that were commissioned by the Antwerp elites and wealthy guilds or
confraternities. I will primarily focus on the low end of the Antwerp art market, in
other words, on those works of art that were produced at the initiative of the artist
and his workshop, and which ended up on the anonymous open market. 10 In Antwerp,
this section of the art trade was hugely important. Lorne Campbell has daimed that
"probably a small proportion of pictures were commissioned" in the Southern
Netherlands, and I will argue that this assumption certainly applies to the artistic
output in the city on the River Scheldt. 11 In addition to the large volume of free-
market sales, the process of commercialization in itself was very significant since it
fundamentally affected the way art was produced, distributed and consumed. Thus,
works of art soon turned into commodities and became part of the regular interna-
tional trade circuit.
Focusing on painting and to some degree on other artistic branches, I will con-
tend that the Antwerp art market was highly commercialized, probably more so than
elsewhere (Chapter 6). In this study, commercialization has been defined as art that
was produced on spec, in other words, for the open market rather than on commission.
When surveying the existing historiography, we notice that many of the innovations
and developments relative to the way art was produced, traded and consumed have
been attributed to seventeenth century Holland. For example, one may get the im-
pression from the literature at hand that the commercialization of art was a purely
Dutch phenomenon. Was Holland truly the cradle of serialized production and market
sales of works of art? Did a class of professional art dealers emerge in Holland first?
A prime reason for this assumption has been quite simply that the Dutch Republic
has received more scholarly attention and therefore has been more thoroughly re-
searched. However, I will argue that the roots of the commercialization of art can be
found in the Southern Netherlands during the sixteenth century, and more specifically
in - to quote Larry Silver - the capital of capitalism, the city of Antwerp at a time
when it had become the undisputed artistic center of the Southern Netherlands. 12

9 This division is somewhat arbitrary; some works of art produced for the open market were of a high quality
indeed, and fetched reasonably high prices, but ail in ail, the two different market segments adhered to different
modes of production and distribution, and were aimed at a different clientele. Neil De Marchi and Hans Van
Miegroet, "Art, Value and Market Practices in the Netherlands in the Seventeenth Century," The Art Bulletin 76
(1994): 453.
10 As such, commercialized copies and pictures in the style of the leading artists of Antwerp must be included in
this approach.
11 Campbell, "The Art Market," 194.
12 Larty Silver, "Pieter Bruegel in the Capital of Capitalism," Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek47 (1996): 125-153.

7
PINTING FOR THE MARKET

Periodization and Approach

ln the first part of my book, 1 will survey the emergence of Antwerp as one of
the most important art markets in Europe during the long sixteenth century. The
vicissitudes of the art market can be broken down roughly into three distinct phases.
ln an initial period of expansion, from 1490 to 1540, Antwerp established itself as a
major center for the production and distribution of paintings (Chapter 1). The number
of artists present in the city increased dramatically, largely due to substantial im-
migration. The second phase starts with the establishment of a new and modern art
gallery in the new bourse in 1540, which marks the consolidation of Antwerp as a
permanent international market for painting where interested buyers and sellers could
meet year-round. The beginning of the end of this era of growth came with the
outburst of iconoclasm in 1566, an event which ignited the Dutch Revolt. The fol-
lowing twenty years marked a period of stagnation and decline which ultimately led
to the collapse of the art market in 1585 (Chapter 2). There is very little evidence of
activity pertaining to the art trade during the first decade following 1585, and it
appears that conditions did not improve substantially until the years leading up to
the signing of the Twelve-Year Truce in 1609 (Chapter 3).
ln general, 1 have opted to follow the subsequent stages of growth and decline
of the Antwerp economy during the sixteenth century as they have been outlined by
the economic historian Herman Van der Wee. 13 This approach allows for an exami-
nation of the relationship between the vicissitudes of the overall economic conditions
and the state of the art market. ln doing so, 1 will be able to address the question of
how closely the art market followed the cycle of the economy as a whole. The general
historical context (including the political and militaty events) is discussed insofar as
it helps to understand and explain the dynamics of a rapidly-changing art market.
Furthermore, 1 am not concerned with art-historical interpretations of the art that
was produced in Antwerp during the sixteenth century. The fascinating development
of the Antwerp school of painting will th us be discussed in terms of its impact on the
art market.
The second, interpretative part of the book will be devoted to an analysis of
the supply and demand factors on the Antwerp art market. ln Chapter 4, the various
inputs that make up the supply-side will be evaluated, devoting considerable attention
to the artist's workshop and the regulatory environment as it was determined by the
Guild of Saint Luke. Next, 1 will discuss the importance of the demand factor for the
expansion of the Antwerp art market - both domestically and internationally - and
examine the role of religious and civic institutions as well as private patronage (Chapter
5). How artistic production and marketing of art in Antwerp was shaped and impacted
by the forces of supply and demand, forms the subject of Chapter 6.

13 Herman Van der Wee, The Growth of the Antwerp Market and the European Economy (Fourteenth-Sixteenth
Centuries) (The Hague, 1963), vol. 2.

8
 INTRODUCTION

Besicles investigating the correlation with the general economic trend, I will
focus on the mechanisms of distribution of works of art. In other words, who was
selling art in Antwerp, when and where? An artist active in Antwerp during the
sixteenth century could market his wares in a number of ways. The traditional practice
to obtain a work of art was undoubtedly through the various kinds of patronage,
which will be discussed in Chapter 5. However, given the prominence of free-market
sales in the city, I will concentrate on those channels which catered to the selling of
on spec-produccd paintings, carved altarpieces, retables, tapestries, musical instruments
and other luxury goods. First of all, an artist could market the fruits of his labor
directly from his studio or shop. Unfortunately, evidence documenting this kind of
immediate trading is very scarce. Nevertheless, this was potentially an important
medium for art sales, as the probate inventories of most painters and art dealers (to
the extent that they have been preserved) sometimes mention a shop which was
located on the groun<l fluor of the house. 14
Secondly, an artist could offer up his wares at auctions or lotteries. Lotteries
were railles at which works of art made up the prizes, but surviving documents suggest
that these seldom took place in Antwerp during the sixteenth century. 15 Auctions
were more common and could include artwork of very diverse quality. 16 The most
important institutionalized form of auctioneering consisted of the weekly Friday
markets. The Guild of the Old Cloth Salesmen (oudekleerkopers) had been granted
the exclusive rights to the public sale of the estates of deceased citizens. Quite
frequently, these included works of art, but very little information has been unearthed
regarding this ourlet and the actual content of the sales. 17
Thirdly, during the second half of the sixteenth century, painters would
increasingly rely on the services of an art dealer. Again, they have been seen primarily
as a phenomenon of the seventeenth century, but research in the archives has revealed
a wealth of data pertaining to the crucial role these individuals already played in the
professionalization of the art trade in Antwerp during the previous century. The

14 This appears to have been the case especially among the Antwerp art dealers. The painter-dealer Marten
Alleyns, for instance, so!d paintings from his atelier located in the Lombardenvest. S.A.A., N. 1478, no fol. (docu-
ment dated 1583); see Chapter 2, sub 3.
15 Gary Schwartz "Form, Umfang und Schicksal des Niederlandischen Kunstmarktes am Ende desAchtzigjahrigen
Krieges," in 1648: Krieg und Frieden in Europa, eds. Klaus Bussmann and Heinz Schilling (Münster, 1998), 239;
Neil De Marchi, "The Role of Dutch Auctions and Lotteries in Shaping the Art Market(s) of 17th Century
Holland," Journal ofEconomie Behaviour and Organization 28 (1995): 203-221. In general, lotteries were more
inherent to the seventeenth-century art markets. The raffle organized by the art dealer Peter Provost in 1595 serves
as an example of a lottery advertising paintings as prizes in Antwerp. S.A.A., N. 1177, fol. 153r (document dated
November 7, 1595).
16 For instance, an auction of works by Jeroen Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Eider and Frans Floris took place in
1572. The works originated from the collection of the mint-master of Antwerp, who had gone bankrupt. Luc
Smolderen, "Tableaux de J érome Bosch, de Pierre Bruegel ]'Ancien et de Frans Floris dispersés en vente publique
à la monnaie d'Anvers en 1572," Belgisch Tijdschrifi voor Oudheidkunde en Kunstgeschiedenis, 64 (1995): 33-41.
17 Elizabeth Honig, Painting and the Market in Early Modern Antwerp (New Haven and London, 1998), 17. A
limired number of documents refer to the sale of pain rings, musical instruments and retables during the sixteenth
cenrury. See, for instance, S.A.A., G.A. 4286, fol. 33v (document dated August 17, 1547). Given the special
nature of these auctions and the regrettable lack of records of these sales, they will not be discussed further.

9
PINTING FOR THE MARKET

emergence and activities of these important intermediaries between artist and buyer
will be studied in Chaptcr 2, sub 4.
Last but certainly not least, Antwerp painters, sculptors and the like could
exhibit their artwork at one of the many panden in the city. These venues can loosely
be described as sales rooms designed to market a specific category of luxury goods.
Judging by the success of the panden in Antwerp, it appears that this last channel was
most cost-effective and time-saving. The artist could engage the services of a middle
man (the art dealer) or renta stall in these sales rooms himself. ln this context, the
panden - from the onset a unique Antwerp phenomenon - played a crucial role in
uniting producer and consumer, without which the growth of the city's art market
would not have been nearly as spectacular. 18
In sum, the artistic community of Antwerp could rely on multiple channels
to market their valuable wares, which denotes a highly-sophisticated art market. The
evidence from the archives shows that artists tended to make use of different ourlets,
depending on the one best suited to the nature of the transaction. The sophistication
of these ourlets enhanced the distribution of works of art, and particularly facilitated
wholesale exports.

Note on Sources

This study relies heavily on archivai materials. Despite some unfortunate

hiatuses, the Antwerp and Brussels archives contain a wealth of primary sources wit-
hout which this book could not have been written. Especially starting in the 1540s,
important series of documents yielded useful and valuable information even though
the various pieces were scattered among the disparate collections. In particular, the
valuable collection of certificatieboeken have provided detailed information on those
involved in the art trade. 19 In short, these are certificates drawn up by the Antwerp
magistrate and subsequently submitted to private individuals, usually merchants.
These documents consist in essence of a declaration under oath by the applicant
concerning the nature, volume, quality, price, and wrapping of the goods that he
considers to be his property. 20
Most interestingly, certain exceptional collections lend themselves to a
quantitative assessment of the art trade. For instance, the annual account books of
the city of Antwerp (in essence the budget) were consulted to extract the revenues of
the schilderspand to gauge the intensity of art sales at the city's main gallery. Also,
export tolls dating from the middle decades of the sixteenth century can be used to
measure the intensity and nature of the export of artwork from Antwerp. Naturally,
these series of figures need to be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism, but

18 See Chapters 1, sub 2, sub 3 and 3, sub 2.

19 S.A.A., C.B. 1-74, comprising the years 1488-1614.
20 On the use of the certificatieboeken, see Gustaaf Asaert, "De oudste certificatiën van de stad Antwerpen,"
Handelingen van de Koninklijke Commissie voor geschiedenis, CXXXII (1966): 261-296.

10
 INTRODUCTION

they do provide us with a unique opportunity to present some tentative statistical

evidence of the art trade. 21
In addition, two literary sources were used frequendy and thoroughly. First,
Karel Van Mander's Schilderboeck, which was completed in 1604, still forms an
indispensable tool for the study of any aspect of Early Netherlandish art today. As a
painter and art historian avant-la-lettre, Van Mander makes countless remarks
reflecting on the art market and on the relationship between art and economics in
the Southern Ncthcrlands. 22 Secondly, the account written by Ludovico Guicciardini,
an Italian merchant residing in Antwerp during the 1560s, forms an invaluable asset
as he describes Antwerp with an eye for fact and figure. Without his keen observations
and relevant estimates of all things countable, our general knowledge of sixteenth-
century Antwerp would be far murkier and certainly less colorful than it actually is. 23
Other published sources proved vital as well. The membership lists of the Guild of
Saint Luke, published by Rumbuuts and Van Lerius more rhan a century aga, provide
basic biographical data on artists and dealers active in Antwerp during the Ancien
Régime. 24 Finally, the ordinances and regulations issued by the Guild were also put in
print during the nineteenth century, and certainly have not lost their relevance. 25

*
* *

For the whole of Europe, the close of the Middle Ages was an era of radical
change and expansion. Old horizons were being shattered as the Americas were
discovered, the dissemination of the printing press was changing the face of the world,
and the monopoly of Catholicism was seriously challenged by the Reformation. The
breakthrough of commercial capitalism would have wide-ranging effects on all aspects
of society, including on the history of art. Given the significance of the city of Antwerp
for the economic, political, religious and art history of Northwestern Europe during
the Early Modern era, the city on the river Scheldt offers us an excellent case study to
examine the synergies of these disparate developments, and the manner in which
they impacted and shaped each other. In other words, what happened when art and
economics collided in Antwerp during the sixteenth century?

21 For a description of the export registers and their use for this srudy, see Chapter 2, sub 5.
22 The fine English translation and formidable body of comments prepared by Hesse! Miedema has greatly im-
proved the accessibiliry of this unique source. Given the quality of the translation, 1 have not included the original Durch
wording each rime 1 quoted Van Mander in this book. Karel Van Mander, The Lives ofthe lllustrious Netherlandish
and German Painters, from the First Edition ofthe Schilderboeck (1603-1604), ed. Hesse! Miedema (Doornspijk, 1994).
23 Ludovico Guicciardini, Beschrijvinghe van alle de Nederlanden; anderssins ghenoemt Neder-Duytschlandt (Am-
sterdam, 1612). The first (Italian) edition dates from 1567: Idem, Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi, altrimenti detti
Germania infariore (Anrwerp, 1567).
24 Ph. Rombours and Th. Van Lerius, De Liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche Sint Lucasgi!.de (Ant-
werp and the Hague, 1864-1876), 2 vols. Henceforth, rhis standard work of reference will be abbreviated as Liggeren.
25 ].B. Van der Srraelen, ]aerboeck der vermaerde en kunstryke Gilde van Sint Lucas binnen de stad Antwerpen
(Anrwerp, 1855).

11
PART 1

THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN

TRANSITION (1490-1609)
FIGUREZ: Anonymous, View ofAntwerp (ca. 1540), oil on panel, 107 x 180 cm. Anrwerp, Royal Museum
of Fine Arts.
 CHAPTER 1

THE RisE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

(1490-1540)

1.1 Introduction

Antwerp would never have risen to one of Europe's leading centers for the
production and distribution of art on the European continent if a general economic
boom had not paved the way. Economie historians have rime and rime again
demonstrated that starting in the last decades of the fifteenth century, Antwerp
increasingly claimed a pivota! position within the European trade network at a time
when the center of gravity of the European economy shifted from the Mediterranean
to the Atlantic Ocean. 1
This period of initial expansion - pegged by Herman Van der Wee as the
first phase of growth of the Antwerp economy - lasted from 1490 until 1520, and
also corresponded with the establishment of the Antwerp art market. The city was
able to benefü fully from the overall resurgence of the European economy which led
to a revival of transcontinental trade, which in turn allowed the Southern Netherlands
to strengthen commercial ties with the German hinterland and Italy. 2 In the course
of the fifteenth century, it had been Bruges that had reaped the fruits of these
developments, boasting a large community of foreign merchants, mostly ltalian and
members of the Hanze nations, and a flowering of the arts thanks to the presence of
some of the most renowned painters of the period such Jan Van Eyck (ca. 1390-
1441) and Hans Memling (ca. 1430-1494). However, the hegemony of Bruges did
not last - political and military conflicts combined with the silting up of the Zwin,
the city's main connection to the sea, precipitated the decline of its commercial
activities. Starting in the latter quarter of the fifteenth century, Antwerp presented

1 The literature on the ascent of Antwerp as the main commercial metropolis north of the Alps is vast. It will
suffice to mention the following titles: the classic study, of course, remains Herman Van der Wee, Growth; see also
Michael Limberger, '"No town in the world provides more advantages': economies of agglomeration and the
golden age of Antwerp," in Urban Achievement in Early Modern Europe. Golden Ages in Antwerp, Amsterdam and
London, eds. Patrick O'Brien, Derek Keene a.o. (Cambridge, 2001), 39-62; Wilfried Brulez, "De handel," in
Antwerpen in de XV/de eeuw (Antwerp, 1975), 109-145; and Herman Van der Wee and Jan Materné, "De Antwerpse
wereldmarkt tijdens de 16de en l 7de eeuw," in Antwerpen, verhaal van een metropool, ed. Jan Van der Stock
(Antwerp, 1993), 19-32.
2 Herman Van der Wee, "De invloed van socio-economische factoren op de ontwikkeling van de stedelijke kunst-
ambachten en gespecialiseerde nijverheden in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden en het Prinsbisdom Luik," in Bewogen en
Bewegen, ed. Jan Craeybeck:x (Tilburg, 1986): 118-122.

15
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

itself as an alternative base from which the displaced merchants of Bruges were able
to conduct their business. As a result, many foreign trade missions moved to the city
on the river Scheldt and provided a powerful boost to Antwerp's economy. 3
The commercial boom of Antwerp rested on three pillars: English merchants
started using Antwerp as the gateway to the East to facilitate the export of cloth,
while the Portuguese descended on the city to supply Europe with Indian spices, and
the South-Germans came loaded with silver eager to purchase spices and cloth. 4 In
the wake of this general economic expansion, Antwerp attracted and developed luxury
industries such as tapestry weaving, diamond cutting, silk weaving, glass work, and
woodcarving while many other trades flourished, as did the production of various
arts. The luxury industry developed during the l 400s in most ltalian and Flemish
cities in towns which had been forced to restructure ever since the traditional cloth
industry had started to decline beginning in the second half of the fourteenth century.
The urban economies now focused on the production of new high-quality luxury
items that required a large input of skilled labor and capital.5
The jaarmarkten, or biannual fairs, were instrumental in the expansion of
the Antwerp art market. 6 These fairs date back to the first half of the fourteenth cen-
tury and were held twice a year for a period of about six weeks. The Sinxenmarkt, or
Pentecost market, opened the trading season in mid-May and was followed by the
Bamismarkt, or St. Bavo's market, which started in late August. In essence, these
markets were conceived to link the prosperous trading centers in the German hinter-
land with those of the Duchy of Brabant. The fairs thus provided an ideal opportunity
for local tradesmen and artisans to offer their goods at regular intervals to a myriad of
European customers.
The fairs indeed proved to be catalysts for the expanding Antwerp art market
in that they provided oudets for artists who were able to build up their stock in the
months between the two markets. As a result, transportation costs were reduced to a
minimum as international demand temporarily converged in Antwerp. The importance
of the fairs is underscored by the reports of eyewitnesses. Pero Tafur, an Andalusian
nobleman, visited the Antwerp fairs in 1435 and was duly impressed. "The market
that is held in this city is the most important one in the whole world," he wrote, and
continued, "the most beautiful merchandise of this earth is on display here, the greatest
wealth, and superb entertainment." 7 Almost a century later, in 1517, the secretary of

3 On the relationship between Antwerp and Bruges, see especially Wilfried Brulez, "Brugge en Antwerpen in de
15de en 16de eeuw: een tegenstelling?" Tïjdschrift voor Geschiedenis 83 (1970): 15-37.
4 Historians have noted that Antwerp functioned primarily as a transit market in these early decades of growth.
Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 113-142; Limberger, "No town in the world," 45-46.
5 Van der Wee, "De invloed van socio-economische factoren," 117-119.
6 On the fairs, see J .-A. Van Houtte, "Les foires dans la Belgique ancienne," in Recueils de la société Jean Bodin. V
La Foire (Brussels, 1953): 175-207.
7 Jan Albert Go ris, Lofvan Antwerpen. Hoe reizigers Antwerpen zagen van de XVe tot de XXe eeuw (Brussels, 1940),
24-27.

16
 CHAPTER 1 THE R:!sE OF THE A'\!TWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

the Italian cardinal Luigi d'Aragon was also struck by the magnitude of the Antwerp
fairs, and claimed that this was the greatest market in Christendom. 8
The art trade - an integral part of the new luxury industries - was further
stimulated by a variety of factors that can be described as advantages of agglome-
ration. First, despite the lack of royal patronage, capital to support the arts was
abundant in a city that could boast a wealthy art-loving elite. 9 In a now-famous
quo te, Van Mander had already in 1604 drawn attention to the link between Antwerp's
wealth and the high output of art production. 10 Indeed, the presence of many well-
to-do foreign merchants and financiers had a salutary effect on the demand for luxury
commodities as they engaged in conspicuous consumption. 11
Secondly, Antwerp's commercial ties even with the most remote destinations
secured a supply of raw materials that were otherwise difficult to obtain. The port
could boast a ship traffic of 2,500 sea-going vessels a year, and the Hessenwagens
guaranteed a dependable and regular, if not daily, overland connection to al! to al! of
the major trade centers across the continent. 12 The availability of certain pigments
fonctions as a good example. For instance, coloring agents such as pastel (providing
a blue color) and even more exotic dyes such as cochineal (yielding a red color) were
readily available in Antwerp; pastel was imported from the Mediterranean basin and
cochineal originated in Central America. 13
In addition, Antwerp's growth as an international market and seaport kept
artists in tune with the latest fashion and international demand. For instance, when
Spanish monasteries and abbeys developed a strong taste for small devotional

8 Ibid., 32.
9 Arnout Balis, "De nieuwe genres van het burgerlijk mecenaat," in Stad in Vlaanderen, ed. Jan van der Stock
(Brussel, 1991), 238-254; Filip Vermeylen, "Marketing Painrings in Sixteenth-Century Antwerp: Demand for Art
and the Role of the Panden," in International Trade in the Low Countries (14th-16th centuries). Merchants,
Organization and Infrastructure, eds. Peter Stabel, Bruno Blondé andAnke Greve (Leuven-Apeldoorn 1999), 193-
213.
10 De vermaerde heerlijcke stadAntwerpen, door de coop- The grand, celebrated city ofAntwerp, which prospers
manschap in voorspoet wesende, heeft over al tot hear through commerce, has summoned from everywhere
gewenct d'uytnemensœ onser consten, die veel hun tot the most excellent in our art, who also frequently went
hear oock begeven hebben, om dat die const geern is there because art desires to be near wealth.
by den rijckdom.
Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 134 (fol. 219r).
11 For a more in-depth discussion on the nature of and extent to which demand shaped the Antwerp art market,
see Chapter 5.
12 Brulez estimated that some 2,500 sea-going vessels visited Antwerp annually when the conditions were nor-
mal. Brulez, "De handel," 122. On the Hessenwagens, see Chapter 4.
13 Prior to the availability of New World cochineal on the continent, a European variant of the insect (primarily
found in Poland) was used to extract a similar red color. Jo Kirby and Raymond White, "The Identification of Red
Lake Pigment Dyestuffs and a Discussion ofTheir Use," National Gallery Technical Bulletin 17 (1996): 63. The import
of pastel reached astronomical numbers: in 1542-1543, the Guicciardini consortium alone imported 13,690 baies
of pastel from France. The bulk of this particular pigment was, of course, used in the textile finishing industry to
dye the English cloth that passed throughAntwerp (see Chapter 2, sub 2), but painters benefited from this accessibi-
lity as well. Brulez, Wilfried "De handelsbalans der Nederlanden in het midden van de I 6de eeuw," Bijdragen voor
de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden 21 ( 1966-7): 284; AR.A., R.K. 23497-23498, passim. For the history of pigments,
see Robert L. Feller, ed., Artists' Pigments: A Handbook ofTheir History and Characteristics (Cambridge, 1986).

17
 PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

altarpieces, the Antwerp artistic community was in a position to respond quickly to

this gap in the market; several larger workshops produced standardized works of art
which were shipped to the Iberian Peninsula. ln general, the exposure to so many
foreign merchants at the times of the fairs must have (directly and indirectly) provided
the local artist with a certain amount of feedback regarding the marketability of his
work, and the homo economicus in him may have persuaded the artist to alter his
product to cater to the needs of his clientele. The artist was thus in a position to
anticipate the ever-changing trends in demand for luxury goods.
The city's new wealth created a favorable climate that attracted many skilled
craftsmen, and Antwerp particularly appealed to many artists. The beginning of this
influx can be pinpointed through an examination of the registers of new members of
the Guild of Saint Luke.
The number of incoming artists (masters as well
TABLE 1: New Members of the Antwerp as apprentices) rose stcadily from 1460 to 1520, with a
14
Guild of Saint Luke (1460-1539) rather pronounced and sharp rise during the early
Masters Apprentices Total decades of the sixteenth century. Surely, the impact that
1460-69 ...... 41 ............ 4 ......... 45 such an influx of valuable human capital must have had
1470-79 ...... 51 .......... 63 ....... 114 on the artistic blossoming of Antwerp cannot be under-
1480-89 ...... 72 .......... 73 ....... 145 estimated. Most of those newcomers were anonymous
1490-99 ...... 97 .......... 53 ....... 150 painters, printers, woodcarvers, sculptors and the like
1500-09 .... 115 ........ 126 ....... 241 who decided to try their luck in the city on the river
1510-19 .... 159 ........ 162 ....... 321 Scheldt. Every now and then, an artistic genius such as
1520-29 .... 157 ........ 129 ....... 286 Quinten Metsijs (1465/1466-1530) from Leuven,
1530-39 .... 191 ........ 133 ....... 324
Joachim Patinir (ca. 1485-1524) from Dinant, or Pieter
SOURCE: Liggeren, 13-136. Bruegel (ca. 1525-1569) from the Breda region setded in
Antwerp as well. Such an abundance of artists concentra-
ted in one city enticed Van Mander to portray Antwerp as the "mother of all artists." 15
The favorable economic climate alone does not explain why Antwerp quickly
became a major exporter of artistic goods. A reorganization of the artist's workshop
led to a rationalization and standardization of the production of works of art. This
trend would ultimately turn artwork into commodities that became part of the regular
international trade circuit. For this purpose, the artist's studio had to be transformed
from a medieval atelier into a proto-industrial workshop. As will be elaborated upon
in Chapter 4, the master painter or master sculptor employed apprentices and kna-
pen (journeymen) which made collaboration, specialization and more advanced
division oflabor possible. The preservation of dozens of standardized carved altarpieces
dating from the first decades of the sixteenth century certainly points to a streamlining

14 This statistic shows ail new registered members of the Guild, irrespective of their profession (painters, sculptors,
printers, etc.). These figures were also incorporated in Graph 6 (see p. 129) and will be discussed more thoroughly
in Chapter 4, sub 2.
15 Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 186 fol. 232r. See also Arnout Balis, "Antwerpen, voedster der kunsten: haar bij-
drage tot de artistieke cultuur van Europa in de 17de eeuw," in Antwerpen, verhaal van een metropool, 115-128.

18
 CHAPTER I THE RrsE OF THE A'lTWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

and commercialization of the production process. 16 In painting, the "modern" work-

shop allowed for the serial production of a few well-chosen compositions that were
duplicated innumerable times and sold on the open market.
Lastly, the city government was proactive in promoting the arts. 17 Not only
did the magistrate pump very large sums of money into the industry through the
employment of artists (albeit mostly temporary) or the commissioning of artwork,
the city also did not spare any efforts to persuade talented artists to settle in Antwerp.
When Albrecht Dürer visited Antwerp in 1520, for instance, he was promised a
lucrative pension and a house should he decide to take up residence in the city. 18
Dürer did not accept what must have been a very tempting offer, but the magistrate's
intentions were clear: a conscious effort was being made to tie one of the most talented
artists of the era to the city in an attempt to promote artistic production in Antwerp.
The fact that the renowned Albrecht Dürer took the time to visit Antwerp
also means that, by 1520, the city had established a reputation as an artistic center.
The role that some of the more gifted immigrants have played as catalysts in the
take-off of the Antwerp art market is evident. Quinten Metsijs, in particular, has
been accredited with single-handedly founding the Antwerp school of painting. While
these kinds of statements might be a bit exaggerated, the artistic innovations of Metsijs
and others like Jan Gossaert and Joachim Patinir were instrumental in the development
of the Antwerp art market in the sense that their style of painting would become a
trademark of the Antwerp school of painting; their style became not only recognizable
but also highly marketable.

1.2 The Panden until 1540 19

The reorganization of the workshop, the influx of human capital and the
relative decline of production on commission underline the profound changes in the
way art was created in Antwerp. The finished work of art, of course, still needed to
reach the consumer who could be anyone from a local private citizen to an abbot
living in Spain. As mentioned in the introduction, the panden presented themselves
as the perfect vehicle for the sale of on spec produced paintings, retables and various
other luxury items. The Dominican pand and Our Lady's pand were the premier
venues for the marketing of paintings in Antwerp before 1540.
The origins of the word pand are not entirely clear. The Verwijs en Verdam
dictionary provides several possible meanings for pand, and one of them reads "gallery
surrounding the courtyard of a cloister" which draws on a contemporary source descri-

16 Jan Van der Stock, "De organisatie van het beeldsnijders- en schildersatelier te Antwerpen. Documenten
1480-1530," in Hans Nieuwdorp ed., Antwerpse retabels, J5de-J 6de eeuw, exhib. cat. Antwerp Cathedra! (Antwerp,
1993), vol. 2, 47-53; see Chapter 6.
17 See Chapter 5, sub 2.2.
18 Van den Bran den, Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool, 106-107; Dan Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp,
1460-1560: Our Lady's Pand," The Art Bulletin 72 (1990): 581.
19 An earlier version of this section was included in Vermeylen, "Marketing Paintings," 204-207.

19
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

bing a pandas a "gallery or cloister, a place where one sells certain merchandise or
where one walks around." 20 lt is noteworthy that the original location of a pandwas
set in a church or cloister; the spacious environments of the inner courtyards of these
religious institutions provided the room and protection required by merchants to
exhibit their merchandise. The cloisters involved clearly had little objection to the
fact that the trading of goods took place on their sacred grounds. The revenues gene-
rated by the fairs were apparently sufficient to put aside any reservations the clerics
may have had regarding the capitalist activities that were taking place within the
walls of their compound.
It is not inconceivable that these galleries were a unique Antwerp invention.
There is no evidence that similar galleries were functional in other towns in the Low
Co un tries prior to the opening of the Dominican pand in Antwerp in 1445. Bruges,
the dominant artistic and commercial center of the fifteenth century, did not open a
pand until 1482. 21 Moreover, the term was not easily translated; Guicciardini simply
referred to "il panto," and documents drawn up in French did not translate the word
either. The lack of similar terms in other languages may simply imply that these
galleries indeed were an indigenous invention.
Whatever the etymological roots of the panden may be, the fact remains that
these sales halls were an integral and crucial element of the Antwerp commercial
infrastructure. Besicles the three panden that will receive attention in this study, there
were many others in Antwerp. There were possibly as many as fourteen or sixteen
panden operational in the mid-sixteenth century, and most of them specialized in the
dealing of a particular luxury product such as tapestries or jewelry. 22
The advent of the panden must be seen in the context of the biannual fairs or
jaarmarkten, which led to a series of designated areas in the city where art sales took
place. Pero Tafur was the first to elaborate on these locations. He specifically stated
that paintings were being soldat the Franciscan monastery, believed to be the Beghard
convent which was located on the Eiermarkt. Tafur also mentioned that goldwork
was on sale at the Dominican friary, la ter the Dominican pand 23

20 "gallerij rondom the binnenplaats van een klooster" and "gallerie ou cloistre, lieu où on vend quelque
marchandises ou où on se promene." E. Verwijs and J. Verdam, eds. Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek (The Hague,
1907), vol. 6, s.v. "Pand." An identical explanation can be found in Jozef Cornelissen and J.B. Vervliet, eds.,
ldioticon van het Antwerps dialiect (Ghent, 1903), vol. 3, s.v. "Pand;" N. Van Wijk, Franck's etymologisch woorden-
boek der Nederlandsche taal('s-Gravenhage, 1912), s.v. "Pand;" J. Denucé, "De beurs van Antwerpen. Oorsprong
en eerste ontwikkeling, 15e en 16e eeuwen," AntwerpschArchievenblad, Second Series (1931): 81-145, especially
p. 83. See also Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 559, especially n. 11.
21 On the pand in Bruges, see Maximiliaan Martens, "De dialoog," especially 55; Jean C. Wilson, Painting in
Bruges at the Close of the Middle Ages. Studies in Society and Visual Culture (University Park, Pennsylvania, 1998),
174-185; Chapter 6, sub 4.
22 Tapestries, for instance, were traded exclusively at the tapissierspand. Hugo Soly, Urbanisme en kapitalisme te
Antwerpen in de J 6de eeuw. De stedebouwkundige en industriële ondernemingen van Gilbert Van Schoonbeke (Brus-
sels, 1977), 234-238; Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 580.
23 Go ris, Lof van Antwerpen, 26; Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 560.

20
 CHAPTER 1 THE RrsE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

Until circa 1540, the panden would generally be open for business only during
the six weeks the jaarmarktenwere in session. However, by the mid-sixteenth century,
most of them felt compelled to open their doors year-round. In doing so, they adjusted
to the structural change the Antwerp market underwent towards becoming a perma-
nent entrepot. These developments will be discussed in Chapter 2, sub 1, and here it
will suffi.ce to mention that for the remainder of the sixteenth century, the panden
continued to fonction as a crucial outlet for the speculative production of an array of
artistic and luxury items. For instance, the schilderspand would become Antwerp's
primary distribution center for paintings, which would enable those merchants visiting
the Bourse to be supplied with the pictures they desired.

1.2.1 The Dominican Pand (1445-1553)

Of the three sales halls under scrutiny in this study, the Dominican pand is
the one we are the least informed about. It is also the oldest pand and remained ope-
rational for more than a century, but little in terms of historical evidence has survived. 24
We do know that the predikheerenpand or Dominican pand was probably built in
1445 and was situated in the cloister in the southwest corner of the Dominican
friary (see Figure 3) in the Zwartzusterstraat. 25 A variety ofluxury goods were marketed
at this location during the fairs: jewelry, paintings, tapestries, doth, silk, silverware,
and the like. The Dominicans entrusted the management of the sales hall to some
sort of consortium that cared for the maintenance and collected the rent of the stalls.
The make-up of this consortium is not entirely transparent, but it consisted of
representatives of the Guild of Saint Luke (bath the Antwerp and Brussels branches)
and the Guild of Saint Nicholas. The latter corporation grouped a hotchpotch of
tradesmen, but jewelers and tapestry weavers appear to have been among the most
prominent and visible members.
Contrary to any other guild in the city, the members of the Guild of Saint
Nicholas were not required to be citizens of Antwerp. Consequently, Antwerp artists
and craftsmen were by no means the only people displaying their goods at the
Dominican pand In 1477, there is mention of a jeweler from Bruges and of nvo men
from Ghent renting stalls. 26 This dominance of .foreign members is reflected in the
leadership of the Guild. In 1480, one of the deans originated from Brussels and the
other from Gent; in 1494, bath deans were citizens of Brussels. 27 In 1515, the Saint

24 The only survey of the Dominican pand rernains D. Schlugheit, "De predikheerenpand en St-Niklaasgilde te
Antwerpen (1445-1553)," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis 29 (1938): 99-119. See also Montias, Le Marché de l'Art,
44-45; Denucé, "De beurs van Antwerpen," 83; and Edm. Geudens, Plaatsbeschrijving der straten van Antwerpen
en omtrek (Brecht, 1902), vol. 2, 326-339.
25 "1445 wordt den predicheeren pant volmaect" S.A.A., P.K. 2274, Wijkboek 19, fol. 437r; Ewing, "Marketing
Art inAntwerp," 560. Presently, this is the location of the Calvariebergwhich was erecred between 1694 and 1743.
26 Schlugleit, "De predikherenpand," 102.
27 Ibid., 103.

21
 P ART 1 T HE ANTWERP ART M ARKET IN T RANSITION (1490- 1609)

FIGURE 3: Virgilius Bononiensis, Antwerp (1565), woodcut, 120 x 265 cm. Antwerp, Museum Plamin-
Moretus.

1. Tapissierspand
2. House and atelier of Marten Alleyns
3. The new bourse
4. Prim shop of Hieronymus Cock
5. Dominican pand

22
 CHAPTER 1 THE R!SE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

Nicholas Guild daims that their members 28

eensdeels woonachtig ende resideren-
de bynnen deser stadt van Antwer-
pen ende den meestendeel (... ) van
buyten waren heure domicilie hou-
dende in diversche steden ende plaet-
sen ais in stcdcn van Bruessele, Sher-
togen bossche, Mechelen, Bergen
opten Zoom, Breda, Ghendt, Brugge,
Yperen, Cortrycke, Diest ende Doer-
nicke.
on the one hand reside in this city
of Antwerp but the majority (... )
came from the outside and hold
residence in various cities and places
such as Brussels, 's-Hertogenbosch,
Mechlin, Bergen op Zoorn, Breda,
Ghent, Bruges, Ypers, Kortrijk,
Diest and Doornik.

The Brussels Guild of Saint Luke is known tu have sent a large contingent to
the pand during the fairs as well; in fact, the Brussels artists are believed to have been
more numerous than their colleagues from Antwerp for the greater part of the fifteenth
century. 29 The presence of so many out-of-towners seems to underscore the assumption
that Antwerp acted as a distribution center for artistic goods, providing artists and
dealers from Brabant and Flanders with timely and well-organized access to the pool
of European merchants who, twice a year, visited the jaarmarkten of Antwerp and
Bergen-op-Zoom.
The Dominican pand was modified and enlarged in 1460, which indicates a
certain degree of success and a conviction that the market for luxury items was
expanding. Their optimism proved justified, and at the instigation of the Brussels
craftsmen, the pandwas expanded once again, or rather, a second sales room - referred
to as the nieuwen pand- was constructed just outside the friary in 1479. A conflict
between the aldermen of the Guild of Saint Luke and the Dominicans erupted that
year concerning the use of the two panden. The aldermen claimed that they were
promised stalls in both sales halls, while the Dominicans swore on their priesthood
that they had only agreed to access to the nieuwen pand 30 The dispute lingered into
the following year as certain retailers belonging to the Guild refused to surrender
their stalls in the original pand, citing individual rem contracts. The Guild of Saint
Luke did instruct the four stubborn members to vacate the premises, but we are not
privy to the outcome of this episode. 31 What we do know is that the Guild left the
Dominican pand altogether shortly thereafter, transferring their activities - the mar-
keting of paintings, retables and glasswork- to the more centrally-located and spacious
Our Lady's pand (see below).

28 Quoted in ibid., 109.

29 Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 560.
30 ]os Van den Branden, "Het register vanden dachvaerden. Vervolg," Antwerps Archievenblad 2 l (n.d.): 165.
31 Ibid., 170-171and175-176.

23
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

The departure of the painters, wood carvers and glassblowers may have dealt
the panda very serious blow, but art sales did not cease to take place in the Dominican
friary, on the contrary. Other luxury goods such as tapestries and jewelry continued
to be marketed at this locale until the middle of the sixteenth century, and the Saint
Nicholas Guild now held the exclusive right to exploit the pand A contract was
negotiated between the Guild and the Dominicans in 1494, which went into effect
in the year 1500 and would be valid for 50 years. 32 The agreement stipulated that
stallholders should pay their rent prior to the start of the market, and it was forbidden
to exhibit their wares elsewhere in the city. Obviously, with the transfer of the Guild
of Saint Luke still painfully present in their recent memory- and probably in their
purses - the Dominicans wanted to prevent another move to a competing pand
Paranoïa did not fuel their concern. For instance, in 1515 the Guild of the Old Foot-
bow (Gilde van de Oude Voetboog) opened a pand on the Grote markt, commonly
known as the Spanish pand Although the Dominicans had a clause inserted in the
charter of the new venue declaring that no venders who habitually keep shop at the
Dominican friary will be allowed to make use of the stalls in the Spanish pand, their
stipulation was to no avail. Several dealers belonging to the Guild of Saint Nicholas
were lured to the latter pand Was this an indication of the declining viability of the
Dominican pand? Whatever the motives might have been, at the request ofboth the
Guild and the Dominicans, the city government stepped in and ordered the members
back to the friary. ln addition, the city also granted the Guild from then on the
authority to severely sanction those who made any attempts to break ranks and market
their goods at another pand 33
The ultimate demise of the Dominican pandis shrouded in legal action and
controversy. ln essence, the opening of the Tapestry pand in the Spring of 15 5 5 was
the direct cause of the demise of the Dominican pand Those who were still selling
their merchandise at the friary soon moved, and the Dominican pandwas no longer
a commercially viable enterprise and was forced to close its doors. 34

1.2.2 Our Lady's Pand (1460-1540)

The success of the Dominican pand may have prompted the Church of Our
Lady to erect a sales room for luxury items. 35 ln the Boeck der tyden it is reported
"Anno Domini 1460 in Antwerp was made Our Lady's pand, for the selling of books,

32 For a partial transcription of the contract, see Schlugleit, "De predikheerenpand," 105-108.
33 Ibid., 108-11 O.
34 Thijs, Vtm 'werkwinkel' tot Jàbriek,' 115-117. The underlying motives and circumstances surrounding the
closure will be explored in Chapter 2, sub 3.1.
35 This section draws heavily on Dan Ewing's highly stimulating contribution on the history of Our Lady's pand:
Ewing, ".\1arketing Art in Antwerp." Ewing thoroughly scrutinized the Cathedra! archives and relevant published
sources, and I found only a few documents that have been previously overlooked. On the pand, see also Georg
Friedrich Koch, Die Kunstaustellung. lhre Geschichte von den Anfangen bis zumAusgang des 18. ]ahrhunderts (Berlin,
1967), 56; Wilson, "Marketing Paintings," 624.

24
 CHAPTER 1 T HE RlsE OF THE ANTWERP A RT MARKET (1 490-1540)

paintings, carved images and joinery." 36 This was certainly not the first foray of the
church authorities in the retail sector; market stalls benefiting church, city and the
Duke of Brabant were systematically rented out during the biannual fairs. An
ordinance issued in 1387 by the Duke of Brabant and the civic authorities confirms
the rights of the church to collect part of the revenues generated by the fairs. 3ï ln
addition to the market stalls - generally situated on and near the Grote Markt and
the churchyard - a craemhuys or stall house was constructed in 1426, also on the
churchyard, which was mainly used to store the stalls when the fairs were not in
session. 38 The pand was erected kitty-corner from the stall ho use on the west side of
the churchyard in 1460. Compared to the surrounding buildings, it was fairly
substantial in size and grandeur, and was situated strategically in the center of the
city (see Figure 4).
The decision of the church to build a pand was no doubt fueled by the
desperate need for cash to fund the on-going construction of a new parish church,
the later cathedra!. The accounts of the kerkfabriek
show that the revenues generated by the pand
generated substantial sums that were funneled to the
building of the great church, which (to this day)
would become the trademark of the Antwerp skyline.
The evidence for the pand's early period is
scant, but it appears to have attracted enough sculp-
tors, booksellers, painters, woodcarvers and joiners
to be profitable from the onset. Between 1511 and
1531, the pandaccounted for roughly 15 to 20 per-
cent of the annual incarne of the church of Our
Lady. 39 The first surviving account detailing the
receipts of the pand dates from 1468, and from then
on these are frequently listed in the kerkrekeningen.
These would also include income from the pand
outside markets times. As such the pand's attic was
used for storage, and the building itself was often FIGURE 4: Our Lady's Pand (Hieronimus
Cock, ca. 1550). Antwerp, S.A.A., Map by
rented out for weddings. 40 Sporadic expenditures
Hieronimus Cock.
having to do with the maintenance and design of
the building were included in the accounts as well. For instance, in 1469 or 1470, a
fellow named Henric De Witte was paid 10 guilders to build three new chimneys. 41

36 Willem Van der Heyse, Het boek der Tijden in 't korte ofCronijk van de geheele wereldt(Amsrerdam, 1753), 208.
37 W.H. Vroom, De Onu-Lieve-Vrouwekerk te Antwerpen. D efinanciering van de bouw tot de beeldenstorm (Anrwerp-
Amsrerdam, 1983), 78-79.
38 Vroom, De Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, 80; Ewing, "Marketing Arr in Anrwerp," 562.
39 Vroom, De Onu-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, 84.
40 Ewing, "Marketing Art in Anrwerp," 563.
41 "Item Henric de Witte heefr in den pant gemaect drie nieuw scouwen witwerc daertoe geleverd corne 2 pond
9 schellingen 7 denier Brabanrs" S.A.A., K.A. (Reg. 8), fol. l 7r.

25
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

Other information regarding the actual operation of the pandis more elusive.
The sales area consisted of a hundred or so stalls organized around and in a courtyard.
The building apparently had two entrances and, judging from the aerial view of
Antwerp by Cock, could also boast a pagadertoren. This kind of observation tower
was typical for commercial buildings and large merchant's houses, and denotes the
business-related designation of the pand 42
ln 1481, the Guilds of Saint Luke of Antwerp and Bruges reached an agree-
ment with the treasurer and the churchwardens of the church of Our Lady resulting
in the move of their respective members to Our Lady's pand The Antwerp magistrate
endorsed this agreement in 1484, then further proclaimed that the sale of "altarpieces,
panels, images, tabernacles and carvings, polychromed or unpolychromed, of wood or
stone" would be confined to Our Lady's pand during the fairs. 43 Needless to say, this
quasi-monopoly situation de facto established the pandas the primary art market in Ant-
werp, a position that it would maintain until the opening of the schilderspand in 1540.
An extant contract of March 1517 sheds some light on the rental conditions
at the pand The document states that the stallholders must commit themselves to a
three-year con tract. A hefty fine of 30 Brabantine pounds had to be paid in the event
of a breach of this commitment, and they needed to give a termination notice of one
year. lnteresting is a passage about the continuation of sales after the market was
officially closed: 44

dat de voirscreven dekens ende gul-
debroeders vanden selven gulden be-
houden selen inden voirscr. Pandt
eenen bequamen ganck, al dat jaer
duere buyten de mercten om alsul-
cken tafelen beelden ende andere
juweelen ais sy daer laten staen inde
mercten de selve te moeghen thoe-
nen vercoopen ende uytdoen ais die
vercocht selen syn alsoe dicke (elcke)
ende menichwernen ais hen dat ge-
lieven sal behoudelick dien dat de
selve guldebroeders gheen tafelen
buyten mercten oft ander werck daer
in brengen en sullen moegen noch
doen inbrengen in gheenre manieren
noch oick dinne mogen wercken.
that the above-mentioned deans and
brethren of the Guild will keep out-
side the markets and throughout the
year in the above-mentioned pand
a suitable corridor to sell, exhibit
and remove in the case of a sale those
altarpieces, images and other jewelry
(... ),and that the same members of
the Guild will not bring in or have
bring any retables or other work out-
side the markets nor can they work
on them at those times.

42 Lean Voet, De Gouden Eeuw van Antwerpen: Bloei en Uitstraling van de metropool in de zestiende eeuw (Antwerp,
1973), 442-443; Rutger Thijs, Antwerpen. Historisch portret van een stad (Tielt, 2001), 54-55.
43 Van der Straelen, jaarboeck, 24-26 and 29; Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 563.
44 S.A.A., S.R. 150, fol. 410v (document dated March 23, 1517).

26
 CHAPTER 1 THE R!SE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

Clearly, even at this early time the church authorities were anticipating the
shift from a periodical to a permanent market. As we will see, this shift would not be
completed until the early fifteen forties. However, at this point in time, many restric-
tions clearly still apply.
Evidence of actual dealing at Our Lady's pand is not legion. Moreover, all
direct references mention the selling of retables, not paintings. Laureis Keldermans,
for instance, promised in June of 1519 that he would not sell a carved altarpiece
presently at the pand, without fost notifying a debtor by the name of Cornclis Valcx.
Keldermans owed Valckx 15 Brabantine pounds for a wainscoting job, probably
executed at his house. 45 Regarding paintings, the church account of 1543 does reveal
that at the very least eleven painters were exhibiting their wares at the pand at this
time, and naturally, the exclusivity contract of 1484 also leaves no doubt that the
pand was indeed the primary outlet for the distribution of paintings in Antwerp. 46

*
* *

Dan Ewing rightfully argues that Our Lady's pand may well be considered
the "fost authentic art sales room of the Early Modern era." 47 What made it unique
was that is was expressly built for the marketing of art, and therefore not part of an
existing church structure. Surely the Dominican pandwas older, but no special sales
hall was deliberately constructed to serve this purpose. The art sales simply took
place on the grounds of the convent and little or no infrastructure was needed to
organize the market.
Nevertheless, the two leading art markets in Antwerp prior to 1540 share
some interesting characteristics. First of all, both the Dominican pand and Our La-
dy's pand grew out of the recurring cycles of the jaarmarkten. The fairs indeed provided
the framework from which the panden could develop and grow, and in this respect
the art market was able to build on the existing commercial facilities rather than on
Antwerp's emanation as a cultural center, insofar as Antwerp could yet draw on such
a reputation. As such, the success of the panden was built on the emergence ofAntwerp
as a prosperous trading center at the crossroads of Europe, and this was certainly the
case for Our Lady's pand lt is therefore no surprise that the revenues generated by
this gallery grosso modo reflect the vicissitudes of the Antwerp mart.
Secondly, the füst generation of panden are situated in an ecclesiastical set-
ting. This blatant mixing of commerce and religion may seem odd to us now, but
this was not out of synch with late-medieval society. Again, the long-time involvement

45 S.A.A., V.S. 647, fol. 103r (document daredJune 10, 1519). Forother examples see Jacobs, Early Netherlandish
Carved Altarpieces, passim.
46 Floris Prims, "De kunstenaars in O.L.V. pand te Antwerpen in 1543," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis 29 (1938):
296-300.
47 Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp", 580.

27
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (I490-I609)

of the church in the jaarmarkten points to a tradition in this respect. Nevertheless,

this system would become outdated in the years to corne, and neither the Dominican
nor Our Lady's pand would be able to compete with the more professionally run
secular sales halls.
Lastly, the Guild of Saint Luke, which united the artists of Antwerp, was
actively involved in the management and control of the panden. The deans of the
Guild of Saint Luke acted as protagonists in all the documents pertaining to the
workings of the pand such as the rcntal con tract of 1517, and thcy wcrc also the ones
initiating the move from the Dominican to Our Lady's pandbefore that. Furthermore,
it is noteworthy that the Guild received the full support from the magistrate who
tended not only to co-sign these documents, but also would not hesitate to enforce
Guild regulations vigorously. As the sixteenth century progressed, the role of the city
government would become ambiguous, but during these early decades, it was
instrumental in guaranteeing the Guild's monopoly of art sales in Antwerp. 48

1.3 The First Export Boom (ca. 1500-1525)

Once the groundwork for a strong art industry had been laid, particularly in
the area of sculpture and painting, Antwerp soon became a net exporter of works of
art. However, for this early period, concrete and quantifiable sources regarding the
export of works of art are scarce. In most cases, only circumstantial evidence exists,
and when the documents are available, they usually point to expensive commissioned
works of art, not the serialized production that ended up being shipped out in large
quantities. Nevertheless, the fact that Antwerp painters, sculptors and other artists
were able to sell the fruits of their labor to a foreign clientele cannot be disputed. The
success of Our Lady's pand and the presence of Antwerp art dating from this period
in contemporary foreign collections are probably the most convincing elements that
support such a thesis.
It can also be argued that a significant proportion of the luxury items sold in
Antwerp was not produced in the city proper. Economie historians have indeed
demonstrated that, during this period, the growth of the Antwerp market as a whole
was based on transit-trade. For instance, textiles woven in England were exported to
the South of German y via Antwerp, and man y other examples apply. 49 Thus, the city
effectively functioned as a distribution center for a wide variety of goods, including
works of art. It was mentioned earlier that many artists and dealers from towns in
Brabant and Flanders marketed their art at the panden. Tapestries from Brussels,
paintings from Bruges and sculpture from Mechlin are just a few examples of foreign
artwork being offered for sale in Antwerp.

48 See Chapter 6.
49 Van der Wee and Materné, "De Antwerpse wereldmarkt," 21-22.

28
 CHAPTER 1 THE RJsE OF THE ANT\1\'ERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

For the remainder of this section, I will focus on the exports of paintings and
retables as they constituted the most visible and certainly two of the most significant
branches that contributed to the success of the Antwerp art market during this initial
phase of expansion. 50

1.3.1 Paintings

During the fifteenth ccntury, the Antwerp school of painting was virtually non-
existent and certainly not in a position to engage in a serialized production of pictures
for foreign markets, but the first decades of the sixteenth century marked the first ge-
nuine boom of Antwerp painting. Renaissance paintings by Quinten Metsijs and Jan
Gossaert, landscapes Joachim Patinir and Holy Family scenes by Joas Van Cleve were
the trend-setters and found a great following. The works by these artists were in great
demand domestically as well as abroad, especially in Spain and Portugal, but this
high-end segment of the production formed only part of the total export of pictures.
Produced specifically for export were the works of the Antwerp Mannerists,
a group of mostly anonymous painters who were active during the first decades of
the sixteenth century. The only known masters who can be identified to have belonged
to this group with great certainty are Jan De Beer and Adriaen Van Overbeke. 51
Whatever their names were, the fact is that they operated in workshops which were
set up for serial production. As such, they produced countless Adorations ofthe Magi
and other scenes from the New Testament which were unloaded on the international
markets. 52 These paintings were of varying quality and price, often with dozens of
cheap copies made from one original. A finer example of this genre by the Master of
the Antwerp Adoration can be found in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp
dating from around 1520 (see Figure 5). This small but attractive triptych is characte-
rized by the mixing of Gothie and Renaissance elements, fantastic architecture, the
pursuit of elegance (albeit frequently resulting in rather awkward poses), and the
evocation of travel; elements that can be identified in most mannerist works.
These types of paintings tended to be rather compact in size, and the closing
shutters provided ample protection during travel. Often the shutters were not yet
painted in and the altarpiece was thus soldas a semi-finished work of art. This would

50 Other artistic items such as tapestries and books found their way abroad via Antwerp as well, but these trades
tended not yield a high volume until the middle of the century and will therefore be discussed in Chapter 2, sub 5.
51 Hans Vlieghe, "Centrum van de nieuwe kunst," in Antwerpen. Twaalf eeuwen cultuur en geschiedenis, eds.
Karel Van Isacker and Raymond Van Uytven (Antwerp, 1986), 133. See also Dictionary ofArt, vol. 2, s.v. "Antwerp
Mannerism," by Dan Ewing.
52 Popular tapies from the New Testament were the Birth of Christ, Maria and Jezus, Christ on the Cross, and other
scenes from the Passion of Christ. Hans Vlieghe, "The fine and decorative arts in Antwerp's golden age," in Urban
Achievement in Early Modern Europe. Golden Ages in Antwerp, Amsterdam and London, eds. Patrick O'Brien, Derek
Keene a.o. (Cambridge, 2001), 176; Maryan Ainsworth and Keith Christiansen, From Vt'.in Eyck to Bruegel Early Nether-
landish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum ofArt, exhib. cat. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York,
1998), 260-265; Carl Van de Velde, "De schilderkunst," in Antwerpen in de 16de eeuw (Antwerp, 1975), 425.

29
 PART I THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

FIGURE 5: Master of the Antwerp Adoration, Adoration ofthe Magi (ca.1520), oil on panel, 29 x 22 cm.
Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts.

30
 CHAPTER 1 THE RrsE OF THE A"1TWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

allow the buyer to have his or her portrait or patron saints painted in at a later stage.
Such an arrangement was particularly convenient when the purchaser was living
abroad, say in Spain, and had the altarpiece purchased in Antwerp via an intermediary.
The data we have regarding this first export boom of Antwerp painting poses
some interesting questions. Ever since Max Friedlander attributed the bulk of the
exports of paintings to the Antwerp Mannerists, it has become commonplace among
scholars to follow suit. 53 Granted, this group of painters is believed to be quite
numerous in early sixteenth-century Antwerp, but there is hardly a shred of proof in
the archives that it was precisely mannerist paintings that made up the majority of
the exports. Nevertheless, we have to assume that this was indeed the case. Not only
is there very little evidence to the contrary, but it can be established that pictures
with mannerist subject matter were present in inventories of the period and appear
in a great number of churches and other religious institutions, particularly in the
Iberian Peninsula, even though no systematic attempts have been made tu catalogue
the presence of these works in Spanish and Portuguese collections.

1.3.2 Sculpture

The Brabantine carved altarpiece, the most important branch of Flemish

sculpture, was widely exported during the first half of the sixteenth century. 54 Ready-
made altarpieces as well as commissioned ones from Antwerp, Brussels and Mechlin
were renowned throughout Europe, and particularly in the Baltic region. Countless
examples of Brabantine altarpieces were sent to the northern German region stretching
from the Rhine to Gdansk. 55 Poland especially appears to have been a primary impor-
ter. At present, no less than seven retables dating from the period 1500-1530 can still
be admired in Gdansk alone, and the most impressive Antwerp-made altarpiece in
Poland can be found in the Naradowe Museum ofWarsaw. lt had been commissioned
by the Brotherhood of Saint Reinolds of Gdansk in 1516. Obviously, itwas fashionable
for guilds, brotherhoods and churches to order a Brabantine retable. 56 A typical
example of an on spec-produced carved altarpiece that was exported to Poland can be
found in the Maria-Assumpta church in Zukowo (see Figure 6). At least three diffe-
rent hands contributed to the creation of the retable, and it has been suggested that
it includes pre-fabricated parts.57

53 Max Friedlander, Die Altniederlandisch Malerei (Berlin, 1933), vol. 11, 12-13.
54 Much has already been published on this subject: for the most recent and exhaustive bibliography, see Jacobs,
Early Netherlandish CarvedA!tarpieces, 329-341. See also P.H. Janssens, Werken aan kunst. Economische en bedrijfi-
kundige aspecten van de kunstproduktie, 1400-1800 (Hilversum, 1995), 21-32.
55 The peak of these exports can be placed around 1510-1525. Most pieces of that generation originated from
large workshops in which the production of retables was standardized and, therefore, not always of the highest
quality in comparison to earlier work. H.J. De Smedt, "De verspreiding der Brabantse retabels in oostelijke rich-
ting," Mededelingen van de Geschied- en Oudheidkundige Kring voor Leuven en omgeving (1965), 23-36.
56 De Smedt, "De verspreiding," 23-36; R. Szmydki, Retables anversois en Pologne. Contribution à lëtude des rapports
artistiques entre les anciens Pays-Bas Méridionaux et la région de Gdansk au début du XVIe siècle (Brussels, 1986).
57 This kind of standardized retable tended to be offered for sale at Our Ladys pand Nieuwdorp, Antwerpse reta-
bels, vol. 1, 70-73; see Chapter 6.

31
 PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART M ARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

Zukowo Retable (1520-1525), polychromed oak with painted shutters, 266.9 x 229.8 x 27.3 cm.
FIGURE 6:
Zukowo (Poland), Church of the Assumption of Mary.

32
 CHAPTER 1 THE RisE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1490-1540)

Flemish altarpieces were equally popular in Scandinavia, and traces of them

appear in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. 58 For instance, an inscription on an
altarpiece in Jader, Sweden reads: "Made in Mechlin by Jannen Van Wavere in the
year of Our Lord fifteen hundred and fourteen." To this day, 38 Brabantine carved
altarpieces are preserved in Sweden alone, 21 of which originated in Antwerp work-
shops. 59 Spain and especially Portugal imported quite a few Brabantine altarpieces.
Quinten Metsijs played a key role in introducing Flemish sculpture and painting in
Portugal; twice (in 1513 and 1517) King Manuel commissioned him to make
altarpieces. 60 While primarily intended for churches in Portugal, most retables adorned
private family chapels in Spain. 61 Brabantine carved altarpieces were also found in
Italy, France, England and Scotland, although not in great numbers. The emphasis
of this trade, in sum, lay in Northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. As Jacobs
has described at great length in her recent book on Netherlandish altarpieces, sizable
well-organized workshops produced these retables in a quasi-industrial fashion in,
and sold at the panden. 62

1.4 The Slow-Down of the 1520s and 1530s

The transit-trade that had benefüed the Antwerp economy so much during
the first period of growth suffered its first major setback during the l 520s and l 530s.
Already during the second decade of the sixteenth century, the negative impact of
the German Peasant Wars and the dispute between the French king and the newly
elected emperor Charles V could be felt in Antwerp. These conflicts had a most per-
nicious effect on the long-distance trade in which Antwerp functioned as a gateway.
Armed conflicts would rupture trade routes and could virtually eut off whole regions.
The luxury trade was particularly vulnerable to the vicissitudes oflong-distance trade
since it relied much on foreign markets. ln addition, the resurgence of Venice as the
dominant market for spices and metals caused further structural damage to Antwerp's

58 J. Bialostocki, "The Baltic Area as an Artistic Region in the Sixteenth Century," Hafoia (1976): 11-23;
]. Roosval, "Les peintres de retables néerlandais en Suède," Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Oudheid en Kunstgeschiedenis 4
(1934): 311-320; Idem, "Retables d'origins néerlandaise dans les pays nordiques," Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Oud-
heid en Kunstgeschiedenis 3 (1933): 136-158.
59 "Ghemaecht te Mecheln bi Jannen van Wavere int iaer ons Her dvisent vifhonderten m virtien." Roosval, "Les
peintres de retables," 142; G. Derveaux-Van Ussel, "DeAntwerpse retabels in Zweden," in Nieuwdorp, Antwerpse
retabels, vol. 2, 89.
60 Nicole Dacos, "De Vlaamse kunstenaars en hun invloed in Portugal (15de-16de eeuw)," in Vlaanderen en Por-
tugal, eds. ] . Everaert and Eddy Stols (Antwerp, 1991), 153-154 and 173-175. Also, a certain number of Nether-
landish woodcarvers emigrated to Portugal, such as Joao of Utrecht, Arnao de Carvalho (both Northern artists
worked on the main altar of the Cathedra! of Lam ego), 0 livier van Ghent and ]an van Ieper.
61 Antwerp-made altarpieœs exported to Spain were found in Burgos, Valladolid, and several other cities in the north-
western part of the country.]. K. Steppe, "Spaans mecenaat en Vlaamse kunst in de zestiende eeuw," in Luister van
Spanje en de Belgische steden 1500-1700, exhib. car. Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels, 1985), vol. 1, 266.
62 Jacobs, Early Netherlandish CarvedAltarpieces, 149-165 and 209-233; Alfons K.L. Thijs, "De Antwerpse luxe-
nijverheid: winstbegag en kunstzin," in Van der Stock, Antwerpen, verhaal van een metropool, 105-106; Janssens,
Werken aan kunst, 31-34. I will return to the issue of commercializarion in Chapter 6.

33
 PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1 609)

position as intermediary between the Portuguese spice traders and the South-German
silver merchants, drawing fewer of these merchants to the fairs. 63
These developments fueled a depression that caused prices for basics such as
grain to rise precipitously. In response, local and regional potential consumers would
postpone or cancel the purchase of work of art as these did not rank among the
necessities of daily living. The negative business climate had an immediate effect on
the revenues of Our Lady's pand, which started to decline in 1525 and would not
recover until the l 540s (see Graph 1).64

250

200

150

100

50 GRAPH 1:
Revenues of Our Lady's
0 Pand (in Brabantine
tr\
~
0
t"-
tr\
t"-
0
OO
tr\
OO
0
(;\
tr\
(;\
0
0
tr\
0
0
.-<
tr\
.-<
0
N
tr\
N
0 tr\ 0
'<!<
tr\
'<!<
0
tr\
tr\
tr\
0
~
Pounds) 1465-1560.
'<!< '<!< '<!< '<!< '<!< '<!< '<!< tr\ tr\ tr\ tr\ tr\ tr\ '""' '""'
tr\ tr\ tr\ tr\ tr\ tr\ tr\
S OURCE: K.A., Regs. 8-16

The members Guild of Saint Luke severely felt this sharply reduced demand
for artistic goods, and consequently the corporation itself faced financial difficulties.
In 1534, the deans complained that "the Guild's situation worsened by the day and
the membership declined because the [art] trade did not prosper as usual, so that the
income of the same Guild declined more and more." 65 By 1537, the situation had
deteriorated to such an extent that the Guild was compelled to install an armenbus to
aid those members who were hit the hardest. As poverty was rampant in Antwerp's
artistic communiry, masters, pupils and even journeymen were asked to contribute
to this support fund. 66
Fortunately for Antwerp, this depression had only a temporary character,
and soon the ciry's economy would rebound. When it did, a differently structured
art market would emerge, one that would become more commercial, secular and
professional.

63 Limberger, "No town in the world," 46-47 ; "Herman Van d er Wee, "Handel in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden,"
in Nieuwe A lgemene Geschiedenis der Nederlanden (Haarlem, l 979) , vol. VI, 83-86.
64 See also Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 165-1 66; Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 569.
65 "ende alsoe de voorscreven guide daghelicx zoe meer en meer vercrancte ende minderde en den getale van de
guldebroederen overmidts dat de neeringhe egheen loop en hadde gelyck zy pleecht, soe dat d'incommen van der
selver gulden daghelycx crancker ende crancker werde" Van der Straelen, jaerboek, 40.
66 Ibid. , 42.

34
 CHAPTER 2

A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR

PAINTING (1540-1585)

2.1 Introduction: The Foundations of a Burgeoning Art Market

Durant tout le XVIme siècle, les Pays-Bas ne constituent

pour ainsi dire que la banlieue de cette admirable cité
[Anvers}, qui les soumet à son ascendant.
J.H. PIRENNE

Starting around 1540, and despite further disruptions due to political unrest,
Antwerp entered a second phase of sustained growth and prosperity which would
last until roughly 1565. During this time, the engine of growth was not so much the
transit fonction of the Antwerp mart (even though this remained an important fac-
tor), but was increasingly based on the cxports of South-Netherlandish products. 1
The home industries were indeed coming up to speed as demand for luxury items in
Europe rose at a time when the traditional supplier of these goods, Italy, was no
longer in a position to act as main provider for the Continent. 2 The Flemish and
Brabantine textile industries took the lead but were followed by the expansion of the
luxury crafts. The influx of skilled laborers who were attracted by high wages and the
prospect of steady work ensured the viability of these burgeoning industries. ln
Antwerp, the know-how needed to develop these crafts was often imported from
outside. The Spaniards, for instance, set up workshops for the production of Cordoba
leather while the Italians started Venetian glass and crystal ateliers. 3 Particularly striking
is the example of the silk industry. Silk was already traded in Antwerp in the early
1300s, but it was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that we see the first
glimmer of a silk industry emerging in the city. After a slow start, the production of
silk fabrics took off in the 1540s and would earn its place as one of the leading

1 Antwerp functioned as a distribution center for a wide variety of luxury and high-quality goods which were
produced elsewhere in the Seventeen Provinces and Northern France: textiles (says) from Hondschoote, tapestries
from Brussels, cloth from Amsterdam, etc. Brulez, "De handelsbalans," 398-402; Filip Vermeylen, De export van-
uit de Zuidelijke Nederlanden naar Duits land omstreeks het midden van de 16de eeuw (Master's thesis, University of
Leuven, 1989), 112; Limberger, "No rown in the world," 46; Van der Wee and Materné, "De Antwerpse wereld-
markt," 23.
2 Van der Wee, "Handel," 86-87.
3 Jan Albert Goris, Etude sur les colonies marchandes Aféridionales (Portugais, Espagnols, Italiens) à Anvers de 1488 à
1567 (Leuven, 1925), 433-437; Johan Veeckman, ed., Majolica and glass ftom 1taly to Antwerp and beyond. The
transftr oftechnology in the 16th - early 1 lth century (Antwerp, 2002); Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 188.

35
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

industries of Antwerp, directly and indirectly employing no less than 4,000 workers
by 1584. 4
Furthermore, the production of musical instruments, sculpture, bronze and
copper work, embroidery, ceramics and books all surged on the rising tide of a booming
economy. 5 Antwerp's tapestry industry also received a serious boast when many weavers
settled in Antwerp from the 1540s onwards. 6 Finally, the explosion in print making
was so overwhelming that Antwerp could daim a virtual hegemony in the Netherlands
throughout the sixteenth century. In his seminal study on print making in Antwerp,
Jan Van der Stock argues that prints had permeated Antwerp society to such an
extent that we can speak of a veritable visual culture.7
lt is noteworthy that the magistrate continued its policy of enticing key figures
active in the above-mentioned luxury trades to set up shop in Antwerp, fully aware
that the demonstration effect and the input of invaluable human capital would result
in spectacular returns for the city as a whole in the long-run. In 1541-1542, the
versatile artist Pieter Coecke Van Aalst (1502-1550) was granted an allowance for his
efforts to instruct apprentices in the art of designing cartoons for tapestries. A few
years later, the merchant-entrepreneur Jan Nuyts received a subsidy to set up the
production of sumptuous silk fabrics, and in 1559, the local government attempted
to lure tapestry weavers from Brussels to Antwerp, offering free citizenship. 8
The second third of the sixteenth century markcd a significant and structural
change in the organization of the Antwerp market. While previously trading was
conducted primarily during the biannual fairs, the rise of commercial capitalism
demanded that it be conducted year-round. The abandonment of the periodic mark-
ets during the 1530s in favor of a permanent market is one of the most crucial
developments that help to explain Antwerp's second period of sustained economic
growth, and one without which we cannot assess the changes that occurred in the
marketing of art. This transition was in part made possible by the introduction and
generalization of new commercial techniques. To reduce the risk and increase the
input of capital, merchants entered into more or less limited partnerships. These
constructions, referred to as participation trading, allowed for less affluent merchants
to engage in long-distance trade. Under another method, known as commission tra-

4 Alfons K.L.Thijs, De zijdenijverheid te Antwerpen (Brussel, 1969); Idem, Van 'werkwinkel' tot Jàbriek'. 123 ff;
Herman Van der Wee, "Industrial dynamics and the process of urbanization and de-urbanization in the Low
Countries from the late middle ages to the eighteenth century. A synthesis," in The Rise and Decline of Urban
Industries in ltaly and in the Low Countries (Late Middle Ages-Early Modern Times), ed. Herman Van der Wee
(Leuven, 1988), 341.
5 Voet, De gouden eeuw, 363-389.
6 Thomas Campbell a.o., Tapestry in the Renaissance. Art and Magnificence (New Haven and London, 2002); Guy
Delmarcel and I. Van Tichelen, "Vier eeuwen wandtapijtkunst in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden," in S.O.S. Wand-
tapijten. Redding van 24 belangrijke kunstwerken (Brussels, 1994), 17.
7 Jan Van der Stock, Printing Images in Antwerp. The Introduction of Printmaking in a City, Fifteenth Century to
1585 (Rotterdam, 1998).
8 Thijs, "Antwerpse luxenijverheid," 108; Idem, Van 'wcrkwinkel' tot Jàbriek,' 124; Campbell, Tapestry in the
Renaissance, 379-385; K.G. Saur, Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon: Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Volker
(München-Leipzig, 1998), vol. 20, 113-116.

36
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

ding, a merchant would send his goods to a foreign city without having received an
order for them. At the destination, the merchandise was usually collected by another
merchant or agent who proceeded to sell the goods, the latter keeping a percentage
of the profits - the commission - for himself The success of this method was a
conditio sine qua non for the commercial expansion of the city since commission
trading saved cosrs and provided the trading firms with the opportunity to place
agents in all major market centers of Europe. 9
Both techniques, further strengthened by an
TABLE 2: Demographic Evolution
agricultural revival, the growth of the Antwerp money
of Antwerp During the Long Sixteenth
market and more efficient means of transportation, meant
Century
not only that the volume of trade grew at a rapid pace,
but also rendered the fairs superfluous. Trading could Year ................. ...... Population
1496 ..................... ca. 40,000
henceforth be conducted on a daily basis, and was
1526 ..................... ca. 55,000
determined more by the mechanisms of supply and
1542-43 ................ ca. 84,000
demand for a certain product at any given time than a 1566 ................... ca. 100,000
dependency on periodic markets. 10 ln the words of a 1568 ........................ 104,081
contemporary observer, "it is commonly known among
1582 ·························· 83,905
merchants (... ) let us travel to Antwerp, because there it 1585 ..................... ca. 80,000
is always market-day." 11 1586, May ................. 59,082
Economically speaking, these developments 1586, Oct .................. 48,422
transformedAntwerp into a prosperous international tra- 1589 ..................... ca. 42,000
ding center. The growth in population is indicative of 1591 .......................... 46,123
1595 ..................... ca. 47,000
this expansion. The population peaked during the 1560s
1612 .......................... 53,918
when more than 100,000 inhabitants lived in Antwerp,
making it one of the most populous urban centers north SouRCE: Guido Marnef, Antwerp in the
of the Alps. 12 Perhaps more importandy, over 1,000 Age ofReformation. Underground Pro-
foreign merchants now resided in the city and acted as testantism in a Commercial Metropolis,
living commercial links with the rest of the world, turning 1550-1577(Baltimore and London,
1996), 5; R. Boumans and Jan Craey-
the city into a leading gateway of the European trade
beckx, "Het bevolkingscijfer van Ant-
network. lt is thus no surprise that Antwerp virtually werpen in de 16de eeuw," Tijdschrift
monopolized international commerce in the Habsburg voor Geschiedenis 60 (1947): 394-405
Netherlands. During the 1540s, based on a one percent and Jan Van Roey, "De bevolking," in
tax levied on ail goods leaving the city both by land and Antwerpen in de XVIde eeuw, 95-108.

9 Wilfried Brulez, De firma Della Faille en de internationale handel van Vlaamse firma's in de J 6de eeuw (Brussels,
1959), 367-368; Vermeylen, De export, 30-31. A particularly lucid survey on the rise of Antwerp as a commercial
metropolis has been written by Bruno Blondé, "Antwerpen: metropool van het noorden," in Oriëntatie cursus
cultuurwetenschappen. De Bourgondisch-Habsburgse Nederlanden, ed. J.M.E. Worms (Heerlen, 1992), 43-61,
especially 45-48.
10 The fairs did retain their fonction as an important money market. Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 166.
11 '"tes een gemeyn seggen onder den coopman (... ) laet ons gaen 't Antwerpen reysen, daer eest altijt merckt."
Quoted in D. Schlugleit, "De zilverhandel van de meerse en de ordonnantie van de goudsmeden te Antwerpen in
de zestiende eeuw," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis 30 (1939): 42.
12 The figures for this period include between 10,000 and 14,000 temporary residents described as "foreign
merchants daily coming and going." Guido Marnef, Antwerp in the Age ofReformation (Baltimore and London), 4.

37
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

sea, Antwerp could daim 76 percent of total exports from the Low Countries. Am-
sterdam came in second with a mere five percent. 13 The city demonstrated its
accumulated wealth three decades later when the Duke of Alva, then Governor of
the Netherlands, imposed the so-called One Hundredth PennyTax, which consisted
of a one percent duty on all immovable and movable goods. When the tax was levied
in 1569-1572, Antwerp brought in close to 213,000 guilders - four times the amount
Brussels yielded and five times that of Bruges, the respective second- and third-largest
cities of the Southern Netherlands. 14
The salutary effects the economic boom had on cultural and artistic
consumption were very tangible indeed, and not surprisingly, the Guild of Saint
Luke thrived under these circumstances. Talented artists continued to flock to the
city. The Liggeren show a perhaps less pronounced rise in membership during the
1540s compared to earlier decades, but the added human capital of the new
immigrants nevertheless proved instrumental for the definitive establishment of
Antwerp as a primary center for artistic production in Europe. Striking is the sharp
increase in enrollment in the Guild during the 1550s, reaching an all-time high of
270 masters and 223 apprentices (see Graph 6, p. 129). However, this was to some
extent due to the incorporation of other professions during the latter half of this
decade. ln 1557, the harpsichord builders joined the Guild at their own request, and
a year later, all those involved in typography (type setters, binders, printers, booksellers,
etc.) joined the ranks of the Guild as well, rather than starting their own corporation. 15
Ultimately, the Antwerp painters proved to be the most vibrant and successful
of all luxury branches. During the 1540s, a number of innovative pictorial artists
infused with the principles and ideas of the ltalian Renaissance (they now often
undertook a journey ta ltaly) joined the Guild. As these artists became more
specialized, they laid the foundation for a more diversified production. The importance
of figures like Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Frans Floris (1519/1520-1570) is undispu-
ted. Floris - who, incidentally, became a master in 1540 - was the most successful
painter of his time; he brought to Antwerp the monumentality of the ltalian High
Renaissance which was very well received by the local elite and beyond, and he enjoyed
an almost immediate following. 16 Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575) and Joachim Beuckelaer
(ca. 1534-1574) introduced market scenes which were - as some would argue - an
exponent of the culture of commerce that reigned in Antwerp. 17 ln addition, portrai-
ture took off as a full-blown genre in its own right, launched by the likes of Antonio

13 The toll was calculated on the value of the merchandise. Vermeylen, De export, 27. See also Chapter 2, sub 5.
14 In essence, the Hundredth Penny Tax measured the fiscal wealth of the Southern Netherlands (Flanders,
Brabant and the seigniory of Mechlin). The dominant towns were Antwerp (212,977 guilders), Brussels (54,990
guilders), Bruges (43,286 guilders), Ghent (36, 132 guilders) and Mechlin (30,279 guilders). Peter Stabel and Filip
Vermeylen, Het fiscale vermogen in Brabant, Vlaanderen en in de heerlijkheid Mechelen: de Honderdste Penning van
de hertogvanAlva (1563-1572) (Brussels, 1997), 37-39.
15 Voet, De gouden eeuw, 358; and Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck, 47-55
16 Carl Van de Velde, Frans Floris (1513120-1570). Leven en werken (Brussels, 1975), 2 vols.; Idem, "Frans Floris,"
Dictionary ofArt, vol. 11, 219-223.
17 Honig, Painting and the Market.

38
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

Moro (1516/1520-ca. 1576), Willem Key (ca. 1515/1516-1568) and Frans Pourbus
the Elder (1544/1546-1582). 18 But in the end, it was the brilliancy and timelessness
of Bruegel's art that secured sixteenth century-Antwerp a place in the art history
books. Pieter Bruegel the Eider was the founder of a dynasty of painters, and con-
tributed, among other inventions, the peasant scene to the growing arsenal of diffe-
rent genres in Antwerp painting.

*
* *

The years from 1540 to 1565 made up the true golden age of the city on the
river Scheldt; its wealth and glitter enticed Simon Schama to exclaim that "for an
intoxicating few decades, Antwerp was European civilization." 19 This second period
of expansion Antwcrp witnessed during the sixteenth century had a profound im-
pact on the way art was marketed. The biannual fairs were no longer sufficient to
handle the changing pattern of demand, since consumers insisted on being able to
purchase works of art not just at times when the fairs were held, but year-round. The
renewed commercial viability of the city led to further rises in demand which, in
turn, prompted the increasingly specialized artists and artisans to engage in a far
more diversified production, one which was instandy commercialized through
emulation and imitation. As a result, the sheer volume of luxury goods changing
hands in Antwerp grew dramatically. The bulk of this production was done on spec
and intended for export.
Before I discuss the new and old panden, the emergence of art dealers and the
export of works of art, the historical picture needs to be completed. The time period
spanning the years 1566 until 1585 came to pass as a very volatile era for Antwerp,
one in which the art market and its players were caught between hope and fear.

2.2 Temporary Disturbances and Structural Decline (1566-1585)

Antwerp's golden age was short-lived. No consensus exists as to when exactly

the decline of Antwerp commenced, but the year 1585, which marked the closure of
the Scheldt, is often presented as the key date and turning point after which Antwerp
was no longer a major player on the European scene. However, the decline of the city
and the Southern Netherlands as whole was the result of a more gradua! deterioration
of the political, military and economic circumstances. These trends reveal the vulne-
rability of the entire region to external factors. Antwerp's booming economy had
been built on shaky foundations; so much of the international trade which had brought

18 Karolien De Clippel, "De Vlaamse portretkunst in de zestiende eeuw. Enkele sleutelmomenten van een succes-
verhaal," Vlaanderen 48, nr. 3 (1999): 126-129; Katlijne Van der Stighelen, "Das Portrait zwisschen 1550 und
1650: Die Emanzipation eines Genres," in Von Bruegel bis Rubens: Das goldenen ]ahrhundert der fldmisches Malerei,
eds. E. Mai and H. Vlieghe (Cologne, 1992), 171-182.
19 Simon Schama, "Mr. Europe: Pieter Paul Rubens and the Universalist Ideal," The New Yorker, May 5, 1997: 214.

39
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

wealth to the citywas based the pivotai position it held in the European trade network.
When the Dutch Revoit broke out, Antwerp's status as a main entrepot was seriously
jeopardized and many merchants were forced to conduct their business elsewhere.
A number of events and structural tendencies undermined Antwerp's com-
mercial hegemony. Already during the 1550s, certain temporary crises occurred but
fell short of a full-fledged depression. Two wars with France disrupted trade con-
nections severely, and in 1555 and 1556, the grain harvest failed which resulted in
famine and social unrest. 20 The Spanish state bankruptcy of 1557 affected many
Antwerp-based financiers and de facto ended the city's supremacy as Northern Europe's
premier financial center. 21
These setbacks did not appear to have inflicted any lasting effects, and the
early 1560s heralded themselves as a new era of prosperity. Peace had been restored
and soon the population would reach its zenith of 104,000 inhabitants in 1568 (see
Table 1, p. 18). New buildings were being erected at a rapid pace, including a magnifi-
cent new town hall and the Hansa House. 22 Not surprisingly, it was during these
golden years that the Florentine merchant Ludovico Guicciardini wrote his Descrittione
di tutti i Paesi Bassi in which Antwerp was described in the grandest of terms. 23
However, in 1563, in the context of a dispute between Queen Elizabeth and
Philips II of Spain, the English withdrew their cloth staple from Antwerp in favor of
the town of Emden. In doing so, one of the cornerstones of Antwerp's prosperity had
been removed. 24 This drastic step formed the first tangible sign of the decline of
Antwerp as the leading commercial hub north of the Alps. The transit trade of English
cloth had been an important component of the Antwerp economy as hundreds if not
thousands were employed in the finishing industry. 25 Employment and poverty loomed
as grain prices shot up, and the situation was exacerbated by a devaluation of the
coinage resulting in a further decrease in purchasing power. Matters only worsened
during the bitterly cold winters of 1564-1566. 26

20 Hugo Soly, "Economische vernieuwing en sociale weerstand. De betekenis en aspiraties der Anrwerpse mid-
denklasse in de 16de eeuw," Bijdragen totde Geschiedenis 83 (1970): 520-535; An Kim, The Community of Com-
merce: Social Relations in Sixteenth-Century Antwerp (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1996), 239-246.
21 Many of those bankers active in Anrwerp were of Southern German descent, and the state bankruptcy had a
devastating impact over the years on the vital trade with cities such as Nuremberg, Augsburg and Frankfort. The
crisis ended in 1559 with the signing of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 213-222.
22 Piet Lombaerde, "Anrwerp in its golden age: 'one of the largest cities in the Low Countries' and 'one of the best
fortified in Europe'," in UrbanAchievement, eds. Patrick O'Brien, Derek Keene a.o., 99-127; Hans Vlieghe, "Cen-
trum van de nieuwe kunst," 156-157; Lodewijk De Barsee, "De bouwkunst teAnrwerpen tijdens de XVIe eeuw,"
in Antwerpen in de XV/de eeuw (Anrwerp, 1975), 379-380.
23 See Introduction, n. 23.
24 Van der Wee, "Handel," 96.
25 English cloth tended to arrive on the continent unfinished, and was dyed in Anrwerp before being sent off to
its final destination, most often the German hinterland. Thijs, Van 'werkwinkel' tot 'fabriek, '62-66; Idem, "Structural
Changes in the Anrwerp Industry from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century," in The Rise and Decline of Urban
Industries in Italy and the Low Countries, ed. Herman Van der Wee (Leuven, 1988), 207; K.G. Ponting, A History
of the West ofEngland Cloth Industry (London, 1957), 31.
26 Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 229-232.

40
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

The year 1566 witnessed a series of events that marked the beginning the
80-year-long Dutch Revolt. This struggle had a profound impact on the political,
economic, religious and cultural history of the Low Countries, and would culminate
in 1648 in the creation of an independent Protestant nation (the United Provinces)
in the north. The southern provinces - including Antwerp - would remain part of
the Spanish empire. The outbreak of the rebellion has been attributed to a combination
of factors. The strained relationship with Philips II, and especially his unrelenting
stance on the execution of the placards against heresy, had led to much anger and
frustration and to a radicalization of the Calvinist movement. 27
lndeed, the economic and social difficulties of the mid-1560s proved to be
an excellent breeding ground for the emerging Protestant churches. Calvinists,
Lutherans and Anabaptists had long been operating in illegality, but during the months
of August and September of 1566, small mobs of image breakers ravaged countless
churches and chapels throughout the Low Countries. They removed or de~truyed
paintings, altarpieces, relies and statues in an attempt to cleanse places of worship
from idolatry. 28 Antwerp was not spared from the iconoclasm. During the night of
August 20-21, about 100 individuals entered the cathedral and proceeded to smash
all images, and the next day the city's other churches were ransacked. These riots
inaugurated the annus mirabilis or Wonderyear of Antwerp during which Protes-
tants, briefly, were allowed to openly practice their religion without the fear of being
persecuted. 29 However, the damage that had been inflicted on the artistic patrimony
of Antwerp horrified many contemporaries. The author of the Antwerpsch Chronykje
described with disgust the destruction of countless works of art in the cathedra!, and
Van Mander wrote that "on account of the new preaching in 1566, art was at a
standstill. " 30

27 Graham Darby, ed., The Origins and Development of the Dutch Revolt (London and New York, 2001); Philip
Benedict, Guido Marnef a.o., eds., Refarmation, Revoit and Civil Wtzr in France and the Netherlands 1555-1585
(Amsterdam, 1999); and Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revoit, 2d ed. (London, 1990).
28 Euan Cameron, The European Reformation (Oxford, 1991), 249-251. The writings ofJohn Calvin (especially
the Institutiones) lay at the foundation of this war against images in the Low Countries.
29 The Petition (smeekschriftJ summited by the lower nobility on April 5, 1566, requesting a moderation of the
religious persecution, and the large-scale open-air preachings (hagepreken) which took place throughout the Spring
and Summer were the other events that have been associated with the Wonderyear. When on May 24, 1567, the
regent revoked the right of non-Catholics to exercise their religion, the Wonderyear came to an end. lt is thus not
surprising that Guido Marnef described this brief era of toleration during the opening stage of the Dutch Revolt
as a "short-lived climax." Marnef, Antwerp in the Age ofRefarmation, 88-89; Robert van Roosbroeck, Het Wonder-
jaar te Antwerpen, 1566-1567: inleiding tot de studie der godsdienstonlusten te Antwerpen van 1566 tot 1585 (Antwerp,
1930); Floris Prims, Het Wonderjaar (1566-1567) 2d ed. (Antwerp, 1941).
30 Antwerpsch Chronykje, in het welk zeer veele en elderste vergeefich gezogte geschiedenissen, sedert den jare 1500 tot
het jaar 1574 zoo in die toen zoo zeer vermaarde koopstad, als de andere steden van Nederland, en wel byzonderlyk op
het stuk der geloofi-hervorminge voorgevallen, omstandig zyn beschreeven (Leiden, 1743), 88; Van Mander, Lives, vol.
!, 290 (fol. 258r); David Freedberg, Iconoclasm and Painting in the Revoit ofthe Netherlands, 1566-1609 (London
and New York, 1988), 116-117 and 257; Natasja Peeters, Tussen continuiteit en vernieuwing. De bijdrage van Frans
en Ambrosius Francken !, en de jonge generatie Francken, tot de historieschilderkunst te Antwerpen (Ph.D diss., Free
University of Brussels, 2000), 69.

41
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN T RANSITION (1490-1609)

The concessions that were made to the Protestants were short-lived. On May
24, 1567, Margaret of Parma revoked the rights of the Protestants to hold church
services. Even though the regent had been successful in regaining control of the
situation, Philips II nevenheless dispatched the Duke of Alva, a ruthless Catholic
and capable military commander, with a formidable occupation force to the Low
Co un tries. 31 Alva and his troops arrived during the Summer of 1567 and restored
law and order, but his harsh actions against heretics and his taxation plans made him
exceedingly unpopular and fucled the dcsire of many Netherlanders to be freed of
the Spanish yoke. 32 An atmosphere of oppression and crisis reigned which had a
negative impact on trade and commerce. A print dating from 1572, which was
obviously published for propaganda purposes, captures the intense hatred, but also
the legitimate concern that the country's economy was suffering from the excrescencies
of Alvàs methods and the erupting civil war (see Figure 7) .

FIGURE 7: Caricature of the Duke

of Alva (1572). Rotterdam, Atlas
Van Stolk.

3 1 S. Groenveld, et al., De kogel door de kerk' De Opstand in de Nederlanden en de rol van de Unie van Utrecht,
1559-1609 (Utrecht, 1979), 80-95.
32 In order ro centralize the government and to fund his army of some 67,000 men, Alva introduced a Hundredth
Penny (a one-rime one percent taxon immovable goods), a Twentieth Penny (five percent on ail sales of immovable
goods) and a Tenth Penny Tax (ten percent on ail sales of movable goods). These fiscal proposais infuriatied the
Netherlanders, and the Hundredth Penny tax was the only one that became a reality. Stabel and Vermeylen, Het
fiscale vermogen, 18-20. Alva was further critized for his inexorable persecution of alleged heretics by means of the
so-called Council of Blood.

42
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAJNTING (1540-1585)

A Babylonian whore representing papal Rome has seduced the Iron Duke
while the ships are anchored idly in port, and a discouraged merchant sits unable to
conduct his usual business. 33 ln hindsight, the timing of the publication of this print
was not accidenta!. On April 1 of that same year, a rebel fleet 26 sails strong captured
Den Briel, a small but strategically located port town in the river Meuse estuary. This
conquest was the first step of the insurgents towards controlling the mouth of all the
waterways of the Netherlands, including the Scheldt. When Antwerp fell to the
Spanish in 1585, it allowed the Protestants to eut off Antwcrp's lifeline to the sea. 34
An initial round of military exchanges and renewed persecution of heretics
resulted in a first wave of emigration which would last from 1567 until 1572. 35
Numerous skilled craftsmen departed for England, Germany, France or the Northern
provinces. 36 Among them were several painters and laborers active in the various
luxury industries. Alleged Protestant artists were either banned or chose to leave
themselves, but many others left for economic reasons. As David Free<lberg put it:

They left because they saw their works destroyed and their livelihood
threatened; because their families and homes were subject to the ravages of
war; and because further outbreaks of iconoclasm were always imminent.
What confidence could they have felt in producing works which were ever-
liable to criticism and destruction? They left because the prospects of new
commissions seemed better elsewhere, and, as before, for reasons of busi-
ness or to further their artistic training in France or Italy.37

ln other words, besicles the obvious danger of remaining in the city when
adhering to the Protestant faith, the hostile attitude towards images combined with
a sluggish and hampered economy made for bad times for the art market. That many
painters left is a fact, but it is more difficult to know for sure what persuaded them to
leave: economic need, the prospect of commissions elsewhere, or religious conviction
(or a combination of these push and pull factors)? Sometimes departing artists did
not mince words. When the painter Jacob Gheens left in early 1567, he claimed that
he was not tainted by any heresy, and that he needed to go elsewhere "not because of
any debts or ill-deeds, but simply in order to earn a living for himself and his wife,
seeing that his aforesaid craft and trade had largely corne to a halt." 38

33 Groenveld, De kogel, 83.

34 Through the capture of Flushing in June 1572, the so-called Sea Beggars controlled the maritime traffic to and
from Antwerp. Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 250; Groenveld, De kogel, 87.
35 In 1568, rebel armies under the command of William of Orange launched three simultanious attacks against
Alva, but were defeated on all fronts. Geoffrey Parker, The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-1659
(Cambridge, 1972), 106; Groenveld, De kogel, 84-85.
36 Jan G.C.A. Briels, Zuidnederlandse emigratie in Amsterdam en Haarlem omstreeks 1572-1630: met een keuze van
archivalische gegevens betreffinde de kunstschilders (Utrecht, 1976); Idem, Zuid-Nederlanders in de Republiek, 1572-
1630. Ben demografische en cultuurhistorische studie (Apeldoorn and Sint Niklaas, 1985).
37 Freedberg, Iconoclasm and Painting, 167. Also, see Oscar Gelderblom, Zuid-Nederlandse kooplieden en de op-
komst van de Amsterdamse stapelmarkt (1578-1630) (Hilversum, 2000), 71-76.
38 Quoted in ibid., 192-193. Of course, even when the city archives have yielded a clear statement from an artist

43
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

The records indicate that emigrating Antwerp artists went to a myriad of

towns throughout Europe, but most frequently to the Northern Provinces. 39 The
German hinterland (Aachen, Cologne and the town of Frankenthal) provided some
popular destinations for Protestant painters. 4° For instance, the painter Lucas Van
Valkenborch (1535-1597) and his brother Merten (1534-1612), accompanied by
three other painters, moved to Aachen after the Wonderyear to escape the "great and
excessive inconveniences" inflicted by the troubles, and to be able to earn a "decent
living for wife, children and household in peace and quiet." 41
By 1573, it had become obvious that Alvàs mission to quell the rebellion
had failed, and the Iron Duke was called back to Spain by year-end. He was succeeded
by Don Luis de Requenses who declared an amnesty for all but 300 heretics, a measure
that enticed some emigrants and banned people to return to their homes. Even the
general economic condition seems to have improved somewhat during the early and
mid-seventies. The above-mentioned Lucas Van Valkenborch was one of the artists
who was compelled to return to Antwerp, probably in 1575. He had quickly made a
name for himself as landscapist and portraitist, and as an emulator of Bruegel. 42
The Spanish Fury brutally distroyed this time of cautious optimism. On
November 4, 1576, disgruntled Spanish soldiers entered the city from their fort
situated on the south side, and proceeded to pillage and kill at random for days.
Hundreds of civilians perished and the collateral damage was virtually incalculable.
Especially the area around the city hall suffered considerably, but the new bourse was
hit as well. 43 Curiously enough, political events that took place during and directly
following the Spanish Fury instilled a feeling of hope in the minds of many
Netherlanders. The Pacification of Ghent, whereby all Seventeen Provinces formed a
united front against Spain, was concluded on November 8, 1576. The treaty called
for the departure of all foreign troops and a suspension of the placards. Especially the
more conciliatory stance against heretics would facilitate the formation of the so-
called Calvinist Republics: in a number of major cities (Antwerp, Mechlin, Brussels

in which he elucidates his motives for emigration, who is to say that these statements reflect the reality? We can
assume that in some cases the emigrant in question was looking to obtain some sort of passport from the magistrate
saying that he or she was in no way smitten with heresy.
39 For a number of examples of artists who emigrated in the wake of the Wonderyear, see Freedberg, Iconoclasm
and Painting, 172-182.
40 Ir should be noted that some Catholic artists ended up in the Rhineland as well. The best known example is
Otto Van Veen, the later teacher of Rubens, who worked from 1582 until 1585 for the archbishop of Cologne. He
returned to Antwerp after Farnese had gained contra! over the city. Ilja Veldman, "Keulen als toevluchtsoord voor
Nederlandse kunstenaars," Oud Ho/land 107 (1993): 46-47.
41 "de groote ende excessive overlasten" and "den tamelicken cost voer wyff kinderen ende syne huysgesinne in
ruste en vrede te mogen winnen" S.A.A., C.B. 34, fol. 20v-2lr (document dated November 20, 1572). The Van
Valkenborchs were a large family of painters who were active in Mechlin and Antwerp. When they left Antwerp in
1567, they first went to Liege before settling in Aachen. Van Mander testifies that Hans Vredeman De Vries was
one of the painters accompanying them. Van Mander, Lives, vol. 4, 202-207.
42 Alexander Wied, Lucas und Marten Vtm Valckenborch (1535-1597 und 1534-1612). Das Gesamtwerk mit
kritischem Œuvrekatalog(Freren, 1990), 14.
43 The estimates relative to the number of casualties caused by the Spanish Fury range from a few hundred to
8,000 depending on the source. Catholic authors have tended to minimalize the dealth roll.

44
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

and Ghent), the Calvinists acquired a position of power in the respective city councils
and before long were able to control these centers. 44 Fueled by numerous Protestant
refugees who now returned to their hometown, the economy once more rebounded
temporarily. 45 Unfortunately, the counter-offensive that was to be launched by the
Spanish would have a disastrous effect on the city of Antwerp, and on its art market.
Indeed, by the late 1570s, Alexander Farnese, commander in chief of the
Spanish forces in the Low Countries, had been preparing his troops for a genuine
reconquista. Naturally, the Calvinist stronghold Antwerp was to be the main target.
Parma displayed great skill and patience in maneuvering his armies to the north, and
his military advance soon started to choke Antwerp. In December 1581, an anony-
mous letter writer in Antwerp perhaps best captured the mood in the city: "Here,
nobody dares to leave the city, afraid to fall into the hands of the enemy." 46 By this
time, the city on the River Scheldt had become economically and militarily isolated.
Desperate to withstand the Spanish threat, the Netherlanders were prepared to take
drastic measures. On July 26, 1581, the States General, the highest political body of
the Low Countries, passed a resolution deposing the King of Spain. The Duke of
Anjou, the younger brother of the King of France, was simultaneously appointed the
new Prince of the Seventeen Provinces. William of Orange, the leader of the insurgents,
had undertaken such a step in the hope of securing fonds and troops from France in
an attempt to halt the Spanish advance.47 Unfortunately for Antwerp, the alliance
with Anjou turned out to be a debacle, and by August 1584, Parma stood at the gates
of the city and laid in a siege which was to last an entire year. 48

*
* *

44 Guido Marnef, "Brabants calvinisme in opmars: de weg naar de calvinistische republieken te Antwerpen,
Brussel en Mechelen, 1577-1580," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis 70 (1987): 7-21; Idem, "The Changing Face of
Calvinism in Antwerp, 15 50-1585," in Calvinism in Europe, 1540-1620, eds. Adrew Pettegree, Alistair Duke and
Gillian Lewis (Cambridge, 1994), 156.
45 Many of chose who came back were highly-skilled laborers (for instance, many emigrants were experienced
silk weavers), which gave the city's economy a temporary boost. Alfons K.L. Thijs, "Een ongeziene commerciële
hloei," in Antwerpen. Twaa!f eeuwen geschiedenis en cultuur, eds. Karel Van Isacker and Raymond Van Uytven
(Antwerp, 1986), 100; Van der Wee, "Handel," 97.
46 "Hier durft niemand buiten de stad gaan, om niet te vallen in de klip van de vijand," quoted by Floris Prims,
De Groote Cultuurstrijd(Antwerp, 1942-1943), 74.
47 A.S. De Blécourt and N. Jakipse, eds., Klein Plakkaatboek van Nederland (Groningen and The Hague, 1919), 43.
48 Rather than bringing money, Anjou demanded large subsidies from the States General and unlimited royal
prerogatives. On January 10, 1583, Anjou's troops attempted a genuine coup d'état in various cities in the Southern
Netherlands including Antwerp, but these attacks were easily repelled; these actions are now referred ro as the
French Fury and marked the end of Anjou's reign in the Netherlands. Bousse, "Het historisch gebeuren," in
Antwerpen in de XV!de eeuw (Antwerp, 1975), 29.

45
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

The overall effects on the state of the art market during this volatile period
were certainly negative. It goes without saying that the luxury industries of Antwerp
and the region as a whole were not likely to fonction and grow against the backdrop
of destructive military operations, severed trade connections, declining local demand
for art and religious prosecution. Add to that the suspect status of images at times
when the Calvinists were in power (1577-1585), and the predicament in which many
artists and dealers found themselves becomes evident. 49 The devastation resulting
from the iconoclasm was, therefore, echoed in a first exodus of artists who left Antwerp.
Nevertheless, many artists did stay, thinking they could weather the storms,
while others returned after being absent for some time. As we will see in Chapter 2,
sub 6, some did very well under the circumstances, and especially the art trade with
France flourished. However, for the vast majority of artists who were trapped in
Antwerp, times were harsh. This is reflected in a war tax which was in effect during
the years 15 84 and 15 8 5 on all heads of family. The tax records reveal the names of
108 painters who were still present in the city at those distressed times, 88 (81 per-
cent) of whom were not taxed, which meant that they lived at or below the poverty
level. 5°Clearly, the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that the once-thriving
artistic sector of Antwerp was all but dead.

2.3 The Changing Landscape of Art Sales: Old and New Panden
(1540-1585)

The panden were ubiquitous in the city center by the mid-sixteenth century
and formed a crucial and inherent element of the Antwerp commercial system. Both
Our Lady's pand and the Dominican pand were still important locations for the
marketing of art, but it cannot be denied that they were becoming somewhat
anachronistic. By this time, the engines of the new commercialism (the permanent
market) had outgrown the methods and management practices of a church organi-
zation. A modern new gallery was about to assume the role as the most prominent
venue in the city for art sales: the schilderspand or painters' gallery. But before turning
to the schilderspand as the premier venue for the sale of paintings in Antwerp, I will
discuss the fate of the first-generation panden.

49 The artistic community of Antwerp was reminded of the hosti!ity against religious imagery in 1581 when
another cleansing (this time peacefully) of the churches took place, an event which has been referred to as the stille
beeldenstorm or the quiet iconoclasm. Floris Prims, "De beeldenstormerij van 1581," Antwerpiensia 13 (1939):
183-189; Peeters, Tussen continuiteit en vernieuwing, vol. 1, 111.
50 Jan Van Roey, "De Antwerpse schilders in 1584-5. Poging tot sociaal-religieus onderzoek," jaarboek van het
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten te Antwerpen (1966): 108-114.

46
 CHAPTER 2 A P ERMANENT I NTERNATIONAL M ARKET FOR P AINTING (I540- I585)

2.3.1 Our Lady's and the Dominican Panden in Decline:

The End of an Era

Our Lady's pandand the Dominican pandwould, paradoxically, not survive

Antwerp's greatest era of economic success during Early Modern rimes. The sales
room at the Dominican friary, arguably the oldest pand in the Low Countries, never
truly recovered from the departure of the Guild of Saint Luke in 1484. Surely, the
members of the Saint Nicholas Guild continued to market their merchandise (mostly
jewelry and tapestries) at the friary, but there are no indications that the volume of
trade was substantial. On the contrary, the silence surrounding the Dominican pand
during the 1540s could be due to its relative insignificance compared to the other
panden. Moreover, there is no evidence that the Dominicans even adapted to the
permanent market by allowing sales year-round.
While the competition from Our Lady's pand and the newly-opened schilders-
pand had seriously crippled the viability of the friary, the opening of yet another
gallery would herald the end of the Dominican pand The circumstances surrounding
the demise of the Dominican pand are not entirely clear, but two developments
would prompt the city government to build a new gallery, one that would be specially
devoted to the marketing of tapestries. First, a tendency towards the weaving of
bigger tapestries had been noticeable since the beginning of the sixteenth century,
and while the friary was a perfectly suitable market for Ghent karpetten and other
textiles of a relatively small size, the larger tapestries were far more difficult to display,
and demands for a new and more spacious gallery could be heard. Also, the
Dominicans were planning to build a new and bigger church, and there was genuine
concern that an area which was normally taken up by
the pandwould have to be sacrificed, further limiting
the available space. Secondly, since the 1540s, the
Antwerp tapestry industrywas gaining momentum and
was finally able to compete with foreign production
centers such as Brussels and Oudenaarde. Erecting a
sales room exclusively devoted to the marketing of
tapestries would not only add to the prestige of the
Antwerp weavers and provide them with a much needed
outlet, but also allow them to better control and restrict
the sale of textiles from other towns. 51 As a result, in
1549, the magistrate decided to build a tapissierspand
to accommodate the tapestry trade, and a vacant lot on FIGURE 8: The tapissierspand
the old acquebusiers grounds was chosen as the new (detail of Bonienses map, see
location (see Figure 8) . Figure 3, page 22).

51 Weavers and dealers from these rowns had dominated the G uild of Saint Nicholas which held the exclusive
right to exhibit at the Dominican friary. T hijs, Vtin 'werkwinkel' tot 'fabriek,' 116-117.

47
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

The grand new building that opened its doors in 15 54 was the last of the
panden to be erected in Antwerp in the sixteenth century. lt was a large, functional
structure made out of brick, measuring 37 by 80 meters. ln this sales room, tapestry
merchants could rent stalls, and it also featured a great common room which was
explicitly designed to exhibit even the largest tapestries. 52
However, the leadership of the Saint Nicholas Guild - representing many
weavers and jewelers from out of town - was not going to give up their pand at the
Dominican friary without a fight. They petitioned the magistrate and the governcss,
and falling back on the rights that were bestowed upon them earlier, requested that
they may remain at the old venue. 53 The Guild also argued that most weavers lived in
the city center, close to the friary, and that a move to a more distant neighborhood
would not only inconvenience them greatly, but it remained to be seen whether the
potential buyers would find their way to the new but remote gallery. The magistrate,
no doubt primarily concerned with the prospect of increased revenues, responded
that the members were faced with the choice of moving to the gallery at the new bourse
or setting up shop in the tapissierspand The aldermen further added, rather laconically,
"what we do, we do for the greater benefit of this city." 54 The deans refused both
offers, lamenting that, either way, the "poor and small dealers will suffer the most." 55
The stubbornness and resistance of the Saint Nicholas Guild was futile, and by order of
the Emperor, the vendors were removed from the Dominican pandin the Spring of 1552,
and were found selling their merchandise at the tapissierspand soon after its opening. 56
Our Lady's pand, at first, seems to more than hold its own against the stiff
competition from the schilderspand. ln response to the decline of the jaarmarkten,
the pandwas compelled to adapt by allowing sales to be held year-round.57 Further-
more, the church masters must have felt that there still was a potential for growth,
and the gallery was expanded. ln 15 50, about fifteen stalls were added on the western
sicle of the pand 58 Despite these enlargements, the mid-point of the sixteenth century
marked the start of the structural decline of Our Lady's pandas the leading art market
in Antwerp. The number of painters displaying their merchandise had decreased

52 The tapissierrpandwas construcred under the auspices of the real estate entrepreneur Gilbert Van Schoonbeke.
Campbell, Tapestry in the Renaissance, 280-282; Guy Delmarcel, Het Vlaamse wandtapijt van de 15de tot del Bde
eeuw (fielt, 1999), 117-118; Soly, Urbanisme en kapitalisme, 221-222.
53 The correspondence and other documents concerning the closure of the Dominican pand can be found in the
Antwerp City Archives: S.A.A., G.A. 4579.
54 "dat wy doen, doen wy ten meesten profytte van der stadt." Quoted in Schlugleit, "De predikheerenpand,"
113. The revenues generated by the Dominican panel, of course, benefited primarily the friary. By contrast, when
the dealers and tradesmen were forced ro rem a shop in one of the city's panden, this incarne flowed directly or
indirectly into the magistrate's chest.
55 "Eude soude de schamele ende cleyne creemers de meesten scade lyden." Quoted in Schlugleit, "De
predikheerenpand," 113.
56 Thijs, Van 'werkwinkel' tot Jàbriek, '117 and Schlugleit, "De predikheerenpand," 114.
57 This shift resulted in a significant increase of the pand's revenues. Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 569;
see Graph 1., p. 34.
58 The church account of 1554 acknowledges that fifteen stalls were added in 1550. This new sales area was
referred to as the nieuwen pand and was located on the left-hand sicle entering the pand from the Kammenstraat
(see Figure 4, p. 25). K.A., Reg. 14 (1554), fol. 32v.

48
 CHAPTER 2 A P ERMANENT I NTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR P AJNTING (1540- 1585)

from the early forties onwards, and artists on average only represented 28.5 percent
of the total number of stalls occupied during the last two decades of the pands existence
(see Graph 2). ln other words, while the revenues in general remained strong during
the 1540s and early 1550s, joiners, printers and other artisans rather than painters
and sculptors now generated the bulk of the income. 59 Clearly, the lure of the new
gallery in the new bourse was becoming irresistible, and slowly but surely, artists and
dealers abandoned Our Lady's pand in favor of the schilderspand

•
D
Artists

Joiners
80
70

•
D
Printers

Orher
60
50
40
GRAPH 2: 30
Renters of Our Lady's
Pand (by Profession) 20
1543-1560. 10
SOURCE: K.A., Regs. 15-
0
16; Ewing, "Marketing «) ['--. OO Ç'\ N «) '<!' V"\ \D ['--. OO Ç'\ 0
'<!' '<!' '<!' '<!' V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ \D
Art," 576. V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\ V"\

Dan Ewing has attributed the ultimate decline of Our Lady's pand to the
changing market place. He concluded that the medieval character of this gallery -
run by clergymen and an integral part of the jaarmarkten cycle - was no longer
adequate to actas the main vehicle for art sales in mid-sixteenth century Antwerp. 60
The changing market notwithstanding, it remains remarkable that the magistrate
blatantly ignored the established privileges of Our Lady's pandin deciding to build a
new gallery during the 1530s; the 1484 decree which granted the exclusive rights to
the church wardens for the marketing of artwork during the fairs was conveniently
forgotten.61 As was the case with the Dominicans, the city had a vested financial
interest in extracting the sale ofluxury items from ecclesiastic institutions in favor of
galleries that operated under the auspices of the magistrate.
The pand closed its doors in 1560 and was demolished that same year or
very shortly thereafter. 62 Given that the pandwas essentially a wooden structure and
had become a serious fire hazard in an increasingly densely populated area of the city,

59 For instance, in 1555, seventeen artists (mostly painters) contributed 147 guilders, one third of a total of 432
guilders which were collected that year. K.A., Reg. 14 (1555).
60 Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 577-580.
61 On the other hand, the church wardens apparendy did not challenge the decision to open a new gallery for art
sales. Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck, 29. Also, see Chapter !.
62 The church account of 156 1 mentions the sale of debris from the demolished pand, a clear indication that the
gallery had been tom clown. K.A., Reg. 16 (1561) , fol. 18v.

49
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

its demolition could be seen as a necessity, especially now that its revenues were on a
downward spiral. However, the tearing clown of the complex may have been a result
of a certain degree of opportunism on the part of the kerkfabriek. At this time, Antwerp
was reaching its peak in terms of population increase, and in the rapidly growing city
the available land was becoming scarce and expensive, especially in an affluent
neighborhood like the Sixth Ward. 63 So the church wardens had the pand torn clown
and proceeded to build twenty-three renta! houses instead, a real estate projectwhich
provcd vcry lucrative indeed. 64

2.3.2 The Schilderspand: A Checkered History

When the print publisher Hieronymus Cock (1510-1570) returned during

the late forties of the sixteenth centuty from a sojourn in Rome, he did not set up shop, as
could be expected, on or near the Lombardevest where most other printers of Antwerp
were housed, but instead, opened his printing house "In the Four Winds" just a few
paces from the new bourse (see Figure 3, page 22). 65 A new gallety for the display and
sale of works of art had just opened on the second floor of the Antwerp stock market,
and Cock understood that the center of gravity for art sales had shifted away from
the old panden to more modern galleries located on the edge of the old town center.
Of the three panden under scrutiny, the schilderspandhas been the least studied,
but there are indications that this sales hall was particularly interesting and in fact
the most important one. 66 Without a doubt, the schilderspand operated on a far bigger
scale than Our Lady's pand, and it was the more modern of the two: the painters'
gallery was built under the auspices of the civic government which would also collect
the proceeds through leasing ( verpachtinfj, while both the Dominican pand and Our
Lady's pandwere run by religious institutions.
Part of the scholarly neglect of the schilderspand has been due to the lack of
archiva! materials. Most of the documents pertaining to the sixteenth-century history
of the painter's gallery were destroyed in the fire of February 1583, which reduced
the new bourse to its bare foundations. 6- A wide variety of information relative to the

63 Concerning the Sixth Ward, see Chapter 2, sub 3.

64 August Thys, Historiek der straten en openbare plaatsen van Antwerpen (Antwerp, 1893), 362; Ewing, "Marke-
ting Art in Antwerp," 577. For a detailed description of the Cathedral's parceling out of the area formerly taken up
by the pand, see Vroom, De Onze-Lieve Vrouwekerk, 84 ff
65 "In the Four Winds," located "auprès de la Bourse neuve," would rise to become one of the leading printing
houses of Northern Europe. Severa! noteworthy draughtsmen would be associated with this enterprise, Pieter
Bruegel the Eider being the most famous. In de Vier Winden. De prentuitgeverij van Hieronymus Cock 1507110-
1510 te Antwerpen (Rotterdam, 1988); Jan Van der Stock, "De prenten van Pieter Bruegel de Oude," Museum-
krant5 (April 1998) n. 18, 6-7. For a concise biography of Hieronymus Cock and further bibliographical references,
see Dictionary ofArt, s.v. "Hieronymus (Wellens) Cock," by Timothy Riggs, vol. 7.
66 For some general remarks on the schilderspand, see Floerke, Studien, 62 ff; Jan Denucé, "De beurs van Antwer-
pen," 90 and 94; Koch, Die Kunstaustellung, 63; Wilson, "Marketing Paintings," 625; Montias, Le marché de l'art,
47; and Zirka Zaremba Filipczak, PicturingArt inAntwerp, 1550-1100 (Princeton, 1987), 21; Vermeylen, "Mar-
keting Paintings," 207-210.
67 The burning of the pandsbooks was reported (and lamented) by Bartholomeus De Momper. S.A.A., P.K. 661,
fol. 260v (document dated March 28, 1583).

50
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

schilderspandis available in theAntwerp City Archives but is, unfortunately, scattered.

Nevertheless, a close examination of the city accounts in addition to a variety of
documents left by Bartholomeus De Momper, the pand's long-time and most visible
manager, has supplied ample pieces of the puzzle to reconstruct the history of this
sixteenth-century gallery. 68
The history of the schilderspand or painter's gallery is inexorably linked with
the new bourse, the inauguration of which reflects the changing economic realities
of the sixteenth century. This new center for trading and finance was erected in 1531
at a time when the old bourse in the Hofstraat had become inadequate to handle the
increasing number of merchants active in Antwerp. The old venue had been
operational sin ce 148 5 and was enlarged in 1515, but this did not alleviate the space
problem. By 1527, the magistrate agreed to the building of a large new construction
worthy of a growing metropolis. lt was decided to build on an area located between
the Lange Nieuwstraat and the Meir, at that time situated on the edge of the town
center (see Figure 9, p. 52). The new edifice was officially opened in 1532 despite
heavy resistance from those involved in the old bourse. Designed by the Spillemans
brothers, the new bourse was a stunning example of the late Brabantine gothic style
characterized by applying a mixture of sandstone, bricks and natural stone (see Figure
7, p. 42). 69 Guicciardini remarked that 70

De stadt van Antwerpen heeft twee-
entwintich plaetsen, soo grooten als
kleyne: de meeste is der heeren plaetse
oft stadthuys, ende de schoonste is
der kooplieden genoemt de Nieuwe
Borse rnet twee torens ende urwer-
cken, soo schoon ende bequaem tot
versaminghe der cooplieden dat mo-
ghelyck dies ghelijck nerghens en is.
The city of Antwerp has twenty-two
public buildings, big and small: the
grandest of these is the town hall,
and the most beautiful belongs to
the merchants and is called the New
Bourse which has two towers and
docks, so beautiful and pleasing for
the gathering of merchants that its
equal can be found nowhere.

When it was finished, people stood in awe and were struck by the grandeur
of the building. The new bourse soon became the aorta of Antwerp's commercial and
financial flows, which would turn the city into the main money market of Northern
Europe. The fame of the Antwerp stock market was not limited to the Southern
Netherlands: bath the Amsterdam (1608-1611) and London (1566-1569) stock
markets would be modeled after the Antwerp example. 71

68 The city accounts, for the years that they are available, mention the amount that was paid to lease the schilders-
pand as a whole. Bartholomeus De Momper, long-time manager of the gallery left dozens of traces in the archives
(including several depositions relative to the pand in the rekwestboeken) which are very informative.
69 Frederick Clijmans, De beurs van Antwerpen (Antwerp, 1941), 12; Jan Materné, "Schoon ende bequaem tot
versamelinghe der cooplieden. Antwerpse beurswereld tijdens de gouden zestiende eeuw," in ed. G. De Clerq, Ter
Beurze. Geschiedenis van de aandelenhandel in België, 1300-1990 (Bruges and Anrwerp, 1992), 56-67.
70 Guicciardini, Beschryvinghe, 61.
71 Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 577.

51
 PART 1 T HE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSlTION (1490-1609)

-~. tW '

FIGURE 9:After Peter Van der Borcht, The New Bourse (1581), engraving, 23.5 x 32.5 cm. Antwerp,
University of Antwerp, Prentenkabinet.

52
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

The original building plan did not leave a lot of room for the galleries on the
second floor, but the blueprint was altered soon after construction had begun. The
building was reinforced and enlarged so~ 2

dat men in toecomende tyden boven
op ten voorscreven zolder sa! moghen
maken ter voirscreven stad profyte
wel 1OO cramen oft meer, die men
zal jaerlicks verhueren, daer off zy
zal vele profyt in toecomende tyden
moghen hebben.
that in the future, in the above-
mentioned attic, 1OO stalls or more
will be made for this city's benefit,
which will be rented out annually,
and large profits will be made from
them in the times to corne.

There exists no evidence that the stalls were in use or even built before 1540-
1541, and it is likely that they remained unused throughout the thirties at a time
when the economy was suffering from the results of the Peasants' War. But the city
account of 1541-1542 lists the following entry: 73

Item men heeft binnen desen jaere
ontfanghen van diversche persoone
in hueren hebbende de stallen oft
cramen gestaen boven opte galleryen
vande nieuwer borssen omme schil-
deryen ende aile andere cleynen coop-
manscapen te vercoopen, na uytwysen
der rekeningen van Kerstyane Becx,
daer af den rentmeester overgebracht
in gescrifte, in ais de somme van 16
pond 19 schelling 6 denier Brabants.
Item this year has been collected
from several persons who rented
stalls or shops located in the gallery
of the new bourse to sell paintings
and other small commodities, accor-
ding to the accounts of Kerstyane
Becx, submitted to the treasurer in
writing, the sum of 16 Brabantine
pounds 19 shillings 6 deniers.

Clearly, the schilderspand was not uniquely conceived to market paintings,

yet it remains unclear as to what was understood by cleyne coopmanscappen. Judging
from a probate inventory of one of the shops dated 1583, this term entailed a variety
of luxury items (see below). At this early beginning, the revenue collected at the
schilderspand has to be described as rather modest, and income even dropped the
following year to 33 guilders (see Graph 4). Indeed, at this point in time, these
amounts pale in comparison to the rents generated by Our Lady's pand; in 1543, the
church-run sales hall brought in 576 guilders or roughly 17 times that of the schilders-
pand74

72 Quoted in Denucé, "De beurs van Antwerpen," 111.

73 S.A.A., R.K. 11, fol. 14r (City Account of 1541-1542). The collected rent amounted to 68 guilders.
7 4 It should be noted, of course, chat the income from Our Lady's pandwas to a large extent generated by joiners,
and chat artists and art dealers tended to represent only about a third of total revenue (see Graph 2, p. 49).

53
 PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490- 1609)

2000
1800 •
1600
1400
1200
1000
.. •

800

GRAPH 3: Revenues of
600 •
\.. ..
400
the Schilderspand (in
Guilders) 1540-1600.
200 ../
0
SOURCE: S.A.A., R.K. 0 «") \0 0\ N lf\ OO '<!' r--- 0 «") \0 0\ N lf\ OO ,...., '<!' r--- 0
'<!' '<!' '<!' '<!' lf\ lf\ lf\ \0 \0 \0 r--- r--- ['._ r--- OO OO OO 0\ 0\ 0\ 0
lf\ lf\ \0
11-63. lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\ lf\

From then on, however, the schilderspand would grow continuously until
1565, its revenues surpassing for good those of Our Lady's pandin the mid-1550s. 75
ln fact, rents increased exponentially from about 15 55, after a temporary economic
depression during the early fifties, until the eve of the iconoclasm. The fortunes of
the painter's gallery appear to be closely linked to the overall economic conditions,
and for the remainder of the century, the vicissitudes of the schilderspand would
indeed closely follow those of the Antwerp economy in general.
An entry in the 1549-1550 city account informs us that the pandwas now
leased on the basis of a multi-year contract. Jacop Vlaminck and Pieter Speck rented
the gallery and its stalls for a period of four years for 120 guilders annually. From
then on, the city would prefer to enter into these kinds of agreements probably
because they guaranteed a steady income for several years. The act ofleasing was also
beneficial to the city since they did not need to concern themselves with the renting
out of the 1OO or so individual stalls, which was left to the lessor. From the late
forties to 1565, the schilderspandwas leased to a variety of people who would actas
pandmeester (see Appendix 1).76
The city account of 1565 no longer exists, but a record in the certificatieboeken
mentions that a certain Bartholomeus de Momper (15 38/40-1598), dealer in
paintings, had entered into a three-year lease agreement with the city government on
February, 21, 1565, for the exorbitantly high sum of 1,848 guilders a year. This was
the highest annual rent paid for the use of the stalls throughout the sixteenth century.
The old-cloth merchants Jan van den Bosche and Peter Schotelier had to provide
financial backing so that De Momper could secure the contract.77 The year 1565
marks the beginning of a long and eventful relationship between De Momper and

75 ln 1555, Our Lady's pand brought in 432 guilders, while the schilderspand could boast an incarne of 580
guilders. S.A.A., R.K. 15, fol. 20r (City Account of 1555); Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 576.
76 The pandmeester was essenrially the manager of the gallery. Two of these, Huybrecht Van de Wyere and
Bartholomeus De Momper, were full-rime art dealers (see Appendix 3) .
77 S.A.A., C.B. 24, fol. 185v-186r (document dated February 24, 1565).

54
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

the schilderspand; he would be managing the stalls off and on for the remainder of
the century, witnessing bath fortune and disaster. The figure of Bartholomeus de
Momper is an interesting one. He was registered in the Guild of Saint Luke as an art
dealer and an artist, he published one of Pieter Bruegel's prints, and was the father of
the rather famous landscapist Joos de Momper. 78
ln early 1565, De Momper probably felt fairly confident that the Antwerp
art market would continue to grow and prosper, otherwise he would not have felt
compelled to commit to such substantial rent payments for three consecutivc ycars.
History, unfortunately for Bartholomeus, did not share his optimistic predictions for
the future. As noted earlier, the iconoclasm that ravaged Antwerp in August 1566
marked the beginning of unstable times during which commerce suffered greatly.
We do not know what the immediate impact the disturbances of the Wonderyear
had on the sale of artwork in the city, but De Momper signed a new lease on March
14, 1567, agreeing to pay 1,274 guilders annually for the next three years. De Mom-
per did run into financial trouble towards the end of the decade, unable to pay his
dues. Did sales of works of art drop and, hence, discourage potential sellers to renta
stall in the schilderspanrP. The fact remains that Bartholomeus had to petition the
magistrate to receive deferment of payment which was granted to him in early 1570,
but he was forced to put up a house he owned in the Arenbergstraat, named The
Golden Sun, as collateral. 79 lt is clear that the climate in Antwerp remained volatile
during these years; the presence of the Duke of Alva certainly added to the unstable
economic and political times. The situation is reported to have improved again in
the early seventies, after Alvàs departure, but we are not informed about the well-
being of the new bourse or about the schilderspand on the second floor. In fact, the
next mention of the pand does not occur for another four years, and all is quiet on
the figure of De Momper as well. A document dating from 1574 confirms that busi-
ness is as usual and signals that Banholomeus has once again signed up for a three-
year lease. This agreement is specific in the sense that the contract stipulates that the
rent be increased each year: 1,263 guilders are to be paid in 1575, 1,338 guilders in
1576 and 1,388 guilders in 1577. 80 These increases may appear modest, but one
should keep in mind that international trade was perilous indeed during these first
years of the Dutch Revolt. Nevertheless, this agreement reveals a certain amount of
optimism that was to be brutally destroyed in November 1576, when Spanish soldiers
raised havoc in Antwerp.
The new bourse suffered serious damage and Bartholomeus de Momper saw
his business ruined; mutinying Spanish soldiers ransacked the pand, smashed all the
stalls and stole all the paintings that were on display. Bartholomeus complained that

78 Liggeren, 186 and 275; Klaus Ertz, Josse De Momper der Jüngere. Die Gemalde (Freren, 1986), 43; Lydia De Pauw-
De Veen, "Cornelis Metsijs of Bartholomeus de Mompere," in Album Amicorum J G. Van Gelder, eds. J. Bruyn,
].A. Emmens, et al. (The Hague, 1973), 248-250.
79 S.A.A., S.R. 329, fol. 391r-v (document dated February 18, 1570).
80 S.A.A., Tresorij 91, fol. 69v-70r (this document contains no specific date).

55
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

even his private house had been raided, and that his account books had been de-
stroyed. 81 Hence, "because of the destruction and spoilage of this city," De Momper
requested financial aid from the city. ln response, the magistrate granted him an
exemption from paying rent for the months of November and December in addition
to the 473 guilders he owed at that time, under the condition that he would resume
regular rent payments the following year. De Momper also received close to nineteen
guilders to repair the toilet, and he put in a new door at the western entrance of the
pand 82
ln his monumental study on the Antwerp school of painting, Jos Van den
Branden insists that the looting of the schilderspandby the Spaniards had an equally
devastating effect on Antwerp art as did the iconoclasm of 1566. While Van den
Branden no doubt exaggerated, the number of pictures that must have been destroyed
in the painter's gallery alone must have ran into the thousands (see below). By January
1577, the stallholders were still reluctant to return to the schilderspand, and De Mom-
per complained bitterly that German mercenaries were harassing many dealers and
painters who wanted to exhibit their merchandise at the bourse. To make matters
worse, just days after Bartholomeus had unpacked and displayed his own prints and
paintings, the Germans shattered the newly-installed door, roughened up the bewil-
dered pandmeester and the guards, and took off with everything they could carry. 83
Under these circumstances, a new lease was negotiated in which the annual
rent was reduced only slightly from 1,338 to 1,258 guilders. 84 Bartholomeus managed
to make the first installment, but by 1578, he was barely able to pay a third of the
agreed sum. 85 This, however, proved only to be a temporary setback since normal pay-
ments were made in the years to corne. Between 1579 and 1581, structural repairs
and major refurbishments were ordered by the magistrate to improve the building
and enhance the allure of the new bourse as a whole. Two towers were repaired, as
well as the dock ("horologie") in another tower, and a set of new bells was hung. The
total cost of the works amounted to nearly 2,000 guilders, which included ten guilders
for a six-foot tall wooden man who rang the bells. 86 De Momper also received a
modest subsidy (22 guilders) for repairs executed on the schilderspand proper.87
These improvements prompted the magistrate to raise the rent for the schilders-
pand in 1581 to 1,600 guilders, even at a time when the Dutch Revolt had an
increasing impact on the city that had become the Protestant stronghold in the fight
against Spain. 88 But Alexander Farnese and the Spanish army did not even need to

81 "midts dat aile de cramen vanden pand ganselyck syn gesaccageert" S.A.A., P.K. 643, fol. 177v-178r (docu-
ment datedJanuary 8, 1577); Van den Branden, Geschiedenis, 231-232.
82 "midts de destructie ende spolatie deser stad" S.A.A., R.K. 18, fol. 89v-90r and fol. 418r (Ciry Account of
1577-8). See also Materné, "Schoon ende bequaem," 84.
83 S.A.A., P.K. 643, fol. 226r (document dated February 18, 1577); Van den Branden, Geschiedenis, 232-233.
84 S.A.A., R.K. 18, fol. 90r (Ciry Account of 1577-1578).
85 S.A.A., R.K. 19, fol. 26v (Ciry Account of 1578-1579).
86 Denucé, "De beurs van Antwerpen," 188-191 and Materné, "Schoon ende bequaem," 84.
87 S.A.A., R.K. 22, fol. 318v (City Account of 1581-1582).
88 Ibid., fol. 92v.

56
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

besiege the city in order to take out the new bourse and its impressive art gallery; a
tremendous fire ravaged through the entire building on February 23, 1583. A cause
was not identified for certain, but it has been suggested by an anonymous letter
writer that careless art dealers on the second floor pand accidentally started the fire: 89

Le 23 de ce mois me suis trouvé en On the 23rd of this month [Febru-

extreme perplexité, non seulement
moy, mais toux ceuxl qui demeurent
à l' enthour dela bourse; car le soir à
9 heures s'est veu le feu au pandt,
par où est bruslé toute la bourse,
sans rien en soit saulffvé, pour avoir
le feu tout embrasé, endedans moins
de remps qu'on pourrait dire deux
misere. Les ungs disent que le feu
serait afvenu fortuitement par non-
chalance; les autres disent que les
frachois auraient mis des meshes et
pouldres: en enfin, la boursse est
bruslée.
ary 1583] I found myself extremely
perplexed, not just myself, but cvcry-
one who lives araund the bourse;
because at nine o' dock in the eve-
ning fire was seen in the pand, from
which the whole bourse burned
clown, nothing was saved, every-
thing was consumed by Lhe blaze,
in less time than one can utter a
psalm twice. Sorne say the fire star-
ted accidentally out of nonchalance;
others say the French had placed
fuses and powder: in a word, the
bourse burned clown.

No matter who or what caused it, the results were catastrophic. The magistrate
reacted quickly, fully aware that was in the city's best interest to resurrect the buil-
ding. ln a decree dated March 23, 1583, the city gave the utmost priority to repairing
the new bourse over the works still being executed on the city hall as a result of the
Spanish Fury; all the materials and fonds were to be diverted to the new bourse. In
addition, stones and other building materials coming from the demolished Abbey of
Saint Bernard would, in so far that they were not being used to strengthen the
fortifications of Antwerp, be made available for the bourse. 90
This unfortunate situation left De Momper in serious financial trouble. 91
He attested that, under the circumstances, the stallholders had refused to pay him
their rent which made it impossible for him to meet the scheduled rent payments.
Moreover, the inferno destroyed 3,000 guilders' worth of Bartholomeus' own
merchandise in addition to the pand's bookkeeping. 92 In a petition to the aldermen
dated April 26, 1583, he added that the preliminary repairs to the roof had made

89 Quoted in J.F. Willems, ed., MenKelingen van historisch-vaderlandschen inhoud (Antwerp, 1827-1830), 193-194.
90 Denucé, "De beurs van Antwerpen," 125-126.
91 In Decernber 1583, De Mornper acknowledged owing 1,200 guilders to Volcxken Diericx, widow of Hieronymus
Cock, possibly for prints originating frorn the "In the Four Winds" printing ho use. In all likelihood, Bartholomeus
sold or was offering for sale the prints at the schilderspandbefore it burned clown (the document reads "geleverde
coopmanschap"). On rop of that, Volcxken financially supported the De Momper family by giving them two loans
rotaling 1,040 guilders. S.A.A., S.R. 375, fol. 548r-v (document dated December 10, 1583); Van der Stock,
Printing Images, 406, n. 76.
92 S.A.A., PK. 661, fol. 260v (document dated March 28, 1583).

57
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

things worse because they did not withstand the heavy rains, which had further
damaged the gallery. Ultimately, the magistrate understood that no profits were to
be made from the schilderspand at this time, and the city government reimbursed De
Momper for the nine months' worth of rent he had paid prior to the fire. 93
Not easily deterred by this streak of bad luck, Bartholomeus appealed to the
city government with the request to temporarily open a gallery elsewhere in the city.
After much discussion, it was in principle agreed that the pandvacated by the Brethren
of Our Lady would fonction as an intcrim sales area for the duration of the works
executed on the bourse. However, strong protest from the ecclesiastic authorities,
who wanted the use the Brethren's pandas a burial ground, prevented De Momper
from moving in. ln fact, the city government let matters drag on to such an extent
that Bartholomeus was condemned to wait until the bourse was renovated to re-
open the pand 94 Despite all the efforts put into the rebuilding of the bourse, the
repairs were not completed until May of 1584. 95 And by this time, the Spanish army
had arrived at the gates of Antwerp, laying in a siege that would last until August of
the following year.

*
* *

No iconographical representation of the interior of the schilderspand exists

today. Nevertheless, we can obtain a reasonably good image of what this gallery must
have looked like by examining the structure of the building and by paying attention
to some of the comments in archivai evidence. The new bourse was essentially a square
building around a large central courtyard in which all the commercial transactions
took place (see Figure 9, p. 52). The pandwas located on the second floor, along the
four sides of the building, and was thus fully covered. Since the pand as a whole
counted 100 stalls, each side of the building logically harbored 25 shops. We can only
guess whether the stalls were organized on only one or on both sides of the corridors.
A fascinating late sixteenth-century painting currently in the Mauritshuis
possibly provides us with some further information of what the shops in the schilders-
pand might have looked like (see Figure 10) .96 There is no way of knowing if this is

93 De Momper also claimed that he had lost an additional 800 guilders in merchandise due to water damage.
S.A.A., P.K. 662, fol. 20v-21r (document dated April 26, 1583); S.A.A., R.K. 23, fol. 305r (city account of 1582-
1583).
94 The pand of the Brethren of Our Lady was located on the Huidevettersstraat. S.A.A., P.K. 661, fol. 209r
(document dated February 26, 1583); Ibid., fol. 218v (document dated March 4,1583); Van den Branden, Ge-
schiedenis, 245-246.
95 Materné, "Schoon ende bequaem," 85.
96 The painting has been attributed to Gillis Mostaert by Julius Held and Zirka Filipczak, but more recently
scholars are in agreement that it was probably painted by the French painter François Bunel II (1552-before
1599). This attribution is based on stylistic considertations. Kadijne Van der Stighelen argues that it is acrually a
confiscation scene, and also draws our attention to the high degree of realism of the picrure. Katlijne Van der
Stighelen, review of Picturing Art in Antwerp, by Zirka Zaremba Filipczak, in Simiolus 20 (1990-1991): 295-296;

58
 C HAPTER 2 A PERMANENT I NTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-I585)

FIGURE 10: François Bunel Il(?), A Dealers shop (ca. 1590), oil on panel, 28 x 46.5 cm. The H ague, T he
Mauritshuis.

59
PARTI THE MTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

indeed a unique depiction of the Antwerp gallery, but there are certain elements
which would support such a thesis. The width and depth of the shop corresponds
well with what must have been feasible on the second f1oor of the new bourse,
particularly in terms of the overall size of the individual shops. Also, the arcade visible
in the painting was conceivably made out of the same white sandstone as was used
for the new bourse in which the schilderspandwas located. Lasdy, the openness of the
shop and the fact that a door to exit the shop is missing (or at least not visible),
makes it less likely that it was located in a regular street, but rather places the shop in
an enclosed gallery. The fact that at this point in time there were no known enclosed
art galleries of a permanent nature in Northwestern Europe besicles in Antwerp, only
increases the likelihood that we are indeed looking at a shop in the schilderspand
Whether or nor the Mauritshuis picture is an actual representation of a shop
in the Antwerp schilderspand is not crucial. At the very least, the painting offers an
idca of what an art dealer's gallery was like during the second half of the sixteenth
century. Clearly, the shop was filled with a wide variety of paintings. Hanging on the
left wall, we can discern a floral piece, an evocation of Cimon and Pero and a portrait
of a pope. The back wall possibly features an Adoration ofthe Magi, and the prints on
display on the opposite wall include a scene involving two horsemen. When we
further examine the painting, we are struck by the rather diverse nature of the artistic
objects which were found in the shop. Besicles the many paintings and prints, the
presence of a number of statuettes, a box containing medallions and various pieces of
sculpture is noteworthy. The seven sculptured figures on the wooden shelf on the left
are likely personifications of different planets (from left to right): Uranus holding a
globe and scepter; Saturn devouring a child; Venus with Cupid; Mars with a sword
and shield; the Moon as Diana; Jupiter with an eagle; and Mercury. A number of
books are also seen on the shelves in the back left, which conceivably contained the
bookkeeping of this art dealer's business.
The assortment of works of art depicted in this highly realistic painting mat-
ches fairly well with the general pattern of the only surviving inventory of a dealer's
shop in the schilderspandwhich dates from roughly the same time period. When the
painter and art dealer Jan van Kessel died on December 18, 1581, he left coundess
works of art which were recorded in a probate inventory. This inventory also included
a section entitled "Pound at the pand in the bourse in the shop of the deceased;" in
other words, this document provides us with a rare glimpse of what was in reality on
sale at the schilderspand (see Appendix 2). 97 Paintings and prints clearly formed the
bulk of the merchandise, and we are struck by the sheer numbers. According to this

Kristof Michiels, Een bijdrage tot de studie van de schilderijen van Gillis Mostaert (1528-1598) (Master's thesis, Free
University of Brussels, 1998), 340-341; Filipczak, Picturing Art in Antwerp, 129 and Figure 14; Koninklijk Kabinet
van Schilderijen Mauritshuis. Schilderijen en beeldhouwerken 15de - J 6de eeuw. Catalogus 1 (The Hague, 1968), 16-
17, nr. 875. Also, I was able to consu!t the dossier on the painting present in the Mauritshuis.
97 "Op den pant van de borsse in des aflyvigen winckel bevonden" S.A.A., N. 1478 (P. Fabri, Notary), no fol.
(document dated Septernber 18-19, 1581).

60
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

list, no fewer than 610 paintings were for sale at Van Kessel's stall at the time of his
death. It goes without saying that these were paintings on canvas, rolled up to facilitate
transportation. 98 The six wooden boxes mentioned in the inventory were clearly used
for storage and transportation, the type of which can be seen in the painting as well.
The only picture whose author is mentioned is an "old painting on canvas" by Bosch,
which is potentially an indication that this particular piece was more valuable than
others. Prints made up a large portion of the artwork present in the shop, and Raphael
prints apparently deserve a special mention. Van Kessel actually owned printing presses,
copper plates and "numerous diverse wooden forms [woodblocks] used for printing." 99
No individual contracts between the pandmeester and renters of individual
stalls survived, but on two occasions we get a glimpse of what art dealers had to pay.
In the above-cited probate inventory of Hans van Kessel, it is mentioned that the
deceased still owed 26 guilders 10 stivers, or the equivalent of six months' rent, to
Bartholomeus de Momper. 100 A couple of ycars latcr in 1582, De Momper attested
that a dealer named Gheeraert van Rems paid 9 guilders 15 stivers which entitled
him to rent a stall for three months. 101 This means that Van Kessel paid 53 guilders
annually and Van Rems 39 guilders. Based on these limited examples and assuming
that all the shops were of the same size, the average rent for a stall in the early eighties
amounted to 46 guilders. Ifwe multiply this hypothetical amount times one hundred
- the number of shops in the pand - De Momper could potentially collect 4,600
guilders. ln 1582, the lease was set at 1,600 guilders, which clearly left ample room
for De Momper to make an agreeable profit. Of course, it is not in the least bit
proven that all the shops were occupied or that they fetched the kind of rents described
earlier, but we have nothing else to go on. De Momper's numerous pleas to lower the
lease may be an indication that frequently more than a few stalls remained vacant.

98 This marks the only notable difference with the Bunel painting where all visible paintings appear to be on
panel.
99 "veel diverse houten formen dienende om mede te drucken." Ibid. Also quoted in Van der Stock, Printing
Images, 403. The fact that Hieronymus Cock located his printing house a stone's throw from the bourse underscores
the importance of this part of the city for pictorial printing.
100 S.A.A., N. 1478 (P Fabri, Notary), no fol. (document dated February 26, 1583). Also, at the time of his
death in 1583, the art dealer Marten Alleyns owed 16 guilders to De Momper for the renting of a stall at the pand.
Unfortunately, the clerk did not note clown how many months this amount allowed Alleyns to keep his shop.
S.A.A., N. 1478 (P Fabri, Notary), no fol. (document dated February 1583).
101 S.A.A., P.K. 665, fol. 133v-134r (document dated April 24, 1586).

61
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

2.4 Art Dealers in Antwerp: A New Profession Emerges

The literature on art dealers in Early Modern times is scant, but some signi-
ficant contributions have been made for the Dutch Republic and the Southern
Netherlands during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Scholars such as Neil
De Marchi, Hans Van Miegroet and John Michael Montias have produced pioneering
studies and provided building blocks that help to construct a profile of the Early
Modern art dealer. 102 In much of the scholarly literature, the emergence of art dealers
has been placed well within the spatial and temporal confines of the Dutch Republic
of the seventeenth century. Evidence strongly suggests, however, that a century earlier
Antwerp harbored a sizable, active and close-knit community of art dealers.
Art dealers started to appear in the Low Countries, albeit sporadically, during
the fifteenth century. For instance, a Claes van Holland was mentioned in a Leuven
document from 1460 as "coopman van schilderien." 103 The first official art dealer in
Antwerp was Jan Meduwael who registered in the Guild in 1518 as "beeldvercopere,"
but the first person to be associated with the selling and buying of art in Antwerp
was a woman: on March 29, 1502, Heylwijch Swandeleeren, "legal wife of the painter
Jans De Pape, saleswoman," promises to pay a sculptor named Jan Baruzeel and
another individual 9 Flemish pounds (56 guilders) at the upcoming Pentecost market.
Should the retable that she and her husband momentarily have in their possession be
sold prior to the fair, then the debt would be settled without further delay. 104 It is
very likely that De Pape and Baruzeel worked together on the retable, the painter
being responsible for the wings and the sculptor for the carved central section, and
the latter was now anxious to be paid for his work. Presumably Heylwijch was the
one who would go to Our Lady's pand to try to sell the finished product, while her
husband and his associate worked in their respective ateliers.
When scrutinizing the heterogeneous group of art dealers, a distinction needs
to be made between different categories of dealers, and particularly between so-called
high-end and low-end dealers. High-end dealers tended to be involved with only the
most prestigious commissions involving very expensive luxury goods such as tapestries
and jewelry, and not so much with the more serialized production of paintings and
prints which was on sale at the panden. 105 In most cases, the upper-class dealers acted

102 Montias, Artists and Artisans in Delft, 206-219; Idem, "Art Dealers in the Seventeenth-Century Netherlands,"
Simiolus 18 (1989): 244-266. Sorne highly stimulating work (possible thanks to the wealth of archivai evidence
present in the Antwerp Ciry Archives and elsewhere) has been clone on art dealers active in Antwerp during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. See especially Neil De Marchi and Hans Van Miegroet, "Exp Io ring Markets
for Netherlandish Paintings in Spain and Nueva Espafia," Nederlands Kunsthistorisch ]aarboek 50 (1999): 81-111;
Neil De Marchi, Hans Van Miegroet and Matthew E. Raiff, "Dealer-Dealer Pricing in Mid Seventeenth-Century
Antwerp to Paris Art Trade," in Art Markets in Europe, 1400-1800, eds. Michael North and David Ormrod (Alder-
schot, Brookfield (USA), Singapore and Sydney, 1998), 113-130. Also, see Vermeylen, "Exporting Art," 14-18.
103 For this and other examples, see Campbell, "The Art Market in the Southern Netherlands," 196-197.
104 "wettich wijfJans de Pape des schilders als coopwijf' S.A.A., S.R. 121, fol. 341v (document dated March 29,
1502). I am grateful to Jan Van der Stock for this reference.
105 Montias, "Art Dealers," 252; Bok, Vraag en aanbod, 119.

62
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

as a liaison between the artist and an affluent patron, mostly upper nobility if not
royalty; they negotiated the contract for a work of art and communicated the wishes
of the patron to the artist. The well-known tapestry dealer Joris Vezeleer (ca. 1493-
1570) exemplified this category. 106 Joris Vezeleer was born around 1493 and probably
grew up in 's Hertogenbosch where his father was active as a gold- and silversmith
during the füst decade of the sixteenth century. When he first came to Antwerp is
not known, but he became a citizen in 1515 or 1516 and declared himself to be a
goldsmith. 107
September 1528 marks the füst time that Vezeleer was involved in the sale of
tapestries. He supplied a History ofLotconsisting of three tapestries to King François I of
France, and a series depicting the History ofConstantine to the King's mother, Louise
de Savoie. 108 This sale marked the beginning of a relationship between the French
court and Joris Vezeleer which spanned many decades. At regular intervals, Vezeleer
delivered many splendid tapestries for which he acted as a liaison bctwccn the famous
weavers and designers of cartoons in Brussels and his royal patrons in Paris. It seems
that none of the original tapestries still exist, but the transactions are fairly well-
documented. They invariably consisted of very pricey tapestries interlaced with silk,
silver and gold thread, and tended to portray old testament or mythological scenes.
Most interestingly, on at least one occasion, he took the initiative himself to commis-
sion tapestries without apparently being prompted by a prospective buyer.
OnJanuary 21, 1534,Joris Vezeleer closed a deal with Willem De Kempeneer,
one of the leading weavers in Brussels, for the sale of twenty tapestries, a füst series
depicted the History ofIphigenia which probably ended up in the collection of the
French King, and the second was a History ofJacob, which was eventually sent off to
Italy and bought by Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio. Half of these tapestries were already
finished, the other ten still had to be woven. 109 This document provides an important
insight into the process of the commissioning of this art form, since it suggests that
Vezeleer took the initiative in ordering two sets of tapestries without apparently having
been asked to do so by a patron. It is significant because it means that Vezeleer was in
a position to make key decisions concerning the subject matter, the style and the
materials that were used. 110
Tapestries were not the only luxury items Vezeleer supplied. On several
occasions he sold jewelry and silverware, again to the French court. For instance, at

106 I am grateful to Mrs. Godelieve Van Hemeldonck for sharing her substantial dossier on Joris Vezeleer with
me. Also, see A. Van de Kerckhove, "Joris Vezeleer, een Antwerps koopman-ondernemer van de XVIde eeuw," in
Annalen van het XLIII congres van de Federatie van Kringen voor Oudheidkunde en Geschiedenis (St. Niklaas-Waas,
1974), 326-334; Campbell, Tapestry in the Renaissance, 280-281.
107 D. Schlugleit, "Alphabetische naamlijst op de goud- en zilversmeden te Antwerpen voor 1600," Bijdragen tot
de Geschiedenis 27 (1936): 61; K. Citroen, Dutch Goldsmiths and Silversmith's marks and names prior to 1812
(Leiden, 1993), 141.
108 Campbell, Tapestry in the Renaissance, 280; Van Hemeldonck, notes.
109 The document is published in Marthe Crick-Kuntziger, La teinture de !'Histoire de Jacob d'après Bernard Van
Orley (Antwerp, 1954), 38.
110 Van de Kerckhove, "Joris Vezeleer," 329-330.

63
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

the occasion of the signing of the Treaty of Calais in 15 3 2 between Henry VIII and
François I, Vezeleer was asked to produce a substantial delivery of gold and silver
dinnerware. Moreover, the precious stones and jewelry he sold to the French King
during those years would form the basis of the French crown jewels. Among the
interested buyers ofVezeleer's silverware we can also count Charles V of Spain who
purchased a gold enameled cross in 1544. 111
At some point at the beginning of his career, Joris Vezeleer had a double
portrait made of himself and his wife Margaretha Boge (see Figure 11). For this
purpose, he called on Joos Van Cleve (?-1540/1541), one of the leading figures of the
emerging Antwerp school of painting. Both paintings are delicately executed with a
great emphasis on the hand gestures, and Joris' putting on of the leather glove is
particularly striking. The glove stands here as a symbol of sophistication and wealth,
and the portrait as a whole seeks to portray Vezeleer as a gentleman-dealer. 112
The continuation ofVczclccr's profcssional career was a genuine success story.
For many years, he remained active as an international merchant. He headed a small
trading company, employed agents abroad and traded in a wide variety of goods such
as leather, wool, mercury, beeswax, and dyestuffs like vermilion. By the early thirties,
Joris Vezeleer was evidently a man of substantial means and importance, and with his
increasing wealth, came prestige. He bought a second, larger house and, at some
point, acquired a coat of arms. In 1533, Vezeleer had a villa rustica built in the
countryside just outside Antwerp, a highly appropriate investment and display of
wealth for someone of his stature. 113
During the 1540s and later, Vezeleer was very active on the Antwerp real
estate market, buying and selling properties on the Huidevettersstraat, Schuttershof-
straat, and the Wapper, but without a doubt, the crowning achievement ofVezeleer's
career was his appointment as Mint-master general in 1545 of the Brabantine Mint,
the institution primarily responsible for the minting of coinage in the Southern
Netherlands - a position he would hold until he passed away on October 16, 1570. 114
When his wife died four years later, a probate inventory was made up of the couple's
worldly possessions, and one is struck by the sheer wealth and level of sophistication
of this large household. 115

111 M. Bimbenet-Privat, "La vérité sur l'origine de la coupe de Saint Michel," ]ahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen
Sammlungen in Wi'en (1993): 127-135; Van Hemeldonck, notes.
112 John Oliver Hand has argued that what we are dealing with here is a marriage portrait, made at the occasion
of the berhrotal or engagement of the young pair in or around 1518. John Oliver Hand and Martha Wolff, Early
Netherlandish Painting(Cambridge, 1986), 56-57. The original painting is currendy in the collection of the National
Gallery in Washington, and a faithful copy by an unknown sixteenth-century artist can be found in the Rijksmu-
seum, Amsterdam (see Figure 11).
113 ].B. Stockmans, Kastelen en Lusthoven van Deurne en Borgerhout (Brecht, 1902), 213-215. For a depiction
of Vezeleer's coat of arms, see J.B. Rietstap, Armorial général illustré (Paris and The Hague, 1903-1926), vol. IV,
plate CL
114 Van Hemeldonck, notes; Van Den Kerckhoven, "Joris Vezeleer," 328.
115 The Vezeleers owned no less than 40 tables, an exquisite collection of 53 paintings, nine Spanish chairs, an
astonishing wardrobe of only the finest materials, a whole assortment of silk cushions, 185 silver and 36 golden
abjects, 60 pearls, rwelve diamonds and six rubies. The large ho use (located in the Steenhouwersvest) of more than

64
 CHAPTER 2 A P ERMANENT I NTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR P AJNTING (1540-1585)

FIGURE 11: After Joos Van Cleve, Portrait of]oris Vezeleer (sixteenth century), oil on panel, 58 x
38.5 cm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.

65
 PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

ln sum, Joris Vezeleer was an entrepreneur in the true sense of the word.
Besicles his activities as a jeweler, goldsmith and merchant, he was a player on the
local real estate market and did not hesitate to partake in speculative investments on
the Antwerp money market as well. lt is, therefore, noteworthy to point out that
Vezeleer was never exclusively a dealer in tapestries. ln fact, his various financial and
commercial transactions were necessary to generate the capital which was needed to
fond his commissions and dealings in the tapestries.
Dealers like Joris Vezeleer were, of course, the exception rather than the rule,
and given the high volume of on spec production and distribution of paintings, a
doser look at the low-end dealers in Antwerp becomes pertinent. lndeed, the majority
of art dealers active in Antwerp during the sixteenth century were far less substantial
folk who traded primarily in much cheaper items such as paintings and prints. On
average, the buying and selling of pictures required only
TABLE 3: Art dealers in the Guild limited capital investment compared to trading in
of Saint Luke During the Sixteenth tapestries or goldsmith's work which involved huge
Century investments in terms of raw materials. On spec paintings
Date ofregistration ............... Name could be bought for as little as a few guilders while the
1518 ....................... Jan Meduwael price of, for instance, tapestries ran in the thousands of
1560 ............ Gheert Gijsbechtssen guilders. As a result, at a very early stage, different types
1564 .............. Marten De Backere or categories of art dealers appeared depending on the
1570 ................... Carnelis Dartois nature of the objects they were trading.
1570 ...................... GeertDeJode A surprisingly large number of the more main-
1571 ...................... François Kriek stream dealers have left traces in archiva! sources, but until
15 71 ............. Lambertus Boxstaen
now these had not been thoroughly researched. Since
1573 ............... Adriaen Huybechts
theoretically the selling of paintings, sculpture and prints
1575 ....................... Batista Vrindt
1577 ........... Goyvaert Van Bredael required membership in the Guild of Saint Luke, the Lig-
15 80 ........................ Gillis Sadeler geren supply us with a first batch of 17 names of persons
1581 ..................... Hans Liefrinck who were registered as art dealers during the sixteenth
1581 ... Bartholomeus De Momper century (See Table 3). 116
1588 ........................ Hans Gabron These persons were listed as cunstvercopere, except
1588 ................... Joys van Bimont De Backere who was mentioned as heilichvercopere (dealer
1591 ............. Abraham Willernsen in religious statuettes and/or prints) and Jan Meduwael
1600 ...... Cornelis Van Rosendaele as beeldvercopere (seller of images). The term cunstvercopere
SOURCE: Appendix 3. denotes a fairly broad category of dealers who were

30 rooms also contained a private chape!. S.A.A., N. 1329, fol. 14lr-148v; Hendrickx, Het schilderijenbezit, ap-
pendix nr. 31.
116 Sorne of the individuals listed in the table are mentioned elsewhere - usually at an earlier time - in the
Liggeren with a different profession. For instance, De Momper registered in 1554 as schilder and Liefrinck was
registered in 1581 simultaniously as figuursnijderand cunstvercooper. Liggeren, 186 and 279. Van Rosendaele, who
registered in 1600 should, strictly speaking, not be counted as a sixteenth-century dealer, but I chose to include
him in this list since he was already described as coopman van schilderijen in an official document in 1584. S.A.A.,
G.A. 4833, fol. 293v (document dated Ocrober 1584).

66
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

involved in the selling of paintings, prints or sculpture. 117 In other words, at this
point, the Guild records did distinguish between specialization, and it is clear that a
number of these dealers combined professions. For instance, at least five of them -
De Jode, Vrindt, Sadeler, Liefrinck, and De Momper - were active as engravers as
well.11s
For the sixteenth century, the archives of Antwerp (primarily the certificatie-
boeken) mention 25 more persons who identified themselves at least once in an official
document as an art dealer. 119 These individuals were mentioned as coopman van
schilderien (literally merchant of paintings), a less generic term than the cunstvercopere
used in the Liggeren and one which suggests a higher degree of specialization. As far
as I know, the first to be referred to in this way was - perhaps not surprisingly -
Bartholomeus De Momper on November 16, 1559 in his marriage contract, and the
usage of the term became widespread thereafter. 120 lt is noteworthy that the Guild
was slower in acknowledging this trend towards specialization in dealing; it was not
until 1588 when Hans Gabron is the first one mentioned in the Liggeren as someone
who "handelt met schilderien" (dealt in paintings). 121
Eleven of the dealers in paintings were registered in the Guild of Saint Luke
as regular painters, and one (Hans Van Luyck) as a silversmith. No less than twelve
individuals or 29 percent of the art dealers active in Antwerp did not join the corpo-
ration, a rather significant portion. However, we must keep in minci that some of
these self-declared dealers were registered in other Guilds. 122 Even an important
figure like Joris Vezeleer does not feature in our short list because he did not meet
any of the criteria: he was not registered in the Guild of Saint Luke but in the Saint
Nicolas Guild as a goldsmith. Art dealing was just one of his many activities and as
far as we know, he did not deal in paintings or prints which would have required him
(in theory) to join the artists' Guild. 123

117 For an interesting discussion of the nomenclature involving art dealers listed in the Guild during the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, see Neil De Marchi and Hans J. Van Miegroet, "Exploring Markets for Netherlandish
Paintings in Spain and Nueva Espaiia," Nederlands Kunsthistorisch ]aarboek 50 (1999): 82-85.
118 Vermeylen, "Exporting Art," 17-18.
119 See Appendix 3. Surely, there were many others who were also involved in the buying and selling of works of
art atone time or another, but the men included in our list must have considered art dealing their primary profes-
sion. In most other cases, dealing was do ne on the sicle; in what was often the case during the early decades of the
sixteenth century, mainstream merchants would traffic in works of art whenever the occasion arase.
120 S.A.A., N 2077, fols.184r-185r (document dated November 16, 1559). Others who followed werejacques
Perman (1562), Jacques Putman (1567), Cornelis Dartois (1567), Jan Van Kessel (1568), and so on (see Appendix
3). Also, in 1552, a document discusses the painter Jan Van Hemessen in terms of"his trading in paintings" (zynen
handel van schilderyen), clearly indicating that he was active as a dealer as well. S.A.A., C.B. 7, fol. 230r (docu·
ment dated April 7, 1552).
121 Liggeren, 326; De Marchi and Van Miegroet, "Exploring Markets," 84.
122 The complex relationship between art dealers and the Guild of Saint Luke will be addressed in Chapter 4.
123 In the documents he is usually referred to as marchant.

67
 PARTI THE ANTViERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

TABLE 4: The Appearance of Art This table leaves little doubt that art dealers
Dealers in Antwerp (Before 1600) 124 surfaced as a group during the second half of the sixteenth
Decade ........ Humber ofArt Dealers century. Given the expanding art market and the diver-
1500-09 .................... 0 .............. . sification of the genres, one would expect this sudden in-
1510-19 .................... 1 .............. . crease. Art dealers were needed to connect the specialized
1520-29 .................... 0 .............. . producer (say a landscape painter working in Antwerp)
1530-39 .................... 0 .............. . with the highly specific demand of the consumer (say a
1540-49 .................... 1 .............. . fairly affluent citizen of Madrid with a strong taste for
1550-59 .................... 2 .............. . Flemish landscapes). It is, nevertheless, less evident that
1560-69 .................... 8 ···············
during the stormy l 570s and disastrous l 580s, the largest
1570-79 ··················· 14 ............. .
growth could be noted (27 names for the decades combi-
1580-89 ··················· 13 ............. .
1590-99 .................... 1 .............. . ned). Indeed, most art dealers in Antwerp appeared during
the seventies; this corresponds with the first phase of the
SOURCE: Appendix 3. D utc h Revo1t w h ose efirrects were tru1y re
c 1t 1n
· A ntwerp,
and a large contingent followed during the eighties when Antwerp was subjected to
a suffocating siege and years of isolation.
Was this anomaly a coincidence? On the one hand, domestic demand for
paintings inevitably dropped during this period of conflict, and not simply as a res-
ponse to armed strife, which caused disruptions of trade and a general decrease in
conspicuous consumption, but demand for pictures may have suffered additionally
due to the excrescencies of the iconoclasm and subsequent Calvinist crusades against
images, rendering many pictures utterly unsuitable for local consumption. Therefore,
it is likely that paintings were sold at dumping prices at the schilderspand at this time
and great profits could be made in selling them in more stable markets abroad like
Spain or France where images had not been stigmatized. As a result, the adverse
business climate did in some respects stimulate the international art trade which may
account for the increase in the number of art dealers, but these developments will be
discussed more thoroughly in Chapter 2, sub 6.

2.4.1 Origins

Where did these dealers came from? In the framework of this study, it is
impossible to conduct a full prosopographical survey of art dealers in Antwerp and
map the vast array of activities they were engaged in, but some well-chosen examples
will disclose certain patterns in terms of origin, social position, religious conviction,
networks and professional activities. For the Dutch Republic, Montias has suggested
that "most professional dealers were unsuccessful erstwhile artists." 125 While we can
suspect this to be the case in some instances - less-talented painters like Cornelis

124 When an individual appears both as an art dealer and, for instance, a painter, only the moment at which he
is recorded in the Liggeren or other archiva! document as cunstvercopere (or variants such as coopman van schilde-
rijen) was retained.
125 Montias, "Art Dealers," 245.

68
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

Dartois or Jacques Joye became art dealers in the early 1570s - it was by no means
the norm: men and women became involved in the art trade for a variety of reasons.
More generally speaking, the material available for Antwerp does tend to
confirm the hypothesis that these professionals emerged from within the artistic milieu
itself; frequently it was the wife, son, brother or colleague of an established artist who
engaged in trading works of art. 126 The wives and widows of painters were often
ideally placed to market artwork. As part of the family business, they could more
easily take time to set up shop at one of the panden and other markets while the
husband labored in his atelier. Besicles the previously-mentioned Heywijch Swande-
leeren, several other examples attest that this was a common practice in which search
costs were reduced to a minimum for the artist aspiring to sell his product to an
international clientele. 127 The spouse of landscape pain ter Jan De Hollander was re-
ported by Van Mander to have "traveled through the markets of Brabant and Flanders
and filled them all with paintings and profüed wonderfully by doing so." 128 Sure
enough, we find an Adriana De Hollander renting a stall at Our Lady's pandbetween
1545 and 1550. 129
In 1551, Elisabeth Borremans, wife of the painter Jan Van Sevenhoven, was
getting ready to travel to Middelburg in Zealand. 130 Her cargo consisted of eight
paintings to be sold: four canvasses depicting Adam and Eve, a Cleopatra, an Ecce
Ilomo, a Carrying of the Cross and a Christmas Eve scene. What is interesting about
this case is that these works of art were not produced by her husband, but by another
young painter named Hubrecht Golts. 131
A sizable group among the women-dealers were widows. The wives of deceased
artists and dealers often took over the trade in works of art after their husbands had
died, no doubt facilitated by the Guild of Saint Luke who recognized their right to
do soin 1534. In return, the widows were required to pay an annual fee: "Item that
each widow of aforementioned masters who wants to keep a shop or make use of the

126 For most of these figures, the selling of art remained a part-time occupation. As a consequence, very few of
them can be found in my core list of more or Jess full-time Antwerp art dealers (see Appendix 3).
127 Search costs in this context can be described as the cost the producer incurs in moving the finished product
from his atelier to the ultimate consumer. Relying on markets (and particularly on the panden) and dealers
substantially decreases these expenses, not in the least the transportation costs. Montias, Le marché de l'art, 131.
128 Miedema suggests chat De Hollander can be identified with the painter Jan Van Amstel who appears a
number of rimes in the Antwerp archives, but from whom no works survived. If this identification is correct, then
De Hollander died before 1544. Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 118 (fol. 215r) and vol. 3, 32.
129 For instance, she paid 3 Brabantine pounds 5 stivers for her stall at Saint Bavo's fair in 1545. lt is likely that she
was alreadywidowed at this rime since her husbandJan probably passed away before 1544. K.A., Reg. 14 (1545-
1546), fol. 16v. The last time she appeared in the accounts of the pandwas in 1550: K.A., Reg. 14 (1550), fol. 27r.
130 Jan Van Sevenhoven started as a pupil with the painter Jan Van Scille, and became a master himselfin 1551.
Liggeren, vol.!, 157 and 175.
131 S.A.A., Collectanea 8, fol. 31 lv (document dated September 28, 1551). Hubertus Golts (1526-1583) does
not appear in the Liggeren, but he was active as a painter, antique dealer and later also numismatist. The famous
draughtsman and printmaker Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) was his great-nephew. Dictionary ofArt, s.v. "Golzius,
Hubertus," by W. Le Loup, vol. 12.

69
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

facilities of this Guild, are required henceforth to pay four stivers annually." 132 A
number of women made use of this privilege. For instance, two widows are among
the artists and dealers who rented stalls in Our Lady's pand in 1543. 133
Other relatives also participated in the marketing of works of art. ln 1568,
for instance, the painter Peter De Jonghe relied on his son to have two barrels and
one coffer laden with paintings shipped to Amsterdam. 134 Trusted colleagues among
artists were also well-placed to handle the sale of works of art. ln 1515, the painter
Peter Van Boven received 28 Brabantine pounds and 15 shillings for "diverse paintings
and goods" from a fellow pain ter called Jan De Vos, presumably meant for re-sale. 135

2.4.2 An Art Dealer in Close-Up: The Alleyns Family Business

A case study of one particular art dealer supplies some interesting insights
into the activities and networks of the sixteenth-century dealer in paintings. The
choice fell upon Marten Alleyns whom 1 believe to be fairly typical, and who left us
with a limited but fascinating amount of information. ln addition, certain elements
derived from Alleyns' biography and professional actions reflect on the art dealing
community of Antwerp at large.
Marten was born in 1530 or 1531 as the son of Aert Alleyns and Johanna
Bijns. 136 His father was a painter but seems tu have been far more active as an art
dealer. 137 lndeed, young Marten was exposed to the buying and selling of works of art at
an early age since his father rented a stall in Our Lady's pand throughout the 1540s;
year after year he occupied the same spot in the pand, usually flanked on the one sicle
by the painter Peter De Vos (father of Marten De Vos) and Adriana De Hollander
(see above) on the other. 138 WhenAert died in 1550 or 1551, his wife Johanna imme-
diately took over her husband's stall in Our Lady's pand, probably forced to do so to

132 "Item dat elck weduwe van den voorscreven meesteren die winckel houden oft de neerinighe deser gulden
gebruycken wille sal vortane gehouden zyn jaerlynx voer haer keersgelt te gheven viere stuivers." Van der Straelen,
]aerboeck, 41.
133 Mentioned are a widow Canters (possibly the mother of the painter Adriaen Canter, a.k.a. Bocks) and a widow
"van Lyfvriendt." Prims, "De kunstenaars," 297. The Liefrincks were a well-known family of artists orginally from
Augsburg. It is plausible that the deceased husband in question was the woodcutter Willem Liefrinck who died that
very year. Dictionary ofArt, s.v. "Liefrinck," by Jetty E. Van der Sterre, vol. 19, 342-3. Three more widows appear
in the account books of Our Lady's pand during the period 1547-1560. Ewing, "Marketing Art in Antwerp," 571.
134 S.A.A., C.B. 28, fol. 87v (document dated July 7, 1568).
135 "diverse schilderien ende coopmanscapen." S.A.A., S.R. 147, fol. l lOv (document dated August 6, 1515).
Van der Stock, "De organizatie," 51. Jan De Vos was registered as a painter in the Guild in 1489. Liggeren, 41.
Montias claimed that it was commonplace for painters to buy works from each other in seventeenth-century
Holland. Montias, "Art Dealers," 244-245.
136 We can deduce his approximate date ofbirth from two documents. In 1573, he was reponed to be 42 years
old and an entry of 1580 declares his age to be 50. S.A.A., C.B. 35, fol. 199r (document datedJune 30, 1573) and
C.B. 41, fol. 426v (document dated June 6, 1580). Marten's parents are mentioned in 1567: "Marten Alleyns Aertssoone
wylen daar moeder aff was Johanna Bijns." S.A.A., S.R. 313, fol. 191 v-192v (document dated August 7, 1567).
137 Aert Alleyns was registered in the Guild as a master in 1522. Liggeren, 99. No extant works are attributed to him.
138 He appears in all of the existing accounts of the 1540s. K.A., Reg. 14 (1545-1546), fol. 16v; (1546-1547),
fol. 30r; (1547-1548), fol. 2lr; (1548-1549), fol. 26r; and (1550), fol. 27r. For the accounts of the year 1543, see
Prims, "De kunstenaars," 298. Ewing, "Marketing Art," 572-573.

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 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

provide for herself and her family. She rented one and a half balcken on a yearly basis
for which she paid 3 Brabantine pounds 15 shillings (15 guilders), and continued to
sell paintings at the pand until it was torn clown. Johanna Bijns and her colleagues
Peter De Vos and Philips Liesaert occupied a large section on the right-hand sicle of
the gallery coming in from the Kerkhofstraat. 139
Marten Alleyns was about nineteen years old when he registered in the Guild
as vrijmeester, shortly before his father's death, in 1549 .140 Not mu ch is known about
his artistic career, but various documents suggest that he specialized in oil painting. 141
Severa! apprentices came to work for him which may indicate that he could boast a
reasonably large workshop. Hanken Smydts entered his atelier in 1572, Filips Jacobs
and Hans Ghemich in 1577, and Willem Van Kessel - son of the painter and art
dealer Jan Van Kessel - was employed by Alleyns in 1581. 142
Even though Marten continued to paint throughout his lifetime, he was
forcmost an art dealer. Taking up the example of his parents and starting out in
1556, he joined his mother in Our Lady's pand and rented the fifteenth stall on the
right-hand sicle, next to Peter De Vos. Ayear later, he rented an additional stall "next
to the widow Alleyns," and together with his mother he remained at Our Lady's
pand until it was closed in 1560." 143 ln all likelihood, Alleyns and his colleagues
moved their business to the new venue for art sales in Antwerp, the schilderspand lt
is entirely possible that Marten continuously rented a shop at the painter's gallery
until his death in 1583; his probate inventory mentions that he still owed Bartho-
lomeus De Momper (then manager of the schilderspand) l 6 guilders for "panthure." 144
Marten married twice during his lifetime, but very little information is available
about his earliest marriage. Apparently his first wife, Margaretha De la Derriere, had
been married before to Hendrick Vinckboons, and one son (Gillis) survived from this
marriage. 145 The Vinckboonses were a large family of painters originally from Mechlin,
and who would later make a name for themselves in Amsterdam. 146 Margaretha bore

139 For instance, K.A., Reg. 15 (15 52), fol. 30r. The same trio shows up in al! of the remaining accounts, inclu-
ding the closing accounts of 1560. The Liesaert mentioned here could either be Philips I (1497-1561?) or Philips
II (1530-ca. 1583). Van Roey, "Een Antwerpse schildersdynastie," 86.
140 Liggeren, 166.
141 For instance, he is mentioned as a "schilder van olieverve" in 1580. S.A.A., C.B. 41, fol. 426v (document
dared June 6, 1580).
142 Liggeren, 249, 265 and 266. Jan Van Kessel is not mentioned as an apprentice in the Liggeren, but the probate
inventory of]an van Kessel indicated that he was part of the Alleyns workshop. S.A.A., N. 1478 (P. Fabri, Notary),
no fol. (document dated December 18, 1581).
143 "naest de weduwe Alleyns" K.A., Reg. 15 (1556), fol. 28v; (1557), fol. l 8r. The last entries in 1560 included
payments by both Alleynses, Peter De Vos and Philips Liesaert. Ibid. (I 560), fol. 20v.
144 "He owes Bartholomeus De Momper 16 guilders for pand rem" S.A.A., K 1478, no fol. (document contains
no specific date but was drawn up in 1583).
145 Marten and Margarerta were mentioned as man and wife in 1568, but were probably married much earlier.
See S.A.A., S.R. 317, fol. 249r-v. Margareta's son Gillis Vinckboons was born ca. 1543, and was registered in the
Guild as master painter in 1569. Liggeren, 237; Van Roey, "Een Antwerpse schildersdynastie," 98.
146 On the Vinckboons family, see I.H. Van Eeghen, "De familie Vinckboons-Vingboons," Oud Holland 76
(1952), 217-232; Idem, Het Kunstbedrijf van de familie Vingboons. Schilders, architekten en kaartmakers in de
Gouden Eeuw (Amsterdam, 1989).

71
 PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

Marten Alleyns one daughter, named Magriet, who would eventually marry the art
dealer Abraham Liesaert (see Figure 12). l 47
When Marten became a widower is not known, but sometime after 1578, he
married Barbara De Vos, sister of the talented religious painter Marten De Vos (1532-
1603). t4s Barbaràs father Peter De Vos was no doubt a long-time acquaintance of the
Alleyns family since they all rented stalls next to each other at Our Lady's pand during
the 15 50s and 1560s (see ab ove). Barbara De Vos also had been married before to the
painter Peter Liesaert, but he passed away around 1578, and very soon thereafter, she
married Marten Alleyns. t 49

Aert Johanna Peter Anna

m. m.
Alleyns Bijns De Vos De Heere
d. 1550 d. 1567

Hendrick Margaretha Marten Barbara Anna Marten Pieter

m. m.
Vinckboons m. De la Derriere Alleyns De Vos De Vos De Vos De Vos
b. 1530/1531 >1578 b. - 1530
d. 1583 d.>1591

Gillis Margriet Abraham

m.
Vinckboons Alleyns Liesaert
d. >1613 b. 1555
d. 1595

FIGURE 12: Marten Alleyns Family Tree.

Given her family background and close ties with the artistic milieu, becoming
an art dealer must have corne naturally to Barbara Alleyns. At the time of their
marriage, Marten had just enlarged his workshop by taking on two new apprentices,
which may have prompted Barbara to become actively involved in the art trade. It is
conceivable that she maintained the shop at the schilderspandwhile Marten managed
his busy atelier. Unfortunately, evidence of only one transaction survived where Barbara
is known to have bought pictures. On December 18, 1581, she purchased some
paintings from the estate of the late Jan Van Kessel, whose son Willem worked in the
Alleyns atelier. t 5o Despite her somewhat low profile, there is little doubt that Barbara

147 On Abraham Liesaert, see Van Roey, "Een Antwerpse schildersdynastie," 94, n. 47 and 98-99.
148 Barbara D e Vos was born around 1530 and was still alive in April of 1591. S.A.A., N. 1332 (Notary Dries),
no fol. (document dated April 17, 1591); Van Roey, "Een Antwerpse schildersdynastie," 87. l have not been able
to trace the exact date of the marriage ofMarten Alleyns and Barbara De Vos. Most likely this is due to the fact that
they did not marry in a Catholic church (see below).
149 T he Liesaerts, of course, were a large family of artists and art dealers. Van Roey, "Een Antwerpse schilders-
dynastie," 86-88. On the De Vos family, see Armin Zweite, Marten De Vos ais Maler. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der
Antwerpener Malerei in der zweite Hiilfte des 16. jahrhunderts (Berlin, 1980), 19-20.
150 lt is, of course, entirely possible and quite probable that she was active as an art dealer much earlier, during
her first marriage with Peter Liesaert, but I could not find any proof which would substantiate such a d aim.
S.A.A., l\. 1478, no fol. (document dated December 18, 1581 ).

72
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

was very active as an art dealer. When her husband died in 1583, Barbara stepped
into the foreground and declared that, from now on, she would run the Alleyns
family art trade single-handedly (see note 158).
Sometime after 1573, Marten moved into a house called Den Blommaert,
situated on the corner of the Kammenstraat and the Lombardenvest (see Figure 3, p.
22) . 151 Moving into this neighborhood certainly meant a step up socially and
economically as the Lombardenvest constituted one of the artistic nerve centers of
Antwerp (see below). Den Blommaertmust have been the home of a substantial ate-
lier, and possibly also housed a small shop on the ground floor. Another indication of
Marten's rising social status lies in the fact that he became a dean of the Guild of
Saint Luke in 1576 and again in 1577. 152 The Alleynses did very well indeed; in
1580, for instance, Marten supplied a fairly large shipment of oil paintings (valued
at 120 guilders) to his fellow art dealer Jacques Van de Wyere who subsequently
exported these and other pictures to Châlons, France. 153 Their successes allowed the
Alleynses to acquire more real estate in 1582, when they purchased the back section
of a house also located on the Lombardenvest. 154
The timing of these accomplishments may seem odd at first. After all, the
late 1570s were nota time of a booming economy, and Antwerp was still recovering
from the ravages of the Spanish Fury. Nevertheless, as 1 will argue in Chapter 2, sub
6, it is often in rimes of crisis that the art trade can flourish, as many families who
were strapped for cash disposed of their art collections. However, in the case ofMarten
and Barbara Alleyns, there may be another factor at play. When we scrutinize the
social web surrounding Marten Alleyns, a common denominator presents itself in
the religious beliefs of the people around him: his wife's family was Lutheran, as were
his daughter Magriet and son-in-law Abraham Liesaert, and his step-son Gillis
Vinckboons. 155 Therefore, it is probably not too far-fetched to assume that not only
Barbara De Vos adhered to the Lutheran faith, but Marten as well. ln fact, Marten
should be placed in the Protestant camp by default - how else could he have become
dean of the Guild at a time when Catholics were banned from holding such high-
ranking official positions? 156 ln sum, being a Protestant during the era of Calvinist
domination of Antwerp (1577-1585) may have aided - or at least did not prevent -

151 At least until early Summer of that year, he was still residing in a house located in the Gasthuisbeemden
(presently the Leopoldstraat), even though Marten was mentioned twice in documents from the late 1560s as
part-owner of the house on the Lombardenvest. S.A.A., C.B. 35, fol. 199r (document dated June 30, 1573);
Robert Vande Weghe, Geschiedenis van de Antwerpse straatnamen (Antwerp, 1977), 292.
152 Liggeren, 261-262.
153 S.A.A., C.B. 41, fol. 426v (document dated June 6, 1580). See below.
154 They bought this property from Babara's sister Anna De Vos. S.A.A., S.R. 368, fol. 99v (document datedJuly
10, 1582).
155 The painter Marten De Vos was, of course, a notorious Lurheran. Van Roey, "Een Antwerpse schilders-
dynastie," 98; Idem, "De Antwerpse schilders," 125.
156 In addition, after 1581, Catholics were removed from the city council. On the presence of Lutherans in
Antwerp, see Marnef, "Brabants calvinisme;" E.M. Braekman, "Het Lutheranisme in Antwerpen," Bijdragen tot de
Geschiedenis 70 (1987): 23-38.

73
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

his success in business and his 'promotion' to dean. When Marten Alleyns died only
months after his shop burned clown at the schilderspand in 1583, he was still able to
leave 2,208 guilders to Magriet, the daughter from his first marriage. 157 This amount
suggests that while the Alleynses were not wealthy, they certainly belonged to the
more affluent middle class. As mentioned earlier, Barbara, who inherited the rest of
their possessions, vowed to continue the art dealing business and lived at least until
1591.158
The probate inventory that was drawn up at the timc of Martcn's dcath re-
eals some additional fascinating information about the Alleyns family business. Marten
Alleyns still owed various sums to three tafereelmakers. Hans Verachtert (120 guilders),
Jacques Luysens (22 guilders 6 stivers) and Peter Verhaecht (13 guilders). 159 ln addition,
he was expected to pay a small sum to a gilder, and he owed 3 guilders 10 stivers to
Jan De Prince for a painting. 160 Lastly, 12 guilders needed to be paid to Michiel Cock
for a supply of paint. ln other words, Marten had not just pupils working for him
but a number of panel makers and at least one painter, and thus had set up a profitable
family business. lt is very likely that Alleyns, and especially his wife, handled the
marketing of part or ail of the paintings produced by his own workshop and other
artists. Of course, the Alleynses had the outlets and the connections to do so, not in
the least through their shop at the schilderspand. 161

2.4.3 Sorne Observations on the Community of Art Dealers in Antwerp

The example of Marten and Barbara Alleyns tentatively suggests the profile
of art dealers in Antwerp during the second half of the sixteenth century. First of ail,
the kind of people who made up the intricate network of family, friends and business
associates that surrounded the Alleynses indicates that they were well integrated in
the Antwerp artistic milieu. Through his marriage with Barbara De Vos, Marten
Alleyns was able to strengthen his ties with both artists and dealers and especially
with the Lutherans among them. The fact that they owned a house in the Lombarden-
vest illustrates the position of the Alleyns family within this artistic community. The
area comprising the Kammenstraat, the Steenhouwersvest and the Lombardenvest

157 S.A.A., N. 1478, no fol. (document dated June 1583). Magriet was assisted at the notary by her husband
Abraham Liesaert, also an art dealer.
158 In April 1591, Barbara solda rente to Hans Theullier. S.A.A., N. 1332, no fol. (document dated April 17,
1591).
159 AJan Luyttsen was registered as tafereelmakerin the Guild in 1575, and a Peter Van Haecht, also tafereelmaker,
took on an apprentice (Cornelis Van Haesbroeck) in 1580. For further information on the Van Haecht family, see
Jan Van Roey, "Het Antwerpse geslacht Van Haecht (Verhaecht). Tafereelmakers, schilders, kunsthandelaars," in
Miscellania Jozef Du verger. Bijdragen tot de kunstgeschiedenis der Nederlanden (Ghent, 1968), vol 1, 216-229. Hans
Verachtert is not listed in the Guild records or in Van Mander. Liggeren, 255 and 275.
160 Jan De Prince registered as pain ter in 1551, rook on two pupils in 1561 and became a dean in 1579. Liggeren,
175, 227 and 267.
161 S.A.A., N. 1478, no fol. (document datedJune 1583).

74
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-I585)

was foremost the city's printing center, but many other artisans and artists resided in
this area. Families involved in these professions were historically drawn to this
neighborhood given its direct access to Our Lady's pand 162 As such, this part of the
city provided many opportunities for art dealers.
Secondly, there can be little doubt that Marten Alleyns' inclusion in Protes-
tant circles during the reign of the Calvinists in Antwerp buttressed his career. Being
a Lutheran during the late 1570s in Antwerp made him acceptable as a dean of the
Guild. Moreover, his business thrived as the Alleyns workshop expanded seemingly
unimpeded at a time when the pernicious effects of the Eighty Years' War were felt
daily in the city on the river Scheldt as Spanish armies were gearing up to launch the
reconquista of the Southern Netherlands. However, we should be cautious not to
overemphasize the religious component in measuring the success or failure of
individual art dealers. Sorne other dealers went about their business regardless of the
dominant religion. In fact, this was precisely the time that many individuals, mostly
artists, turned to art dealing to make a living in these difficult years, and certainly
not all of them were Protestant. Bartholomeus De Momper, for instance, held the
important post ofpandmeesterof the painters' gallery throughout the sixties, seventies,
eighties and part of the nineties, clearly not in the least bit affected by the changing
fortunes of competing religions in Antwerp. 163
Third, the multitude of women-dealers active in Antwerp during the sixteenth
century may surprise the contemporary observer. After all, here we are confronted
with a city in which women were not only involved in commerce, but even in the
noble art of painting itself. Catharina Van Hemessen, daughter of the accomplished
painter Jan Van Hemessen, serves as a telling example of a woman who became a
successful painter in her own right. Her skills in the visual arts were even noticed
(albeit not in an overly praising fashion) by Guicciardini and Vasari, even if their
comments were imbedded in typical late-medieval discourse and attitudes towards
women. 164
Women appear to have enjoyed an unusual freedom of movement in sixteenth-
century Antwerp. Moreover, in sharp contrast with their counterparts in Southern
Europe, Guicciardini was particularly struck by the knack for business Netherlandish
women displayed: 165

162 On the Lombardenvest as a printing cemer, see Van der Stock, Printing Images, 60-69. This part of the city
was located in the prosperous sixth wijk or ward and was adjacent to the old city cemer. For an imeresting dis-
cussion on the administrative and religions partitions of the city and their respective social-economic make-up, see
An Kim, The Community of Commerce, 137-146, which includes several useful bibliographical references as well.
163 The religions conviction of Bartholomeus De Momper, if indeed he is to be placed imo one of the two
camps, is not known.
164 Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek (Brussels, 2002), vol. 16, "Catharina Van Hemessen,"s.v. by Karolien De
Clippel; Idem, "Catharina Van Hemessen," in Elek zijn waerom. Vrouwelijke kunstenaars in België en Nederland
1500-1950, eds. Katlijne Van der Stighelen and Mirjam Westen, exhib. cat. Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts
(Bruges, 1999): 133-137.
165 Guicciardini, Beschrijvinghe, 29.

75
PARTI THE MTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

Zy zijn seer sober, besich ende altijdt
wat doende, beschickende niet
alleenlijck huyswerck ende huys-
houdinghe, daer de mans hen lutte!
met becommeren. (... ) Maer onder-
winden haer oock met coopman-
schap, in 't coopen ende vercoopen:
ende zijn neerstig in de weere met
hant ende tonghe in hanteeringhe
die den mans eyghentlijck aengaen.
They are very modest, always busy,
not onlywith domestic tasks and the
household, since husbands are little
involved with that. (... ) But they also
engage in commerce, in the buying
and selling: and vigorouslywork with
their hands and tangues in trade
which is actually a man's business.

The perceived liberties women could take in Southern Netherlandish society

should not corne as a total surprise. Martha Howell has convincingly argued that
women performed a crucial role in the cities of northwestern Europe where the
household was the cornerstone of highly-developed market economies. By taking on
certain economic activities such as the selling of the goods produced by the family,
women actively participated in what has been labeled the "family production unit."
Consequently, in order to perform these economic tasks, they acquired certain legal
powers independent from their spouses. 166 For instance, in sixteenth-century Antwerp,
women could mortgage assets, own property and enter into business ventures. When
we look at female art dealers like Barbara De Vos and Adriana De Hollander, it is
clear that they fit nicely into the Howell model of the family production unit. A
particular type of division of labor existed in these household economies: while the
husband-painter produced pictures in his workshop, the wife (coopwijfas Adriana
was called) would market the finished paintings at one of the panden. These women
even solidified their position as independent dealers when they became widowed
and were in a position to assume full control of the business.
Fourthly, despite the novelty of their profession, art dealers in sixteenth-
century Antwerp were well-organized and collaborated with each other frequendy.
When the art dealer Jacques Van de Wyere was approached by the French merchant
Anthony Pontheus to deliver a very substantial number of pictures, he called on
several ofhis colleagues and painters to help put together this shipment. The painter
and art dealer François Provost produced a certain number of oil paintings on panel,
the art dealer Hans Bulincx supplied several canvases, and our old acquaintance Marten
Alleyns delivered oil paintings on panel as well. 167 Transactions like these point to a

166 Martha C. Howell, Women, Production, and Patriarchy in Late Medieval Cities (Chicago and London, 1986),
1-20 and 27-30. Guicciardini, of course, comments on the freedom of Netherlandish women because in his
homeland, Italy, women did not take an active part in the family production unit, but stuck to domestic tasks and
their role as child bearers. As a result, they had fewer independent legal rights and a lower status compared to
women in the north, and this was particularly the case for single women. See Monica Chojnacka, "Singlewomen
in Early Modern Venice. Communities and Opportunities," in Singlewomen in the European Past, 1250-1800, eds.
Judith M. Bennet and Amy M. Froide (Philadelphia, 1998), 217-235.
167 S.A.A., C.B. 41, fol. 426v (document dated June 6, 1580). The shipment had a rotai value of 1,437 guilders

76
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

strikingly high level of cooperation among Antwerp art dealers. Van Mander recalls
several other instances where painters produced directly for art dealers. For instance,
the accomplished landscape painter Gillis van Coninxloo (1544-1607) "worked a
great deal for merchants who exported his works everywhere." 168 Of the painter Gil-
lis Congnet (ca. 1535-1599), Van Mander said that he made "manyworks, particularly
canvases and scenes, sometimes employing Cornelis Molenaer, or cross-eyed Neel as
they call him, to paint his grounds or backgrounds. [Congnet] worked for merchants
a lot and became very famous." 169 These examples and the Alleyns case has shown
that a kind of putting-out system had become commonplace by the 1570s, denoting
a mature and sophisticated art market that featured a degree of professionalization
scarcely seen elsewhere. 170
Lasdy, we have very litde information relative to the net earnings of art dealers.
While coundess documents survived which give us an indication how much the
consumer ultimately paid for a work of art, it is very rare to find a due of what
percentage of the price went to the intermediary. An exceptional document which
provides an indication of an art dealers' commission dates from 1582. The widow of
Hieronymus Cock, Volcxken Diericx, called on Bartholomeus De Momper to sell a
set of prints and maps. A detailed list of the different items was drawn up which
included a target price for individual prints, and the stipulation that De Momper
would pick up a commission of five percent if he sold them to other art dealers.
Should he succeed in vending them direcdy to private customers, he could sell them
to the highest bidder and keep the additional profit. 171 Besicles the fact that five
percent seems a rather modest eut, it is noteworthy that a distinction was made
between wholesale and retail marketing. Perhaps this points to an unwritten code of
conduct between art dealers, one which prevents making a large profit at the expense
of colleagues, and rather stimulates close cooperation.

*
* *

and also included some alabaster works. François Provoost was registered as a painter in the Guild in 1558, but
Hans Bulincx does not appear in Guild records. Jacques Van de Wyere registered as a painter in 1554, but art dealing
soon became his primary profession; in 1582, he was appointed dean of the Guild. Liggeren, 187, 207 and 280.
168 Van Mander lauded Van Coninxloo as the premier landscape painter ofhis time. Van Mander, Lives, vol l,
330 (fol. 268r). On the life and works of Gillis Van Coninxloo, see Hans Vlieghe, Flemish Art and Culture 1585-
1700 (Hong Kong, 1998), 175-176 and 312 for further bibliographical references.
169 Van Mander, Lives, vol 1, 306 (fol. 262r). On Gillis Congnet, see Leo Wuyts, "Gillis Congnet," in Vtm Bruegel
tot Rubens. De Antwerpse schilderschool, 1550-1650, exhib. cat. Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Ghent,
1992), 306.
170 As was mentioned earlier, Marten had at least one painter and several panel makers working for him, while
his wife Barbara handled the distribution aspects of the Alleyns firm.
171 The text of this contract was published in extenso in Van der Stock, Printing Images in Antwerp, 406-408;
Lydia De Pauw-De Veen, "Archivalische gegevens over Volcxken Diericx, weduwe van Hieronymus Cock," in
Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van de grafische kunst, opgedragen aan prof dr. Louis Lebeer ter gelegenheid van zijn
tachtigste verjaardag(Antwerp, 1975), 245-247.

77
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

Much study still remains to be clone relating to the origins, socio-economic

background, and professional activitics of thcsc art dealers who played an instrumental
role in the professionalization of the Antwerp art market, but it has become clear
that a sizable group of professional dealers emerged in Antwerp during the second
half of the sixteenth century. Their precise number is impossible to ascertain, not so
much because the archiva! documents are stingy with information, but because very
few of them were singularly active as art dealers. Most, like Marten Alleyns and
Bartholomeus De Momper, continue<l to simultaneously exercise other professions
(painter and publisher of prints, respectively). Thus, the list consisting of 41 names
can only be used as a point of departure. Nevertheless, the example of Marten Alleyns
has shown that this group displayed a strong tendency towards interdependence and
networking. Rather than competing aggressively with each other (De Momper's
meager five percent commission could be seen in this light), they preferred not only
to set up business ventures together but married their children off to each other, and
lived more or less in the same neighborhoods. To a certain degree, these patterns
were an expression of a budding class consciousness, but they were foremost a survival
strategy. Only through this kind of networking could the dealers handle the complex
demands of the international market place and survive in troubled times. ln the end,
the appearance of a community of art dealers must be understood in the context of
the widening art market, both in terms of supply and demand, but their group behavior
guaranteed their survival and success.
1 was able to lift only the tip of the veil covering the structure of the businesses
and the collaboration among art dealers, but the few examples which were mentioned
leave no doubt that the art trade in sixteenth-century Antwerp was conducted in a
sophisticated manner at a very early stage. The production and distribution of paintings
and other applied arts had become an integral component of the city's economy, and
as will be discussed in the next chapter, the resourcefulness of the art dealing
community contributed gready to the wide range of exports artists could boast during
this second phase of expansion of the Antwerp art market.

78
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

2.5 Exporting Art Across the Globe

The works of [Antwerp} painters are not only

widespread in these countries, but in the whole world,
since paintings are the subject ofgreat commerce. 172
L. GurccIARDINI

During the sixteenth century, a great variety of works of art were exported
from Antwerp to the far corners of Europe and beyond. 173 A unique set of circum-
stances made the success of the art export industty possible. First of all, Antwerp provided
the necessary commercial infrastructure needed to support large-scale art trading;
the fairs, the panden, the new bourse, and the intense international contacts were all
extremely accommodating to art dealers and potential buyers at a time when demand
for artistic goods expanded dramatically. In addition, the early sixteenth century saw
a radical shift in the way in which art was produced. Well-organized workshops
which were run by an artist-entrepreneur who introduced a more standardized product
to cater to an ever-growing international demand. Essential was the tendency towards
on spec production without which substantial exports would not have been feasible,
a development that marked a clear break with the medieval tradition of commissioning
artwork. As a result, works of art entered the realm of market economics and became
part of the regular international trade circuit.
However, mere economic and commercial grounds do not suffice to fully
explain Antwerp's pivotai position in the European art trade. Ultimately, it was a
combination of Antwerp's commercial facilities and the artistic tradition of the
Southern Netherlands that explain the magnitude and significance of the art export.
This emanation has its origins in the fifteenth century with the renowned Flemish
Primitives and Brabantine woodcarvers who were admired across the continent.
Hence, Antwerp artists capitalized on the Netherlands' strong reputation in the fine
arts which explains to some extent the continued attraction Flemish art enjoyed
throughout the rest of Europe. Without this artistic tradition, the export of works of
art, artists and styles would not have been as impressive as it actually was during the
sixteenth century.

The Export Registers

Besicles the records provided by the certificatieboeken (see Introduction),
various tax registers on exports dating from around the middle of the sixteenth century
help to gauge the volume and nature of art exports, and to map the main destinations
of these luxury items. 174 These toll books consist of detailed records of all goods

172 "De wercken van aile dese schilders zijn niet alleenlijck in alle dese landen, maer oock meestendeels de gantsche
wereldt door verbreydt: want daer wort groote coopmanschap met ghedaen." Guicciardini, Beschrijvinghe, 81.
173 An earlier, more limited version of this section was included in Vermeylen, "Exporting Art."
174 Severa! registers were drawn up for the period 1543-1545 relative to exports to Germany, England, France,

79
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

leaving the city on a daily basis and thus contain a plethora of valuable information.
A typical entry would include the date, the name of the merchant or carrier, the
destination, the nature and quantity of the goods, the value of the merchandise, and
lastly, the one percent taxon the value. As such, these documents are exceptional for
the sixteenth century even though there are certain drawbacks such as the sheer size
of the registers and the fact that they provide not much more than a glimpse of a
given moment in time. 175
A database was created containing all records of works of art being shipped
abroad during a two-year period (February 10, 1543-February 9, 1545). When a
similar tax was levied some ten years later (April 1552-August 1554), only those
goods exported to the Iberian Peninsula were subjected to an export duty, and the
tax was doubled to two percent of the value. Nevertheless, both export registers look
amazingly alike (see Figures 13A. and 13B.). Clearly, the same procedures were fol-
lowed in the collecting of the 1553 toll. 176 lt goes without saying that a comparison
between the two sets of figures offers a unique opportunity to embark on an in-
depth analysis of the art trade with Spain and Portugal. ln doing so, we can at least
get a sense of the vicissitudes and viability of the Antwerp art market measured by
exports to what appears to be its primary foreign market. This section will be included
immediately following the survey of art export in general.
In the next paragraphs, 1 will elaborate on some of the most important objects
of the art trade, namely paintings, sculpture, books, prints and tapestries. Naturally,
there were other branches of the luxury industries that were successful in selling their
products to an international clientele, but besicles the fact that we are better informed
about certain trades, the argument can be made that the exports of precisely the
works of art discussed below had a greater impact on Antwerp's economy compared
to others.

and various destinations overseas. Exports to Spain and Portugal in 1552-1553 (see below) were also recorded.
Unfortunately, these are essentially the only registers drawn up for the whole of the sixteenth cemury. For different
purposes, several historians have used these valuable sources: Brulez, De firma Della Faille; Go ris, Etude, Vermeylen
"Exporting Art;" Van der Wee and Materné, "De Anrwerpse wereldmarkt;" and Donald J. Harreld, "German
Merchants and theirTrade in Sixteenth-Century Anrwerp," in International Trade in the Low Countries (J4th-16th
Centuries). Merchants, Organization, Infrastructure, eds. Peter Stabel, Bruno Blondé and Anke Greve (Leuven and
Apeldoorn, 2000), 169-192. I was also able to draw valuable information from the London port book from 1566-
1567 which lists ail the imports into the English capital during those years: B. Dietz, The Port and Trade ofEarly
Elizahethan London. Documents (London, 1972).
175 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23357-23364. These accoums were drawn up in French and are bundled in eight copions
volumes, some of them more than 30 cm tall. They include toll receipts from 29 gateway towns thtoughout the
Low Countries, and a distinction was made berween export over land and by sea. Antwerp, by far, monopolized
international trading in the Seventeen Provinces. For instance, in 1544, no fewer than 6,732 transactions (an
average of 18.5 per day) could be counted detailing the shipment of goods from Anrwerp to the German hinter-
land alone. Vermeylen, De export, 21.
176 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23469-23472. Louis Bril, De handel tussen de Nederlanden en het Iberisch Schiereiland (Mas-
ter's Thesis, University of Ghent, 1962).

80
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT I NTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (!540- 1585)

Le 8ième jour davril

De Ghijsbrecht van oudenhove la somme
de quatre solz. a cause davoir charge
vers Londres une casse de poinctures de la
valeur de 4 f 15 solz de gros Remant le dit
droit dung pourcent ladite somme de - 4 solz

FIGURE 13A: Example taken from the 1543 Export Register - Example of a box of paintings
which was exported to London in 1543. SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K. 2335711, fol. 168r (entry
datedApril8, 1543).

De Hieronimo de Linde la somme de trois solz

et six deniers pour avoir chargé une
espinette vallorisé 8 f dont lesez - 3 solz 6 deniers

FIGURE 13B: Example taken from the 1553 Export Register - Example of a spinet which was
exported to the Iberian Peninsula in 1553. T he individual entries often do not mention a
specific destination since the entire volume is dedicated to exports destined for Spain or
Portugal. SOURCE: A.R.A.B ., R.K. 23472, fol. 96v (entry dated November 11, 1553).

81
 PART 1 T HE ANT\XIERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490- 160 9)

2.5. l Paintings

The export of Antwerp mannerist paintings during the first decades of the
sixteenth century has been addressed earlier, but during this second phase of expansion
of the Antwerp art market, the export of pictures grew substantially both in scope
and volume. Antwerp, now the main commercial metropolis ofNorthwestern Europe,
was ideally placed to meet the rising and more specialized demand for paintings.
An analysis of the export registers of 1543-1545 makes it clear that the lberian
Peninsula was the most prominent importer of paintings from the Antwerp market,
representing a third of all exports during that period (see Graph 4) .177 The Spanish
and Portuguese appetite for Northern painting, how-
ever, was not a new phenomenon. Even before the
Iberian 1440s, Flemish art had already found its way to the
lberian upper nobility and clergy, but was now dis-
tributed on a much larger scale including the Spa-
nish monarchy and the middle classes who displayed
Germany a strong taste for Flemish art. As a result, the market
24% for artistic goods cxpanded greatly, and especially
paintings in the style ofVan Eyck were in demand. 178
Portugucsc businessmen bought vast num-
bers of religious paintings and etchings at the Ant-
En gland werp fairs, Friday market or later at the schilderspand
18% in the new bourse. The foundation for the strong
cultural, economic and political ties between the
GRAPH 4 : The Export of Paintings
Southern Netherlands and Portugal was laid in the
1543-1545 (Percentage ofTotal Value)
1430s, and demand for Flemish works appears to
SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K., 23358-23364.
have reached its zenith during the first decade of
the sixteenth century. Flemish styles were emphatically present in Portugal where
they profoundly influenced the work of native artists, more specifically through the
works of Jan Van Eyck and Quinten Metsijs. 179
Antwerp paintings even found their way to the New World via the port of
Seville, the European gateway to the East and West lndies, where many Flemish
artists such as Pieter de Kempeneer (Pedro de Campana) and Hernando Sturm lived

177 In the rime-span of rwo years, 48 shipmenrs conraining paintings ro the Iberian Peninsula were recotded
representing a value of2,023 guilders; 22 shipm ents worth 1,436 guilders were sent off to the German hinterland;
25 shipmenrs worrh 1, 100 guilders to En gland; 11 shipmenrs rotalling 531 guilders were eported to ltaly; and 24
shipments of worth 916 guilders were exported to a variery of other destinations. Vermeylen, "Commercialization
of Art," 51.
178 Quite often the fairs of Medina del Campo funcrioned as a distribution center for the dissemination of
Flemish art on the Iberian Peninsula. Mari-Tere Alvarez, "Artistic En terprise and Spanish Patronage: T he Art
Market During the Reign oflsabel of Castile (1474-1504)," in A rt M arkets in Europe, 1400-1800, eds. Michael
North and David Ormrod (Aldershot, Brookfield (USA), Singapore and Sydney, 1998), 48-59.
179 Nicole D acos, "De Vlaamse kunstenaars," 148-152.

82
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

and worked. 180 Seville served as a meeting place for Flemish and Spanish trade
throughout the sixteenth century. 181 Today, many examples of Flemish painting can
still be admired in Latin American museums. These collections include works by
Pieter Aertsen and Marten de Vos, the latter undoubtedly having been the most
influential Antwerp painter in South America. 182
ltaly was another great importer of Flemish paintings, and above all during
the second half of the sixteenth century. 183 Art exports seem to have been part of the
regular transcontinental trade between ltaly and the Southern Netherlands, and ten
shipments appear in the export registers to cities like Ancona, Genoa, Milan, Pavia,
Rome and Venice. However, the presence ofFlemish paintings in ltalywas without a
doubt much higher than the mere nine percent of art exported according to the
Hundredth Penny tax. After all, many Netherlandish artists traveled to Italy to learn
their profession, and in doing so, they may have produced substantial amounts of
works of art for local patrons. The Italian gentleman and humanist Mercantonio
Michiel wrote during the first half of the sixteenth century about a large number of
paintings he was able to observe in Venice, and as much as 30 percent of them were
ofNorthern origin. Montias argues that Michiel may have found equally high numbers
of Northern paintings in Florence and Genoa. After all, these cities entertained the
same intensity of commercial and cultural exchanges with Antwerp. In other words,
Venice was certainly not an isolated case which coul<l in<licate that the demand for
Flemish painting in Italywas much higher than previously anticipated, even ifMichiel's
numbers turn out to be somewhat exaggerated. 184
Italian merchants turned to Antwerp art dealers rather than to the individual
artists in order to supply themselves, especially when large consignments were invol-
ved.185 Fascinating examples of this kind of trading can be found in the certificatie-
boeken. For instance, on December 7, 1576, the Florentine merchant Jehan Bergami
attested that he regularly acquired sizable amounts of paintings and books in Antwerp,
and "quil entend de mener dudit vers ltaly pour les y vendre et ademirer." 186
Exports of artwork to France were virtually non-existent during the two years
covered by the export registers. This should be no surprise as the export tax was
conceived to pay for the war the Habsburgers were waging against France at this

180 For instance, archivai records reveal that eleven canvases painted in Flanders were sent from Cuzco, Peru, to the
neighbouring provinces in 1572. J. de Mesa, "The Flemish Influence in Andean Art," in America. Bride ofthe sun. 500
Years Latin America and the Low Countries, exhib. cat. Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Antwerp, 1992), 179-188.
181 J. K. Steppe, "Spaans mecenaat." De Marchi and Van Miegroet, "Exploring Markets for Netherlandish
Paintings," 81-112.
182 Four works by Marten de Vos (dated Antwerp, 1581) are currently preserved in the Cuautitlfo Church,
Mexico. De Mesa, "The Flemish Influence," 180.
183 Vroom and Dubbe, "Mecenaat en Kunstmarkt," 22 and Goris, Etude, 281-284.
184 John Michael Montias, Flemish and Dutch Trade in Works ofArt in the 16th and 17th Centuries (Institution
for Social and Policy Studies, working paper no. 1022) (New Haven, 1985), 2-3.
185 For examples of such trading, see Campbell, "The Art Market," 197.
186 S.A.A., C.B. 36, fol. 5 lOr-v (document dated December 7, 1576). Interestingly enough, the two men usually
met in Paris to conduct their business.

83
PART 1 THE ANTWERJ' ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

time. However, French imports of paintings did reach high volumes between 1570
and 1580 when Flemish works were exhibited in Paris (see Chapter 2, sub 6).
A surprising number of Flemish paintings were still shipped to England in
the 1540s - 25 shipments from Antwerp in 2 years, representing close to one fifth of
the total exports (see Graph 4). This is somewhat unexpected since religious paintings
(the subject matter of the great majority of Antwerp paintings produced during these
years) were particularly non grata in Britain after Henry VIII defied the Pope in the
1530s and launched the iconoclasm. 187 The absence of a record of significant shipments
of paintings in the London port books may suggest that these paintings were smuggled
into the country, in which case the subject matter was almost certainly of a religious
nature. Eamon Duffy has argued that traditional beliefs and practices were certainly
not eradicated in England after Henry denounced the Pope in 1536, and that a kind
of parochial Catholicism continued to flourish well into the 1570s. 188 Whatever the
explanation might be, the fact remains that London remained an important destination
for Flemish painting throughout the century. For instance, the English merchant
Henry Pine purchased "two boxes of various sorts of paintings" to be sent to England
in January of 1577. 189 Nevertheless, the real boom occurred during the seventeenth
century when the English nobility and royalty developed an insatiable appetite for
Flemish landscapes, history paintings and portraits.
The German hinterland concludes the list of major importers of (in this case
cheaper) paintings and prints. Cologne played a key role as the distribution center
for the German market, for which ample proof is found in the certificatieboeken such
as this report of February 14, 1541: 190

Jan van Kessel uyt het sticht van
Coelen jaravit et affirmavit aen-
gaende een kistken met diversche
schilderyen op doecke met water-
verve geschildert, gemarct metten
marcke inde margie van desen ge-
stelt als hy affirmant op heden bin-
nen dese stad doen laden sal op een
Jan van Kessel from the Cologne
region juravit et affirmavit regarding
a small chest filled with several pain-
tings on canvas, painted with wa-
tercolor, marked with the stamp as
is shown in the margin; that he, the
attestant, will presendy load the car-
go onto a wagon, of which Henrick

187 On the Merchant Adventures or commercial relations between Britain and Antwerp in general, see Oskar De
Smedt, De Engelse Natie te Antwerpen in de 16de eeuw (1496-1582) (Antwerp, 1954), 2 vols. De Smedtwas able to
identify only one ship ment (vol. 2, 411) of paintings to England for the whole of the sixteenth century. Also, no
imported paintings were listed in the London port book of 1566-1567.
188 Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars. Traditional Religion in England c. 1400-c. 1580 (New Haven and
London, 1992).
189 "Twee cassen met diversse sorten van schilderijen." S.A.A., C.B. 38, fol. 125v (document dated January 23,
1577). The wording of this statement could imply that paintings of different subjects were included in this ship ment
or it may be a reference to pictures with different carriers (panel, canvas, etc.). Still, it is not inconceivable that
paintings bearing religions, and thus forbidden, tapies were smuggled into the British Isles, which would also
explain the abscence of imported paintings in the London port books.
190 S.A.A., C.B. 5, fol. 1 lOv (document dated February 14, 1541).

84
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

kerre daer voerman aff is Henrick Hoffman is the driver, in [Antwerp],

Halfffsman, omme naer Coelen ende
daer voirts naar Frankfoort gevoert
te worddene. (...) Ende dat alle de sel-
ve schilderyen vercocht ende gepen-
nincweerdt sal worden tot Franc-
foort.
to transport the goods to Cologne
and from there on to Frankfort( ... )
in order to market and sell the
paintings in Frankfort.

This example makes it clear that art was exported through the existing trade
network; Cologne and Frankfort were traditional markets for English cloth and
Portuguese spices which were sent to the German hinterland via Antwerp. 191
lnteresting is the reference to the marking on the wrapping or the box in which the
paintings were transported which needed to match the one that had been placed
next to the entry in the certiftcatieboeken.
Sometimes paintings were sent further east to Central Europe via the Baltic
Sea. Peter Van Cauwenberghe, for instance, chartered a freighter from Amsterdam in
January 1568 for the shipment of two cases and one box of paintings oostwaerts
(eastwards), which de facto meant to one of the Baltic ports. 192

2.5.2 Sculpture

The Antwerp sculptors of the sixteenth century were almost all woodcarvers,
an art at which Antwerp excelled greatly. The renowned carved Brabantine altarpieces
were widely exported during the first decades of the sixteenth century. By the l 540s
and 1550s, however, it appears that these devotional pieces had lost much of their
appeal. Lynn Jacobs' contention that every ship departing for the lberian Peninsula
during the 1550s was carrying at least one carved altarpiece is unfounded. 193 Clearly,
the craftsmen and artists involved in the production of retables were unable to con-
form to the changing fashions of the time. By mid-century, this meant that the Gothic-
style altarpieces were no longer in vogue. The introduction and dissemination of
ltalian Renaissance elements in Northern art had resulted in a shift in taste, one that
left the retables looking awkwardly medieval. 194

191 English cloth and Portuguese spices (pepper) were two of the pillars that propped the growth of the Antwerp
market in the first half of the sixteenth century. See Chapter 1.
192 This shipment most probably went to Riga or Danzig. S.A.A., C.B. 28, fol. 87v (document dated July 7,
1568).
192 I did not find a single reference to carved altarpieces being exported in the tax registers referred to by Jacobs
(and also Montias), and neither did Bril in his study on trade with the Iberian Peninsula, which is based on the
same source. Bril, De hande4 Jacobs, Early Netherlandish CarvedA!tarpieces, 160; Montias, Le marché de l'art, 49.
Goris suggests chat the singular entry "tableaux d'hôtel" could conceivably be read as "retable d'autel," in which
case one carved altarpiece was exported to the Iberian Peninsula in 1553. Goris, Etude, 303.
194 There were some attempts to incorporate more Renaissance elements, but all in all, they did not revitalize the
production and export of the sculptored altarpiece. Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 31-32.

85
 PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

With the heyday of the carved altarpieces now well in the past, the export of
sculpture took on different forms. The fame of the celebrated sculptor Cornelis Floris
(1514-1575) of Antwerp even reached as far as Denmark. ln the l 550s, the Danish
court commissioned him to design and build a tomb for King Frederick 1 of Den-
mark and an epitaph for the princess Dorothea. Less tangible but no less important,
"Floris exported not only his products, he exported also his pupils and his style." 195
ln addition, Floris published countless model-books and pattern
prints for grotesque ornaments and tombs which stimulated the
spread of the Netherlandish decorative art style in the Baltic
region. 196 The same holds true for Hans Vredeman De Vries (1529-
1609) whose designs for renaissance ornaments enjoyed a great
following in Poland and Northern Europe. 197
An interesting feature of sixteenth-century art exports from
Antwerp was the tremendous success of small Flemish devotional
statues depictingJesus (for an example, see Figure 14). These were
manufactured in Brussels, Mechlin, and to a lesser extent in Ant-
werp. 198 A remarkable number of these mostly wooden statuettes
were exported to Spain, Portugal, and to the Americas. lt seems
that Spanish convents purchased them to honor incarnation, and
one ]ezusbeeldje bearing an Antwerp seal was found in the Philip-
pines where Magelhaen himself had offered it to a local princess
in 1519. 199 Martin de Backere is men tioned in the registers of the
Guild of Saint Luke in 1564 as a dealer in religious statuettes, and
a crucifix-maker Uhesusman) was already marketing sculptured
FIGURE 14: jezusbeeldje
figures at Our Lady's pandin 1543. 200 Examples of earlier trading
(early sixteenth century),
polychromed oak, h. 43.5 can also be found in the export registers. For instance, in Novem-
202
cm. Leuven, Municipal ber 15 53, a merchant named Guillaume De Heysdonck exported
Museum Vanderkelen- two barrels filled with jésus de boix to Spain. The statuettes did
Mertens. not corne cheap as they were valued at 606 guilders. 201

195 Bialosroki, "The Baltic Area," 18.

196 Ibid., 19.
197 Ilja M. Veldman, "Hans Vredeman De Vries en de professionalisering van het Antwerpse prentbedrijf," in
Tussen stadspaleizen en luchtkastelen. Hans Vredeman de Vries en de Renaissance, eds. Heiner Borggrefe, T homas
Fusenig and Barbara Uppenkamp, exhib. cat. Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Ghent, 2002), 51.
198 A naked Jesus statuette Uezusbeeldje) was extremely popular in the sixteenth cenrury. Statuettes depiciting
females saints known as "popjes van Mechelen," or "chuletas de Malinas," were also rraded on a large scale. Steppe,
"Spaans mecenaat," 266; and Goris, Etude, 283-284.
199 Leon Voet, De gouden eeuw, 309 and Goris, Etude, 284.
200 "Item de 26ste plaetsse daer naest volgendt heeft in hueren Cornelis van H oorne Jhesus man drie jaeren lanck
innegaende halff meert 1500 ende rweenveertich tsiaers voor- 25 stivers" K.A., Reg. 14 (1 543), fol. 12r. Iris quite
certain that Cornelis was not selling prints depicting Christ imagery, in which case he would be categorized in the
accounts as "printere." ln addition, he registered (as a master) in the Guild as "Jesusmaker" in 1546. Ewing,
"Marketing Art," 572-573; Prims, "De kunstenaars," 300; and Liggeren, 156.
201 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23472, fol. 75r.
202 Stad in Vlaanderen, 446.

86
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

The roll receipts point to other objects that fall into the category of small devo-
tional sculpture. Rosaries were sent off to various destinations, and to England and
the Iberian Peninsula in particular. 203 A typical rosary consisted of a series of five or
fifteen beads, followed by a bigger bead, and at the end, a crucifix or medallion. ln
addition, the 1553 export register indudes a chest stuffed with crucifixes that was
loaded on a vessel about to set sail for Spain. 204 Finally, I came across a shipment of
"personaiges de terre" (most likely terracotta figures) destined for Nuremberg. 205 Terra-
cottas were usually clay or wax figures which were used as models. As such they for-
med an important step in the creation process leading to a finished piece of sculpture. 206

2.5.3 Tapestries

The Southern Netherlands were by far the most important producer of

tapestries in Europe, and this hegemony lasted from the fifteenth to the end of the
seventeenth century. 207 Antwerp functioned in the sixteenth century as the interna-
tional distribution center par excellence, despite the fact that it was a minor center of
production - the bulk of the tapestry production occurred in Brussels, Sint Truiden,
Oudenaarde and Tournai. 208
Foreign and local merchants supplied themselves with Flemish tapestries in
Antwerp at the Dominican pandas early as 1445, but exports reached unprecedented
heights after the opening of the tapissierspand in 1554. Here, the greatest possible
selection of tapestries was presented to potential buyers, ranging from cheap
industrially-produced pieces from Sint Truiden to Brussels tapestries interwoven with
gold or silk so expensive that only royalty could afford them. 209

203 Rosaries were an essential component in the cuit of Mary. Brotherhoods devoted to the devotion of Mary
became very popular during the fifteenth century, particularly in the Rhineland but also in Brabant. Sorne 20
shipments can be traced in the export registers (from bath the forties and the fifties), usually involving smaller
suros. G. Stam, "De rozenkrans, richtsnoer bij het gebed," in Vroomheid per dozijn, exhib. car. Utrecht, Museum
Catharijneconvent (Utrecht, 1982), 22-23.
204 The crucifixes were valued at 108 guiders. A.R.A.B., R.K. 23472, fol. Sûr (entry dated October 25, 1553).
205 AR.AB., R.K. 23358/A fol. 209v (entry dated December 12, 1543).
206 For an introduction to the history of terracota figures in the Law Countries, see Terracotta's uit de 17de en
1 Bde eeuw. De verzameling Van Herck, exhib. car. Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Art (Brussels, 2000). The stan-
dard work ofreference remains A.E. Brinckmann, Barock-Bozetti (Frankfort am Main, 1923-1925), 4 vols.
207 Van der Wee, "Handel," 75-97. Two recent publications serve as excellent introductions to the history of
Flemish tapestry: Guy Delmarcel, Het Vlaamse wandtapijt van de 15de tot de 1 Bde eeuw (Tielt, 1999) and Campbell,
Tapestry in the Renaissance. In addition, see: G.T. Van Ysselsreyn, Tapestry. The Most Rxpensive lndustry ofthe XVth
and XV/th Centuries (Brussels/The Hague, 1969); Roger A. D'Hulst, Vlaamse wandtapijten van de XJVde tot de
XVII/de eeuw (Brussels, 1960); Paul Huys Janssen, Werken aan kunst, 66-81; and Jan Denucé, Antwerpsche tapijt-
kunst en handel (Bronnen voor de Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse Kunst, vol. III) (Antwerp, 1936).
208 Voet, De gouden eeuw, 379. Thijs, Van 'werkwinkel' tot Jàbriek,' 115. On the importance of Oudenaarde
tapestries, see Martine Verwelden, "Groei, bloei en teloorgang van de wandtapijtennijverheid in Oudenaarde," in
Oudenaardse wandtapijten van de 16de tot de 18de eeuw (Tielt, 1999), 23-102.
209 For example, Flemish tapestries were ordered by Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England and the Pope.
Wilson, "Marketing Paintings," 62; Thijs, Van 'werkwinkel' tot Jàbriek,' 115-116; and Van Ysselsteyn, Tapestry, 9-10.

87
p ART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TK"'.\fSITJON (1490-1609)

The export-oriented tapestwindustry involved stunning numbers: Brulez esti-

mated that total exports amountcd t:na minimum of700,000 guilders annually during
the second half of the sixteenth cert:LLry, no doubt a cautious estimate (see below). 210
Archivai references suggest that Erigland was a major importer. 211 The export regis-
ters of 1544 indicate that certain Flemish merchants were heavily involved in tapestry
trading with London, which is rem<idable since the Merchant Adventurers themselves
are believed to have been in comple1e::control of this trade. 212 Nevertheless, the hunger
of the English traders for Flemisb rapestries was voracious. For instance, William
Towerson discharged the following valuables in London on December 6, 1567:
27 yards of silk tapestry
150 yards of caddis tapestry
900 yards of hair tapestry
6 dozen Ghentish carpets 2 n

German cities such as Colorne, Augsburg and Leipzig also attracted tapestries.
Yet in comparison with other destin~<tions, Germany was nota major market. 214 The
Polish kings and nobility, on the otlner hand, had a long tradition of importing high-
qualiry and expensive tapestries eveothough no evidence of these transactions can be
found in the export registers. Mo··st famous are the tapestries acquired by King
Sigismund Il Augustus (1520-15/E) for the Royal Castle on Wavel hill in Krakow
during the 1550s. This set of no for.i·er than 140 arrases were woven in Brussels and
decorated, among many other roorus, the Senator's Hall at the Castle. 215
Italy figures on the list of [1Jrominent customers with regular transports to
Rome, Milan, Bologna, Venice, N<iples, Sicily and Genoa. 216 The Antwerp merchant
Michiel De Wesele, for instance, se·~11t off a bale of Flemish tapestries in a wagon to
Naples in July 1554. 217 lt is notewcrnhy that merchants preferred the long route over
land to Italy rather than the faster, If.but far more dangerous seaway.

210 Brulez, "De handelsbalans," 302.

211 For instance, S.A.A., C.B. 16, fol. 256r; C... 3. 39, fol. 96v and C.B. 40, fol. 230r. See also Emile Coornaert,
Les Français et le commerce international à Anv,r.-s{fin XVe-XVIe siècle) (Paris, 1961), vol. 2, 120 n. 3.
212 In 1544, part of the tapestry export to Lrnc~on seems to have been in the hands of a few local merchants such
as Pieter Hulsbosch. A.R.A.B., R.K. 23357, vol.! 1, fol. 185v, fol. 236v, fol. 243v, fol. 342v, etc. There are many
more examples to be found in these registers, b:tttlie Merchant Adventurers were, in face, exempt from paying the
coll. Therefore, the import ofFlemish tapestrie rn.ust have been much higher chan the export registers suggest. See
0

De Smedt, De Engelse Natie, vol. 2, 388-390.

213 According to the London port books, ToWfer:son purchased these tapestries in Antwerp and shipped them
aboard the Edward, a Milton-based ship, to Eqgiand. Dietz, The Port and Trade, 21-22.
214 The value of total sales is in this case more 'rhan just illustrative: German imports totaled ca. 1,500 guilders,
which is very little in comparison to Iberia whi.a ,:m ported tapestries representing an approximate value of 175,000
guilders. However, the 1543-1545 registers t<>e< cften lack the detail and specificity in the mentioning of prices to
produce reliable statistics. Vermeylen, De expo·t:t 112; Bril, De handel, 150.
215 After some peregrinations, almost all oiràe Wavel arrases can be viewed in their original location. The
Flemish Arrases. Royal Castle in Cracow (Warsa,·,-, 1994), 17-65.
216 The Italian nobility owned large collectiorc ofFlemish tapestries, often procured with the help of special agents
active in Brussels andAntwerp. Brulez, "De ha1•1delsbalans," 302; Campbell, Tapestry in the Renaissance, 274-276.
217 S.A.A., C.B. 9, fol. l 75v.

88
 C HAPTER 2 A P ERMANENT I NTERNATIONAL M ARKET FOR P AINTING (1 540-1585)

Very substantial shipments of tapestries were exported to the Iberian Peninsula

during the second third of the sixteenth century. 218 On his visits to the Southern
Netherlands in 1549-1550 and 1555-1559, Philips II bought significant quantities
of tapestries which appear to have enticed many of this subjects to follow suit. 2 19
Indeed, a screening of the export registers for
the year 1553 reveals that few ships left port Unidenrified
without at least some tapestries on board. In- 16%
deed, in the rime span of just one year, no less Tournai
than 314 shipments containing tapestries to Brussels 1%
2%
Spain and Portugal can be counted, representing
St. Truiden
a total value of 530,388 guilders - without
8%
question an extraordinary amount. A doser ana-
lysis of the export data produces some interesting
statistics.
As could be expected, the verdures from Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde amounted to almost three quarters 73%
of the value of all experts, followed by a signifi- GRAPH 5: Origin ofTapesuies Exported to the
cant percentage still for the cheaper pieces Iberian Peninsula in 1553 (Percentage ofTotal
produced in the town of Sint Truiden. The large Value)
segment of unidentified tapestries included a SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K., 23358-23364.
wide array of different types and prices.
The low occurrence of Brussels tapestries TABLE 5: Median Price ofFlemish Tapesrries
may seem surprising at first. However, when we Exported to the Iberian Peninsula in 15 53
take into consideration the average price of (in Guilders per Yard)
textiles per production center, a clear delineation Brussels ..... .......... 15
becomes manifest between the high-quality Oudenaarde .... ...... 6
tapestries from Brussels and the cheaper items Tournai ................. 5.2
woven in Oudenaarde and especially Sint Trui- St. Truiden ............ 1.2
den (see Table 5). SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K., 23469-23474.
When we look at the large output of
Oudenaarde tapestries in more detail, the registers consistently reveal a fixed price of
six guilders per (Flemish) yard. 220 This means that the production coming out of
Oudenaarde must have been to certain degree standardized and commercialized.
Indeed, there are indications that many of these tapestries featured the same icono-
graphy and were of the same size. 22 1

218 Guicciardini, Beschyvinghe, 98; and P. Dias, "De Vlaamse tapijtkunst in Portugal," in Vlaanderen en Portugal,
eds. J. Everaert and Eddy Stols (Antwerp, 1991), 177- 199.
219 Iain Buchanan, "The tapestries acquired by King Philip II in the Necherlands in 1549-50 and 1555-59. New
Documentation," Gazette des Beaux-Arts 134 (1999): 131-152; Campbell, Tapestry in the Renaissance, 269.
220 The FJemish yard as it was used in Oudenaarde measured between 69 and 73 cm.
221 Delmarcel, Het Vlaamse wandtapijt, 188-207. The most easily recognizable characreristic of the Oudenaarde
verdures is the abundant use of greenwork, as can be seen in Figure 15. The fairly typical example shown here
features a representation of Hercules and dates from the exact years chat the export registers were drawn up.

89
 PARTI THE ANTWERP ART M ARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

FIGURE 15:Large-leaf verdure with Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds, Oudenaarde Tapestry (ca. 1550-
1560), 345 x 320 cm. Ghem, Provinciebestuur Oost-Vlaanderen.

90
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAJNTING (1540-1585)

Given the political and military conflict between the Spanish Empire and
France during the early 1540s, the export registers do not yield accurate figures for
the export ofFlemish tapestries viaAntwerp to France. However, there is little doubt
that the French elite considered owning tapestries from the North fashionable. One
unconfirmed estimate by a contemporary observer mentions that imports amounted
to 500,000 guilders - roughly the same figure I calculated for the Iberian Peninsula. 222
No wonder then that the French architect Philip De L'Orme complained that it was
no use to design intricate architectural features to embellish doorframes, since every-
thing was covered with tapestries anyway. 223

2.5.4 Books and Prints

Antwerp functioned throughout the sixteenth century as one of the most

prominent markets for books in the Christian world. 224 The printing house of
Christopher Plantin of course figures prominently, but he did not settle in the city
until 1555. Prior to this date, numerous less well-known
printers and book shops were already operational in the city, TABLE 6: Plantin Book Production
and their printed materials were sent in significant quantities by Language (1555-1589)
across Europe. 225 Many publications dealt with the intensi- Language Humber of Titles
fying religious controversies of the era, and Antwerp printers Latin .................... 1,593 ...... .
supplied both Catholics and Protestants with ample propa- German ................... 15 ......... .
ganda materials. 226 The export registers of 1543-1545 provide Italian ...................... 15 ......... .
plenty evidence of a lively book trade, and as will be discussed Syriac ....................... 8 .......... .
below, Antwerp was about to solidify and expand its role as Aramaic .................... 6 .......... .
the major publishing center of the Low Countries in the years English ..................... 5 .......... .
Hungarian ................ 1 .......... .
to corne.
Portugese .................. 1 .......... .
Spanish, Portuguese, and English merchants were by
far the most active customers on the Antwerp book market, SOURCE: Voet, The Plantin Press,
even though the numbers involved nevertheless remain rat- vol. 6, 35.
her modest at this point in rime. The opening of the now-
famous Plantin printing house signified the apotheosis of Antwerp's status as the
leading printing center of the Spanish Netherlands. Between 1555 and 1589, some
2,450 titles rolled off the presses at Plantin. The majority of these publications were

222 Quoted in Brulez, "De handelsbalans," 302.

223 Henri Zerner, L'art de la Renaissance en France: L'invention du Classicisme (Paris, 1996), 250; Campbell,
Tapestry in the Renaissance, 271.
224 R. Van Cauwelaert, "A World of Books. The Book Trade in Flanders and the Netherlands," in Flandern und
die Niederlande Weltoffin. Flanders and the Netherlands. Open to the World (s.I., 1993), 49-64; Francine de Nave,
"Een typografische hoofdstad in opkomst, bloei en verval," in Antwerpen, verhaal van een metropoo4 ed. Jan Van
der Stock (Antwerp, 1993), 87-113; Lean Voet, "De typografische bedrijvigheid te Antwerpen in de 16de eeuw,"
in Antwerpen in de X.Vide eeuw (Antwerp, 1975), 233-255.
225 Antwerp printers were especially known for their illustrated books. Voet, De gouden eeuw, 377.
226 The writings of Martin Luther, for instance, were from 1519 onwards translated and dispersed by Antwerp
printing houses on a large scale. De Nave, "Typografische hoofdstad," 89.

91
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

in Latin, but a significant part of the Plantin book production appeared in other
languages (seeTable 6). 227
The great variety of different languages in the overall production clearly
indicates that Plantin produced for an international audience.
The center of gravity of the pictorial print commerce was dominated by
Paris, Frankfort, Cologne and Antwerp. Print production in the Netherlands
throughout the sixteenth century was virtually an Antwerp monopoly, and a genuine
professionalization of the printing industry took place during this time period. The
central position of Antwerp in the print trade becomes apparent when looking at the
activities of the Plantin printing house. The Plantin journals prove that prints were
indeed widely exported to France and Germany, but also to more distant destinations
such as Spain.228
Plantin appears to have had intense dealings with all the major print publishers
of Antwerp such as Hans Liefrinck, (listed as an art dealer in the Guild of Saint Luke
in 1581), Gerard De Jode, Jeroen Cock and Philip Galle. These publishers produced
large amounts of prints modeled after designs of various ltalian and Netherlandish
artists. 229 The Plantin printing house, with all its international contacts, then, served
as an effective distribution center for prints. 230 Dealers like Hans Liefrinck also engaged
in international trading independently. For instance, on December 15, 1552, he
attested that he sold 23 guilders-worth of "certain printed figures" to a London
bookseller. 231
Parallel to books, prints were mass-produced and intended for export long
before Plantin started his activities. Without a doubt, Our Lady's pand and later the
schilderspand functioned as the primary outlet for the Antwerp print publishers. 232
During the mid-forties, prints were exported to Spain, Portugal, France, England,
and the German hinterland. The export registers of 1543-1545 contain fourteen
shipments of prints of disparate prices. We are privy to the subject matter on two
occasions: a print depicting Saint Christopher, and one of Our Lady, were loaded
onto a ship in 1544, probably on its way to the Iberian Peninsula. 233

227 Leon Voet and Jenny Voet-Griselle, The Plantin Press, 1555-1589: A bibliography of the Works Printed by
Christoffel Plantin at Antwerp and Leiden (Amsterdam, 1983), vol. 6, 2522-2556; and Leon Voet, "Sorne
Considerations on the Production of the Plantin Press," in Liber Amicorum Herman Liebaers, eds. Frans
Vanwijngaerden et al. (Brussels, 1984), 355-369.
228 A.].J. Delen, "Christoffel Plantin ais prentenhandelaar," De Gulden Passer 10 (1932): 1-24; andJan Van der
Stock, "The Impact of the Prints of Pieter Breugel the Eider," in The Prints ofjan Breugel the Eider (Tokyo, 1989),
89-102. Also, the Journals of the Plantin printing ho use (Plantin Archives, Antwerp, Belgium) are Full of references
to the export of prints, mainly to Paris and Frankfort.
229 Veldman, Hans Vredeman de Vries, 51-52; J.P. Filedt Kok, "Jacques de Gheyn II Engraver, Designer and
Publisher - I," Print Quarterly VII (1990): nr. 3, 248-281.
230 Delen, Christoffel Plantin als prentenhandelaar, l 7.
231 "van sekere gedructe figueren" S.A.A., C.B. 7, fol. 27lv (document dated December 15, 1552).
232 A number of printers, including several members of the Liefrinck family, rented stalls in Our Lady's pand.
Van der Stock, Printing Images, 60; Ewing, "Marketing Art," 573.
233 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23359/b fol. 545r and fol. 65 lr.

92
 C HAPTER 2 A PERMANENT I NTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR P AINTING (1 540-1585)

2.5.5 Miscellaneous

Many important art forms that were the subject of intense trading do not fit
into one of the above categories. The export of musical instruments, for instance,
was very significant from the middle of the sixteenth century onwards. When
discussing the production of musical instruments in Antwerp in Early Modern times,
the harpsichords made by the Ruckers family - avidly bought and used abroad -
corne to mind instantly (for an example, see Pigure 16). 234 These quality instruments
were indeed considered to be the Stradivarius among harpsichords, and consequently
brought great fame to the Ruckers dynasty and formally established Antwerp as a
center for the production of musical instruments. Although Hans Ruckers probably
did not appear in Antwerp until 1575, the historical evidence indicates that Antwerp,
before this time, had acquired a solid reputation as an important center for the
production of musical instruments. In fact, in analogy with Plantin and typology,
the advantages which the city was able to offer in this respect were likely what most
enticed Ruckers to settle in Antwerp. In 1559, when instrument makers were
incorporated in the Guild of Saint Luke, there were already between fifteen and
twenty harpsichord builders active in the city. 235

FIGURE 16: Hans Ruckers

the Elder, Spinet(l591),
painted wood and ivory,
and printed paper, 170.5
x 48 x 23.5 cm. Bruges,
Gruuthusemuseum.

234 Voet, De gouden eeuw, 309 and 389; Alfons K.L. Thys, Antwerpen internationaal uitgeverscentrum van devotie-
prenten, 17de-18de eeuw (Leuven, 1993).
235 Grant O'Brien, Ruckers. A harpsichord and virginal building tradition (Cambridge, 1990); Nicolas Meeus,
"La facture de virginals à Anvers au ! 6e siècle," Bulletin ofthe Brussels Museum ofMusical Instruments 4 (197 4) : 5 5-
64. See also Léon De Burbure, Reserches sur les faxteurs de clavecins et les luthiers d'Anvers depuis le J 6e jusqu'au l 9e
siècle (Brussels, 1863).

93
 PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

The first known harpsichords that were built in Antwerp date from 1548,
and are therefore absent from the export registers of 1543-1545. 236 However, several
other types of instruments do show up:

TABLE 7: The Export of Musical Instruments from Antwerp (1555-1589)

Spi nets Organs Lutes Other
Iberian Peninsula .............. 17 ............ 3 ............. 0 ............. 3 ....... .
Italy ................................... 0 ............. 0 ............. 0 ............. 2 ....... .
England ............................. 2 ............. 2 ........... 170 ........... 0 ....... .
German Hinterland .......... 7 ............. 0 ............. 0 ............. 2 ....... .
SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K. 23357-23364.

At this time, spinets were perhaps the most desired of all Antwerp-made
instruments, but organs and lutes were popular as well. British merchants in general
were the most eager buyers, displaying a particular interest in lutes.
Medallions, books, bronze and copper monuments, stained-glass windows
or pictures, embroideries, ceramics and so forth were the subject of regular interna-
tional trade originating in Antwerp as well. 237 Another, perhaps somewhat unexpected,
item on this list is playing cards. Indeed, the export registers reveal numerous shipments
of playing cards to a myriad of destinations. Most cards were made either in Antwerp
or the in Campine town ofTurnhout. 238 For instance, a merchant namedJan Boutry
exported on at least seven occasions "jeux de cartes" to Nuremberg or Frankfort in
the course of 1543 and 1544. 239

An Expanding Art Market: The Export Registers of 1553

For the export of works of art destined for Spain and Portugal, we have the
rare opportunity to statistically compare two sets of toll receipts. From April 1552
until August 15 54, a two-percent tax had to be paid on the value of all goods leaving
the Seventeen Provinces and destined for the Iberian Peninsula. 24°Compared to the
registers dating from the early forties, the tax was doubled (from one to two percent),
but besicles that, the modalities of the collection of both tolls were indistinguishable
even though the latter sample offers more detail in terms of pricing and identification
of the exported goods. For the purpose of this study, I retained the export data for
oneyear (January 1-December 31, 1553), and at for the exports to Spain and Portu-
gal, the analysis of the art trade in this period shows a marked evolution compared to
ten years earlier: overall, exports of artwork show an astonishing increase within the
time span of one decade, both in absolute numbers and in value. After presenting

236 Ibid., 23.

237 Voet, De gouden eeuw, 351-389; Van der Wee, "Handel," 89.
238 E. Van Autenboer, "Jehan Maillard en de Antwerpse uitvoer van speelkaarten in de eerste helft van de 16de
eeuw," Kontaktblad van het Nationaal Museum van de speelkaart 16 (1988): 44-49.
239 A.RAB., R.K. 23357/A, fol. 325r; R.K. 23359/A, fol. 85r-v, 12lr, 199v; R.K. 23361, fol. 88v and 294r.
240 A.RAB., R.K. 23469-23474.

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 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (I540-1585)

some of the most telling statistics, some suggestions will be given that may help to
explain the growth of the export market.

Annual Export of Paintings and Books from Antwerp to the Iberian Peninsula,
TABLE 8:
1543-1553 (in Guilders)
1543-1545 1553
Number o/Shipments Guilders Number o/Shipments Guilders
Paintings ................... 24 ................... 1,012 ....................... 52 ................. 17,543 .. .
Books ...................... 12.5 ............... 1,374.50 .................... 95 ................. 56,670 .. .
SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K. 23357-23364 and 23469-23474.

The data for the export of paintings leaves little doubt that a very significant
rise in the total value can be noted. The number of shipments more than doubled
and the average value per transaction rose from 42 guilders 13 stivers in 1543-1545
to a staggering 33 7 guilders 7 stivers 10 years later. ln other words, larger shipments
containing more expensive pictures handled by far more affluent art dealers were
being exported South. 242
The expansion of the Antwerp art market is even more pronounced when
looking at the book trade. During the two-year period spanning the years 1543-
1545, the Iberian Peninsula imported books valued
at 2, 7 49 guilders; about a decade later, 56,670 guilders TABLE 9: Annual Export of Musical Instru-
worth of printed materials were shipped to Spain and ments from Antwerp to the Iberian Penin-
Portugal in only one year. 243 In other words, the ex- sula, 1543-1553 (Number ofUnits)
245

port of books exploded in a relatively short period of 1543-1545 1553

time. It is not entirely clear why this happened then,
but to a large extent the explanation must be sought
in the decline of the book trade in the German lands
and in ltaly, after which Antwerp and Paris could
daim the title of typographical capitals of Europe. 244
Organs ................. 1.5 ............... 6 .... .
Clavicords ............. 0 ................ 49 ... .
Spinets ................. 8.5 ............. 137 .. .
SOURCE:A.R.A.B., R.K. 23357-23364 and
23469-23474.

241 The available figures for 1543-1545 were divided by two in order to corne to an annual average for this time
pe-riod. These figures have not been adjusted to reflect the impact of inflation. At any rate, the general pattern of
exponential growth (both in number of items shipped and the value they represented) is indisputable. On the
problem of inflation, see footnote 249.
242 The median price for a singular painting rose from about 11 guilders to 39 guilders. Ali other things being
equal, this would mean that in 1543-1545, some 92 paintings were shipped annually to the lberian Peninsula
compared to about 450 in 1553. This kind of estimate, however, remains highly speculative (only four prices of
individual paintings could be retained from the 1553 sample to calculate the median) and can only ptovide us
with an impression of what the volume of trade might have been like.
243 According to the Mexican theologian Tomâs de Mercado, the important trading center Seville attracted a
significant portion of books coming from the Southern Netherlands. In 1571, he wrote "to Flanders [the Spanish
merchants] ship wool, oil and wine, and bring from there every kind of haberdashery and books." Quoted in John
Lynch, Spain under the Habsburgs. Volume One: Empire andAbsolutism 1516-1598, 2d ed. (Oxford, 1981), 149.
244 Venice, of course, remained the premier printing center in the Mediterranean basin. De Nave, "Typografische
hoofdstad," 90.
245 The available figures for 1543-1545 were divided by two in order to corne to an annual average for this period.

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PART 1 THE ANT\l('ERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

Exports of musical instruments show a distinct increase as well. Particularly

organs, spinets and clavichords were in demand, and the export registers also feature
the first known shipment of a Netherlandish harpsichord: on February 25, 1553, the
merchant Willem De Hane loaded four boxes containing four harpsichords on a
boat about to set sail for the Iberian Peninsula, each instrument being valued at 126
guilders. 246 Spinets, smaller and cheaper (with a median price of 36 guilders) than
the harpsichord, became increasingly popular as well, but the success of the clavichord
is especially striking. This instrument (listed as manicordion in the export registers)
was essentially used for teaching and practicing music. The earliest reference to a
clavichord dates from the first decades of the fifteenth century, but during the 1540s,
the instrument was significantly altered and improved by shifting the position of the
soundboard. This kind of product innovation may have made the instrument more
marketable, which could account for the surprisingly high number of 49 clavichords
being shipped tu the Iberian Peninsula in 1553. 247
What explains these dramatic increases in art exports? The answer must be
sought in a combination of more or less external circumstances and structural factors.
First of all, since these two samples are mere snapshots, the relatively short time
periods within which the tolls were collected need to be examined. Particularly, the
timing of the first sample merits doser scrutiny. The early forties were an era of tran-
sition for theAntwerp economy. The Southern Netherlands as a wholewere recovering
from the severe depression which had hit the region hard the previous decade. To
make matters worse, Marten Van Rossum pillaged the surrounding countryside during
the Summer of 1542, and Antwerp doubtlessly suffered further disruptions of trade
due to the ongoing war with France. This last conflict certainly impeded the export
industries, and hence, long-distance trade remained modest compared to the years to
corne.' l 'he 1543-1545 registers, therefore, supply us with a fairly conservative estimate
of the art trade. The early 1550s were not free of disturbances either, but overall, the
economy (at least until the Spanish State bankruptcy of 1557) appears to have switched
into a higher gear. 248 The steady rise in receipts of the schilderspand and the opening
of the tapissierspand during these years underscore the increasing volume of the art
trade (see Graph 3, p. 54). Furthermore, the demand for luxury items in the Iberian
Peninsula was reaching its zenith by the middle of the sixteenth century. The rise in
especially Spanish purchasing power was a direct result of the enormous imports of
precious metals from the Americas. Silver flooded the European markets, which
allowed the Spanish to engage in large-scale conspicuous consumption. 249

246 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23471, fol. 131v. On the manufacture of harpsichords in Amwerp, see Nicolas Meeus, "La
facture de virginals;" J. Lambrechts-Douillez, "Klavecimbelbouw te Antwerpen in de zeventiende eeuw," in Ant-
werpen in de XV!Ide eeuw (Antwerp, 1989), 427-436.
247 The median price of a clavichord amounted to 90 guilders. Stanley Sadie, ed., The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, s.v. "Clavichord" (London, Washington and Hong Kong, 1980), vol. 4.
248 In addition, it goes without saying that the Spanish and Portuguese economies must have been vibrant
enough throughour this period to generate a strong demand for luxury products from Flanders and elsewhere.
249 According to Hamilton, imports of silver into Spain grew exponentially during the 1540s and 15 50s. In the

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 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAJNTING (1540-1585)

Second, the nmshrooming exports of the 'newer' arts underscore the dyna-
mics of the second phase of growth of the Antwerp market (see Chapter 2, sub 1).
Not just a diversification of the genres within painting can be observed, but a genuine
product innovation strategy can be detected among many luxury industries. 250 The
example of the clavichord is most telling, as is the widening variety of types furniture
that were being shipped abroad. The earlier toll books would include the occasional
armoire, coffre or table, but the 15 53 sample harbors a much greater variety of furniture
and domestic items: cabinets, sedans, and numerous trésors de bois which were small
wooden chests used to store valuables. 251 Naturally, this does not necessarily mean
that these 'navel products' did not exist until then, but it could signify that by 1553
these commodities were increasingly commercialized.
Finally, the involvement of far more affluent dealers in the 15 50s sample
stands in sharp contrast with the more modest merchants who made up the vast
majority in the earlier sample. 757 Wolf Puschinger earned the number one rank on
the basis of a single shipment to Spain. On October 5, 1553, he loaded onto a ship
two chests containing a precious silver water jug and basin. 253 Since there is no evidence
that Puschinger was otherwise involved in the art trade, we must conclude that this
costly transaction was exceptional. Given his activities as a partner in at least two
trading firms from Augsburg, it is not clear whether Puschinger shipped the silver
abjects for himself or for others. 254 The powerful Fugger trading firm specialized in
the export of a wide variety of textiles. 255 Books made up the entire share of their art
exports. ln general, in view of the expensive nature of books, it should corne as no

long run, these massive rreasure imports had a profound effect on the Spanish and European economies. A long
tradition of scholarship exists dealing with the so-called price revolution, whereby a strong correlation was established
between the influx of silver from the New World and inflation. E.J. Hamilton, The American Treasure and the Price
Revolution in Spain 1501-1650 (Cambridge, Mass., 1934), passim; Lynch, Spain under the Habsburgs, 129-136.
The standard reference work on the history of the Spanish economy remains Jaime Vicens Vives, ed., Historia
social y econômica de Espafia y América (Barcelona, 1957-1959), 5 vols.
250 Thijs, "Antwerpse luxenijverheid," 108-111; Balis, "De nieuwe genres," 242-248.
251 Go ris, Etude, 280 and 300-301. Another interesting 'newer' luxury item that appears in the export registers
is the sphera mundi or globe. In 1543-1545 sample, one shipment to ltaly reads "deux boules nommés sphera
mundi," but none were being sent to Spain or Portugal. Ten years later, three globes were shipped to Spain in one
year. A.R.A.B., R.K. 23358/A fol. 72v; A.R.A.B., R.K. 23471, fols. 97v, 169r and 188v.
252 Unfortunately, the 1543-1545 registers do not !end themselves to produce a comparable and accurate list of
dealers who exported to the Iberian Peninsula. These registers are less complete in the sense that they too often do
not provide the price of many individual items. However, there is !itt!e doubt that only one or two merchants in
the 1540s sample exported works of art that amounted to approximately 1,000 guilders over 24 months.
253 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23472, fol. 36v (entry dated October 5, 1553). Wolf Puschinger came from Leipzig but he had
become a long-time resident of Antwerp without ever acquiring citizenship. Next to conducting his own business,
he was an agent for the Augsburg Herwarts and Herbrots trading firms. Harreld, "German Merchants," 177.
254 In light of this Augsburg connection, it is possible that the abjects in question originated from this premier
German production center for silver. For examples of the kind of basin and jug Puschinger sent to Spain, see
Michel Ceuterick, Augsburgs zilver in België (Antwerp, 1994); and Zilver uit de Gouden Eeuw van Antwerpen,
exhib. cat. Antwerp, Rockox Huis (Antwerp, 1988), 93.
255 The Fuggers, based in Southern Germany but active in ail major trading centers on the continent, formed
one of the most important trading organizations in \Vestern Europe during the sixteenth century. Gotz von Politz,
Die Fugger (Frankfurt am Rhein, 1960).

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 PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

TABLE 10: Top Exporters ofWorks of Art to the Iberian Peninsula in 1553 (in Guilders) 256
Rank Name Guilders Nationality
1 .............. Wolf Puschinger ........................ 12,609 ........... German ........................ .
2 .............. The Fuggers .............................. 6,600 ............. German ........................ .
3 .............. Christoforo Garcia .................... 5,556 ............. Spanish/Portuguese ...... .
4 .............. Beneditto Capriano ................... 4,518 ............. Italian ........................... .
5 .............. Aerdt Berckmans ....................... 4,032 ............. Flemish ......................... .
6 .............. Alonso Ruiz ............................... 3 ,402 ............. Spanish/Portuguese ...... .
7 .............. Luys Allonso ............................. 3,312 ............. Spanish/Portuguese ...... .
8 .............. Lancelotto Robiano ................... 3, 132 ............. Italian ........................... .
9 .............. Peter Brilleman .......................... 2,610 ............. Flemish ......................... .
10 ............ Jaspar de Samora ....................... 2,580 ............. Spanish/Portuguese ...... .
11 ............ Antonio del Rio ........................ 2,394 ............. Spanish/Portuguese ...... .
12 ............ Diego Dosima ........................... 2,376 ............. Spanish/Portuguese ...... .
13 ............ Martin Nuyts ............................ 2,358 ............. Flemish ......................... .
14 ............ Nicolaes Mahieu ....................... 2, 160 ............. Flemish ......................... .
15 ............ Guillaume Robin ...................... 1,908 ............. Flemish ......................... .
SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K. 23469-23474.

surprise that printed materials feature very prominently among the goods exported
by the above-listed merchants. In fact, only four out of fifteen (besicles Puschinger,
lower-ranked dealers Dosima, Nuyts, Mahieu and Robin) merchants carried no books
but exported other luxury goods. Diego Dosima, for instance, concentrated on mu-
sical instruments such as violins and clavichords, while Nicolaes Mahieu sent very
substantial shipments of paintings to Spain. 257
It is striking that relatively few Flemings were involved in the art trade with
the Iberian Peninsula. As was mentioned in the previous chapter, the big surge in the
number of Netherlandish professional dealers did not occur until the 1570s. But
even then, few dealers would have been able to muster the capital required to engage
in long-distance trading of works of art. As a result, most them would operate on the
local market (the panden) or engage in short- to medium-distance trading. 258 In this
respect, the art trade did not diverge from the general pattern of overseas trade in
which few of the key players were Flemings. 259

256 Ail artistic abjects excluding tapestries which were exported to the lberian Peninsula berween January 1 and
December 31, 15 53, and which could be linked to a particular merchant, were used to compose this table. The
export in tapestries was controlled by a select group of mosdy Spanish merchants, the most important of which
was Fernando del Campo who shipped tapestries worth 86,544 guilders to Spain and Portugal (16.31 % of total
experts) in 1553 alone.
257 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23471 fol. 164r-v. For instance, on February 17, 1553, Mahieu loaded three large packs of
paintings worth 2,160 guilders onto a vesse! leaving for Cadiz. A.R.A.B., R.K. 23471 fol. 89v.
258 For instance, a number of Flemish dealers will start exporting artwork ta Paris from the 1570s onwards (see
Chapter 2, sub 6).
259 Historians of sixteenth-century Anrwerp have long since recognized that the multitude of foreign merchants
present in the city formed the backbone oflong-distance trade.

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 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-I585)

It needs to be stressed that quasi none of the merchants listed in the toll
books were dealing exclusively in works of art. The export registers show that many
other (luxury) items appeared on their shopping list when they came to Antwerp.
Typically, large shipments of textiles or haberdashery were supplemented with a couple
of paintings or a case of books. Again, at least in terms of exports, the professionali-
zation of the art trade did not take place until the 1570s when certain merchants
began to deal exclusively in art.

*
* *

It is evident from the discussion above that art was exported from Antwerp
to most of the known world of the sixteenth century. Antwerp-made altarpieces,
paintings, tapestries, books, musical instruments and varions other luxury items found
their way to an area stretching from Seville in the south to Gdansk in the north, and
across the Atlantic to the Americas. The success of the Antwerp art export industry
can be explained by an interaction between the city's commercial infrastructure and
strategic position in the European trade network, the artistic tradition of the Southern
Netherlands and the orientation towards production for the open market. It was this
crucial combination that transformed Antwerp into the leading production and
distribution center of Netherlandish culture in the sixteenth century.
Most poignantly, when we consider the export figures derived from the toll
registers, we are struck by the relative weight of the different artistic disciplines.
Measured by the value of exported goods, the nowadays so popular art of painting
(especially in terms of the primacy given to them in museums featuring Flemish art)
is dwarfed by the book and particularly the tapestry trade. In 1553, the monetary
value involving the export of the mobile frescoes of the North to Spain and Portugal
was 30 times that of the trade in paintings. As such, the production of tapestries had
a far greater impact on the economy of the Southern Netherlands, providing em-
ployment for up to 20,000 workers at the time of Guicciardini, and a minimum of
6,000 in the Oudenaarde region alone. 260

260 Van der Wee, "Handel," 90.

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PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

2.6 Points of Light in Troubled Times: The State of the Art Market
(1566-1585) 261

While art-destroying, unscrupulous Mars startles and horrifies

our lands with thunderous gunfire and causes Time's gray hairs to
stand on end, it is to be wondered that there still are so many
practitioners ofour peace and prosperity loving art ofpainting
to be found among our countrymen, the Netherlanders. 262
K. VAN MANDER

In Chapter 2, sub 2, 1 have underlined the pernicious effects of the Dutch

Revolt on Antwerp's commerce and industry. Yet despite the increasingly disruptive
impact of the civil war during the late 1560s and 1570s, the economy did not come
to a complete standstill. Sorne industries even managed (briefly) to equal pre-1566
production levels thanks to the influx of skilled workers from the countryside. 263
Moreover, Antwerp continued to fonction as the main gateway center of the Low
Countries, even though merchants had to be far more creative in getting their
merchandise in and out of the city. The exodus of countless merchants did aid com-
merce and industry in one significant way. The diaspora remained in touch with
those who had remained in the city on the River Scheldt, and had unwittingly set up
a European-wide trade network. Through often intense correspondence, the displaced
Antwerp merchants would continue to inform the home base of the needs and
conditions of foreign markets, an asset that would serve Antwerp well during the
late-sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth century. 264
The artistic sector was struggling to stay alive but, at least until the early
1580s, most branches continued to produce and export their luxury products. The
high level of activity of the typographical sector serves as a good example. Antwerp
books and prints still reached international audiences, witness the countless titles
which were published by Christopher Plantin and others after the outbreak of the
Dutch Revoit. For instance, during the years 1572-1576 the Plantin presses could
hardly keep up with the Spanish demand for liturgical editions to the extent that
Christopher had to outsource certain orders to colleagues in the city. 265

261 I wish to extend my gratitude to Mickaël Szanto (Sorbonne University, Paris) for his numerous suggestions,
enthusiasm and especially for his transcription of an important document from the Archives Nationales in Paris.
262 Van Mander, Lives, vol. !, 457.
263 As mentioned earlier, the silk industry serves as an excellent example (see Chapter 2, sub 2).
264 Until about 1650, it would allow Antwerp to fonction as Dispozitionsplatz, while the goods never even came
near the city, Antwerp merchants and their agents (factors) still organized and controlled a significant portion of
the long-distant trade. The exodus of skilled laborers, on the other hand, had a negative impact on the Antwerp
economy as they provided import substitution for towns and regions which otherwise would have imported these
products from the Southern Netherlands. Van der Wee, "Handel," 95; Roland Baetens, De nazomer van Antwerpens
welvaart. De diaspora en het handelshuis De Groote tijdens de eerste helft der 17de eeuw (Brussels, 1976), 2 vols.
265 Voet, "De typografische bedrijvigheid," 238-239; Idem, The Plantin Press, Chapter 1.

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 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

The war on images notwithstanding, a number of painters were still very

active as well. For instance, the Lutheran painter Marten De Vos appears to have
received ample commissions during these years although his affiliation with the Pro-
testant camp certainly did not hurt his prospects. Other painters who were able to
get by at this time were Michiel Coxcie, Frans Pourbus 1 and Willem Key. Until the
establishment of the Calvinist Republic in 1577, these artists received many orders
that consisted of replacing religious altarpieces that were destroyed during the icono-
clasm of 1566. 266
As 1 have demonstrated in Chapter 2, sub 3, the 1570s marked the emergence
of a community of art dealers in Antwerp. Given that most of these self-styled dealers
came from within the artistic milieu, 1 have suggested that it was precisely the decrea-
sing demand which forced many painters to seek alternative ways to provide for their
livelihoods. An obvious choice was to start dealing in the very works of art they were
producing earlier. As the majority of the pictorial production still carried a religious
content, many of them must have attempted to sell their stock abroad to an audience
that was more favorably inclined towards these kinds of images. ln addition, certain
Protestant art dealers managed to do quite well. We only need to recall the activities
of Marten Alleyns and Barbara De Vos to remind us that a happy few were able to
keep their businesses profitable in difficult times. 26 ~
lt is thus no surprise that the schilderspandcontinued to generate high revenues
which reflect an extraordinary volume of art sales (see Graph 3, p. 54). The question
that needs to be addressed, however, is who was buying the paintings, prints and
sculptors at De Momper's gallery? The volatile economic, political, religious and military
climate in Antwerp was without a doubt not very conducive to local consumption of
images. Moreover, with the sea routes constantly under threat and various armies rumma-
ging the countryside of Brabant, exporting art was not self-evident. However, one trade
route did offer prospects for growth: precisely during these difficult years, large quanti-
ties of Flemish paintings (and painters) appear to have found their way to France.

The French Connection (1566-1585)

The cultural ties between France and the Southern Netherlands had been
forged during the late Middle Ages, but the sixteenth century saw an intensification
of the artistic exchanges between the two regions. Flemish painting had made its
royal entry into France when François 1 decided in 1526 to remodel his palace at
Fontainebleau. ln the decades to corne, subsequent French kings called upon numerous
Netherlandish artists to help adorn the royal residences. Two Netherlandish painters
were already active at Fontainebleau in 1530, but the peak of Flemish presence took
place during the 1560s when several former pupils of Frans Floris worked in the

266 Peeters, Tussen continuïteit en vernieuwing, vol. 1, 84.

267 The probate inventory made up after Marten's death indicates that the Alleynses - while not wealthy - had
clone quite well for themselves (see Chapter 2, sub 3). Anthoni De Palermo was another example of a Protestant
dealer (see below).

101
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

palace. 268 The Fontainebleau project opened the door to the French market for many
Flemish artists, and acquainted the French upper classes with the Flemish style of
painting. In this respect, Fontainebleau acted as catalyst for the importation of artists
and works of art originating in the Southern Netherlands.
Indeed, countless Flemish artists would try their luck in France during the
sixteenth century. Sorne only went for a limited time to learn the trade and language,
but many others stayed for years if not for the rest of their lives. The vast majority of
these migrated during the last quarter of the sixteenth century, as a result of the
outbreak of the Dutch Revolt. The impact that these immigrants had on French
painting remains to be investigated, but it would be fair to say that a Flemish colony
of artists was well established in Paris by 1570. The core of this grouping consisted of
the first generation of the Francken dynasty (Ambrosius and Hieronymus) and other
painters who had been trained in Antwerp by Frans Floris. 269
This section, however, will not deal with the export of human capital or style
but with the art trade itself, and special attention will be given to the export of
paintings from Antwerp to Paris. Since the end of the fifteenth century, the biannual
fairs were frequented by Parisian merchants and the sixteenth century saw a broadening
and intensification of the commercial flows between both cities. According to Emile
Coornaert, this was very much "un commerce de luxe." 270 The example was set by
the French monarchs who turned frequently to the Antwerp art market to acquire
tapestries, books, jewelry, vases and diamonds. The demonstration effect that these
purchases had on other potential consumers of Flemish luxuries in Paris and beyond
should not be underestimated. Soon, Coornaert argues, the nobility and upper middle
classes thought it fashionable to possess such items as well. As we have seen, Joris
Vezeleer served as a prominent intermediary between the French royals and nobility
and the production centers in the Southern Netherlands. 2 !1
Fragmentary evidence denotes the export of tapestries, paintings, books and
prints from Antwerp to France during the first half of the sixteenth century. For
instance, on September 8, 1548, the Antwerp merchant Willem De Riem sold to the
Paris dealer René De Nouveau a set of sixteen pieces of tapestry depicting "foilage

268 The most-known of this group was Hieronymous Francken I. H. Kauffman, "Der Manierismus in Holland
und die Schule von Fontainebleau," ]ahrbuch der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen 44 (1923): 198; Reinhilde Goossens,
Vlamingen in Parijs. De Zuidnederlandse trek naar Parijs, 1575-1700 (Master's thesis, University of Leuven, 1982);
Peeters, Tussen continuiteit en vernieuwing, vol. 1, 79; Freedberg, lconoclasm and Painting, 176 (see n. 25 for
further bibliography).
269 Examples of artists who migrated to France are Hieronymus and Ambrosius Francken, Lucas De Heere,
Abraham Bloemaert, Wenceslas Coeberger, Jacob Pourbus and Cornelis Floris III. Freedberg, lconoclasm and Painting,
passim; Peeters, Tussen continuiteit en vernieuwing, vol. 1, 78-80.
270 Antwerp imported from or via Paris (among other things) wine, hats, taffeta and pastel. Emile Coornaert, ''Anvers
et le commerce parisien au XVIe siècle," Mededelingen van de Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Wetenschappen,
Letteren en Schone Kunsten van België. Klasse der Letteren 12 (1950): 18-20. See also Brulez, "De handelsbalans."
271 Coornaert, ''Anvers," 12; Chapter 2, sub 3. The export of books would reach its zenith during the second half
of the sixteenth century, when the Plantin presses (Christoffel Plantin, after all, was a French immigrant) entertained
intense dealings with France which becomes evident from browsing through the Plantin order books (see Chapter
2, sub 5).

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 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

and fruits. "272 Earlier that year, the Antwerpener Willem De Kempeneer had sold ten
tapestries to Count Guy de Laval; the total value of the ten pieces represcnting the
history of Abraham amounted to the hefty sum of 8,520 guildersY 3 Other transactions
involving artwork occasionally show up in the 1543-1545 export registers.

TABLE 11: Export ofWorks of Art from Antwerp to France (1543-1545)

Date Name of merchant Destination Goods Price
(in Guilders)
1 ... June 10, 1543 ............. Jan Baptiste Guicciardini ... France ......... 4 barils with .............. 432 ... .
playing cards
2 ... August 15,1543 .......... Thibault le Picq ................. France ......... 2 dozen litde prints ... 12 ..... .
3 ... February 20, 1544 ...... Robert Naes ....................... France ......... 1 large paternoster ..... 18 .... ..
4 ... March 23, 1544 ......... Thibault Henry .................. Bourgogne .. 1 small baril with ....... 36 ..... .
paintings
5 ... November 15, 1544 ... Jan de Fonteynes ................ Paris ............ 1 box with paintings .. 34 ..... .
6 ... November 20, 1544 ... Dierick Vanden Hindel ...... France ......... 17 !itt!e prints ............ n/a
7 ... December 3, 1544 ...... Cornelis Vanden Borch ...... France ......... 1 small baril and ........ 300 .. ..
1 box with paintings
8 ... December 31, 1544 .... Pauwels Promeneur ............ Paris ............ 1 small baril with ....... 50 ..... .
books
9 ... January 9, 1545 .......... François Gautier ................. Loraine ....... 1 box with 3 images .. 9 ....... .
10. January 11, 1545 ........ Anthonio Tromeon ............ France ......... 1 box with paintings .. 200 ... .
11 . January 19, 1545 ........ Hans Ruckerts .................... Paris ............ 3 barils and 1 box ...... 210 .. ..
with books
SOURCE: A.R.A.B., R.K. 23357-23364 and 23497-23499.

The majority of the shipments going to France took place during the last
three months when the export duty was in effect (November 15, 1544 until February
15, 1545), after the signing of the peace treaty of Crépy which ended the war with
France. 274
These examples show that the art trade was a vital component in the expanding
trade relations between Antwerp and Paris, and for the remainder of this chapter, 1
will focus on the marketing of Flemish paintings in France. The first mention in the
Antwerp archives dates from 1508. On July 7 of that year, it is reported that the Lyon
resident Willem De Coninck still owed the sum of7 Brabantine pounds (28 guilders)
to painter Henrick Oens for an undisclosed number of paintings. 275 The export of

272 Grodecki, Documents du minutier, vol. 1, 319-320 (document dated Seprember 8, 1548).
273 Ibid., 319 (document dated July 27, 1548).
274 The Peace ofCrépywas concluded on September 19, 1544. Lynch, Spain under the Habsburgs, 91.
275 S.A.A., C.B. 3, fol. 181 v (document dated July 7, 1508). I wish ro thankJan Van der Srock for this reference.
Given his name, it is likely that De Coninck was ofFlemish descent. However, Henrick Oens does not appear in
the Liggeren, so it is not certain that the paintings orginated in Antwerp. The document further gives power of
attorney to a persan named Kaerle Van der Beke, burgher of Mechlin, to collect the 7 pounds in Oens' name. This
could suggest that the pictures came from Mechlin, but then it seems odd that this declaration was submitted to
the Antwerp magistrate.

103
PART 1 THE ANTWERP A1u MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

pictures recorded in the export registers suggests that France had become a regular
importer of Flemish pictures by the 1540s. lt is worth mentioning that in some cases
fairly expensive paintings were the subject of this trade. For instance, the value of the
shipments by Cornelis Vanden Borch and Anthonio Tromeon (300 and 200 guilders
respectively) was quite substantial indeed. 276
There are many indications that Flemish dealers increasingly turned their
attention to France during the 1570s. 277 The art dealer Hans Van Sevenhoven, for
instance, states in 1572 that "out of necessity he travels to France with the sole purpose
to handle the business and affaires he has outstanding there." 278 On several occasions,
members of the Lisaert dynasty organized substantial shipments of paintings to France.
On January 1, 1577, Philips Liesaert sent "21 oil paintings of various sorts by carriage
to Paris," and three months later his brother Peeter attested that a number of pictures
(wrapped in fine textiles) were also on their way to the French capital. 279 lt is worth
mentioning that art dealers who were previously only active on the local art market,
in other words, they were content running a shop at the schilderspand, now actively
participated in the long-distance art trade to France. The painter-dealer Marten
Alleyns, for instance, contributed a certain quantity of oil paintings to a large shipment
of pictures that would be exported to the market town of Châlons. 280
The timing for heightened activities with France is most interesting, and can
be explained in the context of the erupting civil war. From June 1572 onwards,
Protestant rebels were in a position to eut off the river Scheldt making it extremely
difficult to export goods from Antwerp overseas. Merchants, therefore, may have
sought out alternative markets and trade routes to sell their goods. France, Paris in
particular, was without a doubt a viable alternative since it could be reached fairly
easily over land. 281 Various routes could be taken, depending on the location of the
warring factions and the condition of the roads. In addition, as mentioned above, a

276 In the 1543-1545 sample, the average value per shipment of paintings to the Iberian Peninsula was 42
guilders, to Italy 48 guilders and to England 44 guilders.
277 This becomes most evident when one surveys the certificatieboeken (Antwerp City Archives). This most
valuable source for the history of the Antwerp art market has been preserved more or less continuously since the
1540s, and it is striking that it is predominantly after the outbreak of the Revoit that Paris and other French cities
were mentioned as destinations for paintings and artists. See, for instance, S.A.A., C.B. 36, fol. 510r-v (document
dated December 7, 1572), C.B. 39, fol. 382r (document dated February4, 1578), C.B. 40, fol. 129v (document
dated March 31, 1579).
278 "hy van noode is te reysen naer Vranckrijck dat hy tselve alleenlvck is doende omme syne coopmanschap
saeken ende affairen die hy aldaer uyrstaende heeft te doene." He added that Antwerp remains his habitua! residence.
S.A.A., C.B. 34, fol. 349r (document datedJune 7, 1572).
279 "sekere eenentwintich stucken schilderije olieverve van diversse sorten die de voorscreven producent onlancx
geleden uyt deser stadt te waghen gesonden heeft naar Parijs." The 21 paintings were valued at 150 guilders.
S.A.A., C.B. 38, fol. 3v (document dated January 14, 1577); Ibid., fol. 76v (document dated March 15, 1577).
280 S.A.A., C.B. 41, fol. 426v (document datedJune 6, 1580); see Chapter 2, sub 3.
281 Often, attestations in the certificatieboeken mention that the merchandise was sent to France by chariot. For
examples, see S.A.A., C.B. 39, fol. 382r (document dated February 4, 1578) or C.B. 38, fol. 3v (document dated
January 14, 1577). Traffic on theAntwerp-Cologne route also increased dramatically in rhese years which appears
to confirm the alternative markets theoty. Filip Vermeylen, "In de ban van Antwerpen: De Kempen in de zestiende
eeuw," Taxandria LXIII (1991): 232.

104
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

network of Flemish artists was in place in Paris by 1570, which facilitated the entry
of N etherlandish dealers onto the local market.
Furthermore, Paris could boast an important fair for luxury goods. The Saint
Germain market was held once a year (from February 3rd to the day before Palm
Sunday) in the suburb of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. 282 The presence of Flemish art
dealers is insinuated in a few documents during the 1570s, but no real proof emerges
until 1581 when a verdict explicitly acknowledges the right of four art dealers from
Antwerp to sell paintings and other luxury items at the fair. 283 Paintings were suld at
the galerie de la conciergerie du Palais. Here, interested buyers from the whole coun-
try could buy works from Antwerp masters. 284 The availability of this market provided
the Flemish dealers with the same kind of facilities that they were familiar with in
Antwerp. The Saint Germain market was as much an ourlet for ready-made art as the
schilderspand, even though the Paris market was not open year-round.
One of the Antwerp art dealers who was mentioned in the Paris verdict was
Peter 1 Goetkint. Like many dealers, Goetkint started his career as a painter. 285 He
had been an apprentice with Anthoni De Palermo of whom Van Mander said that he
exported many works to France. 286 Goetkint even married one of Palermo's daughters,
Catharina, and was evidently well-positioned to partake in the lucrative art trade
with France. 287 Indeed, many archiva! documents bare witness to his activities. ln
December 1576, he stated that he ordinarily traveled to Paris and other parts of
France twice a year to sell paintings and pigments "pour gaigner sa vie," and that his
wife and children remained in Antwerp when he was in France for business. 288 There
can be little doubt that he already rented a stall at the Saint Germain Fair at this
time. When Peter Goetkint died in 1583, his business was continued by his widow
Catharina De Palermo and, eventually, his sons Antoon and Peter II. Until well into

282 Mickaël Szanto, "Libertas artibus restituta. La foire Saint-Germain et le commerce des tableaux, des frères
Goetkint à Jean Valdor (1600-1660)," in Economia et arte. Secc. XIII-XVIII (Prato, 2002), 149-185. Evangelie
Toliopoulou, L'art et les artistes des Pays-Bas à Paris au XVIIe siècle (Ph.D. diss., Sorbonne, Paris, 1991).
283 The dealers in question were Hieronymus Vissenaken, Pierre Bonenffant (Peter Goetkint), Scipion Palerme
and Th. Baihy. According to the ruling of the Parlement, they were allowed to sel! cabinets, glass- and earthware
and paintings. Paris, Archives Nationales, X la 1671, fol. 69-70 (document dated April 13, 1581). In 1576, Peter
Goetkint already declared that he ttaveled to Paris to sel! paintings, but he did not mention the Saint Germain Fair
by name. S.A.A., C.B. 36, fol. 510r-v (document dated December 7, 1576); see below.
284 Emile Coornaert, Les Français, vol. 2, 121.
285 Peter Goetkint was registered in the Guild as an apprentice in 1555 and as a master in 1561. Van Mander
recounts that he taught the art of oil painting to Jan Breughel the Eider, and that there were many beautiful things
to be seen in his house. Liggeren, vol. 1, 194 and 226; Van Mander, Lives, vol. 3, 266; Erik Duverger and Danielle
Maufort, "De rolbezetting bij de productie van Van Dyck-grafiek," in Antoon Van Dyck en de prentkunst (Anrwerp
and Amsterdam, 1999), 372.
286 Van Mander made this remark in his biography of the painter Jacques De Backer, and underlined that De
Backer's works sold well in France, much to the advantage of Palermo. Van Mander, Lives, vol. ], 185; Eckhard
Leuschner, "Defining De Backer. New Studies on the Last Phase of Anrwerp Mannerism before Rubens," Gazette
des Beaux-Arts 143 (2001): 167-192.
287 Van Mander, vol. 3, 237. After Goetkint passed away, Palermo even declared that he and Peter had been
partners in the international art trade. S.A.A., C.B. 44, fol. 524r (document dated August 17, 1583).
288 S.A.A., C.B. 36 fol. 510r (document dated December 7, 1576).

105
 PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

the seventeenth century, his sons would continue the family tradition of marketing
Flemish paintings in Paris and elsewhere. 289
While it is true that Paris was the main market for Flemish dealers, there
were additional destinations in France such as Lyon and the market center of Châlons.
Rouen provided another option, one that could boast a navigable port, and to a
lesser extent Saint Malo. 290 When the river Scheldt was no longer a reliable waterway
for commercial vessels, dealers sometimes opted to send their cargo overland to one
of these ports from which they could be shipped to (I assume) the Iberian Peninsula. 291
A genuine boom in the export of paintings to France took place during the
lare l 570s and early l 580s. ln my view, this trend must be interpreted in light of the
gaining momentum of the Protestants who were for all intents and purposes radically
opposed to religious painting, still the bulk of paintings produced in the city. Antwerp
may have been stuck with a stock of undesirable canvasses and panels, for which
alternative markets needed to be probed.
This hypothesis is underscored by a unique document which provides us
with an insight into the subject matter of the paintings which Flemish dealers were
offering to their French clientele. On
TABLE 12: Paintings in the Dierick Bijns lnventory (1583) April 16, 1583, a probate inventorywas
Number of Percentage
made up after the death of a foreign
Type Paintings of Total art dealer named Dierick Buicks (see
History/Religion ............... 56 .............. 68.3 ... Table 12). Given the fact that French
Mythology/Allegory .......... 11 .............. 13.4 .. . clerks notoriously misspelled Flemish
Genre .................................. 7 ................ 8.5 .. . names, we can reasonably accept that
Portrait ................................ 5 ................ 6.1 .. . we are dealing with Dierick Bijns, a
Landscape ........................... 3 ................ 3.7 .. . dealer in paintings who was still living
Total .................................. 82 ............ 1OO.0 .. . in Antwerp in 1575. 292 After his appa-
SOURCE: Jules Guiffrey, ed., Artistes parisiens du XVI et du rent move to the French capital, there
XVIIe siècles. Donations, contrats de mariage, testaments, is no doubt that he maintained strong
inventaires, etc. tirés des insinuations du Châtelet de Paris ties with the Antwerp expatriate com-
(Paris, 1915), 54-59 (document datedApril 16, 1583). munity; for instance, he kept part of
his suppl y of paintings in the residence
of Hieronymus Francken in Paris, and there are indications that he formed a com-
mercial partnership with Francken and other Flemings active in the art trade. 293

289 Duverger and Maufort, "De rolbezetting," 372-373.

290 Van der Wee, Growth, vol. II, 240.
291 For examples, see S.A.A., C.B. 43, fol. 17v (document dated April 4, 1582) or S.A.A., C.B. 44, fol. 6v
(document dated May 12, 1583).
292 The entry in the certificatieboeken survived only partially and merely reveals that this "coopman van schilde-
rijen'' lived near Saint Georges church. S.A.A., C.B. 37, fol. 58r (document contains no exact date).
293 Guiffrey, Artistes parisiens, 54. Van Mander indicates that Hieronymus Francken lived conveniently in Saint
Germain proper. Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 228 (fol. 242v).

106
 CHAPTER 2 A PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR PAINTING (1540-1585)

The dominance of religious painting speaks for itself; only the five portraits
induding one of the Duke of Alva (no longer in vogue in Antwcrp) are somewhat
surprising. 294 Bijns' probate inventory further reveals that all but one picture were
painted on canvas, and without exception oil paint was the medium. 295
When we take a doser look at some of the shipments of paintings that were
sent from Antwerp to France during this time period, two observations can be made:
the transactions ofren involved very large numbers, and secondly, it is remarkable
that the average price per painting was often very low. 296 When Jacques Van de Wyere
sold no fewer than 263 paintings to Anthony Carra of Lyon in 1579, he received
(approximately) a mere 2 guilders per picture. 297 Again, the timing of the transaction
must be taken into consideration - the Calvinists had now secured their grip on the
Antwerp city council, and in this climate, the appetite for (religious) images must
not have been very high. Van Mander also commented on the falling prices for religious
artwork when a Death ofMary by Mi chiel Cocxie was exported to Spain. He remarked
that "many handsome works were taken from the Netherlands to Spain" and he
added that they were sold "cheaply here and very expensively in Spain." 298 lt can
therefore be surmised that many painters and dealers sold their stocks at dumping
prices at the schilderspand or directly abroad.

*
* *

The evidence that has been presented in the paragraphs above strongly suggests
that there was a significant outf1ow of works of art - and paintings in particular -
from Antwerp to France during the 1570s and early 1580s. This art trade was the
response of artists and dealers to the particularly adverse business climate in Antwerp
- after the iconoclastie fury of 1566 and the Calvinist coup d'état in the city council
in 1577, Antwerp (religious) art and artists left the city in great numbers. Paris, with
its annual fair at Saint Germain, presented itself as a viable alternative and by taking
advantage of this option, Flemish painting became a desirable commodity in France.

294 That portraits (often depicting famous people) enjoyed a certain popularity in France is confirmed by the
certificatieboeken. ln 1579, the art dealer Hubert Adriaen sent "une casse plaine de poutraitures et petit tableaux
lavez de couleurs" to Paris. S.A.A., C.B. 40, fol. 129v (document dated March 31, 1579).
295 The one exception was a Crucification which was painted on panel. Guiffrey, Artistes parisiens, 57. Unfortunately,
no prices were included, but the clerck did note clown the size of the different paintings, and whether they were framed
or not. Finally, he mentioned the presence of four large boxes in pine wood which were used to store and transport
the pictures.
296 Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 292-293 (fol. 258v); Freedberg, lconoclasm and Painting, 124-125.
297 S.A.A., Collectanea 16, fol. 238r (document dated October 23, 1579). Van de Wyere received 555 guilders
14 stivers, but this price also included 53 pounds of pigments (three different sorts, no further specification given)
and an assortment of fine linens.
298 Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 292-293 (fol. 258v); Freedberg, lconoclasm and Painting, 124-125.

107
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

Precisely because they were under pressure from the difficult circumstances,
art dealers were forced to be resourceful and work together. For instance, the Antwerp-
Paris trade saw the first well-documented instances in which dealers engaged in
commission trading. ln 1573, Peter Liesaert and the painter Huybrecht Brugmans
authorized Jacques Goethals to collect certain sums from the art dealer Claude Bisaert
in Paris; the latter had handled the sale of a shipment of paintings which had been
sent from Antwerp to France by the two attestants. 299 These types of arrangements
were qui te commun as they were very cost-effective and limited the amount of travel
of the Antwerp-based art dealer. For example, the dealer-painter François Provost
collaborated frequently during the early eighties with merchants who traveled to
Paris and Rouen. Upon arriva! in these cities, they delivered the merchandise sent by
Provost and collected the revenues from their subsequent sale which was usually
carried out by a local dealer. 300
The conclusions that were presented in the section on the emergence of art
dealers naturally are valid here as well. ln view of the distance and growing complexity
of the art trade, networking and collaboration among artists and dealers proved to be
absolutely essential. Yet commission trading and partnerships were not the result of
a well-conceived business plan but simply a strategy for survival. But by applying this
kind of economic behavior, these Antwerp art dealers unwittingly contributed to the
processes of commercialization and professionalization of the art rrade.

299 S.A.A., C.B. 35, fol. 9v-!Or (document dated May 6, 1573).
300 S.A.A., C.B. 42, fol. 341 (document dated March 11, 1583); C.B. 44, fol. 6v (document dated May 5, 1583)
and fol. 84v (document dated June 16, 1583). François Provost was listed as a painter in the Guild in 1558, and
was was mentioned as a "koopman" for the first rime in 1575. Liggeren, 209; S.A.A., C.B. 37, fol. 207v (document
dated December 16, 1575).

108
 CHAPTER 3

THE COLLAPSE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

(1585-1609)

3.1 Introduction: The Fall of Antwerp and its Aftermath

The early l 580s had shown signs of a limited recovery, but these hopes were
dashed when the forces of Alexander Farnese arrived at the outskirts of the city in
July 1584. The Spanish laid in a siege and proceeded to eut off the River Scheldt
downstream and occupy the surrounding villages, thereby completely isolating the
city. By the Summer of 1585, it had become clear that further resistance was futile,
and an Antwerp delegation led by Marnix Van Sint Aldegolde, one of the two
burgomasters of Antwerp, sought out Farnese at his encampment in nearby Beveren
where negotiations commenced. The reconciliation was signed on August 17, 15 8 5,
which is a landmark date not just in the history of Antwerp but also in that of the
Low Countries as a whole. At first glance, the terms of the surrender appeared
moderate: Protestants had four years to either convert to Catholicism or leave the
city, the Catholic churches and institutions were re-instated and the magistrate was
forced to paya ransom of 400,000 guilders. 1
While the fall of Antwerp had been a drama for the rebels, they did manage
to retain control of the Scheldt's estuary. With its access to the sea now blocked, the
city's prospects to regain its status as the premier international commercial center of
the Seventeen Provinces were doomed. For countless merchants and artisans -
Catholics and Protestants alike - this presented an insurmountable obstacle to
conducting their business, and many saw emigration as their only alternative. The
massive departures turned into a genuine exodus as thousands left Antwerp in search
of religious freedom or a better business climate, reducing the number of inhabitants
of Antwerp from an estimated 80,000 souls in 1585 to 42,000 in 1589 when Parmàs
ultimatum expired (see Table 2, p. 37). 2 The years between 1585 and 1590 were

1 ln addition, Farnese promised that non-Catholics would not be harassed or prosecuted, which was a radical
departure from the policy of one of his infamous predecessors, the Duke of Alva. Jan Van den Nieuwenhuizen,
Antwerpen in 1585 (Antwerp, 1985), 77-81; Jan Van Roey, De val van Antwerpen, 17 augustus 1585 - voor en na
(Antwerp, 1985).
2 The vast majority of the refugees went to the Northern Provinces and the German hinterland. Jan G.C.A.
Briels, Vlaamse schilders en de dageraad van Rollands Gouden Eeuw, 1585-1630 (Antwerp, 1997); R. Boumans, "Le
dépeuplement d'Anvers dans le dernier quart du XVIe siècle," Revue du Nord29 (1947): 181-194. TheAntwerp
exodus must be seen against the backdrop of a much larger emigration from the Southern Provinces which took
place during the last quarter of the sixteenth century. lt has been estimated that no less than 100,000 Flemings
emigrated north during this time period. Jan G.C.A. Briels, "De Zuidnederlandse immigratie, 1572-1630," Tijd-
schrifi voor Geschiedenis 100 (1987), 336.

109
PARTI THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

some of the gloomiest in the history of Antwerp. Trade and industry grounded to a
halt, and the consecutive waves of emigration caused coundess houses to be left
vacant and fall into ruin. The ongoing skirmishes between the Spanish forces and the
insurgents made it unsafe to travel much beyond the city walls. 3
Obviously, under these circumstances, Antwerp's economy was reduced to a
shadow of its previous grandeur. The loss ofhuman capital and wealth was overwhel-
ming, and to make matters worse, the harvests of 1585 and 1586 failed due to wet
weather, causing the worst famine of the sixteenth century in Antwerp. Finally, when
the new leader of the rebel Provinces, the Earl of Leicester, declared a ban on all trade
with the Southern Netherlands, the export industries were further crippled and many
more artisans and merchants left the city in search of employment elsewhere. 4
By 1590, fortunately, the worst seemed over. The population level stabilized
during the following decade, and showed a modest recovery during the first years of
the seventeenth century. The economy also started to rebound. The diaspora of Ant-
werp merchants provided those who had remained in the city with a European-wide
network of business contacts and agents, andAntwerp started to fulfill its new-found
role as Dispozitionsplatz. 5 By this time, trade with the North was possible again under
the condition that a toll (the so-called licenten) was paid, and the Antwerp firms
managed to crank up exports to the Iberian Peninsula by making use of alternative
ports such as Dunkirk and harbors in Dutch hands like Ostend and Middelburg. 6
Meanwhile, the Dutch people's struggle for survival raged on, and under the
command of Prince Maurits, the North started to score its first military successes. ln
1598, Philip II transferred the rule over the Southern Netherlands to Albrecht, brother
of the German emperor, and his own daughter Isabella, but the Dutch were not
7
about to recognize the authority of the archdukes. War dragged on during the fol-
lowing years, but the armies increasingly suffered from a chronic shortage of money
and had reached an overall stalemate on the front. By 1606, both sicles were exhausted
and the time was ripe for the Spanish and the Dutch to seek a cease-fire. Negotiations
ensued and when the Twelve-Year Truce was signed on April 9, 1609, it marked the
beginning of a true Indian Summer for Antwerp. 8 Despite the continued closure of

3 The surrounding countryside suffered even more: wheat fields and villages were burned clown, cattle scolen by
soldiers of both sicles and large-scale migrations were a daily reality. A. Cosemans, "Het uitzicht van Brabant op
het einde van de 16de eeuw," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis 27 (1936): 314-351.
4 The Earl of Leicester had been dispatched by the Queen of England after the States General had pleaded wich
the English for help. Even though Spain and the Dutch rebels had been ac war with each other, their lucrative
trading relationship never ceased and in face helped to fond the military operations on bath sicles. Leicester's
decree of April 4, 1586 particularly hurt the export-oriented industries of the Spanish Netherlands. Van der Wee,
Growth, vol. 2, 260-261; Groenveld, De kogel, 116-117; J.H. Kernkamp, De handel op den vijand, 1572-1609
(Utrecht, 1931-1946), vol l, 185-198.
5 Karel Degcyse and John Everaert, "De handel," in Antwerpen indeXVI!deeeuw (Antwerp, 1989), 113-116; see above.
6 Degryse and Everaert, "De handel," 116-120.
7 Philip II of Spain died chat same year on September 13. ln 1599, Albrecht and Isabella married in Valencia and
arrived in Brussels in August. Groenveld, De kogel, 131; Lynch, Spain under the Habsburgs, 355-357.
8 Roland Baetens, De nazomer, Idem, "Tussen hoop en vrees," in Antwerpen. Twaalf eeuwen geschiedenis en cultuur,
ed. Karel Van lsacker and Raymond Van Uytven (Antwerp, 1986), 164-182.

110
 CHAPTER 3 THE CoLLAPSE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1585-1609)

the Scheldt, commerce and industry would flourish, and in particular the specialized
urban luxury industries would perform exceptionally well, providing the city with a
new élan.

3.2 The Art Market in Shambles

The immediate impact of the reconquest of Antwerp by the Spanish forces

on the already suffering art market was nothing short of disastrous. Domestic demand
for works of art had fallen to an absolute low. The local consumers of works of art
(large segments of Antwerp's middle and upper classes) had either left or were
impoverished; the desire to purchase luxury items was no doubt outweighed by the
need to acquire essentials such as food, clothing and fuel. In addition, the city
government was in no position to devote as much as a stiver to luxury spending after
Parma had exacted a levy of 400,000 guilders as part of the reconciliation, and the
guilds saw their revenues decline sharply as so many of their members had departed.
That the ranks of Antwerp's artistic community had been depleted is well-
documented, but it is not always clear whether they left for religious considerations,
economic need, or both. Sometimes the reasons were obvious: Van Mander informs
us that the Lutheran painter Gillis Coignet (1542-1599) "left Antwerp on account
of the war at the time of the Duke of Parma and went to live in Amsterdam" before
moving on to Hamburg. 9 The influential landscape and still life painter Gillis Van
Coninxloo (1544-1606), a Calvinist, left Antwerp quietly in January 1585 and went
to Middelburg. After an eight-year stay in Germany (Frankenthal), he would finally
settle in Amsterdam where he remained until his death in 1606. 10
This second exodus of artists started well before Parma marched through the
gates of Antwerp. Already in 1582, the Liggeren included a separate section listing
four painters, a glass blower and a bookseller who had only partially (or not at all)
paid their dues since they had departed "because of the bad times." 11 Naturally, the
fall of Antwerp in 1585 and the subsequent closure of the Scheldt precipitated the
outflow of artistic talent. Often whole families would leave: shortly after the
reconciliation, François Badens (?-1604) and his wife and children packed up their
belongings and relocated to Amsterdam. Among them was his son François II (1571-
1618), a now forgotten but renowned pain ter in his own rime. 12

9 "Hy is om den krijgh ten tijde van den Prins van Parma uyt Antwerpen geweken, en quam woonen t'Amsterdam"
Van Mander, Lives, vol. l, 306 (fol. 262r) and vol. 5, 1 and 5; Van Roey, "De Antwerpse schilders," 113.
10 ln Frankenthal, his client base included several Flemish merchants who had settled in Frankfort. Briels, De
Zuidnederlandse immigratie, 221-222; Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 329-330 (fols. 267v-268r); Vlieghe, FlemishArt,
175-176.
l i "mits den quaden tyt vertrocken syn." Liggeren, 282-283. Two of the mentioned painters were listed as
huysschilders.
12 TheAntwerp painter François Badens acquired citizenship in Amsterdam on June 24, 1586. François II Badens
excelled as a history and genre painter, and one who was also noted for his portraits. Briels, Zuidnederlandse
immigratie, 211-212.

111
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

The most popular destinations appear to have been the same as at the time
of the first wavc of cmigrants after the Wonderyear: large numbers (mostly Protes-
tants) went to the Northern provinces and the Rhineland, and to a lesser extent to
France, England and Spain. 13 Many joined the already existing colonies of Flemish
artists in cities like Amsterdam, Cologne, Frankenthal, Paris and even Rome. 14
Influential painters and engravers such as Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611), Jacob
De Gheyn (1565-1629) and Aegidius Sadeler the Younger (ca. 1540-1629) traveled
as far as Prague tu escape the economic hardships of Antwerp and to further their
careers. 15
A last batch of artists left in 1589 after the four-year term of the reconciliation
expired; those Protestants who were still in the city were now forced to chose bet-
ween conversion or emigration. 16 The dealer-painter François Provost clearly waited
until the last possible moment before packing his bags, perhaps hoping as many
Protestants did, that Parma's grace period would be extended. In the years immediately
following the surrender, he had still organized shipments of paintings to France under
difficult circumstances, but in July 1589, Provost announced his decision to leave
Antwerp. 17 Before doing so, he had two of his colleagues attest before the magistrate
that his conduct during the troubles had been one of dignity and that he had fulfilled
all his obligations in the city. 18
Even so, a large number of artists decided to stay in the city. An account
dated 1588-1589 listing all active members (almost all masters) of the Guild of Saint
Luke provides a unique source to gauge the size and make-up of the artistic community
of Antwerp immediately after Farnese's grace period expired. 19
Painters still form the largest professional group within the Guild but com-
pared to the situation prior to the fall of Antwerp, their ranks were depleted by more
than a quarter, from 108 to 7 6 masters (see Table 13). The high number of individu-

13 That the influx ofFlemish painters into the Dutch Republic was impressive indeed is demonstrated by the fact
that between 1584 and 1620, no fewer than 44 painters barn in Flanders were active in the town of Delft alone.
Mon-tias, "The Guild of Saint Luke," 93 (note 4); Peeters, Tussen continuïteit en vernieuwing, vol. 1, 79 (note
135); Amont Balis, "De relatie tussen kunst en economie in het perspectief van de geschiedenis: bedenkingen van
een kunsthistoricus," in Kunst te koop. Bruggen en breuken tussen kunst en economie, ed. Bert Mosselmans (Roeselare,
2001), 27.
14 The workshop of the Antwerp painter Paul Bril in Rome acted as a meeting point for Flemish artists traveling
in or emigrating to ltaly. A survey of Southern Netherlandish painters and engravers present in Rome can be found
in Nicole Dacos, Les peintres belges à Rome au XVIe siècle (Brussels and Rome, 1964), 93-98.
15 Rudolf II persued an active policy of attracting numerous foreign artists to his court in Prague.Jürgen Schultze,
ed., Prag um 1600: Kunst und Kultur am Hojè Rudolph II (Lucca, 1988).
16 About 3,000 Protestants converted to Catholicism in those four years. Most of these waited until the last year
of the ultimatum to do so, which raised the suspicion rhat manywere false convetts. Alfons Thijs, "De Contrarefor-
matie en het economisch transformatieproces te Antwerpen na 1585," Bijdragen totde Geschiedenis70 (1987), 100.
17 In January 1588, for instance, he sent two boxes with paintings to Paris via the town of Dendermonde. The
phrasing of the statement in the certificatieboeken reveals that he could not rely on the normal overland connection
between the two cities. S.A.A., C.B. 49, fol. 217r (document dated January 2, 1588).
18 Ambrosius Smit and Peter van der Haecht spoke on behalf of Provost. S.A.A., C.B. 50, fol. 297v (document
dated July 7, 1589). To my knowledge, it is not known what Provost's destination was.
19 lt is, in fact, one of only two remaining accounts ofits kind for the entire sixteenth century. The other account
dates from 1585-1586. Liggeren, 300-319 and 335-357.

112
 CHAPTER 3 THE COLLAPSE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1585-1609)

als active in the typographical sector is TABLE 13: Masters in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke
striking and includes some noted persona- (1588-1589) 20
lities such as Jan Moretus (1543-1610) and Professional Number of Percentage
Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598), who was Category Artists ofTotal
listed as a printer of maps (caertdrucker). 21 Figurative painters ...................... 76 ............ 33% .. .
The members listed in the category "other" Typographical sector .................. 51 ............ 22% .. .
held a myriad of occupations. Among them Glassblowers ............................... 26 ............ 11 % .. .
werc nine house painters (huysschilder), Embroiders ................................. 12 .............. 5% .. .
four setiers of pigments (vervecooper) and two Gold- and Silversmiths ................. 9 .............. 4% .. .
sculptors (beelthouwer). Ali in all, it can be Chest makers (coffermakers) ·········· 7 .............. 3% ···
· fAn 'll h d Harpsichord builders .................... 5 .............. 2% .. .
argue d t h at t h e c1tyo twerp st1 ouse
a sizable and diverse artistic community, Mihrror makers .............................. 5 ·············· 2 o/o .. .
Ot er ......................................... 43 ............ 18% .. .
even though one wonders to what extent Total ......................................... 234 .......... 100% .. .
its members were able to make a living .
. t h ese years o f econom1c
d unng · h ard sh"1p. SOURCE: Lzggeren' 335-343.
Art dealers who remained in Antwerp certainly attempted to make the best
of it, but the flow of artwork going in and out of the city was without a doubt very
modest. The extremely low occupancy rate of the schilderspand underscores this
assumption (see below), and evidence of long-distance art trading proves to be the
exception rather than the rule. On April 29, 1588, the art dealer François Van der
Cruyse did export a set of paintings on canvas and pigments to Venice; no other
comparable examples are to be found for these years. 22
However, at the local level, there had been indications that the demand for
art would receive a boost under the new Catholic rule. On September 9, 1585, less
than a month after the surrender, the magistrate issued an ordinance instructing the
guilds to have their altars in the Cathedra! rebuilt. However, since many corporations
had close to no fonds left after years of crisis and countless artists had left the city, the
rebuilding program got underway with much delay. For instance, the Guild of Saint
Luke could not afford to fund a new altar until 1602 when Marten De Vos executed
this commission, and other corporations had to be satisfied with a shared altar. 23
Nevertheless, this program of restoration of the altars provided one of the very few

20 A total of 258 individuals (almost all masters) were mentioned in the document as paying their annual dues.
Therefore, we can assume that these persans were still present in Antwerp and active in their respective professions.
The 22 widows mentioned in the account (no profession listed except one) and an additional two men (Frederick
de Wittere and Jaques In den Boge) of whom the occupation is not known, have been excluded from the table.
21 Liggeren, 338.
22 The entty in the certificatieboeken mentioned specifically that the paintings were made and wrapped in Antwerp.
S.A.A., C.B. 49, fol. 392v (document dated April 29, 1588).
23 Marten Pepijn (1575-1643) and Otto Van Veen (1556-1629) were assigned to paint the shutters. Peeters,
Tussen continuiteit en vernieuwing, vol. l, 135; J. Vervaet, "Catalogus van de altaarsrukken van gilden en ambach-
ten van uit de Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk van Antwerpen en bewaard in het Koninklijk museum," ]aarboek van het
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (1976): 197-198. Thar the Guild of Saint Luke did not fare
well in those years is undeniable. The lack of financial means caused the corporation to vacate its sumptuous ho use
on the Meir and return to the older and much cheaper meeting room on the Grote Markt. Van den Branden,
Geschiedenis, 249-250.

113
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

substantial opportunities for commissions during this time of crisis. The major figures
of these years were Otto Van Veen, Marten De Vos and the Francken brothers
(Ambrosius and Frans), precisely the painters who had been able to land several of
these rebuilding projects. 24
The first signs of genuine recovery can be detected by 1594 when Archduke
Mathias made his joyous entry into Antwerp. Even though this entry was not as
significant or lavish compared to other joyeuses entrées which took place in Antwerp
during the sixteenth century, this was the first opportunity for the deprived Antwerp
artistic community to manifest itself on a grand scale after the surrender to Parma.
As such, the event marked a turning point for the arts in Antwerp, certainly on a
psychological level. The artistic leadership was entrusted to Marten De Vos and
Ambrosius Francken, but numerous Antwerp artists participated by designing and
building the temporary decorations. 25
As the general conditions continued to improve, the closing years of the
sixteenth century saw the dawning of a revitalized artistic community in Antwerp. 26
The ranks of the Guild of Saint Luke were swelling again, as many artists returned to
the city (see Graph 6, p. 129). Furthermore, numerous artists from across the Southern
Netherlands sought refuge in Antwerp from the ongoing hostilities which plagued
their hometowns. The arrival of the archdukes Albrecht and Isabella in Brussels as
the new sovereigns of the Spanish Netherlands marked the take-off of a period of
very substantial investments in works of art which were conceived in the context of
the Counter-Reformation. A massive campaign was launched to repair or replace
unsuitable or damaged paintings, altarpieces, sculpture, etc. in the spirit of the new
triumphant church. As a result, there was enough demand for works of art to encourage
young new talent to settle and develop in the city. 27 Young Rubens was completing
his training with Otto Van Veen, and painters like Abraham Janssen, Jan I Brueghel
(1568-1625) and Joos De Momper (1564-1635) would find ample employment in

24 For an overview of the commissions to repair the guild altars in the Cathedra!, see J. Van Brabant, Rampspoed
en restauratie. Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van de uitrusting en restauratie der Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Kathedraal van
Antwerpen (Antwerpen, 1974), 44-58.
25 One of the artists contributing to this event was Joos De Momper, son of Bartholomeus. An Diels, De Blijde
lntrede van Aartshertog Ernest van Oostenrijk te Antwerpen in 1594. Een kunstwetenschappelijke benadering, (Mas-
ters' Thesis, Free University ofBrussels, 1994); Van den Branden, Geschiedenis, 251-253; I. von Roeder-Baumbach
and H.G. Evers, Versieringen bij Blijde lnkomsten gebruikt in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden gedurende de 16e en Ile
eeuw (Antwerp, 1941), 108 and 114; Peeters, Tussen continuiteit en vernieuwing, vol. 1, 157-163. On the importance
of the joyous entries for the Antwerp art market, see Chapter 5, sub 2.
26 Ry the turn of the century, Antwerp had regained part of its position as a trade center, fulfilling its fonction as
Dispositionsplatz in the commerce berween the Iberian Peninsula and trading hubs in the North such as London,
Amsterdam and Hamburg. In addition, Antwerp remained one of the most significant money markets in Europe
until the middle of the seventeenth century. Van der Wee, Growth, vol. 2, 269-276; Baetens, "Tussen hoop en
vrees," 178.
27 Balis, "Kunstproductie en kunstmarkt," 4-8; Vlieghe, Flemish Art, 13-26. An essential publication for the study of
Anrwerp painting for this time period remains Marcel De Maeyer, Albrecht en Isabella en de schilderkunst. Bijdrage
tot de geschiedenis van de XVl!e-eeuwse schilderkunst in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden (Brussel, 1955). The crucial
impact that the Counter-Reformation had on the demand for art in Anrwerp will be addressed in Chapter 5.

114
 CHAPTER 3 THE COLLAPSE OF THE ANT\1\'ERP ART MARKET (1585-1609)

the city. By 1608, when Rubens returned from his sojourn in Italy and the Twelve-
Year Truce was in the making, a new dawn for the Antwerp arts had arrived.
Against the backdrop of these developments, we can assume that trade picked
up during the first decade of the seventeenth century as well, but unfortunately, the
Antwerp archives yield little or no evidence of exports of art. Nevertheless, there are
strong indications that the Northern Provinces were importing notable quantities of
pictures from Antwerp at the time of the peace negotiations. In 1608, the syndics of
the Amsterdam Guild of Saint Lukc lodgcd a formal complaint with the Amsterdam
burgomasters against the massive influx of cheap paintings from ''Antwerp and other
enemy territories," and similar grievances were heard in Leiden a year later. 28 Both
incidents seem to suggest that the Antwerp art trade had recaptured some of its
earlier vitality. Eric Jan Sluyter has suggested that many of these paintings were bought
by immigrants from the South, perhaps acting out of a desire to surround themselves
with images reminiscent of the horneland. We are sornewhat left to wonder about
the alleged low quality of the paintings that were being imported into the Dutch
Republic, and which were described by the Amsterdam Guild members as "mostly
bad copies." However, auctions which took place in Amsterdam between 1607 and
1613 reveal a great variety in prices paid for these Flernish paintings, indicating that
at least some of thern were not just cheap replicas. 29

The Decline ofthe Antwerp-Paris Trade

In the years following Parma's reconquest of Antwerp, the once-so-lively trade
with France diminished somewhat in volume but certainly did not whither away
completely. Archival research yielded evidence of paintings being exported from
Antwerp to France for the years 1585-1590, but at a sharply reduced intensity. The
Protestant art dealer Jacques Van de Wyere was involved in some considerable
transactions concerning paintings that were being sent to Paris, albeit not always
un der very workable circurnstances. For instance, during the Fall of 15 86, Van de
Wyere attempted to transport numerous boxes of pictures and one case of books to
the French capital. The normal road via Tournai (Doornik) was clearly blocked, and
he was forced to use an alternative route via Ostend, but there the cargo was held
up. 30 However, Van de Wyere was not easily deterred and six rnonths later, he and a
man named Jacques Goethals authorized Jacques Le Roy in Paris to handle the sale
of a box of paintings and the seulement of the transportation costs. 31
Again, the diaspora was sometirnes a blessing in disguise as Flernish art dealers
and artists who had moved to France started to act as agents for their colleagues in
Antwerp. One of the scions of the Liesaert family, for instance, had moved to Rouen,
and from there coordinated the transportation and payment of a shipment of paintings

28 Quoted in Montias, "The Guild of Saint Luke," 93.

29 "meestendeel slechte copiën" Quoted in Sluyter, "Over Brabantse vodden," 118-121.
30 It is quite plausible that Van de Wyere was trying to send the paintings via the North Sea to Rouen or Le Havre,
and from there on to Paris. S.A.A., C.B. 47, fol. 352v (document dated October 2, 1586).
31 S.A.A., C.B. 48, fol. 124v (document dated April 4, 1587).

115
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

and gilded frames which were being sent to Lyon. 32 Another émigré was the painter-
dealer Hans Van den Queeckborne, brother of the Calvinist painter Daniel, who
worked in the service of Prince Maurits. Hans, on the other hand had moved to Paris
where he was found selling paintings for the Antwerp-based art dealer Jacques Joye
in 1588. 33
By 1590, however, the trail of archiva! evidence ends abruptly and the connec-
tions between Paris and Antwerp appear to have been severed. No shipments of
artwork between the two cities are recorded for the last decade of the sixteenth century,
and we can assume that the import of Flemish pictures and other luxury items had
reduced sharply. 34 This should corne as no surprise in light of the outbreak of another
phase of the civil war that raged in France between the Catholic League (the Guises)
and the Protestants. Sin ce Philip II was fearful of the prospect of having a Protestant
on the throne in France, he ordered Parma to invade France from the Low Countries
in support of the Catholic League. The military operations and chaos did not cease
until 1598 when Spain finally gave up its aspirations in France, and Henry IV declared
the Edicts of Nantes which granted the Huguenots some limited rights. 35 Under
these circumstances, trade relations between France and the Southern Netherlands
suffered greatly throughout the stormy nineties, and the once intense exchanges bet-
ween the Antwerp and Paris art markets had all but died out.

3.3 De Momper and the SchilderspandRevisited: The End of an Era36

Afrer Antwerp had returned to Spanish rule, the magistrate was optimistic
that the schilderspand would soon be operational again. ln 1586, an attempt was
made to rent out the stalls for the modest sum of 120 guilders, but no revenues were
recorded "because of the bad times." 37 The city account of 1588-1589 is the first one
in several years that listed any income from the schilderspand: Hans van Brussel
subscribed to a one-year lease for 297 guilders, a fraction of what De Momper had
paid only five years earlier. 38 The following year, the rent even increased slightly to

32 The document mentions that the painter Jehan Liesaert was living in Rouen, and that Godevaert Verhaecht
was the dealer in Antwerp who had shipped the goods to France. The value of the paintings and frames amounted
to apptoximately 130 guilders. S.A.A., C.B. 49, fol. 23v (document dated January 20, 1588).
33 Van den Branden assumed that Hans Van den Queeckborne had died, but in fact, he emigrated to Paris
sometime after he and his brother registered in the Antwerp Guild in 1577. Van den Branden, Geschiedenis, 293;
Liggeren, vol. 1, 265; S.A.A., C.B. 49, fol. 29v (document dated March 14, 1588).
34 Other signs point to the same conclusion. For instance, Scipion Palermo (son of Anthoni De Palermo) handed
over the usefruct of three stalls on the Saint Germain fair to an Italian dealer residing in Paris, most likely because
of slacking business. Originally, the rights to the stalls belonged to Peter II Goetkint, nephew of Palermo. S.A.A.,
N.2704, fol. 225r-v (document dated December 29, 1598).
35 Lynch, Spain under the Habsburgs, 350-351.
36 An earlier version of the first paragraphs of this section was included in Vermeylen, "Marketing Art," 211-212.
37 "soo deur den quaden tyt." S.A.A., R.K. 27, fol. 75v-76r (city account of 1586-1587). In the same year, our
old acquaintance Bartholomeus De Momper reported to the magistrate that certain dealers owed debts to him.
S.A.A., P.K. 665, fol. 133v-r (document dated April 4, 1586).
38 S.A.A., R.K. 28, fol. 8lr (city account of 1588-1589).

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 CHAPTER 3 THE COLLAPSE OF THE ANTWERP ART MARKET (1585-1609)

300 guilders, but by 1590, Van Brussel was asked to paya mere 1OO guilders and the
rent would stabilize at this level until 1598. 39 Meanwhile, Bartholomeus de Momper
had resurfaced as pandmeester on Christmas 1594. With his usual optimism, he
originally entered a lease which would have set him back 150 guilders the first year
and 200 guilders the two following. The economic reality, however, proved so
precarious that he was forced, once again, to petition the local government for a
lowering of the rent to the previous sum of 1OO guilders a year. 40 These pleas - two of
them appear in the Rekwestboeken- turn out to be very informative documents as De
Momper argues his case. ln a document dated June 22, 1595, De Momper laments
that the stalls "remained vacant in large numbers," and that those art dealers who
were still around attempted to avoid paying the rent by setting up shop on the main
floor of the bourse. There, in unprecedented fashion, they exhibited "paintings, prints
and other goods (... ) not just on weekdays but also, and foremost, on Sundays and
Holy days." 11
Later that summer, on August 8, 1595, De Momper specifies that only eight
stalls out of one hundred were rented (in other words, 92 percent of the stalls were
not in use), and to make matters worse, he had to grant the few dealers who did open
a shop deferment of payment. Otherwise, according to De Momper, none of them
would even be there. ln order to stimulate the art trade, he also invited two or three
painters to exhibit their wares at the gallery free of charge in an attempt to attract
bath customers and dealers. The message of the request was clear: if the magistrate
would force Bartholomeus and the individual stall holders to pay their dues, he would
have no choice but to close the schilderspand altogether which would "inflict great
damage not just on the aforementioned attestant [meaning De Momper], but on the
city at large." 42
Bartholomeus De Momper passed away between November 26, 1597 and
December 16, 1598 while he was still active as pandmeester. 43 De Momper's widow
managed the schilderspand for another two years, but the decay of the gallery was
irreversible. 44 During the opening years of the seventeenth century, Hans Van Brus-
sel made one last attempt to revitalize art sales at the new bourse, but judging from

39 S.A.A., R.K. 29, fol. 79r (city account of 1589-1590); R.K. 30, fol. 52r (city account of 1590-1591), and R.K.
37, fol. 47r (city account of 1597-1598); Appendix 1.
40 See Appendices 6 and 7.
41 S.A.A., P.K. 675, fol. 26 (document dated June 22, 1595); Appendix 6.
42 S.A.A., P.K. 675, fol. 92v (document dated August 7, 1595); Appendix 7. The city account of 1596 has not
been preserved, but the account of 1597 informs us chat Barcholomeus paid 1OO guilders for the rent of the gallery,
half the amount which was stipulated in the lease. Clearly, De Momper and rhe city government had reached a
compromise. S.A.A., R.K. 37, fol. 47r (city account of 1597-8) and R.K. 38, fol. 49v (city account of 1598-1589).
43 ln the last document in which he is mentioned alive, Batholomeus is referred to as a painter. S.A.A., S.R. 427,
fol. 40v-4lr (document dated November 26, 1597); S.A.A., S.R. 429, fol. 252v (document dated December 16,
1598).
44 Suzanna Halfroose, widow of Bartholomeus, also complained about her financial difficulties and, in 1600,
about her failure to meet the terms of the lease. S.A.A., R.K. 39, fol. 5 lr-v (city account of 1599) and R.K.40, fol.
38r (city account of 1600).

117
PART 1 THE ANTWERP ART MARKET IN TRANSITION (1490-1609)

the diminishing receipts, he was not able to turn to tide. Van Brussel reduced the
opening tirnes of the schilderspand to six rnonths a year, but after 1603, no revenues
were generated at all, indicating that the gallery had closed its doors. From then on,
the city accounts rnonotonously read year after year "the stalls above the new bourse
which were last leased by Hans van Brussel, are as of yet not rented out." 45
The demise of the schilderspand may to some degree reflect the dire
circumstances surrounding the art market, but the utter inability to rent out even a
single stall suggests that there are other factors at play. After al!, the city's luxury
industries had started to rebound slightly during the closing years of the sixteenth
century, and large quantities of Antwerp pictures were being exported to the Dutch
Republic on the eve of the signing of the Twelve-Year truce. But the art market was
undergoing major changes in this era of overall transition for the Antwerp economy,
and new modi for the marketing of art were being developed. The increasing
professionalization and internationalization was about to render the late-medieval
panden obsolete as the road was being paved for art dealers and specialized firms.

*
* *

Bartholomeus De Momper did not live to see the close of the eventful sixteenth
century in Antwerp. During the many years that he managed the schilderspand, he
saw the gallery, and the Antwerp art market at large, reaching its zenith on the eve of
the Wonderyear, but he also witnessed the ravages caused by the Spanish Fury in
1576 and the fire of 1583 which destroyed the new bourse, to the complete collapse
of the art market after the fall of Antwerp. His beloved schilderspand died with him,
but at the time of his death in 1598, while personally ruined, the seeds of a new art
market - one that would be propelled by the Counter-Reformation and a new era of
growth of the Antwerp economy - were being sown. His very own son Joas De
Momper (1564-1635) was nursing his talents as a landscape painter, and would be-
come a player in an entirely differently structured art market.

45 "De cramen boven de nieuw borsse die Hans van Bruessel lest in hueren gehadt heeft syn alsnoch onverhuert"
S.A.A., R.K. 44, fol. 48r (city account of 1604), R.K.45, fol. 44 v (city account of 1606), R.K. 46, fol. 48v (city
account of 1606), etc. For the evolution of the schilderpand's revenues, see Graph 3, p. 54.

118
PART II

INTERPRETATION
 CHAPTER 4

SUPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET:

THE ÜRGANIZATION OF
PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION

4.1 Introduction

From the supply-side point of view, Antwerp could boast a sophisticated art
market featuring a number of trump cards. First of all, the interested buyer could
travel to the city knowing that there was an availability of ready-made items which
he or she could purchase and take home immediately. The example of carved altarpieces
was mentioned earlier, but the same was true for other branches. For instance, we are
privy to the fact that Christopher Plantin could draw on a large stock of books and
prints which could be delivered upon a moment's notice. 1 Secondly, the existence of
specialized markets, the panden, guaranteed that a potential consumer could access
the available stocks in an efficient manner. Furthermore, as the primary venue where
supply met demand, they acted as a communication channel which provided artists
and dealers with information about the kind of works of art that the international
consumer was interested in. As such, the Antwerp artistic community could cater to
the changing and growing demand. 2 As we have seen, these panden were initially
only open during the bi-annual fairs, but the inauguration of the schilderspand in
1540 gave the Antwerp art market a permanent character. From now on, merchants
who came to Antwerp only long enough to conduct their business had the opportunity
to purchase ready-made works of art at any given time during the year, and at a
centrally-located gallery which was designed expressly for this purpose. ln a next
phase, art dealers appeared on the scene and as intermediaries, facilitating the exchange
between producers and consumers even more.
To be sure, the Antwerp art market equally offered important advantages to
those potential buyers who were not necessarily seeking to acquire a work of art
produced on spec. When a prominent Florentine family was re-modeling its newly-
purchased palace, they sent an agent (Giorgio Datti) to Antwerp to obtain lands-
capes. A letter written by Datti and mailed back to Florence in January 1544 survived,

1 According to Jacobs, a woodcarver needed from several momhs up to a year to produce a retable. Jacobs, Early
Netherlandish CarvedAltarpieces, 199-200; John Michael Montias, "The Sovereign Consumer. The Adaptation of
Works of Art to Demand in the Netherlands in the Early Modern Period," in Artists-Dealers-Consumers. On the
Social World ofArt, ed. Ton Bevers (Hilversum, 1994), 61-63.
2 The panden had the added benefit that they reduced the "search costs" for both sicles. Montias, Le marché de
l'art, 131; Wilson, Painting in Bruges, 186.

121
PART II INTERPRETATION

and hints at some of the advantages of shopping for artwork in Antwerp. Datti says
that he first took a look at paintings which were ready-made, but that he did not
corne across anything that seemed satisfactory to him. Fortunately, he appears to
have easily found a painter who could paint the landscapes for him, and that his
superiors in Italy only needed to provide him with the measurements and a list of
tapies which should be depicted. Datti further mentioned that he had the choice of
sending the finished goods either by land or by sea (he advocated the overland route)
and that the payment of the artist could be handled efficiently with a letter of
exchange. 3 The Antwerp art market thus accommodated the international merchant
not simply by offering a custom-made high-quality product, but by providing options
for transportation and a convenient method of payment.
Transportation was very well-organized indeed, as the art dealers could make
use of the existing network of overland traffic, as well as the port. The so-called
Hessenwagens connected Antwerp with the German hinterland, and from there on,
the Italian firms took over and guaranteed relatively speedy and safe links with all
major cities in Italy. Convoys of wagons departed from Antwerp several times a week,
and were considered by contemporaries the as most reliable mode of transportation
for destinations in Central Europe and ltaly. 4
Naturally, merchants relied frequently on the sea route which connected Ant-
werp with the premier trading centers of Europe. With about 2,500 vessels per year
passing through the Scheldt's estuary (under normal conditions), merchants were
given the opportunity to ship large or bulky consignments ofluxury goods efficiently
over long distances. For instance, the export registers have revealed very substantial
exports of artwork to the Iberian Peninsula, a market that was difficult to reach via
the overland route. 5
ln addition, the packing and handling of works of art was done in a profes-
sional manner. The most valuable paintings were stored in a caisse or box as they pro-
vided a maximum of protection during the arduous journey, which proved especially
useful for fragile panel paintings. Two of these can be seen in the Mauritshuis painting
as they are being carried out of the dealer's shop in the foreground on the right (see
Figure 10, p. 59). Both Dierc Bijns in Paris and Jan Van Kessel in Antwerp had some
of these boxes in their respective shops as well (see Appendices 2 and 4). On the
other hand, cheaper pictures on canvas were transported in a variety of ways, but the
export registers indicate that this often occurred in a type of barrel in which the pain-
tings could be rolled up. Furthermore, it was common practice to sign with markings
the boxes or barrels containing the goods. In most cases, this form of identification

3 The letter did not mention who the Antwerp painter in question was, only that he had an ugly but pleasant
wife. For a transcription of the document, see A. Bostri:im, "The Acquisition of Flemish Landscapes for Italy on
the Antwerp Art Market," Nederlands Kunsthistorisch ]aarboek 48 (1997): 19; see Appendix 1.
4 For the internai and external advantages of the Antwerp economy during the sixteenth century, see Limberger,
"No town in the world," 53-55; Van der Wee, "Het sociaal-economisch leven," 94.
5 Brulez, "De handel," 112.

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 CHAPTER 4 S UPPLY ON THE A NTWERP ART M ARKET

FIGURE 17: Sebastiaan Vrancx, The WharfofAntwerp (ca. 1616-1618), oil on canvas, 100 x 136 cm.
Antwerp, Almabo Collection.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

was nothing more than an anagram of the initiais of the merchant. An example of a
merchant applying his markings to a box and a hale can be observed in a painting by
Sebastiaan Vrancx depicting the wharf of Antwerp (see Figure 17). 6

4.2 The Painter's Workshop in Perspective

ln the course of the long sixteenth century, the Antwerp art market witnessed
a very significant increase in the output of paintings, retables, musical instruments,
tapestries, books and many other luxury items. The city's production capacity was
foremost propelled by the large-scale influx of skilled artisans and artists which did
not taper off until the outbreak of the Dutch Revoit in 1566. lt has been elaborated
upon in Chapter 1 that these immigrants came to Antwerp because the city could
provide them with the necessary raw materials, capital, opportunities to acquire skills
and, via its commercial faculties, put them in contact with domestic and internatio-
nal demand.
Evidently, the artists' workshop was the key production unit where works of
art were created. Unfortunately, very little concrete datais atour disposai to docu-
ment and analyze the changes that took place in the studio during the time period
covered in this study. 7 Even so, the picture that emerges is one of an artist-entrepreneur
who managed a workshop featuring standardized production and division of labor
through the employment of apprentices and journeymen. The master painter in this
constellation was mostly preoccupied with the artistic invention while his studio
assistants were responsible for the execution of various aspects of the composition. 8
The question that arises is whether the expansion of the Antwerp art market
has led to larger workshops, as one might expect. Again, no conclusive evidence
exists in this respect, but the ratio between masters and apprentices does suggest that
workshops on the whole were not very large and that this situation did not change
significantly as the sixteenth century progressed. Based on the registration lists of
new members in the Guild of Saint Luke, Maximiliaan Martens and Natasja Peeters
have pointed out that during the period 1500-1579, about 80% of painters' apprentices
were employed in workshops of maximum three pupils. As far as large ateliers are
concerned, only seven masters ran an atelier that employed more than five apprentices. 9

6 The merchant signing his merchandise is located to the right of the crane. The painting appears to give a fairly
realistic image of the various commercial activities that took place in the port.
7 For a general introduction, see Lorne Campbell, "The Early Netherlandish Painters and Their Workshops," in
Le dessin sous-jacent dan la peinture. Colloque III Le Problème Maître de Flémalle-van der Weyden, eds. Dominique
Hollanders-Favart and Roger Van Schoutte (Louvain-La-Neuve, 1981), 43-56. Specifically for Antwerp work-
shops until ca. 1530, see Van der Stock, "De organisatie," 47-53; Van den Brink, De kunst van het kopiëren, 17-35.
At present, a team from the University of Groningen under the leadership of Maximiliaan Martens and Molly
Ferries is investigating the developments that took place in the sixteenth-century workshop in Antwerp. Their
focus is on archivai research and a technical analysis of paintings from the period.
8 Thijs, "De Antwerpse luxenijverheid," 109.
9 Maximiliaan Martens and Natasja Peeters, Artists by numbers: quantifying artitsts' trades in J 6th century Antwerp,
lecture presented at Historians ofNetherlandishArt conference inAntwerp (March 14-16, 2002). I am grateful to

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 CHAPTER 4 5UPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

However, the Liggeren do not provide an entirely accurate assessment of the size of
the Antwerp workshops. Aftcr all, the journcymen (in the documents referrcd to as
knapen or gezellen) were not required to become members of the Guild, which makes
it very difficult indeed to accurately determine the precise number of individuals
active in one particular studio. That the Guild records are an imperfect source in this
respect is abundantly made clear by the example of the Floris atelier. According to
Van Mander, Frans Floris had no fewer than 120 assistants working for him over
time, yet only one of those was registere<l in the Liggeren. 10
Since journeymen were exempt from Guild membership, they could be hired
for a limited amount of time or for the completion of a specific commission. Certainly,
this kind of flexibility allowed masters to make use of these (semi-skilled) artists
when needed without the stringent regulations imposed by the Guild when taking
on regular pupils. Moreover, there are indications that some of the knapen were, in
fact, skilled master-painters from neighboring towns working as subcontractors for
Antwerp colleagues. 11 Could these considerations have persuaded Antwerp masters
to employ significant numbers of journeymen instead of apprentices? It can certainly
be argued that these rather flexible employment schemes benefited the production of
standardized paintings for which Antwerp was known.
"Whether or not the size of the workshop underwent drastic changes will
continue to be the subject of debate, but that there was an inclination towards more
'industrial' production methods is without a doubt. Various techniques were applied
to facilitate serial reproduction. The use of patterns and models was widespread in
the Southern Netherlands from the fifteenth century onwards, and a rich collection
of these prints and drawings was essential to the success of anyworkshop. Furthermore,
techniques such as pouncing and tracing enabled artists and their assistants to duplicate
existing compositions countless times. Pouncing most often involved tracing the
original composition on paper, and subsequently transferring the sketch, and hence
the composition, by means of pricking onto another canvas or panel. 12 The atelier of
the Antwerp-based painter the Master of Frankfort, for instance, serves as an early
example of an advanced workshop which produced paintings featuring a distinct
repetition of brocade patterns. 13 During the first decades of the sixteenth century,
Joos Van Cleve and his assistants engaged in a serial production of a number of
popular compositions such as The Holy Family and the Madonna with the Cherries.
Technical research on some 68 of these paintings by Micha Leeflang and others show
that at least a third of them were mechanically reproduced, often using a model

both authors for sharing their draft paper with me.

10 Van de Velde, Floris, 441; Peeters, Tussen continuïteit en vernieuwing, vol. 1, 59-60.
11 For instance, Adriaen Van Straelen, master painter in the town of Bergen op Zoom, who worked as a journeymen
during the late 1480s for Digne Zierix, widow of the Antwerp painter Jan de Costere. Van der Stock, "De organi-
satie," 47-48.
12 For a brief description and further bibliography, see Ainsworth, Gerard David, 47-49 and 55, note 79.
13 Stephen H. Goddard, The Master ofFrankfurt and His Shop (Verhandelingen van de Koninklijke Acamdemie
voor Wetenschappen, 38) (Brussels, 1984), 82-101; Montias, Le marché de l'art, 42.

125
PART II INTERPRETATION

drawing or cartoon to trace the main lines of the composition. Interestingly, Van
Clcvc's workshop had developed a system whereby many variations of the same theme
could be executed, giving each panel a sense of uniqueness. 14
Despite the fact that workshops on average probably remained fairly modest
in size, there are many indications that artists increasingly worked together. Jean-
Pierre Sosson speaks in this context of workshops "dispersés mais reliés entre eux". 15
For the second half of the sixteenth century, strong evidence exists that many inde-
pendent masters and their ateliers collaborated on many paintings. Gillis Mostaert
(1528-1598), for instance, was a talented painter of small figures who was asked by
man y of his colleagues in Antwerp to add figures onto their compositions. It is known
that Mostaert did so for the landscape painter Cornelis Van Dalem (before 1534-
1573), Hans Vredeman de Vries and Jacob Grimmer (1525/1526-before May 1590). 16
The reasons for and circumstances surrounding these frequent collaborations bet-
ween artists during the sixteenth century is only now receiving proper scholarly
attention, but no doubt a healthy dose of pragmatism lay at the base of many a joint
project. In a sophisticated art market, it certainly allowed painters to specialize even
further to meet the increasingly specific needs of the clientele. Moreover, Hans Vlieghe
has added that the mutual competition within the very populous artistic community
provided the impetus to the (characteristic for Antwerp) phenomenon of artistic
specialization. 17
In view of these trends, it is thus not surprising that the production widened
(in the case of painting) in terms of subject matter and style. The new genres within
painting that were developed or popularized around the middle of the century -
peasant scenes, nudes, market scenes, landscapes - point to a diversification of the
supply. This kind of product innovation was also evident in other branches of the
luxury industries: harpsichords, books on anatomy or geography (atlases), etc. The
Antwerp artistic sector had thus developed the ability to generate additional demand
for its new products. As a result, the wealth and diversity of the world of goods avai-
lable in Antwerp attracted a wide variety of potential foreign and domestic consumers
to the city's specialized markets and galleries.

14 For instance, the arrangement of the figures wirhin the Ho/y Family composition could vary, even though iris
clear rhat Van Cleve used the same mode! drawing to depict Joseph, the Virgin Mary and the Chrisr-child respectively.
Micha Leeflang, Serial Production in Joos Vtm Cleve's workshop, lecture presented at Historians ofNerherlandish Art
conference in Antwerp (March 14-16, 2002). Orher major workshops active at rhis rime were the ones run by Jan
Gossaert and Pieter Coecke Van Aalst. Van den Brink, "De kunst van het kopiëren," 27-40.
15 Jean-Pierre Sosson, "La production artistique dans les anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux, XIVe-XVIe siècles," in
Economia et arte. Secc. XIII-XVIII (Prato, 2002), 692-695.
16 KristofMichiels, "Gillis Mostaert (1528-1598): het samenwerkingscircuitwaartoe hij behoorde en zijn aanvangs-
fase ais kunstenaar," in Florissant. Bijdragen tot de kunstgeschiedenis der Nederlanden (l 5e-17e eeuw), opgedragen aan
Prof Dr. Carl Vtm de Velde (Brussels, 2003), in print. Michiels points to several other painters active after 1550
who worked together, indicating that this strategy had become more or Jess standard practice. Also, see Honig,
Painting and the Market, 177-18 9.
17 Vlieghe, "The fine and decorative arts," 173.

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 CHAPTER 4 SUPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

4.3 The Regulatory Environment: The Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke

ln sixteenth-century Antwerp, art was produced in an environment that was

shaped and strongly regulated by the Guild. This was true for virtually all goods and
services that were produced in the late medieval and Early Modern world; corporations
had been granted the monopoly to organize the production and to a large extent the
distribution of a well-defined branch of the city's economy. Artists and dealers active
in Antwerp were expected to become a member of the Guild of Saint Luke, and it is
therefore fitting that this institution be discussed at some length.
The guilds of the Ancien Régime in general have traditionally been seen as
bastions of conservatism and protectionism. Indeed, a long-standing axiom exists
that guilds were an impediment to the development of commercial capitalism. Fortu-
nately, in recent historical literature, this image is in the process of being corrected,
and a much more nuanced and complex picture emerges. 18 In the 1982 volume of
Past and Present, Martha Howell and Robert Duplessis published a seminal article on
the role of the guilds during the Ancien Régime. 19 They examined the cloth industry
in Leiden and Lille, and in an attempt to transcend the dichotomy between commercial
capitalism and the corporate structure of the late medieval urban economies, they
introduced an alternative approach which they called "small commodity production."
In this model, guilds were viewed neither as capitalist nor as corporate (in the old
sense of the word), but as a separate mode of production in which the master-craftsman
was given a crucial position. Howell and Duplessis invite us to investigate the role of
the corporations outside the traditional paradigm, an exercise which also will be
fruitful in evaluating the impact of the Guild of Saint Luke on the art market at
large. Up until quiet recently, the role of the Guild relative to market sales has either
been ignored or viewed in terms of how obstructionist the all too-strict guild
regulations were relative to the development and growth of modern art markets. 20
Therefore, in this section, 1 will gauge the response of the Guild of Saint
Luke to the increasing volume of free market sales, and its reaction over time to both

18 The raie of the guilds in the Law Countries has enjoyed renewed attention in recent years. Many stimulating
essays can be found in the two volumes published by the Centrum voor de Studie van Pre-industriële Productieprocessen
en Arbeidsverhoudingen (Free University of Brussels): Catharina Lis and Hugo Soly, eds. Werken volgens de regels.
Ambachten in Brabant en Vlaanderen, 1500-1800 (Brussels, 1994); Idem, Werelden van verschil. Ambachtsgilden in
de Lage Landen, (Brussels, 1997). Also, see Bruno Blondé and Hilde Greefs, "Werk aan de winkel. De Antwerpse
meerseniers: aspecten van de kleinhandel en het verbruik in de 17de en l Sde eeuw," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis
83 (2001): 203-225; Johan Dambruyne, "Guild, Social Mobility and Starus in Sixteenth-Cenrury Ghent," Inter-
national Review ofSocial History 43 (1998), 31-78.
19 Robert DuPlessis and Martha Howell, "Reconsidering the Early Modern Economy: The Cases ofLeiden and
Lille," Past and Present 94 (1982): 49-84.
20 For instance, Mari-Tere Alvarez discusses in an article published in 1998 the pernicious effects Guild regulations
had on the art market: "In the Law Countries, artists and art dealers alike were straitjacketed by a myriad of rules,
taxes, and regulations inspired by the artist's guild and the government. (... ) These restrictions on bath artists and
the traffic in pictures in the Netherlands, keeping painters confined to their native towns and local tradition, were
utterly paralysing." Alvarez, "Artistic Enterprise," 51.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

the growth and subsequent decline of the Antwerp art market. 21 The monopolistic
tendencies of a late-medieval institution will be confronted with an accelerating and
ever-more commercial economy, and the reaction to the arrival of art dealers on the
scene will be given some attention as well. Through comparisons with the Brussels
and Bruges Guilds of Saint Luke, I will argue that the Antwerp Guild, on the one
hand attempting to control and monopolize the art trade, also actively strove to pro-
mote market sales resulting in a pragmatic approach vis-à-vis free trading. 22 However,
despite its practical stance, it is undeniable that the Guild gradually lost its grip on
the art trade during the course of the sixteenth century, a process which would reach
its culmination by the mid-seventeenth century when specialized art-dealing firms
(who had little or no affiliation with the Guild whatsoever) dominated the art trade.
To begin, a few general remarks on the history and purpose of the Guild are
in order. The Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke was established in 1382 and united
goldsmiths, sculptors, painters, glass makers, embroiders and enamellers. At this early
stage, goldsmiths are believed to have been the most numerous members, but the
make-up of the membership underwent many changes over the next three centuries. 23
In 1480, the chamber of rhetoric "De Violieren'' merged with the Guild of Saint
Luke. The motivations behind this move are not entirely clear, but the association
with the ars rhetorica certainly added prestige to the artists' corporation. 24 During
Antwerp's golden age, several categories of artists would join the ranks of the Guild.
In fact, close to 50 different professions can be counted among the newly enrolled
members during the middle decades of the sixteenth century. 25 Examples are the
musical instrument makers who enrolled as a group in 1557, and all those involved
in the printing business (printers, booksellers, type-founders, etc.) who entered the
Guild in 1558. The latter category had been forced to join by Philips Il who, m
doing so, hoped to halt the publication of subversive (Protestant) literature. 26

21 Literature on Netherlandish artists' guilds is still fragmentary, but some interesting studies are: Neil De Marchi
and Hans Van Miegroet, "Rules versus Play in Early Modern Markets," Recherches economiques de Louvain 66
(2000): 145-165; Hesse! Miedema, "Kunstschilders, gilde en academie. Over het probleem van de emancipatie
van de kunstschilders in de Noordelijke Nederlanden van de l 6de en 17de eeuw," Oud Holland 101 (1987): 1-3.
For an older, still useful survey for the Guilds of Saint Luke in the Durch Republic, see G.J. Hoogewerff, De
geschiedenis van de St. Lucasgilden in Nederland (Amsterdam, 1947).
22 Again, I will focus on the production of works of art (painting in particular) for the open market and not on
pieces that were produced on commission.
23 Van den Branden, Antwerpsche schilderschool, 8; Christa Huijgens, Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van hetAntwerpse
Sint-Lucasgild in de 15de eeuw (Master's thesis, Free University ofBrussels, 1988), 26-32. The majority of the ordi-
nances issued were published in Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck. Together with the Liggeren, this collection of regulations
forms an indispensable tool for the study of the Guild in Early Modern Times. The lack of modern scholarship
dealing with the Guilds of Saint Luke in the Southern Netherlands is deplorable; no recent synthesis exists for
Antwerp, Brussels or Ghent. Only the Bruges Guild has received scholarly attention in recent years (cf. infra).
24 Miedema, "Kunstschilders," 11.
25 No fewer than 48 different professions can be counted for the period 1546-1558. Martens and Peeters, Artists
by numbers, Table 3 (see footnote 9).
26 Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck, 47 and 50.

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 CHAPTER 4 SUPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

Measured by membership, the sixteenth century formed the unquestionable

heyday of the Guild. No fewer than 1,925 masters registered between 1500 and 1600,
and some 300 artists are believed to have been members at any given time until the
1580s. Registration levels remained high throughout the period under discussion,
but were especially high during the decades leading up to the outbreak of the Revolt
(see Graph 6). Painters would make up the majority of the membership throughout
the sixteenth century, which explains why the corporation was often referred to as
the Guild of the painters.27 The Guild accounts dating from the late 15 80s show that
figurative painters indeed represent a good third of the total membership, followed
by those active in the typographical sector (see Table 13, p. 113).

_,;r-----------
• Apprentices 700

Masters 600 V -

V -
500

400 V -

300 V
~ ~
- -

200 V - ---- -1- r-- - -

100 v---1~1~1- - 1- f- f- ~ - f- f-
• ~
- -

GRAPH 6:
New Members of the
0
~
Ç\
\.0
Ç\
!';-
............
Ç\
OO
Ç\
Ç\
-- - -----
Ç\
0
Ç\
~
......
Ç\
N
Ç\
('(°\
......
Ç\
'<!'
Ç\
If\
Ç\
\.0
Ç\
!';-
Ç\
OO
Ç\
Ç\
- -
Ç\
0
Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke. 0 0
['--.
0OO 0
Ç\
00 0 0N 0 0 0 \.0
0 0 0OO 0 00
\.0 ~ ('(°\ '<!' If\ ['--. Ç\
SOURCE: Liggeren, 13-459. '<!' '<!' '<!'
..... '<!'
..... If\ If\ If\ If\ If\ If\ If\ If\ If\ If\ \.0

However, the growing membership during the final decade of the sixteenth
century and the first of the seventeenth needs to be put in perspective. In addition to
the immigrants and young artists, many individuals joined the Guild whose profession
had little or nothing to do with the art trade. The reasons why, for instance, a herring
salesman, a seller of pens, a messenger and a pastry baker joined the Guild are not
entirely clear, but it did result in a somewhat artificially-high increase in membership
figures during those years.

27 Guicciardini also remarked rhat the Guild consisted mostly of painrers. Guicciardini, Beschrijvinghe, 79. Martens
and Peerers, "Arrists by numbers," Graph 4.

129
PART II INTERPRETATION

The leadership consisted of two deans who were elected for one year.
Continuity of management was guaranteed by the rule that the vice dean of one year
would automatically become the principal dean the next year. 28 Like all other
corporations, the Guild of Saint Luke was conceived to perform a number of fonctions.
To discuss the intricacies of the position held by the corporations in late-medieval
society would lead us too far, but, in essence, guilds dealt with the organization of
production of a particular industry. They determined who could practice the craft,
and what sort of training (especially the length of which) was required. From an
economic standpoint, they set out to protect their own members against foreign
competition through a comprehensive series of regulations ranging from a membership
requirement to various quality control measures. ln addition, they mediated conflicts
between individual members. Socially, they also engaged in poor relief within the
corporate framework. The foundation of the armenbus to support needy artists and
their families during the depression of the 1530s, which provided a social safety-net
for widows, cornes to minci. 29 During the late Middle Ages, guilds often could exercise
genuine political power as they held a seat in various city councils, and as such they
were able to defend the rights and privileges of their members. The Guild of Saint
Luke, however, belonged to the so-called kleine neringen (the smaller corporations)
and could not boast a permanent or significant representation in the city council. 30
In sum, in order to protect the livelihoods of their members, the guilds pursued an
active policy which was aimed at preserving their monopoly. This was perhaps the
main pre-occupation of most corporations in Early Modern times. The discussion
that follows below, then, will focus precisely on the ability of the Guild of Saint Luke
to maintain its dominant position in a rapidly changing art market.

4.2.1 Levels of Control versus Market Forces

The existence of a body of formal rules denotes that the art market was very
regulated. Indeed, the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke effectively attempted to control
and restrict the production and distribution of works of art. At the production level,
the Guild required all artists to become members of the corporation from 1442 on
and levied annual dues. To become a master was an expensive and lengthy process,
especially if you were nota master's son. 31 Thus, the financial barrier was considerable,
and artists could not simply arrive in the city and set up shop to produce artwork
independently.

28 For instance, Jan Vanden Kerckhove was referred to as "opperdeken" in 1587. Liggeren, 320; Voet, Gouden
eeuw, 356-357.
29 See Chapter 1, sub 4.
30 Maximiliaan Martens, Gilden en ambachten, unpublished course notes (University of Groningen, 2000).
31 In order ro become a member, one had to be citizen (poorter) of Antwerp. Van der Straelen, jaerboeck, 7.
Furthermore, it took four years to become a master during which the apprentice was expected to pay his employer.
Finally, it was common practice that the apprentice produced a master-piece in order to officially be installed as
master. However, in the case of Antwerp, there is no information available pertaining to the nature of such a mas-

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 CHAPTER 4 5UPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

Furthermore, the Guild successfully managed to set standards for production

with which all Guild members were forced to comply. 32 ln the case of woodcarving,
Guild regulations required that the finished product be approved and stamped before
it could leave the workshop. ln the statutes of 1470 and 1472, the Guild determined
that sculptured works could not be "painted, nor sold or delivered bare, nor transported
out of Antwerp, before they were evaluated and marked by the masters or deans of
the Guild." 33 This measure was most intrusive in the case of the Brabantine carved
altarpieces, where the quality control was in effect at two stages of the production
process. First, the corporation determined what kind of wood could be used (either
oak or walnut), and the retable was inspected a second time when it was ready to be
sold at the pand or handed over to the patron who had commissioned it. The wood
was stamped with a "hand," and the finished product received its stamp of approval
in the form of a castle, the two symbols of Antwerp. 34 That the deans of the Guild
took these measures seriously can be derived from several interventions. For instance,
when the woodcarver Jan Genoots sold and delivered a retable to the convent of
Helmond before it had been subjected to the Guild's scrutiny (the piece was found
without the "hand and castle" stamps), he was condemned to paying a fine and the
costs of the trial. 35
At the distribution level, the Guild-with the support of the city government
- was in a position to determine when, where and by whom works of art were allowed
to be marketed, or at least it was their express desire to do so. Naturally, only members
of the corporation were authorized to sell works of art. This is implied in the 1442
ordinance and mentioned more explicitly in the 1472 regulation. 36 Apparently, there
were many violations of this rule, which is suggested by the fact that the regulation
was re-issued several times. Also, these monopolistic stipulations de facto implied
that being a member of a related guild like the mercers (meerseniers) or old cloth
salesmen (who sold works of art from deceased persons at the Friday market) was not
in itself sufficient to engage in art dealing. As a consequence, some art dealers were

tership's test, ifindeed this rule was in effect. L. Th. Van Looij, "De Antwerpse Koninklijke Academie voor Schone
Kunsten," Leids Kunsthistorisch jaarboek V-VI (1986-1987): 304; Huijgens, Bijdrage, 16.
32 In different cities of the Low Countries, quality control exercized by the Guild of Saint Luke manifested itself
in a number of ways: rules determining apprenticeship (especially the time required for training), the mastership's
test (meesterproefj, use of (raw) materials and dimensions of certain artefacts. Hesse! Miedema, "Over kwaliteits-
voorschriften in het St. Lucasgilde: Over 'doodverf'," OudHollandlOl (1987): 141-147.
33 "dat men die wercken nyet en sa! moghen van schilderyen stofferen, noch rouw verkoopen oft leveren, noch
buyten Antwerpen vueren zy en zyn eerst gewardert geteyckent by den meesters oft regeerders van den gulden."
Van der Straelen, jaerboeck, 19 (ordinance ofJuly 30, 1472).
34 For instance, the Zukowo retable was stamped with both hand and castle, leaving little doubt that the altarpiece
was produced in Antwerp (see Figure 6, p. 32). Moreover, the regulations went as far as to specify the dimensions
of the caisse, and the thickness of the panels. Van der Straelen,}aerboeck, 14-15 (ordinance ofNovember 9, 1470);
Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 8.
35 R.A.A., Archives of the Guild of Saint Luke, nr. 83 (document dated October 10, 1527). Less than a yearlater,
Genoots was brought to trial again when he had failed to have the painted shutters of a retable inspected. This
rime, he was convicted to a pilgrimage and, again, forced to bear the expenses of the trial. Ibid., nr. 84 (document
datedJune 19, 1528); Van der Stock, "Antwerps beeldhouwerk," 131-136.
36 Van der Straelen, }aerboeck, 7 and 19.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

members of more than one corporation. For instance, Hans Gabron and Joys Van
Bimont, bath old cloth salesmen, registered in the Guild of Saint Luke in 1588 as
dealers in paintings. 37
The ordinance of 1575 most forcefully re-iterated that only citizens of
Antwerp who were members of the Guild of Saint Luke were allowed to sell paintings
publicly. 38 Illegal dealers operating in the city should not be tolerated, according to
the Guild, because "good folk, lords and burghers are cheated by such sales, since
they think they are purchasing paintings by renowncd and famous masters, while
they are mere fakes after the principal work." 39 What is implied here is that only
members of the corporation were honorable and knowledgeable enough to guarantee
an honest art market. More to the point, the Guild was attempting to protect its own
members (painters and dealers alike) against the import of cheap imitations of Antwerp
masters. 40
Concerning the physical location where the actual transactions could take
place, the Guild decreed that artists and dealers could only market their work at the
panden during the bi-annual fairs, at the weekly Friday market or, of course, directly
from their studio. ln 1484, the exclusive right to sell paintings and altarpieces was
granted to Our Lady's pand, and consequently, the marketing of these works of art
was limited to one location, at least during the fairs. 41 There are a few known cases
where certain dealers or artists contested these kinds of restrictive regulations, but the
Guild vigorously countered this behavior in the municipal courts. For instance, when
four Guild members refused to move their stall from the Dominican pand to Our
Lady's pand in 1479, they were instantly brought to trial (see Chapter 1, sub 2.1).
Yet despite all the restrictions and regulations that have been surveyed above,
there are many indications that the Guild adopted a free market approach as well.
Measures that at first sight seem very protectionist actually reveal a pro-market atti-
tude aimed at stimulating export. Take the quality contra! issue, for instance. While
the stamping of retables on the one hand can be viewed as meddling, Lynn Jacobs
and Jan Van der Stock have convincingly argued that the goal of this measure was to
gain the confidence of the buyer. 42 A label guaranteeing a certain quality must have
benefited the workshops in the long run as it fueled further demand for these

37 The entry in the Liggeren for both dealers reads "oucleercoper ende handelt met schilderijen." Liggeren, 326.
38 "That from now on nobody except burghers or citizens can keep a shop with paintings, be it scenes on canvas
or other (... ) and that they [the art dealers] have been received in the above-mentioned Guild of Saint Luke"
Appendix 6, Article 1. The reference to stalls or a shop seems to insinuate that the marketing of art should be do ne
at the schilderspand.
39 See Appendix 6.
40 The import of non-Antwerp pictures was allowed, but regulated. The ordinance of 1560 determines that
paintings could only be brought into the city during the bi-annual fairs and on the free market day, being Friday.
In light of the fact that the fairs had lost much of their significance by this time and that the schilderspandwas open
year-round, one is left with some doubt as to the extent this regulation reflects the historical reality. R.A.A.,
Archives of the Guild of Saint Luke, nr. 27 (ordinance dated March 14, 1560).
41 Van der Straelen,]aerboeck, 29 (ordinance ofSeptember 3, 1484); see Chapter l, sub 2.2.
42 Jacobs, Early Modern CarvedAltarpieces, 158-161; Van der Stock, "Antwerps beeldhouwerk," 133-134. Montias
suggests that the stamping practice was primarily in effect to stimumate export. Montias, "Le marché de l'art," 1558.

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 CHAPTER 4 SUPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

devotional pieces. In 1493, the Guild thus argued that the stamping practice was
necessary not only for the benefit of the corporation but also for "the common good"
of the city of Antwerp. 43
Harpsichord makers also were under an obligation to mark their instruments.
Each workshop was required to label its product with an individualized stamp: "Each
master is obligated to mark all his instruments, made by or with him, with his own
emblem or coat of arms, and not to sell any other unmarked pieces." 44 This proce-
dure diverges from the woodcarvers where the Guild masters came to the workshop
to inspect and mark the retable with a hand and casde. In the case of the instrument
builders, it is clear that the stamping obligation was meant as a measure to promote
recognizability among the different ateliers. The positive impact this practice has
had on the enduring fame of the harpsichords made by the Ruckers dynasty stands as
proof that Guild regulations did not always result in a stifling of business. 45
Quality control was not institutionalized among painters, but this can be
explained by the fact that a very substantial portion of the total production of painting
consisted oflow-quality, serialized copies. Judging from the massive exports, Antwerp
successfully cornered this market segment, and in a situation where quantity counts
for more than quality, there is very litde need for strict standards. Furthermore, objects
like retables lend themselves more easily to more objective standards of quality control:
the kind of wood and dimensions of the caisse could easily be verified, while it would
have been difficult to employ such objective parameters in the case of painting.
A close scrutiny of the realities of the Antwerp art market of the sixteenth
century shows that the Guild pursued a veritable laissez-foire strategy with respect to
its own elaborate corpus of restrictions and rules aimed at controlling the production
and distribution of art. For instance, trials dealing with violations of the stamping
requirement and other offenses were legion in the early decades of the sixteenth
century, but were virtually non-existent after 1540. And quality control issues were
not the only Guild regulations that became dead letter by the middle of the century.
As I will point out in the following section, the strongly-worded regulation of 1575
was in reality but a last attempt to curtail free market sales by those merchants who
refused to become members of the Guild. In fact, the art market was outgrowing the
late medieval corporate structures as the sixteenth century progressed.
There were instances when the Guild played a constructive role with respect
to market sales. Public art sales were de facto promoted by the deans on at least one
occasion. When the new bourse burned clown in February 1583 and the schilders-
pand along with it, the Guild stepped in to petition the city government to provide
an alternative venue to hold art sales. In two requests from 1583, the opening sentence

43 "prouffyte van den gemeynen besten" Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck, 31.
44 "Elken meester verpligt, om zyn eygen merk, teeken of wapen te stellen op aile speel-instrumenten, by hem ge-
maekt, en geen ander ongemerkt te verkoopen." Van der Straelen,]aerboeck, 49 (ordinance dated February 24, 1561).
45 Hans Ruckers signed his instruments with a decorative rose which was placed in the soundboard. To this day,
the rose literally marks the high qualiry of the harpsichord, and has helped to secure and maintain its substantial
market value. O'Brien, Ruckers, 14.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

reads "The deans of the painters with Bartholomeus De Momper make known ... "46
The fact that dozens of documents survivcd relative to the schilderspand, and that it
was precisely in times of trouble that the Guild came to the fore, suggests at least a
concern with Antwerp's main gallery for art sales.

4.2.2 A Pragmatic Approach: Art Dealers and the Guild

Antwerp was one the first cities in Early Modern Europe where art dealers
appeared in such large numbers and functioned as a community, and it is most interes-
ting to examine the response of the corporation relative to these dealers as it sheds
some light on its response to the professionalization of the art trade. At first, it seems
that the leadership of the Guild of Saint Luke entertained somewhat of a love-hate
relationship with the dealers. Many art dealers did not feel compelled to become
members and pay dues, and therefore were, strictly speaking, conducting their busi-
ness illegally. On the other hand, even the offenders brought wealth to the city since
they helped to distribute the production of many local artists. Of the 41 art dealers
that were included in Appendix 3, about 29 percent of them were not members of
the Guild, and there were undoubtedly more dealers active who left no traces. For
instance, of the four names for whom we have proof that they rented a stall at the
schilderspand, only two (Jan Van Kessel and Marten Alleyns) belonged to the Guild
of Saint Luke.47 The Guild leadership must have known this, but it did not prevent
the deans from petitioning the magistrate on their behalf as well when the schilders-
pand burned down. 48
The 1575 ordinance specifically mentions that anyone wishing to sell
paintings in Antwerp had to be a citizen and a member of the Guild of Saint Luke. 49
Yet in the text itself, the Guild grudgingly admitted that many art dealers active in
the city did not possess citizenship or membership; these dealers had shops, employed
pupils and servants, and went about their business of buying and selling paintings,
even openly. According to the deans, this was very much to the detriment of the
Guild, and was caused in part by the fact that the fines set for infringement were too
low. On the other hand, it seems curious that in light of this complaint, as far as we
know, nota single offender was prosecuted. 50

46 "Geven te kennen de dekens van de schilders met Bartholomeus De Momper... " S.A.A., P.K. 661, fol. 209r
(document dated February 28, 1583) and fol. 218v (document dated March 4, 1583).
47 Gheeraert van Rems and Lenaert Rogge bath rented statls in 1586, and their names have corne clown to us
because they quarreled about the location of their respective shops at the schi!derspand. S.A.A., P.K. 665, fol. 133v-
134r (document dated April 24, 1586). Neither of them appear in the Liggeren. One the other hand, the pand-
meesters of the painters' gallery were ail loyal members, at least until the late l 580s. Hans Van Brussel, who became
pandmeester in 1588, did not belong to the Guild.
48 See Appendix 1.
49 It remains possible that some dealers had obtained a membership from another Guild, and especially the
meerseniers could be a logical alternative for stallholders at the schilderspand. However, the wording of the 1575
ordinance is very clear: those who wish to sell paintings are required to enroll in the Guild of Saint Luke.
50 See Appendix 7.

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 CHAPTER 4 SUPPLY ON THE MTWERP ART MARKET

Being a full-time art dealer was a relatively TABLE 14: Art Dealers as Deans in the Guild
new profession, but there arc no indications that of Saint Luke (Before 1600)
dealers who became part of the Guild (or th ose who Year Name
switched from painting to dealing) were stigmatized 15 7 6 .... Marten Alleyns ........................ .
in any way. Quite the contrary, parallel with their 1577 .... Pieter Liesaert and
arrival on the scene, art dealers claimed prominent Marten Alleyns ....................... ..
fonctions within the Guild's administration and 1578 .... Pieter Liesaert .......................... .
leadership. 1579 .... Philips Liesaert ........................ .
The timing of this phenomenon is, of course, 1580 .... Bartholomeus De Momper and
most striking as it corresponds almost perfecdywith Phi li ps Liesaert ........................ .
1581 .... Bartholomeus De Momper .... ..
the installation of the Calvinist Republic in Ant-
1582 .... Jacques Van de Wyere .............. .
werp. The appointment of the Lutheran Marten
1583 .... Jacques Van de Wyere .............. .
Alleyns in 1576 thus reflects the changing political 1584 .... Jacques Van de Wyere .............. .
and religious constellation in Antwerp at this time. 1585 .... Jacques Van de Wyere .............. .
Moreover, there are reasons to believe that the others
SOURCE: Liggeren and S.A.A., P.K. 661, fol.
on this list adhered to the Protestant faith as well,
209r (document dated February 28, 1583). 51
but religious conviction alone does not explain the
sudden and extraordinary coup d'état of the art dealers. 52
After all, the 1570s marked the time period thatwitnessed the greatest increase
of art dealers in Antwerp. As was elaborated upon in Chapter 2, sub 3, the growing
need for professional art dealers was fueled by a combination of declining local de-
mand, the availability of large stocks, and (given the number of artists in the city) a
sustained potential for production. As a result, at least some of these dealers (especially
the ones who belonged to the right faith) saw their rising importance translated into
upward mobility, not just economically, but also in terms of status and political
power. The changing dynamics of the Antwerp art market were th us mirrored in the
leadership of the Guild of Saint Luke.
Given the infiltration or integration of art dealers into the leadership of the
Guild of Saint Luke, several pieces of the puzzle now fall into place. The timing of
the last regulation against unauthorized art sales dates from 1575, the year before the
first art dealer became dean. After that, there were no more of these restrictive measures
issued until 1596. 53 Also, the eagerness on the part of the Guild to assist Bartholomeus
de Momper after the burning clown of the new Bourse is no longer surprising; at that

51 This last document from the Privilegekamer establishes that Jacques Van de Wyere was dean in 1583, a fact
which which could not be derived from the Liggeren since that year was left blank. Arguably, one more figure could
feature in this list: Anthoni De Palermo (registered in 1555 as a painter) was dean of the Guild in 1555, 1558,
1561, 1562, 1570 and 1571. Van Mander recalls that he was "a painter who also traded in paintings," and De
Palermo's art dealing activities are corroborated by a number of documents. However, all the evidence suggests
that De Palermo did not start his art dealing activities until the mid-seventies, well after he had been elected dean
for the last time. Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 185 (fol. 231v); see Chapter 2, sub 6.
52 Guido Marnef has argued that certainly by the Summer of 1581, it was quasi impossible ro hold a significant
position in one of the city's political bodies and professional organizations like the guilds if one did not belong to
the Protestant camp. Marnef, "The Changing Face," 157-158.
53 Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck, 72-73 (ordinance ofDecember 2, 1596).

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PART II INTERPRETATION

point one of the most active art dealers in Antwerp, Jacques van de Wyere, functioned
as dean of the corporation and he would naturally have bccn sympathetic to De
Momper's cause. 54
ln sum, the Guild's seemingly pragmatic, tolerant, and even stimulating role
relative to a deregulated art market is at least in part due to the make-up of the
leadership after 1575. The other and perhaps more structural reason stems from the
observation that the Guild of Saint Luke was losing its grip on the art trade altogether,
and this was not a matter of choice. The increasing number of art dealers who did
not belong to the Guild underscores this trend. Moreover, when Bartholomeus De
Momper finally relinquished the management of Antwerp's primary gallery for art
sales in 1588, he was succeeded by Hans Van Brussel who was nota member of the
Guild. And this was only the beginning. During the seventeenth century, when the
trade in paintings was conducted to a large extent by specialized firms, only a minority
of art dealers found it necessary to acquire membership.
The increased professionalization and especially internationalization of the
art trade was starting to erode the power of the locally-based corporations, and this
process appears to have accelerated during the second phase of expansion of the
Antwerp art market. Examples can be found in the lively Antwerp-Paris trade of the
l 570s and l 580s. The Antwerp Guild had no jurisdiction in Paris, or even in trading
centers much doser to home for that matter. The internationalization of the art trade
resulted in an intricate trade network that spanned several cities in different countries;
foreign art dealers would appear on the scene and employ local artists who prepared
large shipments which would be sent abroad directly, without even being offered for
sale at the usual venues. 55 ln doing so, they effectively by-passed the local market and
Guild-controlled channels. Consequently, the Guild did not have the luxury or the
means to manipulate all facets of the art market, and in many ways it was confronted
with a fait accompli.
This is not to say that the Guild gave up control over the art trade without a
fight; quite the contrary. The statures and regulations issued during the second half
of the sixteenth century bear witness to the stubborn attitude of a corporation
unwilling to surrender its prerogatives, and during those years, the deans frequently
turned to the city council for support. The response of the magistrate was, however,
often ambiguous. While overtly always supporting the Guild, the underlying
motivations of the aldermen were aimed at promoting the urban economy and
preserving social peace and political stability. For instance, the city would be tolerant
of violations regarding the membership requirement of art dealers since their busi-
ness was ultimately beneficial for the city's economy.
Generally speaking, it would be fair to say that the Guild was losing the
contra! it once had over the distribution of works of art for the reasons described
above, but the corporation remained firmly at the heart of the organization of the

54 Moreover, it is not unlikely that Van de Wyere had a stall in the schilderspand.
SS Kint, The Community of Commerce, 85-86.

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 CHAPTER 4 SuPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

production process. In this area, the Guild did manage largely to hold onto its
traditional rights. Not only did it retain supervision over the training practices of
young artists, the overwhelming majority of artists continued to be enrolled in the
corporation.

The Secret ofAntwerp's Success? Guild Policies in Bruges and Brussels

When one compares the statures and regulations of artists' guilds in other
Southern-Netherlandish cities with the one in Antwerp, it is evident that the free-
market approach was not pursued by the guilds of other important artistic centers
such as Brussels and Bruges. 56 First of all, the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke opted for
an inclusive membership policy: painters, sculptors, book printers, instrument ma-
kers and the like became members of a single organization which facilitated
cooperation between artists of different specializations. 57 The advantages of this strategy
were most obvious in the field of retable production, and especially in the case of
polychromed carved altarpieces which featured painted shutters. In Brussels, the
sculptors and painters belonged to two distinct guilds which did not always engen-
der a streamlined production process. Furthermore, as a result of this divide, Hans
Nieuwdorp has suggested that the stamping obligation in Brussels functioned mainly
to prevent disputes between the sculptors and the painters, while in Antwerp the
hand and castle mark was foremost a measure to promote exports. 58
The most noted difference in guild policy between Antwerp and other
Netherlandish towns lay in the attitude towards free market sales. In this respect, a
comparison with Bruges, the emporium mercatorum of the Burgundian Netherlands
and cradle of the Flemish Primitives, proves to be most enlightening. Maximiliaan
Martens and others have pointed out that the authorities did their very best to restrict
the sale of uncommissioned work: exhibition space was limited to one shop per artist
or dealer and a ban against the import of foreign paintings was in effect. These
statutes indicate that the Bruges Guild went to great lengths to protect its own
members from outside competition. 59 In addition, the measures aimed at curtailing

56 There are, as far as I know, no recent studies dealing with the Brussels' Guild of Saint Luke. A. Pinchart, "La
corporation de peintres à Bruxelles," Messager de sciences historiques, (1877): 289-331; (1878): 315-332 and 475-
490; (1879): 459-470; Colette Mathieu, "Le métier des peintres à Bruxelles au XIVme et XVme siècles," in
Bruxelles au XVme siècle (Brussels, 1953), 221-235. On Bruges, see Maximiliaan Martens, "Sorne Aspects of the
Art Market in Fifreenth-Century Bruges," in Art Markets in Europe, 1400-1800, eds. Michael North and David
Ormrod (Aldershot, Brookfield (USA), Singapore and Sydney, 1998), 19-27; and Jean-Pierre Sosson, "Une approche
des structures économiques d'un métier d'art: La Corporation des Peintres et Selliers de Bruges (XIVe-XVIe siècles)"
Revue des archéologues et historiens d'art de Louvain 3 (1970): 91-100.
57 De Marchi and Van Miegroet, "Rules versus Play," 148-149.
58 Hans Nieuwdorp, "De oorspronkelijke betekenis en interpretatie van de kenmerken op Brabantse retabels en
beeldsnijwerk (15de-begin 16de eeuw)," in Archivum artis lovaniense: bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van de kunst
opgedragen aan Prof Em. Dr. JK Steppe, ed. Maurits Smeyers (Leuven, 1981), 88-90; Jacobs, Early Netherlandish
Carved Altarpieces, 157-158.
59 Martens, "Sorne Aspects," 19-20; Wilson, "Marketing Paintings," 621.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

free market sales were an attempt to preserve quality. After all, the production for the
open market was associated with cheaper, inferior pictures. 60
Also, the regulations of guilds in other cities prohibited foreign artists and
dealers from entering the city and selling artwork. The Antwerp Guild, however,
showed a remarkable tendency towards allowing artists and dealers from other cities
to market their merchandise in Antwerp, at least during the fairs. In fact, already
during the fifteenth century, artists from Brussels are believed to have occupied more
stalls at the Dominican pand than their Antwerp counterparts (see Chapter 1, sub
2.1). Furthermore, when itwas time to move to Our Lady's pandin 1481, theAntwerp
and Brussels Guilds jointly signed a con tract with the church wardens of Our Lady's
church for the exploitation of the gallery. According to this agreement, both Guilds
were considered equal partners, and the Brussels dealers could use as many stalls at
the pandas necessary. 61 This willingness on the part of the Antwerp corporation to
allow foreign dealers and artists to market their wares on a grand scale in Antwerp
was unheard of in Bruges or elsewhere.
Finally, guilds tended to impose strict limits on the number of pupils an artist
was allowed to employ. This was the case in Brussels and Bruges where a master-
painter could only take on one apprentice at a time, and the corporations in these
cities were thus able to influence the actual size of the workshops. ln Antwerp, no
such limitation existed which allowed the master-painter more flexibility to increase
the size of his atelier to meet increased demand. ln addition, there was no requirement
for knapen (journeymen) to be registered in the Guild, and they could labor up to a
month without having obtained citizenship (see above). 62
In the end, rules and regulations only retain their relevance for this discussion
to the extent that they were enforced. Again, the lack of legal action after 1540 does
seem to suggest that both the Guild of Saint Luke and the magistrate had adopted a
flexible and tolerant attitude towards an open art market on which dealers and goods
could move freely in and out of the city. On the other hand, the examples of juris-
prudence in Bruges mentioned by Martens give the impression that the authorities
there adhered to a far more protectionist policy. 63 Given the lack of modern scholarship,
these comparisons are impressionistic at best, but there is little doubt that compared
to Bruges and Brussels, the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke did not oppose the free
trade of works of art; rather, it pursued a pragmatic approach aimed at channeling
the distribution of on spec-produced paintings and other works of art to secure its
monopoly, and as it so graciously claimed, for the better good of the city of Antwerp.

*
* *

60 De Marchi and Van Miegroet, "Art, Value and Market Practices," 453.
61 Van der Straelen,Jaerboeck, 24-28 (ordinance dated November 13, 148 !); Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved
Altarpieces, 152-155.
62 Martens, Ambachten en Gilden, 5; Mathieu, "Le métier," 229.
63 Martens, "Sorne Aspects," 21.

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 CHAPTER 4 SUPPLY ON THE ANTWERP ART MARKET

Guicciardini noted that the Guild of Saint Luke - in terms ofhonor and profit
- had bccomc a corporation of major importance thanks to the success of the art of
painting. 64 On the other hand, Van Mander (himself a painter although active in
Haarlem, not Antwerp) saw the Guild as more of a nuisance and a disrespectful
curtailment of artistic freedom: 0, far too ungratefulpresent times, that on the insistence
of clumsy bunglers has established in the towns such shameful laws and such envious
regulations so that most everywhere a guild is made ofthe noble art ofpainting, as is do ne
with all the coarse handicrafls and trades such as weaving, farriery, carpentry, smiting
and suchlike. 65
lrrespective ofVan Mander's negative stance on the painter's Guilds, art dealers
and artists alike continued to participate in the Guild organization. While they clearly
strove to erode the monopolistic tendencies of the Guild, they were also not blind to
the advantages this organization could still offer in a large cosmopolitan pre-modern
city like Antwerp. As a pressure group, the Guild continued to petition the city
government with a variety of requests, and endeavored to protect the livelihoods of
its members. But perhaps the main incentive for many art dealers to join the Guild
was the kind of network that would have put them in touch with potential producers
and consumers, and in addition, might have provided them with a certain amount of
prestige and credibility.
To conclude, the Guild of Saint Luke was nota stronghold of the old ways of
doing business - a way of business which is often characterized as protectionist,
obstructionist, and anti-capitalist- but rather an institution that was trying to adapt
to the changing times. lt did so by incorporating art dealers into the Guild and
quietly tolerating, if not promoting, free market sales. In a commercially-oriented
metropolis like Antwerp, this should corne as no surprise.

64 "aengaende profijt ende eere." Guicciardini, Beschrijvinghe, 79.

65 Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 265 (fol. 251 v).

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 CHAPTER 5

THE ENGINES OF DEMAND

5.1 Introduction

In the previous Chapter, I have dealt with the supply side of the art market.
In this part, I will examine how the demand for art, both domestic and international,
secular and religious, stimulated and shaped the nature and volume of art production
and distribution in Antwerp. In general, few scholars would disagree with the notion
that demand for luxury products and thus works of art increased substantially during
the Early Modern period, particularly in Western Europe's urban centers. The
explanation for this phenomenon is multifold, but a fondamental prerequisite for
conspicuous consumption is the availability of capital. In other words, the level of a
society's wealth has to be high enough to sustain luxury spending, and more specifically,
the purchasing power of the middle and upper classes has to allow for conspicuous
consumption. Indeed, Van der Wee and others have documented the rather pro-
nounced rise in income and spending of the middle and upper income groups in the
sixteenth century. The emergence of these affluent classes was a direct result of a
transformation of the urban economies; after the decline of the textile industries in
most Flemish cities, a reorientation towards luxury production was supported by
rising domestic demand for a myriad of luxury goods. The rise in purchasing power
of the urban upper classes then had been buttressed by the development of the luxury
crafts and the revival of trans-continental trade. 1 During the fifteenth century, Bruges
had benefited the most from the revival of commerce and the flowering of the arts,
and as is well-known, Antwerp took over the torch after 1490.
But wealth alone does not suffice to persuade a population to invest in luxury
goods. There needs to be a desire or a particular culture which condones the acquisition
of works of art, in addition to a familiarity with (in this case) images. 2 In the Low
Countries, it does seem that from the fifteenth century onwards, images were omni-
present not just in the religious arena but throughout society as whole, a point rather
convincingly made by Svetlana Alpers who introduced the term visual culture. 3

1 Van der Wee, "Industrial Dynarnics," 329-335.

2 Richard Goldthwaite refers to concepts of need and taste for luxury goods, notions which are difficult to grasp
in purely econornic terrns. Richard Goldthwaite, Wealth and the Demand for Art, 1300-1600 (Baltimore, 1993).
3 Svedana Alpers, The Art of Describing: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century (London, 1983). Alpers deals
prirnarily with the Durch Republic of the seventeenth century, but her conclusions apply to a large extent to the
sixteenth century Southern Netherlands as well.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

Certainly by the late sixteenth century, the world of the Netherlanders was flooded
with pictorial images ranging from the grand altarpieces commissioned by the guilds
to cheap prints owned by artisans and laborers of modest means. The most sumptuous
paintings were displayed in churches or in the mansions of wealthy burghers, while
dozijnzuerkwould be found hanging unframed on walls in taverns. And every subject
was molded into an image: burghers, insects, flowers, cities, visions of heaven and
hell, landscapes, mythology and the entire scope of human behavior. Sorne of these
pictures cost fortunes while certain prints were handed out for free during processions.

5.2 Categories of Domestic Demand

It is useful to approach the range oflocal and regional demand the same way
Richard Goldthwaite tackled these issues in his stimulating book on art consumption
in Renaissance Italy, Europe's most prominent artistic provider. Goldthwaite argues
that a sustained demand for art of both the urbanized aristocracy and the church,
bolstered by continued availability of capital, launched the Italian art scene to fame.
In my view, these factors - in various degrees - came into play during the sixteenth
century in the Southern Netherlands as well. 4 In the following paragraphs, I will
survey the different categories of demand that Goldhtwaite discussed for Italy and
apply them to Antwerp and the Southern Netherlands.

5 .2.1 Religious institutions

Goldthwaite convincingly demonstrated that the demand for religious art

continued to grow in Early Modern times, a trend which was certainly not confined
to Italy. The expanse of liturgical apparatus meant the need for a wide variety of
objects that required appropriate display- artistic objects such as chalices, candlesticks,
altars, thrones, lecterns, garments, etc. were acquired and displayed as gestures of
charity in an attempt to appease God and to dramatically impress and influence the
congregation. The Early Modern church, as a result, abounded with images, most
often in the form of paintings, carved and painted altarpieces and frescos, as these
were perceived as the bible for the illiterate.
The growing number of priests and monks, and new foundations such as
couvents and confraternities, meant that many more images and other attributes
were required, in addition to new churches and monasteries. The proliferation of
religious orders and institutions was, of course, not a phenomenon of the sixteenth
century exclusively, but was an ongoing process since the Middle Ages. The laicization
of the church also contributed to increased demand. In response to changing societal
needs, the church opened itself up to other forms of religious practices: confraternities,
the cult of the saints, indulgences, and commemorative and votive masses. 5 Again,

4 See note 2.
5 Goldthwaite, Wealth, 72 and 107.

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 CHAPTER 5 THE ENGINES OF DEMAND

this widening of the church's activities and fonctions required a more diversified and
specialized supply of artwork.
The situation in Antwerp and the Southern Netherlands is no different than
the one in ltaly. Religious institutions and confraternities considered it their obligation
to acquire an appropriate amount of Christian works of art. For instance, the Onze-
Lieve-Vrouwelof brotherhood is known to have commissioned considerable quantities
of prints on a regular basis from 1511 onwards. The prints were ordered for some of
the processions that were held in the city; one document dated 1519 suggests that
the images were hung from torches which were carried around. 6
There was much building of religious infrastructure in sixteenth-century
Antwerp. The most visual and impressive landmark in the city was, of course, the
church of Our Lady, the later the Cathedra!. In terms of man power and investment,
the building of the tallest parish church in the Low Countries consumed a very
substantial portion of the church's resources. 7 The misfortunes that befell this
magnificent Gothie edifice throughout the sixteenth century- the fire of 1533, the
consecutive waves of iconoclasm - all spurred big programs of repair and renewal
which provided employment for countless masons, glassblowers (stained-glass
windows), wood carvers, painters and other skilled craftsmen. There were, of course,
other churches in Antwerp (notably the Saint Jacobs, Saint Walburgis, Saint Andrews
and Saint Pauls churches) which were being erected during this time period, and all
of these projects provided work for the different branches of the Antwerp luxury
industries. 8 Particularly the interior decoration of these ecclesiastical buildings repre-
sented very significant investments in terms of commissioned art, hereby employing
many Antwerp artists. 9
The Antwerp artists did not benefit only from religious institutions located
in the city proper. Many convents and abbeys scattered in the Brabantine countryside
would rely on the Antwerp art market for their purchases of artwork, whether it be
on commissioned or ready-made items. The large abbey of Averbode, for instance, is
known to have sent representatives to Antwerp on numerous occasions to obtain
works of art. For example, the abbey purchased several carved altarpieces, some on
commission while others on spec at Our Lady's pand 10

6 As a fraternity, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwelof Guild saw to the worship of the Virgin Mary in the Cathedra!. Van
der Stock, Printing Images inAntwerp, 115-117; Idem, "Prenten en visuele communicatie in de 16de eeuw," in
Stad in Vlaanderen, 187. E.H. Hoefnagels and C. Gouy!, Gilde van O.L. V Lof of kort verhael der instelling en
voortzetting van de kapel der H. Moeder Gods, in de kerk van Onze Lieve Vrouwe te Antwerpen (Antwerp, 1853).
7 Carl Van de Velde, "De l 6de eeuw," in De Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal van Antwerpen, ed. W Aerts (Antwerp,
1993), 183-203.
8 Lodewijk De Barsee, "De bouwkunst," 365-368.
9 Vlieghe, "Fine and decorative arts," 176.
10 Jacobs, Early Netherlandish CarvedAltarpieces, 199; Vermeylen, "ln de ban van Antwerpen," 241-242; P. Lefèvre,
"Textes concernant l'histoire artistique de l'abbaye d'Averbode," Revue belge d'Archéologie et d'Histoire de !'Art 5
(1935): 53; Idem, "Documents complémentaires sur deux retables anversois de l'abbaye d'Averbode au XVIe
siècle," Analecta Premonstratensia 44 ( 1968): 109; Hendrickx, Het schilderijenbezit, 41-42.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

Goldthwaite pointed out that the various reforms that took place within and
outside the established church stimulatcd the dcmand for art. The Counter Refor-
mation in particular was responsible for one of the most spectacular increases in art
production as it called for a complete renewal of the entire physical plant of the
church: the doctrines defined by the Co un cil of Trent required a whole new set of
tools suitable for the revitalized and more combative church. 11 The Counter
Reformation, to quote Goldthwaite, "thus came as the climax in the long rise of
demand for religious artwork." 12 This was certainly the case for Antwerp which, after
returning to Spanish control in 1585, de facto became the stronghold of the revitalized
Catholic church in the Low Countries and one of the great centers of Baroque art in
Europe. A significant portion of the new spending on art was driven by simply having
to repair or replace artwork that had been destroyed during the waves of iconoclasm
of the late l 560s, but the new style enticed clerics and benefactors of the church to
commission countless works of art to adapt existing churches and chapels to the
'modern' requirements as well. 13
As we have seen in Chapter 3, a particular incentive for commissions for
religious art came in September 1585 when the city council commanded that the
altars in the cathedra! and other churches be repaired or replaced. However, these
projects got off to a slow start since many institutions could not carry out these
efforts financially at this time of transition of the Antwerp economy and society.
Still, by the time Rubens returned to Antwerp from ltaly in 1608, the re-building of
the altars was in full swing and the economic revival unstoppable. In the decades to
corne, un der the impetus of the school of Rubens, painting and many of the applied
arts would reach unprecedented heights as tools of pictorial propaganda of the Counter
Reformation. 14

5.2.2 Civic Institutions

Civic patronage formed a very significant source of incarne for many artists
in Antwerp. Indeed, one should not overlook the tremendous increase in demand
for secular art (meaning consumption of works of art by non-religious institutions
and individuals regardless of the subject matter), particularly in a large and wealthy
city like Antwerp. The role of the town government as patron is not straightforward
since it did not engage in a systematic commissioning of art. Granted, during the
second half of the sixteenth century, there usually tended to be one or two appointed
stadsschilders (city painters), but this seems modest compared to the total number of

11 Vermeylen, "Marketing Painting," 202.

12 Goldthwaite, Wealth, 99.
13 Freedberg, Iconoclasm and Painting, 19 5-243.
14 Frans Baudouin, "lconografie en stijlontwikkeling in de godsdienstige schilderkunst te Antwerpen in de ze-
ventiende eeuw," in Antwerpen in de XVI/de eeuw (Antwerp, 1989), 338-350.

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 CHAPTER 5 THE ENGINES OF DEMAND

artists active in Antwerp and the overall scale of the art market. 15 In addition, the city
painters appear to have kept a low profile except at times when the magistrate
orchestrated a major event such as a joyous entry (see below).
1 would argue that the role of the local government as patron of the arts was
significant even though its efforts were unevenly spread over time. Rather, it was on
the occasion of particular events or projects that the civic authorities provided the art
market with a powerful injection. Architectural endeavors, for instance, were occasions
when the magistrate dug deep into its purse. The building of new bourse has been
mentioned earlier, and there were other examples of commercial architecture which
were erected under the auspices of the magistrate. For instance, the construction of
the tapissierspand (inaugurated in 15 54) was the result of a joint venture between the
local government and real estate mogul Gilbert Van Schoonbeke. 16 These functional
buildings represented substantial works, but required only a limited input from the
Antwerp artistic community proper. The erection of a new town hall between 1561
and 1565, on the other hand, required more direct involvement from painters and
sculptors. The building itself was and is one of the prime renaissance structures in
the Seventeen Provinces, and represented an investment of 150,000 guilders.17 An
inventory drawn up in 1571 reveals that many of the rooms were adorned with
paintings which wete ordered specially; among them, the obligatory judgment of
Solomon to hang in the courtroom and several other compositions that direcdy or
indirectly commented on or glorified the history of Antwerp, the duties of the
magistrate and the illustrious members of the council. 18
Furthermore, the joyeuses entrées or joyous entries were instances when the
city spent exorbitant amounts of money in order to provide the most sumptuous
decorations and festivities in honor of the visiting ruler. 19 The majority of the em-

15 The city accounts of 1555 and 1559 mention that Jan Leys and Jan Mandijn were city painters. Hans Vrede-
man De Vries and Peter Leys performed the same fonction during the early eighties. Moreover, the magistrate
subsidized particular artists who contributed to the development of particular branches of the art market inAntwerp.
Pieter Coecke Van Aalst, for instance, received an annual allowance for his efforts to promote the making of
designs for tapestries. Van den Branden, Geschiedenis, 162-163 and 240.
16 Soly, Urbanisme en kapitalisme, 234-238. Another example of commercial architecture forms the Hessenhuis,
completed in 1563. De Borsee, "De bouwkunst," 379; Floris Prims, "De arbeiders van het Hessenhuis," Antwer-
piensia 6 (1932): 293-301.
17 Tijs, Antwerpen, 71-75; Wilfried Brulez, Cultuur en getaL Aspecten van de relatie economie-maatschappij-cultuur in
Europa tussen 1400 en 1800 (Amsterdam, 1986), 7 5; Bert Hendrickx, Het schilderijenbezit van de Antwerpse burger
in de tweede helft van de zestiende eeuw: Een socio-economische analyse (Master's thesis, University of Leuven, 1997), 42-
43. For an analysis of the building program and iconography, see H. Bevers, Das Rathqus von Antwerpen (1561-1565).
Architektur und .Figuren-programm (Hildesheim, 1985); Bert Timmermans, "Een elite als actor op de kunstscène.
Patronen van het mecenaat in het zeventiende-eeuwse Antwerpen," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis 83 (2000): 7-8.
18 For instance, a series of portraits depicting aldermen and masters of the treasury were displayed in one of the
rooms. "Inventaris van het stadhuis uit 1571," in Bouwen en leven te Antwerpen in de J 6de eeuw. Tentoonstelling Het
Wapenschild (Antwerp, 1980), 64-73; Carl Van de Velde, "Profane historieschilderkunst te Antwerpen in de zeven-
tiende eeuw," in Antwerpen in de XVIlde eeuw (Antwerp, 1989), 368.
19 The joyous entry has its roots in the Roman pompa triumphalis, designed to honora victorious general but also
to install or welcome a new ruler. Furthermore, in the Low Countries, the joyous entries were used to visualize and

145
PART II INTERPRETATION

bellishments were custom-made for these occasions, but were generally not meant to
be preserved for prosperity. Nevertheless, the greater part of the Antwerp artistic
community contributed to the fabrication of the arches, floats, paintings, stages,
paintings and busts. ln addition, the chambers of rhetoric played a crucial role in the
presentations of the tableaux vivants which consisted of allegorical scenes that were
enacted in an appropriate architectural setting.
The first major entrée in Antwerp took place in 1515 when the future emperor
Charles was welcorned by the Antwerpeners with due pomp and circumstance. 20
Other en tries followed, but the joyous entry of Philip II (at this point still accompanied
by his father Charles V) into Antwerp in 1549 marked one of the absolute artistic
and cultural highlights in the history of the city; no fewer than 1,727 workers were
involved in constructing the countless arches, stages, statues and other adornments. 21
lt has been estimated that 200 painters and 400 sculptors, necessarily including some
artists from outside Antwerp, contributed to the entry. 22 By the time it was over, the
city had spent 260,000 guilders on the ceremony, or 3,000 times the annual wages of
a skilled laborer. 23
The city orchestrated other entries in 1520 (Charles V), 1578 (Mathias and
William of Orange), 1582 (Anjou), 1594 (Ernest) and 1599 (Albrecht and Isabella).
At all these occasions the magistrate went to great lengths to dazzle the prince or
ruler with the riches of Antwerp, cvcn intimes of hardship and financial difficulties.
To fond the installation of the Duke of Anjou as the new prince of the Netherlands
in 1582, the citywas forced to temporarily halt rent payments to widows and orphans.
Yet despite the tightness of the finances, contemporary accounts confirm that it was
a superb entry indeed: "even if God himself would have descended from heaven, he
could not have been received with more honor." 24 The budget of the joyeuse entrée of
Anjou has been preserved, which allows us to identify the amount of money that was
allocated to artists who contributed to the preparation and execution of the entry.

express the economic and political conditions on which the !oyait}· for the new ruler would be based. D.P. Snoep,
Praal en Propaganda: triumjàlia in de Noordelijke Nederlanden in de 16de en 17de eeuw (Alphen aan den Rijn,
1975), 8-14; Roy Strong, Art and Power. Renaissance Festivals, 1450-1650 (Suffolk, 1984); John Landwehr, Splendid
Ceremonies. State Entries and Royal Funerals in the Low Countries. 1515-1791. A Bibliography (Lei den, 1971);
Hugo Soly, "Plechtige intochten in de steden in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden tijdens de overgang van de Middeleeu-
wen naar de Nieuwe Tijd: communicatie, propaganda, spektakel," Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 97 (1984): 341-
361.
20 Pieter Génard, "Joyeuse Entrée et Inauguration de l'archiduc Charles à Anvers en 1515," Bulletin de la
Commission royale d'Histoire, Fourth Series (1873): 387-406.
21 Guido Marnef, Antwerpen in Reformatietijd Ondergronds Protestantisme in een internationale handelsmetropool,
1550-1577. (Ph.D. diss., University of Leuven, 1991), vol.1, 82.
22 C. Janson, The Birth ofDutch Liberty: Origins ofthe Pictorial lmagery. (Ph.D. diss., University of Minneapolis-
Saint Paul, 1982), 229.
23 Soly, "Plechtige lntochten," 342. A contemporary account of this entry is provided by J .C. Calvete De Emelia,
Le très-huereux voyage fait par très-haut et très-puissant prince Don Philippe fils du grand empereur Charles-Quint
depuis l'Espagne jusqu'à ses domaines de Basse-Allemagne avec la description de tous les Etats de Brbant et de Flandre,
ed. J. Petit (Brussels, 1883), 5 vols.
24 "Ja soe groeten, dat al waert dat Godt vutyen hemel selven quame, soo en soude men hem hier niet meerder
eere hebben aengedaen." Anonymous letter written in Antwerp on February 17, 1582. Published in Willems,
Mengelingen, 133-134.

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Sizable sums were paid to woodworkers, painters, tapestry weavers, smiths and the
like for producing all the necessary attributes for the ceremony. Tapestries in particular
were very cosdy; Daniel Stuerbout, for instance, was paid the handsome sum of
3,094 guilders for delivering five pieces of tapestry. The two city painters, Pieter Leys
and Hans Vredeman De Vries, received 969 guilders for the paint work they executed
on the arches and stages. Lasdy, the Antwerp goldsmiths were rewarded 10,417 guilders
for a model golden castle which was given as a gift to Anjou, and a copious selection
of silverware for the Duke's entourage. 25
ln sum, even though joyous entries were not organized on a regular basis,
they did represent very significant bursts of artistic production ignited by the
magistrate. The spectacular sums of public fonds poured into these ceremonies thus
provided a genuine boost for Antwerp's artistic community. ln addition, the splendor
and wealth exhibited during the entries undoubtedly reinforced the city's status as
cultural capital to visiting dignitaries and other foreign guests, an image which would
benefit the Antwerp art market in the long run.
Sources of civic patronage were not limited to city hall. The powerfol and
often wealthy guilds were equally active in ordering artwork for their private chapels
or guild houses. 26 Traditionally, a guild installed and maintained altars and chapels in
the city's churches, but foremost in the Cathedral. For instance, in 1539, the Mercers'
Guild spent more than 3,000 guilders on a new retable to be placed in Antwerp's
main church. Given the extravagance of such sums, it is not surprising that the corpo-
rations at times overstretched financially in trying to keep up with the "appropriate"
level of conspicuous consumption. Frequendy, they had to revert to extraordinary
measures to raise necessary fonds. For instance, when the Guild of the Old Cloth
Salesmen (oudekleerkopers) wanted to commission an altar devoted ta Saint Catherine,
it was forced ta ask permission from the magistrate ta raise membership fees, a request
which was granted.27

5.2.3 Private Patronage

Antwerp did not harbor a court, but the lack of royal patronage was greatly
compensated for by the presence of a wealthy art-loving elite that owned impressive
art collections. 28 lndeed, probate inventories show that the bourgeoisie procured large
amounts of works of art to adorn their homes. ln the case of Antwerp and to a lesser

25 A. Gielens, "De kosten van de Blijde Intrede van den Hertog van Anjou," Antwerpen's Oudheidkundige Kring
16 (1940): 96-100; Van den Branden, Geschiedenis, 240-242.
26 Of course, the guild houses by themselves represented substantial investments in architecture. The building of
the Vleeshuisor Burcher's Hall, to name one of the most striking examples, is to this day one of the prime examples
of the Brabantine Gothie style in Antwerp. De Barsee, "De bouwkunst," 370; ]. Van Herck, "Het Vleeshuis te
Antwerpen," Antwerpen's Oudheidkundige Kring 14 (1938): 67-81.
27 ]os Van de Nieuwenhuizen, "lnstellingen en mensen in de Onze-Lieve-Vtouwekerk. De periode 1124-1559,"
in De Kathedraal, 34-38.
28 Hugo Soly has argued that only a small group of merchants and industrialists benefited fully from the city's
prosperty during the sixteenth century, while Herman Van der Wee emphasizes the existence of a wider middle

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 PART II INTERPRETATION

extent in other cities in the Southern Netherlands, the commercial upper and middle
classes were responsible for a substantial portion of the local consumption of luxury
goods. 29
An analyis of 145 probate inventories collected by Bert Hendrickx for the
period 1565-1585 allows us to gauge the types of paintings which were owned by the
citizens of Antwerp during the second half of the sixteenth century. 30 ln total these
inventories yielded a total of 1,549 paintings, or an average of 10.68 pictures per
household.
By taking into account the social status of the testators, the evidence becomes
very compelling that lower-income groups owned some works of art as well (see
Table 15). Even folks with modest means who lived
TABLE 15: Median and Average Number of in a single or two-room dwelling were still able to
Paintings in Antwerp Probate Inventories decorate their dwellings with typically a few pain-
(1565-1585) 31 tings. Granted, these items were cheaper and prob-
Social Category ably of poorer quality (in all likelihood not framed)
(Number ofRooms) Average Median than the works of art found in the collections of
........... 1 .................... 4.7 .......... 1 .... . wealthy burghers, but the fact that they were there
......... 2-3 .................. 3.7 ......... 2.5 .. . at all, is significant. After all, similar research for
......... 4-7 .................. 8.9 .......... 6 .... . Delft and Metz tends to underscore the widely-
........ 8-11 .. . ... ... ... .... . 10 .. . .. .. .. .. 6 .... . accepted axiom that ownership of artwork in Early
....... 12-15 ............... 16.9 ........ 16 ... .
Modern times was reserved for the elites. Measured
........ >15 ................. 27.4 ........ 22 ... .
in terms of paintings, 90 percent of the probate in-
SOURCE: Source: Blondé and Vermeylen, "A ventories in Antwerp included pictures, compared
taste for Bruegel?" in print. 31 to 66 percent for Metz and 67 percent for Delft. 32
The reasons behind this discrepancy must be sought
in a combination of the breadth of the Antwerp middle class (which Van der Wee
stresses) and the availability of abundant, inexpensive, ready-made pictures in the city.

class. The discussion surrounding the social polarization remains unresolved, but neither scholar would deny the
existence of a large art-consuming class in Antwerp. Hugo Soly, "Sociale relaties in Antwerpen tijdens de 16de en
17de eeuw," in Verhaal van een metropoo~ ed. Jan Van der Stock (Antwerp, 1993), 38-39; Van der Wee, Growth,
vol. 2, 194-198 and 389-406.
29 Balis, "Genres en burgerijk mecenaat," 240; Bernd Roeck, Kunstpatronage in der Frühen Neuzeit. Studien zu
Kunstmarkt, Künstlern und ihren Auftraggebern in Italien und im Heiligen Riimischen Reich, 15. -17. jahrhundert
(Gottingen, 1999), 35-64.
30 Hendrickx, Het schilderijbezit, Appendix. The research into the material culture (mostly based on probate
inventories) of the Low Countries during the Ancien Régime is in full swing. Useful introductions include John
Loughman and John Michael Montias, Public and Private Spaces. Works ofArt Seventeenth-Century Dutch Houses
(Zwolle, 2000); Bruno Blondé, "Art and Economy in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Antwerp: a view from
the Demand Side," in Economia et arte. Secc. XIII-XVIII (Prato, 2002), 377-392. Also, the 2000 issue (vol. 51) of
the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch ]aarboek was devoted to "The Art of Home in the Netherlands, 1500-1800."
31 Since we do not have any information regarding the income and overall wealth of the testators, I have counted
the number of rooms of each inventory in order to get at least a sense of the social category of these households. For a
more detailing methodology concerning these categories, see Blondé and Vermeylen, "A Taste for Bruegel?" note 20.
32 The figures for Delft and Metz were calculated for the seventeenth century. Hendrickx, Het schilderijenbezit,
112-114; Montias, Artists and Artisans, 220; Philip Benedict, "Towards the Comparative Study of the Popular
Market for Art: The Ownership of Paintings in Seventeenth-Century Metz," Past and Present 109 (1985): 105.

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 CHAPTER 5 THE ENGINES OF DEl\IAND

Fortunately, the subject matter of these TABLE 16: Composition ofMedian Painting
paintings is known in 1,289 cases (83 percent of Ownership According to Subject C:ategory in
ail paintings). As could be expected, with almost Antwerp Probate Inventories (1565-1585) 33
62 percent, religious topics represent the lion's share Religion ................................ 61.7% .. .
of the Antwerp collections, but the presence of a Portrait ................................. 17.9% .. .
large variety of additional genres in this sample is Antiquity and Mythology ....... 5.3% .. .
noteworthy nonetheless. For instance, painted Genre ...................................... 4.7o/o .. .
portraits were among the most popular items orde- Landscape ............................... 3.8% .. .
34
red from Antwerp artists. The commercial classes Still-life ................................... 3.8% .. .
in particular appear to have been keen on having Allegory .................................. 2.5% .. .
History ................................... 1.6% .. .
their portraits made; there are numerable examples
Other ...................................... 1.1%
of established local and foreign merchants whose
portraits still exist at present. 35 The taste for portraits was not confined to depictions
of the purchaser's own family mcmbcrs, though; images of contemporary and deceased
rulers such as Charles V and Philip II or the Queen of England could be found on
the walls of a burgher's house. 36
Art collections owned by the Antwerp bourgeoisie were not only found in
their urban dwellings, they were also on display in their villas on the outskirts of the
city as well. ln fact, there were at least 251 of these country houses in a 20 kilometer
radius around Antwerp between 1540 and 1600. 37 Sorne of these pleasurable yet
high-minded retreats from urban life were quite modest while others were veritable
castles, but paintings were a set ingredient among the furnishings in ail of them.
Landscapes and peasant scenes formed the topic of many pictures, as well as other
themes which were congruent with the air of rusticity surrounding the suburban
villa. 38

33 A weighted median was used to compensate for the unequal distribution among the different social categories
in the probate inventory sample. First, for every social category, a distribution percentage was calculated.
Subesequently, the median of these figures was calculated for every subject category separately. Finally, the results
were calculated in percentage terms. Blondé and Vermeylen, "A Taste for Bruegel?", note 22.
34 The 66 or 4.26 percent tronies (heads) found in the inventories were included in the portraiture category, even
though some of them no doubt can be counted as genre pieces as well. On the difficulties with respect to the art-
historical categorization of the en tries found in inventories, see Blondé and Vermeylen, "A Taste for Bruegel?".
35 Unfortunately, the majority of these types of burgher-portraits remain unidentified as of yet.
36 According to Katlijne Van der Stighelen, these "historical portraits" were the subject of serial production and
thus fairly inexpensive. Katlijne Van der Stighelen, "Burgers en hun portretten," in Stad in Vlaanderen, ed. Jan van
der Stock (Brussel, 1991), 143. In addition, see De Clippel, "De Vlaamse portretkunst," 126-129; Hendrickx, Het
schilderijenbezit, 95-97;]. Vervaet, "De portretkunst in Antwerpen, 1550-1650," in Van Bruegel tot Rubens. De
Antwerpse schilderschoo!, 1550-1650, exhib. cat. Museum of Fine Arts (Antwerp, 1992), 25-27.
37 Roland Baetens, "La "villa rustica", phénomène italien dans le paysage Brabançon au !6ème siècle," in Aspetti
della \lita Economia Medievale (Florence, 1985), 171-191. For illustrations of these lusthoven, see Philippe De
Cantillion, Les délices du Brabants (Amsterdam, 1757), 3 vols. The art dealer Joris Vezeleer (discussed in Chapter
2, sub 4) also had one ofthese villa's (named Het Lateernhofi built in 1533-1535, located in nearby Deurne. Van
Den Kerckhove, "Joris Vezeleer," 330.
38 Claudia Goldstein, "Artefacts of domestic life. Bruegel's paintings in the Flemish home," Nederlands Kunst-
historisch jaarboek 51(2000):184.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

This brings us to the possible motivations behind the obviously large-scale

acquisition of paintings and other artistic goods. Unless the buyer was an art dealer,
financial considerations - art as investment - did not seem to have been a major pre-
occupation. More importantly, the commercial elites and the middle classes actively
sought to enhance and cultivate their status by procuring artwork. Such bourgeois
emulation of the nobility was part of a broader pattern of conspicuous consumption
which included buying large town houses and an estate in the countryside. This
behavior also denoted a new class consciousness, one in which the collecting and
appreciation of art was evidence of gentlemanly conduct. 39
ln addition, people sought to own religiously-inspired pictures for private
devotional purposes. Depictions of Christ, the apostles, the virgin Mary functioned
as abjects of meditation and prayer, and the almighty creator was glorified in nature-
scenes. Lastly, the acquisition of works of art for purely esthetic and art-historical
motivations was slowly but surely gaining ground, which when hand in hand with
growing connoisseurship. Collectors found it increasingly fashionable not simply to
display a diversified arrangement of pictures, but also to exhibit their expert knowledge
about them. 40

5.3 Domestic versus International Demand

lt needs to be stressed that the seemingly insatiable demand for luxury goods
both in the secular and religious arena was not confined to the Southern Netherlands
or ltaly alone, but that this trend took place throughout Europe during the Renais-
sance. Demand for luxury items grew both quantitatively and qualitatively in all the
major nation states in Western Europe. Since Antwerp held such a pivotal position
within the European trade network, it was ideally placed to respond to the increasing
demand for luxury goods, not just on a regional but international level as well. Judging
from the enormous exports, there is no doubt that the foreign component of this
demand-led industrywas the predominant one. As 1 will point out in the next chapter,
the fact that in the 1560s as many as 300 artists were active in the city, it is virtually
impossible that they were producing primarily for the home market, no matter how
substantial local and regional consumption undoubtedly was.41 Moreover, the
Hundredth Penny tax registers further prove that, even during the slow early forties,
art was exported widely. Not even counting tapestries, no fewer than 387 shipments
of works of art were registered in the two years spanning 1543-1545. 42

39 Sixteenth-century handbooks for gentlemen emphasized the vitues of patronage, appreciating and collecting
works of art. The most well-known of these manuals was Il Cortegiano written by Baldassare Castiglione in 1528.
Filipczak, Picturing Art in Antwerp, 54.
40 Hendrickx, Het schilderijenbezit, 75.
41 Dubbe and Vroom, "Mecenaat en kunstmarkt," 13; see Chapter 6.
42 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23358-23364; see Chapter 2, sub 5.

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 CHAPTER 5 THE ENGINES OF DEMAND

In other words, Antwerp was the venue where supply and demand for luxury
goods converged. Countless foreign merchants descended on the city to supply
themselves with a variety of luxury items in addition to the more traditional goods
such as English cloth, Portuguese pepper or sugar. In other words, the Antwerp
economy depended heavily on international trade and Foreign demand for its products,
and this was particularly the case for the arts. 43 To facilitate the foreign-demand
component, the panden performed the important fonction as intermediary between
artist and the ultimate consumer abroad. Starting in the 15 70s when fewer Foreign
merchants came to Antwerp, local art dealers would increasingly step in to actively
organize the exports themselves in an attempt to safeguard the industry from the loss
of foreign markets. One of the implications of these developments was, of course, an
increasing commercialization and professionalization of the art trade. These
ramifications will be discussed in Chapter 6.

*
* *

Goldthwaite argues that Italy's urban setting was the conditio sine qua non that
fueled the Italian art market, but he over-emphasizes the uniqueness of the Italian
case. 44 The Southern Netherlands especially rivaled Italy at the level of overall urbani-
zation, even though Italy's urbanized nobility did contribute more to the flowering
of the arts than their Netherlandish counterparts. Nevertheless, the Netherlandish
landed nobility had a long tradition of collecting art, especially since the Burgundian
dukes propagated and legitimized conspicuous consumption at the court. 45
In comparison with Italy then, it does seem reasonable to assume that the
Southern Netherlands could not rely on the concentration of urbanized elites, but
that this was compensated for by the commercial middle class. In this respect, I
propose that the consumption of art (at least in the domain of painting) in the North
was fueled primarily by low-end demand, as opposed to more aristocratie conspicuous
consumption in Italy. The observation that the ownership of pictures in Antwerp
was widespread and not confined to the elites would support such a daim. But
probably the salient dissimilarity with the Italian art market in terms of demand
might be the weight of the export. The data presented in Chapter 2, sub 5 convincingly
highlighted Antwerp's position in the international art trade while even the most
prestigious Italian art centers such as Florence, Rome and Venice did not engage in
exports of paintings in any systematic fashion.

43 Van der Wee, "Industrial Dynamics," 334.

44 Goldthwaite, Wealth, 99.
45 Also, the consumption ofluxury commodities by the Netherlandish nobility has not been studied thoroughly
- certainly by comparison to the Italian case - which accounts for the fact that the impression exists that they were
not as involved in luxury consumption. However, collections such as the ones that were put rogether by the
Arenberg or de Croy families indicate that the Netherlandish nobility did engage in large-scale collecting.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

The differences with the ltalian art market notwithstanding, it is undeniable

that demand for artistic goods in Western Europe broadened very distinctly during
the period under discussion. Both the institutional buyers and individuals required
an ever more diverse pallet of luxury goods to satisfy their needs, and especially the
potential for visual images appears to have been bottomless. When the reach of painting
expanded beyond the narrow confines of religion (both in terms of subject matter
and its designated location for display), the medium was suitable to carry a myriad of
meanings and fonctions. Through process and product innovation, new types of
pictures other than strictly religious ones could communicate messages containing
ideology, psychological elements, social values and political propaganda. 46 These
meanings and fonctions saw themselves translated into new genres, many of which
came to light in sixteenth-century Antwerp.

46 Goldthwaite, Wealth, 139; Montias, Le marché de l'art, 131.

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 CHAPTER 6

AT THE CROSSROADS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND:

THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF
ART IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ANTWERP

I will argue in this chapter that the Antwerp art market was highly com-
mercialized at a time when the city had become the undisputed artistic capital of the
Southern Netherlands. 1 In keeping with our focus on painting but also drawing on
observations in the field of sculpture, I would contend that commercialization of art
was especially pronounced in Antwerp compared to other artistic centers. In other
words, Antwerp played a pioneering role in the process of commodization of works
of art, and in the professionalization of the art trade. Again, commercialization denotes
art that was predominantly produced for the open market rather than on commission,
and which was sold en masseto a domestic and international clientele (exports being
a clear indication of speculative production).

6.1 Introduction

Four elements can be distilled from the previous chapters which support the
daim that paintings and altarpieces were produced predominantly for the open market
in Antwerp. First of all, the production capacity for works of art was very substantial
indeed; it has been estimated that about 300 artists (mostly painters) were active in
Antwerp in the 1560s, roughly twice the number ofbakers and three times the number
of butchers. 2 Obviously, only a portion of these sufficed to satisfy local demand. In
addition, the output of serial production was made possible by the proto-industrial
workshops. This high number of artists combined with these efficiently-run ateliers
suggests that a significant portion of artistic production in Antwerp must have been
intended for foreign markets. Moreover, since Antwerp artists could not depend on
the presence of a court and accompanying nobility for commissions, few artists worked
in salaried employment as was so often the case in Italy. 3 Instead, not being tied to

1 An earlier version of this chapter was presented at a symposium at the Metropolitan Museum in New York on
November 7, 1998. See also Filip Vermeylen, "The Commercialization of Art: Painting and Sculpture in Sixteenth-
century Antwerp," in New Approaches in Early Netherlandish Painting, ed. Maryan Ainsworth (New York, 2001),
82-100.
2 B. Dubbe and WH. Vroom, "Mecenaat en kunstmarkt in de Nederlanden gedurende de zestiende eeuw," in
Kunst voor de beeldenstorrn. Catalogus, exhib. cat., Rijksmuseum (The Hague, 1986), 13.
3 Montias, "Le marché de l'art," 1544.

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PART II INTERPRETATION

one patron meant that artists were more at liberty to produce at their own initiative
and for the open market. This freedom allowed them to better respond to the varying
market conditions such as changing fashions and demand for a specific product.
Secondly, it is undeniable that a huge portion of paintings and altarpieces
that were produced in Antwerp were to a large degree standardized. Form and con-
tent often revealed their ready-made nature. Jacobs pointed out that the subject matter
of carved altarpieces was conceived to appeal to a myriad ofbuyers: a limited number
of popular tapies were being depictcd, and nothing too complicatcd that would
discourage potential buyers. For instance, workshops concentrated on including large
numbers of popular Passion scenes in the corpus or caisse of the retable. 4 The high
level of standardization of the Antwerp retable was to a large extent the direct result
of strict quality control measures. As we have seen, the ordinances pertaining the
fabrication of the corpus of a carved altarpiece were very precise; the measurements
of the caisse and thickness of the boards, in addition to the kind of wood that was
acceptable, were all subject to objective standards and verification by guild inspectors.
Frequently, a same level of standardization was often found in painting where
many copies existed of a particular composition. During the first decades of the
sixteenth century, recurring compositions such as Adorations ofthe Magi even became
a trademark of the Antwerp Mannerists. These where painted in an easily recognizable
style which was in great demand abroad. 5 Moreover, even though there were no
formal rules imposed by the Guild of Saint Luke regarding the size of the canvas or
panel, it is striking that the greater majority of pictures listed in the inventory of Dire
Bijns had the same measurements. A first batch 39 paintings were all of the same size
(2.5 Parisian feet long), as did the following 25 pieces (2.5 Parisian feet long). The
pictures in Bijns' stock did represent a wide variety in terms of subject matter, but
the level of standardization of these export items was certainly significant. 6
Thirdly, the presence of the panden in the city underscores the level of
sophistication of the art trade and its high volume. During the first half of the sixteenth
century, there were at least a dozen of such sales halls operational in Antwerp, and
most of them offered a particular type ofluxury commodity for sale such as tapestries
or jewelry. Their very existence supports the assumption that great quantities of works
of art were produced for the open market which points to a high level of commercia-
lization. Our Lady's Pandwas undoubtedly the most prominent gallery for the sale
of retables and paintings until the middle of the century. Archiva! records provide
ample proof that finished and even semi-finished carved altarpieces and paintings
were traded in the pand Foreign merchants were compelled to purchase ready-made
art for reasons of time and price: there was no waiting period involved, and commis-

4 Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 54.

5 Van de Velde, "De Schilderkunst," 425 and Vermeylen, "ExportingArt," 18; see Chapter 1, sub 3.
6 78.5 and Il 0 cm, respectively. The clerck indicated rhat all of these were "new" oil paintings executed on
canvas; see Appendix 5.

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 CHAPTER 6 AT THE CROSSROADS OF 5UPPLY AND DEMAND

sioned works were as rule more expensive as they tended to display a higher level of
specificity and generally included fewer standardized components. 0
ln 1540, the marketing of paintings was further commercialized and facilitated
by the inauguration of the schilderspand, a gallery that was open for business year-
round. The probate inventory of the primer and art dealer Jan van Kessel provides us
with a snapshot of what was actually on sale at the gallery. Besicles a number of
miscellaneous items, Van Kessel's shop featured the following merchandise:

119 double canvasses of various sorts, some not finished

13 double canvasses depicting figures from Kortrijk
an old painting on canvas by Jeroen Bosch
477 double canvasses of different sorts
3 printed images by Raphael depicting martyrdom
19 printed sheets by Raphael, Parmigianino and others. 8

If nothing else, this document provides us with an idea of the sheer numbers
that were involved in the art trade. According to this list, Van Kessel had no fewer
than 610 pictures in stock at the time of his death in 1581 plus a number of prints.
Obviously, not all these could be displayed simultaneously within the confines of
one shop. The vast majority of the canvasses were probably rolled up which, besicles
saving space, enabled easy transportation. The reference to painted figures from Kort-
rijk becomes meaningful when we consult Het Schilderboeck on this genre. Van Man-
der commented in very pejorative terms about the style of painting that was associated
with the town of Kortrijk, defining it as: 9

een slechte wijse van wercken dat
dickwils geen schilderen is weerdich
te heeten maer soo eenigh doeck-
verwen oft cleerschrijven datmen daer
in der stadt gewent is en daer soo
eenighe marct-volghende cramers op
zijn gepast
a simple manner of working which
is often not worthy to be called
painting, but merely a bit of can-
vas-coloring or staining to which
one is accustomed in that town, and
which are chased after by some
peddlars who scour the markets

Clearly, Van Mander associates this style with cheap low-quality pictures
which involved painting in tempera on canvas was very common. These types of
pictures were also produced in Mechlin, and appear to have been readily available on
the Antwerp art market. 10

7 We recall Jacobs' estimate that it took up to a year to finish a carved altarpiece, and in some cases even longer.
Jacobs, Early Netherlandish CarvedAltarpieces, 168 and 199-200.
8 S.A.A., N. 1478, no fol. (document dated February 26, 1583); see Appendix 2.
9 Van Mander, Lives, vol. !, 254-255 (fol. 249r).
10 Ibid., vol. 4, 11 O.

155
PART II INTERPRETATION

The availability of the unfinished dypthics for sale at the schilderspandis very
significant as it underlines the advanced degree of commercialization of the art trade.
lt gave the potential costumer another option besicles having to chose between the
purchase of a ready-made painting or to commission a new one. ln Antwerp, he or
she could th us acquire a semi-finished painting which allowed for adding personalized
elements such as a portrait or a coat of arms at a later stage. This phenomenon could
already be found much earlier in the century in Antwerp mannerist painting. The
wings of these triptychs werc occasionally lcft blanc so that the ultimate buyer (often
located in foreign lands) could have it customized by having his portrait or patron
saint painted in. The same trend could be observed in sculpture where a mengvorm
existed as well between the on spec and on commission mode of production: carved
altarpieces were often a mix between a standardized corpus and some personalized
scenes and components. 11
Lastly, the success of the panden can only be explaine<l by the massive exports
of both paintings and altarpieces, which of course, consisted almost exclusively of
non-commissioned art. ln Chapter 1, sub 3, 1 have demonstrated that Brabantine
carved altarpieces were widely exported, at least during the first half of the sixteenth
century. However, in the case of paintings, there is evidence in ab un dance that Antwerp
masters were shipped out in enormous quantities throughout the century, and to
every possible destination. The success of the Mannerists had set the tone during the
1510s and 1520s, and Antwerp paintings continued to be exponed even when the
Mannerist style was no longer in vogue. During the forties, at a time when the economy
was still sluggish, 130 shipments of painting were counted in a two-year period, the
bulk of which went to the lberian Peninsula (see Graph 4, p. 82).
Ten years later, the export of paintings in terms of monetary value had risen
from 1,012 guilders annually to an impressive 17,543 guilders in 1553. 12 lncreasingly,
more professional and wealthy art dealers were getting involved in the art trade. For
instance, during the month of February 1553 alone, the ltalian dealer Lancelotto
Robiano loaded four large cases and five coffers stuffed with canvasses and other
items such as two organs on ships heading for Andalousia. The estimated value of
this cargo exceeded 2000 guilders. 13 Furthermore, even when the economic and
political conditions became precarious after the outbreak of the Revolt in 1566,
Antwerp dealers still managed somehow to get their goods across the border, but
they did have to re-route their traffic to some extent due to a blockage of the Scheldt.
As a result, Paris and other French cities became an important alternative market for
the Antwerp artistic community during the 1570s and 1580s.
ln sum, these observations leads to the conclusion that very substantial quanti-
ties of the paintings and carved altarpieces were produced on spec. Lynn Jacobs claimed

11 Jacobs, Early Netherlandish CarvedA!tarpieces, 228-235.

12 A.R.A.B., R.K. 23470-23472; see Table 10, p. 103.
13 Ibid., R.K. 23471, fol. 45v (entry dated February 4, 1553), fol. 84r(entry dated February 16, 1553), fol.l l 7r
(entry dated February 24, 1553) and fol. 142v (entry dated February 26, 1553).

156
 CHAPTER 6 AT THE CROSSROADS OF 5UPPLY AND DEMAND

in her book that up to 75 percent of Antwerp carved altarpieces were indeed produced
for the open market rather than on commission. 14 Jacobs' figure is no doubt somewhat
inflated, but a more conservative estimate would not alter the fact this branch of the
art market was subject to a high degree of commercialization. The same applies to
painting. Given the high volume of exports and the absolutely stunning numbers of
ready-made paintings present in the schilderspand (more than 600 paintings in one
shop out of 100), the conclusion is inescapable that the output of on spec produced
pictures (at least in terms of absolute numbers) must have been vast. ln light of this
deductions, we need to examine which pre-conditions existed in Antwerp which not
only explain the magnitude of the art market, but also made the high level of commer-
cialization possible.

6.2 Pre-conditions for Commercialization

Firstly, workshops produced artwork in semi-industrial fashion, applying

process innovation strategies to eut costs. Masters employed several kinds of assistants
which allowed for in-depth division of labor and intensified collaboration between
artists. Furthermore, there are indications that a putting-out system existed in Antwerp
whereby certain painters produced pictures directly for art dealers. Van Mander reports
that Hieronymus Cock commissioned engravings, etchings, and canvases in oil and
watercolor which he subsequendy tried to sell, and the art dealer Anthoni De Palermo
also had painters working for him. Jacques De Backer, for instance, supplied De
Palermo with a number of pictures that were exported by the latter to France where
they sold well. 15 The existence of the putting-out practice is further implied by the
1575 ordinance issued by the Guild of Saint Luke. ln this text, the commissioning of
paintings by art dealers ("to have made for other persons") with the intention to sell
to a third party, was referred to twice. 16
Carved altarpieces were also the subject of a standardized mode of production
much along the same lines as what occurred in painting. Many retables were charac-
terized by a repetition of models and prefabrication of parts. Jacobs has identified the
same prefabricated figures in several altarpieces. 17 Furthermore, division oflabor was
especially pronounced: the joiners would make the caisse or corpus, the sculptors would
produce the main carved scene and the painters would be responsible for the painting
of the wings. For instance, on September 7, 1520, the painter Peter De Vleeminck

14 Jacobs, Ear!y Nehtherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 9. According to Ria De Boodt (Free University of Brussels)
who has performed technical research on dozens ofBrabantine retables, as muchas 25 percent of these did not fall
into either category (on spec or on commission), but consisted of a mixrure of pre-fabricated parts and some
customized elements which were added to conform to the wishes of the buyer. In other words, a percentage of 40-
50 percent of on spec-made retables seems more realistic, but is nonetheless still very significant. 1 would like to
thank Ria De Boodt for communicating the preliminary findings of her investigation to me.
15 Van Mander, Lives, vol. 1, 185 and 186; Eckhard Leuschner, "Defining De Backer," 7.
16 "te doen maecken voorandere persoonen;" see Appendix 6.
17 Jacobs, Ear!y Netherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 228-23 I.

157
PART II INTERPRETATION

promised to pay 13 guilders to the sculptor Aerdt De Beeldsnijder for the sculptured
part of an altarpiece. In this instance, it was the painter who acted as the leading
artist who contracted out part of the work. 18 The breaking up of the production
process was often not that clear-cut, but there definitely was a high level of specia-
lization among the artists involved. The net result of these strategies - both for painting
and carved altarpieces - was that the artist-entrepreneur was able to offer his product
at a competitive price. Moreover, in the case of painting, there was increasing
collaboration bctwccn autonomous workshops which furthcr strcamlined a highly
specialized production (see Chapter 4, sub 2).
Secondly, the Guild of Saint Luke, which grouped most artists active in
Antwerp, adopted a pragmatic approach towards market sales rather than restrict it,
a policywhich was not adhered to in other competing cities. On the contrary, through
various regulations the guild aimed to control, structure and channel the art trade to
its own advantage. In 1484, Our Lady's pand was given the exclusive rights to the
selling of art. In doing so, the Guild effectively concentrated the sale of artwork
during the fairs to one location for the duration of the fairs, but the corporation was
flexible enough in allowing artists and dealers from other cities to market their
merchandise in Antwerp. 19 In fact, during the fifteenth century, artists from Brussels
are believed to have outnumbered their Antwerp counterparts in the Dominican
pand, the predecessor of Our Lady's pand, which led Dan Ewing and others to the
conclusion that Antwerp was a major center of distribution for art long before it
became the heart of artistic production in the Low Countries. 2° Furthermore, the
Guild had put in place a strict system of quality control in the case of carved altarpieces.
Retables were required to be stamped before they could be offered for sale. As I have
mentioned, the aim of such a label guaranteeing a certain quality was to gain the
confidence of the buyer. 21
A similar system of quality control was not institutionalized among painters,
but the merchants who bought work by Antwerp masters often had the authenticity
and the value of the painting verified. The Spanish merchant Samson del Barco, for
instance, instructed Melchior Groenenborch in 1542 to estimate the value of three
paintings and establish authorship. In this particular example, the canvasses were
painted by Jan Mandijn and Pieter Aertsen. 22 The language of the document consists
of some kind of ad hoc Esperanto, possibly to enable an undetermined foreign clientele
to read and understand this certificate.
This brings us to the final and perhaps most crucial necessary pre-condition
for commercialization: the Antwerp art market thrived ultimately because demand
for luxury commodities had expanded dramatically, both domestically as well as

18 Jan Van der Stock, Beeld in veelvoud te Antwerpen (15de eeuw-1585). Produktie - controle - consumptie. Vijf
perspectieven, (Ph.D. diss., University of Leuven, 1995), 327.
19 Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck, 29-30; see Chapter 1, sub 2.2.
20 Ewing, "Marketing Art," 561.
21 Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 157-158; Montias, "Le marché de l'art," 1558, n. 53.
22 S.A.A., N. 2071, fol. 126v (document datedAugust 22, 1542).

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 CHAPTER 6 AT THE CROSSROADS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND

abroad. The demand side of the art market is something that is still too often
overlooked in the recent literature even though Richard Goldthwaite has demonstrated
for ltaly that the art trade was in essence a demand-led industry, and 1 have argued
that his conclusions apply to the Low Countries as well. 23 Traditionally, it had been
the church and the nobility that had commissioned artwork, but new clients appeared
in Early Modern times that can be situated in both the religious and secular spheres.
Affluent merchants and the civic authorities revealed themselves as major consumers
of art in most urban settings, and the continuing proliferation of religious orders and
institutions increased demand for a wide variety ofliturgical objects and all kinds of
images. Moreover, as the sixteenth century progressed, art production was especially
stimulated by the various reforms that took place within and outside the Roman
Catholic church. 24 Particularly important for Antwerp art was the Counter Refor-
mation which would bring great fame to the city through the school of Rubens in
the seventeenth ccntury.
Antwerp's pivotai position in the European trade network meant that the city
became the international market place where supply and demand met at the time
when the traditional supplier of these luxury goods, ltaly, was losing ground due to
external factors. Antwerp was not only supplying its immediate hinterland with
artwork, but as the export registers indicate, the far corners of Europe and beyond.

6.3 Ramifications

The trend towards increased commercialization had some significant

ramifications. As the production of works of art became more rationalized, standar-
dized and increasingly oriented towards export, they turned into commodities and
became part of the regular international trade circuit. In other words, commodization
implied that the manner in which art was henceforth produced, distributed and con-
sumed was in essence no different than traditional goods like a piece of cloth, a saddle or
a table. Consequently, price became an important issue and so did mass-marketing
through the panden. Clearly, the ramifications of the introduction of art into the
realm of market economics were both profound and in many respects irreversible. 25
Through the implementation of various process innovation strategies, work-
shops were able to produce paintings and retables at competitive prices which secured
their survival. However, the question can be raised if the quality suffered at ail from
these cost-saving schemes and the focus on export of ready-made art. It is undeniable
that a simplification of the subject matter took place, but efforts were being made to
maintain a certain level of quality of the finished product which prevented the price
from dropping. Certainly in the case of altarpieces, it is quite clear that the Guild of
Saint Luke set certain standards which prevented inferior work from being put on

23 See Chapter 5.
24 Goldthwaite, Wealth, 99.
25 Ainsworth, "The Business of Art," 37.

159
PART II INTERPRETATION

the market. Various court cases prove that they vigorously attempted to enforce the
stamping requirement during the first half of the sixteenth century. Gillis De Bak-
maker, for instance, was visited twice by the deans of the Guild in 1520, who wanted
to verify that the sculptor had indeed made the necessary improvements to an altarpiece
before it could be put on the market. 26
On the other hand, when it cornes to painting, Max Friedlander claimed
that increasing export of works of art to Spain, Germany, Sweden and Denmark,
especially from Antwerp, brought about the final depression in the quality of
painting." 27 Indeed, the documents inform us that thousands of cheap paintings of
rather poor quality from Antwerp, but also from Mechlin and Kortrijk, were unloaded
on the international markets. Yet the fact remains that the workshops in these cities
were simply tapping into a demand that existed for these works, and they successfully
claimed that market segment much to the chagrin of competing centers. 28 Still, the
pictures meant for export must have exhibited a minimum of quality, otherwise they
would not have justified the substantial cost of transportation (including insurance
and tolls) to distant lands. Furhermore, we should keep in mind that throughout the
sixteenth century, parallel to the mass production of inexpensive paintings, a number
of first-rate artists such as Quinten Metsijs, Joachim Patinir, Peter Bruegel and Frans
Floris were active in Antwerp as well. These painters, who worked primarily on
commission, claimed a very different market segment although it is worth pointing
out that Pieter Bruegel started out as a 'commercial artist,' capitalizing on popular
compositions by Jeroen Bosch through prints.
Arnout Balis has shown that changing tastes and growing demand led to a
diversification of the genres in painting, a phenomenon which Montias would describe
as product innovation. 29 The birth of new genres such as landscapes, nudes, market
scenes and peasant scenes was at least in part a response to market incentives. This
assumption is underscored by the fact that these new compositions were almost
instantly commercialized, through prints initially, followed by painted copies and
variations. This diversification of the genres in turn generated new demand which
allowed the Antwerp artistic community to further capitalize on these innovations.
However, the artists who made the renowned carved altarpieces failed to re-invent or
re-style their product sufficiently when the fashion changed. Worse, by the middle of
the sixteenth century, Brabantine retables were no longer in demand despite attempts
to incorporate more Renaissance elements. 30
As the volume of exports increased and the art trade became more diversified,
the need for a professional art dealer became apparent. These merchants appeared in

26 S.A.A., V 647, fol. 312v (document daredJuly 13, 1520). I would like to thankJan Van der Stock for this reference.
27 Max Friedlander, From Van Eyck to Bruegel, vol. 2, 67.
28 The complaints concerning the import of "inferior" paintings put forward by the cities of Amsterdam and
Leiden during the first decade of the seventeenth century can be interpreted in this light. See Chapter 3.
29 Balis, "De nieuwe genres," 238.
30 Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 31. As a resu!t, exports of retables came to a virtual standstill.
See Chapter 2, sub 5.

160
 C HAPTER 6 AT THE CROSSROADS OF 5 UPPLY AND D EMAND

Antwerp in significant numbers during the second half of the sixteenth century, and
were crucial in connecting supply and demand at a time when the art market was
becoming more professional and commercial. Finally, as works of art made their
entry into the capitalist arena, the language in contemporary documents changed as
well. Capitalist terminology now infiltrated contracts and letters dealing with art,
which forms eloquent testimony to the high degree of commercialization of the
Antwerp art market. By mid-sixteenth century, more documents involving the
transaction of a work of art mentioned the price, type of packaging, mode of trans-
portation, means of payment and last but not least, authorship. 31 Numerous entries
in the certificatieboeken documenting shipments of artwork also included the markings
of the art dealer in the margin, and the same were found on the boxes, bales and
barrels in which the goods were transported (see Chapter 4) . These observations
suggest that works of art had become well-assimilated in the world of commerce, and
that a certain commodization had indeed takcn place. The question that arises then,
is to what extent the content of the artistic object was impacted by these develop-
ments.

The Commercialization ofSubjectMatter inAntwerp Painting

The subject matter in painting did not remain unaffected by
the structural changes and growth of rhe art market. The diver-
sification of the genres has been highlighted in this respect, resulting
in more universal topics with a broad appeal being portrayed. Lands-
capes in the style of Patinir, for instance, lacked a high degree of
specificity, nor did they contain a complicated iconographical pro-
gram. Hence these popular compositions were especially suitable for
large-scale on spec production. Commercialization had an even more
concrete impact in certain cases: often some type of commercial
activity is depicted in the backdrop of many Antwerp mannerist
paintings. It has been suggested that the Adoration ofthe Magi theme
owed its success to the evocation of travel which would have appealed
FIGURE 18: Master of the
to the foreign mer chants who were purchasing these paintings. 32 The
Antwerp Adoration,
Adoration the Magi painting that is being preserved in the Royal
Detail of Adoration ofthe
Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp serves a good example (see Figure Magi (ca.1520).
5, p. 30). In the backdrop we can clearly observe two men handling Antwerp, Royal Museum
a bag and a chest (see Figure 18). 33 of Fine Arts.

31 Also, the G uild of Saine Luke scarced to d iscinguish becween differenc cacegories of paincers such as huysschilder
(house paincer), doeckschilder (paincer on canvas) or wacerschilder (paincer in wacercolors) . Filipczak, Picturing
Art, 20. Wich the rise of connoisseurship in the sevenceench cencury, the changes in commercial and arc-hiscorical
rerminology in the field of painting became even more pronounced and more narrowly defined.
32 Dan Ewing also suggesced chis incerprecation at a conference on "Arc in Ancwerp" held ac Smith College,
Northampton (Mass.) on November 12, 1994.
33 In a similar paincing preserved in Munich, merchancs' markings are visible on the bag, suggescing chat ic involves
commercial goods. Alte Pinakothek München. Erliiuterungen zu den augestellten Gemiilden (Munich, 1986), nr.
708, 47.

161
P ART II I NTERPRETATION

Finally, other compositions would reflect directly on the relationship bet-

ween art and capitalism, and quite a few of them would warn against the dangers of
mixing the two, or against the general evils of the new commercialism. Pieter Bruegel
may have attempted to convey such message in his enigmatic painting Two Monkeys
(Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemaldegalerie), and rather blatantly in his print The
Battle between the Money-Bags and the Strong-Boxes (see Figure 19). 34

Pierer Van der Heyden after Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Battle between the
FIGURE 19:
Money-Bags and the Strong-Boxes (after 1570), engraving, 23.6 x 30.4 cm.

34 The juxtaposition in the Berlin painting of the monkeys as symbols of greed with the ciry of Anrwerp in the
backdrop does seem ro support this inrerpreration. Margaret Sullivan, "Pieter Bruegel the Elder'sTwo Monkeys: A
new Inrerpretation, " Art Bulletin, 53 (1981): 114-126.

162
 CHAPTER 6 AT THE CROSSROADS OF SUPPLY AND ÜEMAND

6.4 Antwerp and Bruges

ln view of the similar role both cities have played in the history of European
trade, it is tempting to compare (admittedly in a very impressionistic manner) the
commercialization process of works of art, and painting in particular, as it took place
in Antwerp to the situation in Bruges - the uncrowned capital of the Burgundian
Netherlands and home of artistic giants such as Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Petrus
Christus and Gerard David. 35 By the early sixteenth century, the economic focal
point had clearly shifted to Antwerp and sometime after that, the center of gravity
from an artistic point of view moved to the city on the River Scheldt as well. But
even during its heyday, the Bruges art market was very differently structured than the
one in Antwerp, and commercialization of art was until circa 1475 not a primary
concern of painters in Bruges.
ln many ways painters did not need market sales to make a living. In terms
of patronage, Bruges artists could during the greater part of the fifteenth century rely
on the Burgundian dukes and their entourage for commissions, a luxury Antwerp
never had. 36 In addition, a wealthy upper class of aristocrats, merchants (take, for in-
stance, the Arnolfini Brothers) and clergy generously supported the arts. 37 As a result,
it was not necessary for the guild to promote speculative production. Quite the
contrary, the authorities did their vcry bcst to restrict the sale of unsponsered work:
exhibition space was limited in shops and a ban against the import of foreign paintings
that might challenge local production was in effect. 38 Therefore, it cornes as no sur-
prise that Maximiliaan Martens has expressed reservations about Campbell's
contention that "only a small proportion of pictures were commissioned" in the
Southern Netherlands at this time, at least as far as artistic output in Bruges was
concerned. 39 Furtherrnore, it is plausible that collaboration arnong artists was not as
commonplace as was probably the case in Antwerp where the workshops were probably
larger, even though masters in Bruges employed more pupils and journeymen over
time. 40 lndeed, there is very little evidence that on specproduction was widespread in
Bruges during its golden age: the degree of commercialization was deliberately kept
in check as standardization and export of ready-made art was clearly limited.

35 On the comparison between Bruges and Antwerp during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, see Brulez,
"Brugge en Antwerpen."
36 Granted, the Burgundian dukes were not always residing in Bruges as the court was ambulant but nevertheless,
they did spent enough rime in Bruges to generate a steady flow of commissions for work of art.
37 It has been suggested that confraternities provided the setting where the elites of Bruges met with artists, and
that many a commission for artwork emerged out of these gatherings. Maximiliaan Martens, "New Information
on Petrus Christus' Biography and the Patronage of his Brussels Lamentation," Simiolus 20 (1990-1991): 5-23;
Wim Blockmans, "The Creative Environment: Incentives to and Function of Bruges Art Production," in Petrus
Christus in Renaissance Bruges. An lnterdisciplinary Approach, ed. Maryan Ainsworth. (New York, 1994), 16.
38 Martens, "Sorne Aspects," 19-20; idem, "De dialoog," 55.
39 Campbell, "The Art Market," 194.
40 Maximiliaan Martens, Artistic Patronage in Bruges Institutions, ca. 1440-1482 (Ann Arbor, 1992), 38-41;
idem, "Aspects," 22-26.

163
PART II INTERPRETATION

Nevertheless, when the fortunes of the Venice of the North started to wane
as the century drew to a close, a change of strategy can be detected: some serialized
production of painting took place as Maryan Ainsworth has shown in the case of
Gerard David, and the Guild adopted a more lenient stance towards free market
sales as attempts were made to unload more paintings on the open market. 41 Most
importantly, workshops grew in size which allowed for an increasingly streamlined
and standardized production. lnterestingly enough, the enlargement of the work-
shops and the trend towards rationalized production which took place in Bruges
during the latter third of the fifteenth century was not caused by an increase in
demandas was true in Antwerp, but was rather a response to a contracting art market.
Through process innovations, the artistic community attempted to prevent a further
drop in demand and protect the viability of their workshops. 42 ln other words, these
measures aimed to reach new markets at a time when the old patrons had all but
disappeared or become impoverished.
To stimulate exports, a pand for luxury commodities modeled on its Antwerp
predecessors opened in 1482, and not before long, artists did take advantage of this
opportunity to market their merchandise at this sales hall. 43 Nonetheless, the share
of artists in the total of rents paid for exhibition space was never high to begin with
- a mere 11%in1512 - and decreased further over the years. By 1528-1529, many
of the stalls that were normally taken up by paintcrs rcmaincd vacant. Also, the pand
did not open its doors until 1482 while at that moment comparable galleries had
been marketing art in Antwerp for several decades. 44 Clearly there was less of a need
for such a vehicle for sales in Bruges as long as the patronage system engendered a
sufficient amount of commissions.
By the late 1480s, the vast majority of foreign merchants had already taken
up residence in Antwerp and together with the departure of the Burgundian dukes,
artists appear to have lost a big part of their client base and many were forced to
move. Sorne masters such as Gerard David and Jan Provoost remained in Bruges but
purchased citizenship in Antwerp as well. Others, such as Adriaan lsenbrant, allied
themselves with art dealers from Antwerp - bath strategies allowed these painters to
sell their work directly on the Antwerp market. 45 While these efforts confirma more
market-oriented approach on behalf of the Bruges artistic community, it also shows
that there was a lack of commercial outlets in Bruges. ln the end, the attempts by the
Bruges artists to re-direct their production of paintings towards the open market

41 Ainsworth, Gerard David, 293-297.

42 Martens, "Aspects," 24-26; see Chapter 1.
43 On the Bruges pand, see Wilson, Painting in Bruges, 174-187.
44 As a reminder, the Domican pand in Antwerp was selling artwork during the fairs as early as 1445 and Our
Lady's pand opened in 1460. Ewing, "Marketing Art," 560-561. Martens also daims that there is no reason to
assume rhat painters and other artists were displaying their precious wares at the pand in Bruges before 1511.
Martens, Artistic Patronage, 41.
45 Martens, "De dialoog," 56-57; Ainsworth, Gerard David, 277.

164
 CHAPTER 6 AT THE CROSSROADS OF 5UPPLY AND DEMAND

were not particularly successful. The exports registers drawn up in the l 540s and
15 50s show very little or no evidence that paintings from Bruges were exported in
great numbers.

*
* *
To recapitulate, the Antwerp art market had become in a rclatively short
time one of the most modern ones in Europe, and was the place where art was highly
commercialized on all three levels of economic activity: the production of painting
and altarpieces occurred in proto-industrial workshops and via the putting-out system;
at the distribution level, the finalized product was dispersed via the panden and art
dealers to an international audience, and at the level of consumption, art was pre-
dominantly purchased ready-made rather than ordered on commission. The com-
modization of paintings and retables in the Southern Netherlands can ultimately be
attributed to market forces. ln the case of Antwerp, it was the result of increasing
demand, while artists active in Bruges de facto responded to a shrinking market for
artistic goods.

165
CONCLUSION
 All things being said, it remains astonishing that the Antwerp art market of
the sixteenth century was able to grow so rapidly, especially considering that there
was no Antwerp school of painting in the preceding century. 1 have argued that the
various branches of the art market, but painting in particular, were able to benefü
greatly from Antwerp's position as the leading commercial center North of the Alps.
Situated at the crossroads of European-wide supply and demand, Antwerp offered
many opportunities for the production of and trade in luxury goods. As a result,
countless artists and skilled craftsmen from all parts of the Seventeen Provinces
migrated to the city on the River Scheldt.
The immigrants were drawn to Antwerp for a number of reasons, not in the
least because of the commercial infrastructure that was at the disposal of both the
producer and the potential buyer. The panden had grown out of the biannual fairs,
and had become a crucial vehicle for the marketing of a myriad of luxury goods.
Their importance for the establishment and expansion of the Antwerp art market
can scarcely be overestimated. Already during the fifteenth century, these specialized
markets were responsible for a considerable volume of art sales, including many
retables, tapestries and paintings which were imported from other art centers such as
Bruges, Brussels and Oudenaarde. Based on the current scholarship, the panden appear
to have been an Antwerp invention. No examples of these galleries which were erected
especially for the marketing of art can be found the great ltalian city-states, and
doser to home, Bruges only built a pand in 1482, half a century after the first spe-
cialized markets for artwork and other luxury items opened their doors in Antwerp.
When the schilderspandwas inaugurated in 1540, a new form of marketing
was created as it constituted the first permanent modern art gallery in Europe. Contrary
to the first generation panden, the painters' gallery was not run by a religious
institution, and it was, from the onset, open year-round. Moreover, the proximity to
the stock market- the schilderspandwas literally located on top of Antwerp's financial
center - would corne to symbolize the intensified relationship between art and
economics. And this closeness was more than symbolic. Overall, it appears that the
changing fortunes of the schilderspand present us with an accurate reflection of the
economic and political cycles of the Southern Netherlands during the tumultuous
sixteenth century. From the forties onwards, the incarne generated by the schilders-
pand grew consistently as the region experienced its true golden decades. Internatio-
nal merchants were omnipresent in Antwerp and demand for luxury products was
high. By the mid-sixteenth century, the reputation of the innovative Antwerp painters
was well-established, and many of the applied arts flourished. The impressive exports
gleaned from the export registers serve as evidence that the Antwerp art market had
matured, and that it had become an international artistic supplier.
One of the key developments that explain the success of the Antwerp export
industry in the arts lies not only in the strength of the Antwerp economy and the
artistic tradition of the Southern Netherlands, but specifically in the shift from orde-
ring artwork on commission to production for the open market. ln other words,
unlike in ltaly and elsewhere, Antwerp artists were much more inclined to produce

169
PAINTING FOR THE MARKET

art on spec and, consequently, art was commercialized at an early stage and became
the subjcct of intense trading. Throughout this study, 1 have focused on paintings
and to some degree on carved altarpieces, but they were not the only works of art
that were commodized and produced on spec. Both the production and distribution
of the renowned Flemish tapestries was highly commercialized: cheaper versions of
Brussels masterpieces were subject to serial production in cities like Oudenaarde and
Sint Truiden, and subsequently offered for sale at the tapissierspand in Antwerp. The
tapestry trade sustained a veritable industry which represented an important seg-
ment of the economy of the Southern Netherlands. As such, the export figures serve
as a strong reminder not to overstate the importance of painting, even if it is foremost
the art of Metsijs, Gossaert, Bruegel and Floris that catches the attention of scholars
and the wider public today.
The outbreak of the Dutch Revolt in 1566 proved pernicious for the city of
Antwerp and its art market. Countless artists were forced to flee for religious and
economic reasons, and the art trade suffered greatly from the disruptions of the trade
routes. These setbacks were felt on both floors of the new bourse: both the stock
market as well as the revenues of the schilderspand declined. ln fact, the situation
would deteriorate in the years leading up to the Fall of Antwerp in 1585. Paradoxically,
it was precisely during this time of crisis that the art market underwent structural
changes which would ultimately lay the foundations for a new era of cultural pre-
eminence during the first half of the seventeenth century. First of all, during the
aftermath of the Wonderyear, a considerable number of people who were part of the
artistic milieu turned to art dealing as a strategy of survival. After all, a crusade against
religious imagery had been unleashed during the waves of iconoclasm, and many
painters had great difficulties in trying to market their wares in Antwerp and other
Netherlandish towns and (insofar as they did not emigrate) were desperately seeking
ways of selling their stocks elsewhere.
ln other words, the years of economic hardship combined with a decline in
local demand attributed to the impact of the Reformation precipitated the emergence
of a community of professional art dealers. The close-knit group was characterized
by a strong tendency toward collaboration and networking, which is logical given
the difficult circumstances with which they had to contend. Indeed, these art dealers
were forced to seek out (alternative) markets abroad during the 1570s and 1580s.
Before the outbreak of the Revolt, artists in Antwerp would depend on a large
community of foreign merchants journeying to the city on a regular basis to purchase
artwork. However, from the 1570s onwards, many of them were no longer able or
willing to travel to Antwerp, and the local art dealers were forced to take matters into
their own hands if the export-oriented production was going to survive. Hence, out
of sheer necessity, they moved from active to passive dealing. To put it simply: art
dealers like Marten Alleyns were accustomed to renting a stall at the schilderspand
and, as long as economic conditions were favorable, wait for potential buyers to walk
up the steps of the new bourse. However, as the situation in Antwerp deteriorated
during the late seventies, Alleyns opted to collaborate with colleagues to export

170
 CONCLUSION

paintings to France and in doing so, he had altered the way he was marketing his
merchandise. Other archival data confirm this trend: the export registers dating from
the 1540s and 1550s revealed that very few Flemish dealers were actively involved in
the export trade, but twenty years later, well-organized and informed groups of
Antwerp art dealers were operating on the Saint Germain fairs in Paris. ln fact, the
booming Antwerp-Paris trade was perhaps the most successful attempt at finding an
alternative destination for the large stocks of paintings which no longer found eager
buycrs in Antwcrp.
The long-term impact of these pro-active strategies of the Antwerp art dealers
in combination with the late-sixteenth century diaspora laid the foundation for an
even more professional network of agents and dealers in a number of major European
cities. By the middle of the seventeenth century, the professionalization of the art
trade would reach its culmination when these networks buttressed the activities of a
new approach to arL dealing. lndividual dealers would increasingly enter into
partnerships with colleagues, and in so doing, the nucleus of the specialist art dealing
firms of the seventeenth century was formed.
The shift from passive to active trading on the part of the Antwerp art dealers
had one unwanted side-effect, in that it made the panden superfluous. The cursory
entries in the city account books indicating that the stalls remained vacant, even
when the art market was showing distinct signs of recovery after the turn of the
seventeenth century. By then, some of the panden still functioned as display rooms,
but the new channels of art sales were becoming more prominent. Thus, the
explanation for the demise of these great galleries needs to be sought in the changing
structure of the art market which became more specialized and increasingly profes-
sional, rendering the late medieval panden obsolete.

*
* *

1 have attempted to shed some light on the dynamics and mechanisms of the
Antwerp art market during the long sixteenth century. However, much study remains
to be clone. For instance, the scholarly community has largely neglected the period
1585-1609 even though it constitutes an important transitional phase in the history
of Antwerp and the Southern Netherlands as a whole. Also, there is much need for
further research into the workshop practices of the famed Antwerp artists. Archiva!
research by itself will not suffice to fully unveil the working methods of painters, but
needs to be complemented by in-depth technical analysis of the artistic object
themselves. ln addition, the model developed by Ad Van der Woude and others to
gauge the total production of paintings in a certain period could (with great caution)
be applied to the Antwerp case.
Still, the findings presented in this book leave little doubt that Antwerp has
played a seminal role in the process of commercialization and professionalization of
the European art trade. Naturally, Antwerp was not the only place where art was

171
PAINTING FOR THE MARKET

commercialized. Surely, the same process took place almost simultaneously in places
like Nuremberg and Venice, but commercialization was more pronounced and visible
in Annverp compared to elsewhere. This is demonstrated by the existence of these
grand public art markets called the panden, the impressive export figures, and in the
way both the form and content of works of art were affected by the market. Thus the
sixteenth century marked the beginning of a long, complex and often troublesome
relationship beween art and economics.

172
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES
INDEX
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. UNPUBLISHED PRIMARY SOURCES

Antwerp, Stadsarchief (S.A.A.)

Certificatieboeken (C.B.)
1-74
Collectanea
8, 16
Gilden en Ambachten (G.A.)
4286,4579,4833
Notoriaat (N.)
1177, 1332, 1478,2071,2077,2704
Privilegekamer (P.K.)
643,661-2, 665,675,2274
Rekenkamer (R.K.)
11, 15, 18-19, 22-23, 27-30, 37-40, 44-46
Schepenregisters (S.R.)
121, 147, 150, 313, 317, 329,368,375,427,429
Tresorij
91
Vierschaar (V.)
647
Antwerp, Kathedraalarchief (K.A.)
Reg. 8, Regs. 14-16
Antwerp, Royal Academy (R.A.A.)
Archives of the Guild of Saint Luke
27, 83-84
Brussels, State Archives (A.R.A.B.)
Rekenkamer (R.K.)
23357-23364,23469-23474,23497-23498
Paris, National Archives
Parlement
la 1671

II. PUBLISHED PRI!v!ARY SOURCES

Antwerpsch Chronykje, in het welk zeer veele en elderste vergeefich gezogte geschiedenissen, sedert den
jare 1500 tot het jaar 1574 zoo in die toen zoo zeer vermaarde koopstad, ais de andere steden
van Nederland, en wel byzonderlyk op het stuk der geloofi-hervorminge voorgevallen, omstan-
dig zyn beschreeven (Leiden, 1743).

175
 pAJNTING FOR THE MARKET

Calvete De Estrella, J. C. Le très-huereux voyage fait par très-haut et très-puissant prince Don Philippe
fils du grand empereur Charles-Quint depuis l'Espagne jusqu'à ses domaines de Basse-Allemagne
avec la description de tous les Etats de Brbant et de Flandre, ed.]. Petit (Brussels, 1883), 5
vols.
De Blécourt, A.S. and Jakipse, N., eds. Klein Plakkaatboek van Nederland (Groningen and The
Hague, 1919).
De Cantillion, Philippe Les délices du Brabants (Amsterdam, 1757), 3 vols.
Dcnucé, Jan Antwerpsche tapijtkunst en handel (Bronnen voor de Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse
Kunst, vol. III) (Antwerp, 1936).
Dietz, B. The Port and Trade ofEarly Elizabethan London. Documents (London, 1972).
Douhaerd, R. Etudes Anversoises. Documents sur le commerce international à Anvers, 1488-1514
(Paris, 1963), 3 vols.
Génard, Pieter "Joyeuse Entrée et Inauguration de l'archiduc Charles à Anvers en 1515," Bulle-
tin de la Commission royale d'Histoire, Fourth Series (1873): 387-406.
Gielens, A. "De kosten van de Blijde lntrede van den Hertog van Anjou," Antwerpen's Oudheid-
kundige Kring 16 (1940): 93-105.
Goris, Jan Albert Lofvan Antwerpen. Hoe reizigers Antwerpen zagen van de XVe tot de XXe eeuw
(Brussels, 1940).
Grodecki, Catherine, ed. Documents du minutier central des notaires de Paris. Histoire de l'art au
XVIe siecle (1540-1600) (Paris, 1985), 2 vols.
Guicciardini, Ludovico Beschrijvinghe van alle de Nederlanden; anderssins ghenoemt Neder-
Duytschlandt (Amsterdam, 1612).
Guicciardini, Ludovico Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi (Antwerp, 1567).
Guiffrey, Jules, ed. Artistes parisiens du XVI et du XVIIe siècles. Donations, contrats de mariage,
testaments, inventaires, etc. tirés des insinuations du Châtelet de Paris (Paris, 1915).
Purkis, H.M.C., ed. La joyeuse et magnifiqué entrée de Monseigneur François... en sa tres-renommé
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Rietstap, J.B. Armorial général illustré (Paris and The Hague, 1903-1926), 6 vols.
Rombouts, Ph. and Van Lerius, Th. De Liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche
Sint Lucasgilde (Antwerp and the Hague, 1864-1876), 2 vols.
Stabel, Peter and Vermeylen, Filip Het fiscale vermogen in Brabant, Vlaanderen en in de heerlijk-
heid Mechelen: de Honderdste Penningvan de hertogvanAlva (1569-1572) (Brussels, 1997).
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Van den Branden, ]os "Het register vanden dachvaerden. Vervolg," Antwerps Archievenblad21
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Van der Heyst, Willem Het boek der Tijden in 't korte of Cronijk van de geheele wereldt (Amster-
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Van der Straelen, ].B. ]aerboeck der vermaerde en kunstryke Gilde van Sint Lucas binnen de stad
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Van Mander, Karel The Lives ofthe Illustrious Netherlandish and German Painters, from the First
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Willems, J.F., ed. Mengelingen van historisch-vaderlandschen inhoud (Antwerp, 1827-1830).

176
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Alvarez, Mari-Tere "Artistic Enterprise and Spanish Patronage: The Art Market During the Reign of
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Baetens, Roland "La "villa rusticà', phénomène italien dans le paysage Brabançon au 16ème
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Balis, Arnout "Antwerpen, voedster der kunsten: haar bijdrage tot de artistieke cultuur van
Europa in de 17de eeuw," in Antwerpen, verhaal van een metropool, ed. Jan Van der Stock
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Balis, Arnout "De relatie tussen kunst en economie in het perspectief van de geschiedenis:
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Balis, Arnout "Mercado del arte en Flandes en el siglo XVII," in Rubens y su siglo, exhib. cat.
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Netherlands 1555-1585 (Amsterdam, 1999)
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Bialostocki, J. "The BalticArea as anArtistic Region in the Sixreenth Century," Hafoia (1976): 11-23.
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Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien (1993): 127-135.

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 PAINTING FOR THE MARKET

Blockmans, Wim "The Creative Environment: Incentives to and Function of Bruges Art
Production," in Petrus Christus in Renaissance Bruges. An Interdisciplinary Approach, ed.
Maryan Ainsworth. (New York, 1994), 11-20.
Blondé, Bruno "Antwerpen: metropool van het noorden," in Oriëntatie cursus cultuur-
wetenschappen. De Bourgondisch-Habsburgse Nederlanden, ed. J.M.E. Worms (Heerlen,
1992), 43-61.
Blondé, Bruno and Greefs, Hilde "Werk aan de winkel. De Antwerpse meerseniers: aspecten
van de kleinhandel en het verbruik in de 17de en 18de eeuw," Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis
83 (2001): 203-225.
Blondé, Bruno and Vermeylen, Filip ''A Taste for Bruegel? Genre Painting in Antwerp Probate
Inventories, Sixteenth-Eighteenth Centuries," Bulletin Koninklijke Musea voor Schone
Kunsten van België, in print.
Bok, Marten Jan Vraag en aanbod op de Nederlandse kunstmarkt, 1580-1700 (Utrecht, 1994).
Bostrom, A. "The Acquisition of Flemish Landscapes for Italy on the Antwerp Art Market,"
Nederlands Kunsthistorisch ]aarboek 48 (1997): 9-22.
Boumans, René "Le dépeuplement d'Anvers dans le dernier quart du XVIe siècle," Revue du
Nord29 (1947): 181-94.
Bousse, "Het historisch gebeuren," in Antwerpen in de XV!de eeuw (Antwerp, 1975), 21-36.
Braekman, E.M. "Het Lutheranisme in Antwerpen," Bijdragen totde Geschiedenis70 (1987): 23-38.
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 PAINTING FOR THE MARKET

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191
APPENDIX 1
REVENUES AND PANDMEESTERS OI' TIIE SCHILDERSPAND
Year Rent paid Pandmeester
(in guilders)
1540 .................................................................. .
1541 ........ 68 ......... Kerstiaen Becx .................. .
1542 ........ 33 ......... Kerstiaen Becx .................. .
1543 .................................................................. .
1544 ................................................................. ..
1545 .................................................................. .
1546 .................................................................. .
1547 .................................................................. .
1548 ................................................................. ..
1549 ....... 120 ........ Jacob Vleminck.. .............. ..
................................ Pieter Speck ...................... .
1550 ....... 120 ........ Jacob Vleminck ................ ..
........................ ........ Pieter Speck ...................... .
1551 ....... 120 ........ Jacob Vleminck ................ ..
................................ Pieter Speck ..................... ..
1552 ....... 228 ........ Hubrecht Van de Wyere .... .
1553 .................................................................. .
1554 .................................................................. .
1555 ....... 580 ........ Pauwels De Dechier .......... .
................................ Jan Parteler ...................... ..
.. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .... .. .. Christoffel Coenatini ........ .
1556 ................................................................. ..
1557 .................................................................. .
1558 ...... 1260 ....... Joas Buysens (de soone) .... .
1559 ...... 1260 ....... Joas Buysens (de soone) .... .
1560 ................................................................. ..
1561 .................................................................. .
1562 .................................................................. .
1563 .................................................................. .
1564 .................................................................. .
1565 ................................................................. ..
1566 ...... 1848 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
1567 .................................................................. .
1568 .................................................................. .
1569 ...... 1274 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
1570 .................................................................. .
1571 .................................................................. .
1572 .................................................................. .
1573 .................................................................. .
SOURCE: S.A.A., R.K. 11-61 (City Accounts of Antwerp).
Year Rent paid Pandmeester
(in guilders)
1574 .................................................................. .
1575 ...... 1263 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
1576 .................................................................. .
1577 ...... 1258 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
1578 ....... 843 ........ Bartholomeus De Momper
1579 ...... 1258 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
1580 ...... 1475 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
15 81 .. .. .. 1600 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
15 82 .. .. .. 1600 ....... Bartholomeus De Momper
1583 .......... 0 .......... Bartholomeus De Momper
1584 .......... 0 .................................................... ..
1585 .......... 0 .................................................... ..
1586 .......... 0 .................................................... ..
1587 .................................................................. .
1588 ....... 297 ........ Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1589 ....... 300 ........ Hans Van Brussel .............. .
.. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. Gillis Claes ...................... ..
1590 ....... 100 ........ Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1591 ....... 100 ........ Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1592 ....... 100 ........ Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1593 .................................................................. .
1594 ....... 100 ........ Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1595 ....... 100 ........ Bartholomeus De Momper
1596 ................................................................. ..
1597 ....... 1OO ........ Bartholomeus De Momper
1598 ........ 60 ......... Widow of Bartholomeus
.. .............................. De Momper ...................... .
1599 .......... 0 .......... Widow of Bartholomeus
. ............................... De Momper ...................... .
1600 ........ 45 ......... Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1601 ........ 45 ......... Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1602 ........ 60 ......... Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1603 ........ 25 ......... Hans Van Brussel .............. .
1604 .......... 0 ..................................................... .
1605 .......... 0 ..................................................... .
1606 .......... 0 ..................................................... .
1607 .......... 0 ..................................................... .
1608 .......... 0 ..................................................... .
1609 .......... 0 ..................................................... .
193
 pAINTING FOR THE MARKET

APPENDIX 2
]AN VAN KEssEL's SHOP AT THE ScHILDERSPAND

Extract from the probate inventory of Jan Van Kessel, pictorial printer and art dealer. At the
time ofhis death, he lived in a house on the Lombardenvest, called "Het Vosken". Parts of this
inventory were previously published by Denucé and Van der Stock. 1

[fol.]
119 enckel doecken allerhande sorte de sommige niet volmaect
13 dubbel doecken Cortrycse (Kortrijkse ?) personagien
een oude schilderije op doeck van Jeronimus Bosch
een zeeparte op franchyn metter hant getrocken
477 dobbel doecken allerhande sorten
eenen grauw lakenen nacht taban met purperen baen gevoedert
een scherre (schaar)
55 constbladen
afbeeldinghe van de begravinghe der dooden in turcken in 27 gedruckte bladers oft stucken
10 gedruckte figuerkens van Roux in papier
6 weecke houte kisten daerinne die schilderijen zijn liggen
een herthouten scapprayken
een deel backerscolen
een goutgewicht
een spinnewiel
een wessencleet
[fol.]
een mand met oude papieren
een oude houten wiege
drye gedructe beelden van Raphael van martelisatie
Negenthien ghedructe bladeren zoe van Raphael, Parmigianino als andere
een bundelke cleyne gedruckte figueren
een bundelke papieren afreekeningen metter hant
een bundel met oude printen
two coperen plaetkens

SOURCE: S.A.A., N. 1478, no fol. (document dated September 18 and 19, 1581).

1 Denucé, De Antwerpsche konstkamers, 11-12; Van der Stock, Printing Images, 403-404.

194
 APPENDICES

APPENDIX 3
ART DEALERS IN ANTWERP DuRING THE S1xTEENTH CENTURY

Dates between brackets denote the first mentioning in archiva! documents in which the
person is referred to as art dealer (usually coopman van schilderijen).

Na me Member o/Guild Date

Alleyns, Marten ................................................. schilder .......................................... 1549 (1583) .... .
Backere, Marten de ........................................... heylichvercooper ........................... 1564 ............... .
Bercx, Hubert .................................................... no .................................................. (1579) ............. .
Bijns, Dierick .................................................... no .................................................. (1575) ............. .
Bimont, Joys van ............................................... cunstvercooper/oucleercoper ......... 1588 ............... .
Boxstaen, Lambertus ......................................... cunstvercopere ............................... 1572 ............... .
Bredael, Goyvaert van ....................................... cunstverc./gelaesmaker .................. 1577 ............... .
Bulincx, Hans .................................................... no .................................................. (1580) ............. .
Cock, Michiel .................................................... no .................................................. (1581)
Coimans, Jerome ............................................... no .................................................. (1577) ............. .
Colourier, Dominicus ....................................... no .................................................. (1559) ............. .
Cruyse, Francois van der ................................... no .................................................. (1588) ............. .
Dartois, Cornelis ............................................... cunstvercopere ............................... 1570 (1567) .... .
Gabron, Hans .................................................... cunstvercooper/cleercoper ............. 1588 ............... .
Goetkint, Peeter ................................................ schilder .......................................... 1561 (1575) .... .
Gijsbrechtssen, Gheert ...................................... cunstvercooper .............................. 1560 ............... .
Hemessen, Jan Sanders van ............................... ? ..................................................... 1524? (1552) .. .
Herstel, Jan van ................................................. no .................................................. (1578) ............. .
Huybrechts, Adriaan ......................................... cunstvercooper/figuurs .................. 1573 ............... .
Jode, Geert de ................................................... cunstverc./plaatsnijder ................... 1570 ............... .
Joye, Jacques ...................................................... schilder .......................................... 1571 ............... .
Kessel, Hans van ................................................ schilder .......................................... 1542 ............... .
Kessel, Jan van ................................................... no .................................................. (1568) ............. .
Krieck, Franchois .............................................. cunstvercooper .............................. 1571 ............... .
Liefrinck, Hans ................................................. figuursnijder/cunstver................... 1581 ............... .
Lisaert, Philips II or III ..................................... schilder .......................................... ? (1577) .......... .
Luyck, Hans van ................................................ silversmidt ..................................... 1560 (1584) .... .
Meduwael, Jan ................................................... beeldvercopere ............................... 1518 ............... .
Momper, Bartholomeus de ................................ schilder/cunstver........................... 1554 (1566) .... .
Palermo, Antonis ............................................... schilder .......................................... 1555 (1576) .... .
Perman, Jacques ................................................ no .................................................. (1562) ............. .
Provost, Franchois ............................................. schilder .......................................... 1558 (1575) .... .
Putman, Jacques ................................................ no .................................................. (1567) ............. .
Rosendale, Cornelis van .................................... cunstvercooper .............................. 1600 (1584) .... .
Sadeler, Gillis ..................................................... cunstvercooper .............................. 1580 ............... .
Sevenhoven, Hans van ....................................... schilder .......................................... 1551 (1572) .... .
Vos, Barbara de (wife ofMarten Alleyns) .......... no .................................................. (1583) ............. .
Vrindt, Batista ................................................... cunstvercooper/figuursn ................ 1575 ............... .
Willemsen, Abraham ......................................... cunstvercooper .............................. 1591 ............... .
Wyere, Hubrecht van de .................................... schilder .......................................... 1543 (1564) .... .
Wyere, Jacques van de ....................................... schilder .......................................... 1554 (1580) .... .

SOURCE: Liggeren and S.A.A., various collections.

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APPENDIX 4
ExcERPTS FROM THE DrnRICK BIJNS PROBATE lNVENTORY, ANTWERP ART
DEALER IN PARIS

"C'est assavoir: ung grand tableau où est figuré une Drollerye.

Item, ung aultre tableau, du Martire sainct Laurans.
Ung aultre, des Trois Enjfàns estans en la fournaize.
Ung aultre, de Nostre Dame qui fut eslevée au ciel.
Item, ung Crucifiment de Nostre Seigneur.Ung aultre, d'une Patience. Lesd. six grands tableaux cy dessus
estans de quatre piedz quatre doigtz de long ou environ.
Plus, aud. lieu, m'a exibé ung tableau où est la figure d'une Circoncision.
Ung aultre, d'une Resurrection.
Ung aultre, de Nostre Seigneur jhesus Crist parlant aux Pellerins.
Ung aultre, d'une Sainct Francois.
Ung aultre, la Conversion Sainct Paul
Ung aultre, de Nostre Seigneur portant sa croix.
Ung aultre, d'une l'.1agdelayne.
Ung aultre, de Sainct jherosme.
Ung aultre encores de Sainct jherosme.
Ung aultre, de Sainct ]ehan preschant au desert.
Ung aultre, de !'Adoration des Trois Roys.
Ung aultre, la Nativité de Nostre Seigneur.
Ung aultre, de Moyse passant la Mer Rouge avec les enjfàns d1srael.
Ung aultre, d'Eve et Adam.
Ung aultre, de la Decolation Sainct jehan.
Ung aultre, de Nostre Seigneur estant au tombeau.

[fol.]
Ung aultre, d'une Salutation angelique.
Ung aultre, des Quatre Evangelistes.
Ung aultre, de la Vierge Marie tenant jhesus Crist.
Ung aultre, de la Magdelayne.
Ung aultre, de la Descente faicte de Nostre Seigneur jhesus Crist portant sa croix.
Ung aultre, du Martire Sainct Paul.
Ung aultre, des Pellerins d'Esmaus.
Ung aultre, de Sainct Francois estant en contemplation.
Ung aultre, d'une Resurrection.
Ung aultre, d'une Ascension Nostre Dame.
Une aultre, d'une Métamorphose d'Ovide.
Une Histoire où il y a escript Consilium in opus conftadytis.
Ung aultre, de !Histoire de Lot et ses deux filles.
Ung aultre, d'une Prudence tenant un serpent.
Ung aultre, Crucifiement.

196
 APPENDICES

Une Nativité Nostre Dame.

Une aultre, Descolation Sainct Jehan.
Une Vierge Marye avec Sainct Jehan.
Ung aultre, Sainct jherosme.
Ung aultre, de !'Histoire de Saincte Susanne.
Ung aultre, d'une Lucresse, et ung aultre d'une jalousye.
Qui font trente neuf tableaux, de trois pieds et derny de long.

Plus, m'a encore exibé et monstré aud. grenier: Premièrement, ung tableau, comme Moyse faisait sortir
l'eaue du rocher.
Plus, ung Couronnement de la Vierge Marie.
Plus, ung aultre du sepulchre de ]hesus Crist.
U ng aultre, de la Juyte de Joseph.
Ung aultre, de !'Adoration des Trois Roys.
Ung aultre, d'Adam et Esve.
Ung aultre, d'une Nativité; ung aultre, d'une Nostre Dame.
Ung aultre, d'une Drollerye de gueux.
Ung aultre, d'un Sainct Sebastien.
Ung aultre, d'une Prudence, ung aultre, du jugement de Paris.
Ung aultre, d'une Drollerye.
Ung]heremye auquel les corbeaux portent à manger.
Une Courtisane romayne.
Ung aultre, d'une Histoire de Daniel qui fist mourir le Dragon.
Le Pourtraict de feu Monsieur de Guyse.
Ung aultre, du Pourtraict de feu monsieur de Nemours.
Ung aultre, d'une Annonciation de l'Ange.
Ung Adam et Esve chassez de paradis.
Ung Sainct Francois.
Ung aultre, d'Adam et Esve.
Une Prudence, ung Portraict du Roy des Indes, une Drollerye. Les susd. tableaux estans en nombre de vingt
cinq, de deux piedz et derny de long. Tous lesd. tableaux ci dessus peintz sur taille en huille et enchassez
chascun sur leur boys doré, le tout neuf.

Plus m'a encores exibé aud. grenier ung Baccus d'un pied de long, une Vénitienne, ung Duc d'Albe, aussi
d'un pied de long, une Chasse, ung sentiment, l'ouye, la veue, l'attouchement et le goust, qui sont les Cinq Sens de
nature, plus deux vielz paisages, le tout peint sur taille, non enchassé, de environ trois piedz de long; plus
une Nativité d' albastre qui se ferme à porte. Tous lesquelz tableaux cy dessus declairez et speciffiez j' ay
saisy et arresté es mains dud. Miraille et mis en la main du Roy nostred. seigneur; et iceulx baillez en
garde, de par le Roy, aud. Miraille, auquel j' ay faict deffenses des' en dessaisir et vuyder ses mains jusques
à ce que par justice aultrement en ayt esté ordonné. Et pour luyveoir faire plus amples deffenses, faire foy
et ser-ment, ensemble dire et declairer quelz autres deniers, biens meubles, or, argent monoyé (... )
et led. jour et heure, par vertu à la resqueste et en continuant ce que dessus, je huissier susd. et soubzsigné
me suis transporté esd. faulxbourgs Sainct Germain, en l'hostel et domicille de Me Geoffroy Lambert,

197
 PAINTING FOR THE MARKET

recepveur et fermier de l'abbaye Sainct Germain des Prez, auquel lieu, parlant à la femme dud. Lambert,
j' ay icelluy Lambert faict commandement de par le Roy de me dire et declairer quelz biens meubles il a
appartenant et estant de la succession de deffunct Dierich Buicks, estranger, laquelle, obtemperant à
mond. commandement, m'a facit mener et conduire par Anthoine Thomas, son serviteur domestique, es
halles de la foire Sainct Germain et en celle où l'on vend ordinairement le fil de lin, en laquelle elle m'a
dict y avoir certains tableaux appartenans à la succession dud. deffunct Dierich Buicks, estranger, et qui
y avoient esté laissez par une nommée la Flamande, veufve d'icelluy deffunct Buicks, et baillez en garde
à sond. mary, comn1e ayant la garde et clefz de toutes lesd. halles, où estant, j' ay trouvé :
Premièrement, ung grand tableau peint en huille, sur taille, de unze pieds de long ou environ, où est la
figure de la Cène de Nostre Seigneur.
Plus, ung aultre grand tableau, aussi peint en huille sur toille, de dix pieds de long ou environ, où est la
figure du Martire Sainct jehan.
Plus, ung aultre tableau où est la Benediction des petits en/fans, de huict piedz de long ou environ, aussi
peint en huille sur taille ; lesd. trois tableaux neufz et enchassez en bois doré.
Plus, ung aultre tableau, aussi neuf, en forme d'une table d'hostel, où est deppeint le Crucifiment de
Nostre Seigneur jhesus Crist, aussi peint en huille sur boys.
Plus, quatre grandes caisses de boys de sappin à mettre de la marchandise."

SOURCE: Guiffrey, Artistes parisiens, 54-59 (document dated April 16, 1583).

198
 APPENDICES

APPENDIX 5
ÛRDINANCE ISSUED BY THE ANTWERP MAGISTRATE CüNCERNING ART DEALERS
(ÜCTOBER 3, 1575)

"Wy Goswyn van Varick, Riddere, schouteth van Antwerpen en Marcgrave slants van Ryen ende wy
Borgermeesteren, Schepenen, ende Raet van der stadt van Antwerpen, allen den ghenen die dese Letteren
sullen sien oft hooren lesen saluyt. Alsoo de Dekens, Oudermans endegemeyne gesellen van de guide van
St. Lucas deser stadt den voorscreven Heeren Borgermeesteren, ende Schepenen te kennen gegeven heb-
ben, hoe dat nyet tegenstaende van allen ouden tyden de neeringe van schilderyen op den coop te doen
maecken oft die te coopen om voorts te vercoopen, nyet en is geexerceert geweest oft toegelaeten texerceren,
dan den supposten van de selve guide, gelyck dat oick alsoe genouch by ons geordonneert en gestatueert
is, by sekere ordonnantie respectivelyck van den jaere XIIIMCLII, by dewelcke nyemant en is toegelaeten
de voorscreven neeringe int heymelyck, oft openbaer te doene, sonder in de vryheyt van de voorscreven
guide te wesen, op seker breucken doen ter tyt gerordonnneert. Dat nochtans sommighe persoonen
egeen poirters wesende, ende andere sonder in de voorscreven guide te commen, contrarie de voorscreven
oude observantie, ende de voorscreven ordonnantie (de selve ordonnantie verstaende ende interprete-
rende naer heuren sin, ende oock mits de deynheyt van de penen op de selve lutte! agtende:) hen dagelicx
vervoirderen werken van schilderyen aen te nemen die op den coop oft om proffyt daer aen te doene
doen werckene ende maeckene, coopmanschap ende neeringe daer mede te doen, winckel daer aff te
houdene, zoo int heymelyck als openbaer, den knechten en werckgesellen daer door den suplianten in
desen ontreckende, al tot grooten achterdeel van den supplianten ende den voorscreven gulden die daer
dore (soo zy te kennen gaven:) ganselyck souden commen te niete te gaen, dat oick de goede luyden,
heeren ende borgers deur sulckdanige vercoopingen commen bedrogen te worden, ais coopende schilderyen
voor wercken van vermaerde en befaemde meesters, daer de selve maer en syn naer eenige principale
geconterfeyt, begerende daeromme by ons daer inne voosien te wordden. Soo eest dat wy deur commis-
sarissen daer toe by ons geordonneert volcommelyck opt te kennen geven van den voorscreven remon-
stranten geinformeert wesende ende ock gesien hebbende de voorscreven voorgaende ordonnantien ende
verleeningen aen dese ambachten genouch conform den versuecke der selver remonstranten gegunt,
geordonneert en gestatueert hebben, ordonneren ende statueeren mits desen :

I. Dat nu voordane nyemant tzy poorter oft ingeseten hem en sa! vervoorderen eenige winckelen te
houden van eenige schilderyen tware tafereelen op doeck oft ander, tzy int heymelyck oft openbaer,
neeringe te doene van die te vercoopen vermangelen oft andersins te verthierene tware oick int heymelyck
oft openbaer by hem selven oft yemand anders noch oick eenige nieuwe wercken van schilderyen aen te
nemen, ende te doen maecken voor andere persoonen oft doer hem selven op den coop ende om winninge
daer aen te doene ten zy dat se gecommen en ontfangen in de voorscreven guide van Sinte Lucas."

SOURCE: Van der Straelen, ]aerboeck, 63-65.

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 pAINTING FOR THE MARKET

APPENDIX 6
REQUEST SUBMITTED TO THE ANTWERP MAGISTRATE BY BARTHOLOMEUS
DE MoMPER ON juNE 22, 1595

"Gheeft te kennen Bartholomeus de Mompere hoe dat hy suppliant

over vele jaren van dese stadt in pachtinge heeft gehadt gelyck hy alsnoch
is hebbende den pandt boven die nyeuwe borse alhier ende hoe well
in verleden tijden noyt is gebruyckt noch heengelaeten is geweest dat men beneden
onder de gaelderyen vande voorscr. borse soude moigen voorstaen met eenige
schilderijen printen en andere waeren; soo verwoorden hy nochtans verscheydene
persoonen nyet alleene op weeckdagen maer oyck ende principalyck op
sondaghen ende heylighe dagen onder de voorscr. gaelderyen voorts te staene
met schilderyen, printen ende boecken, dwelck onder reverentie nyet en behoort
leegelaeten te worden als keerende ais kerende tot grooten achterdeele nyet en alleene
van de stadt, maer oyck vanden supplient gemerct de cramen boven op de voorscreven
pandt in grooten menichte blijven ledich staen ende soo verre daerinne
nyet vertien en werde gelyck behoort soude gestaen wesen dat de
gene die eenige cramen op den voorscreven pandt is heuren hebben dese metter
tyt vanden verlaeten ende beneden onder de gaelderyen komen voorstaen
daeroff sy geene huere betaelen. Bidt daaromme hierinne te
verstaene soo ende gelyck deselve VA. (consideratie nemende op dgene de voorscr. staet delen bevinden
te behooren, dwelck doende sHertogehen)
By dese gestelt in handen vande tresoriers ende rentmeester dese stadt
22 Juni 1595."

SOURCE: S.A.A., P.K. 675, fol. 26r.

200
 APPENDICES

APPENDIX 7
REQUEST SUBMITTED TO THE ANTWERP MAGISTRATE BY BARTHOLOMEUS
DE MüMPER ON AUGUST 7, 1595

"Geeft te kennen Bartholomeus De Momper hoe dat hy theens de

heeren tresoriers ende rentmeesters dese stadt in verleden jaren heeft gehuert
gehadt den pandt vande nieuwe borse ais voor den tyt van drye
contninue jaren ende drye weecken soude hebben innegaen van kersmisse
in verleden jaren 1594 dhese jare voor de somme van 150 gulden ende
elck vande resterende twee jaren voor 200 gulden mare alsoo de
suppleant ten aencomen synde huere heeft gaen aenspreken de persoonen
die inde voorscreven pandt ware voort staende geweest synde alleenlyck
acht in getale ten eynde sy lieden met hem soude huere maecken
en hebben Alsoe nyet willen verstaen maer vercleert dat sy lieden
liever vanden pandt souden vertrecken mits den hy geen middel hadden
ais die omme huere te comen betalen indenvuegen dat de suppleant benootsake
is geweest omdat den pandt nyet geheelick verlaeten ende desolaet
en zoude worden met hunlieden te patienteren voor eengen tyt ende
daer en tusschen tarbeyden den oft hy hen met goede persuasien tot
het maecken van huere soude comen gevuegen gelyck hy dat
nu ten leste heeft geeffectueert waer onder expresse geloeft
die hy hen heeft moeten doen dat hunne huere eerst te bamisse
toecomen sa! innegaen ende dat zylieden gedurende den verleden tyt te
weten van kersmisse voors. ende lestleden tot dese Bamisse den voors.
pandt voor nyet sullen hebben bestaen ende dat hy hun oock heeft
moeten geloven dat hy se met schilderijen aldaer soude comen voortstaen
gelyck hy oock almeede datelick tot den eynde hun [syn?J huus heeft
verlaeten oft andersssins wilden sy aile verrrecken geoorsaeckt zoude
hebben dat den pandt soude hebben moeten toegesloten worden ende
uyt den name ende rame van nadeele van neeringhe geheelyck soude hebben gecomen tot
groote schade ende nyet alleen voorgenoemd suppleant maer oick van dese
stadt dwelck de suppleant heeft gearbeyt te verhueren door middelen
te hebben oyck twee oft drye schilders verwellicht opden voorscreven pandt met
schilderijen te comen voortstaen ende hun gegeven de plaetse voor nyet
alles opden pandt wederomme int raem van neeringhe te brengen tot
benefitie deser stadt welck aengemerct is ende dat het onder correctie
onredelyck waren dat van claire de suppleant zoude huere betalen voorden tyt dat hunlieden huere gheeft
comen genieten.
(... ) 7 augusti 1595"

SOURCE: S.A.A., P.K. 675, fol. 92v.

201
INDEX Boutry, Jan 94
Boxstaen, Lambertus 66
Aachen 44 Brabant, Duchy of 16
Aertsen, Pieter 38, 83, 158 Brabant, Duke of 25
Adam and Eve 69 Breda 18, 23
Adoration ofthe Magi 29-30, 154, 161 Brilleman, Peter 98
Albert, Archduke 110, 114 Brotherhood of Saint Reinolds, Gdansk 31
Alleyns, Aert 72 Breughel, Jan the Elder 105 (n. 285), 114
Alleyns, Marten 9 (n.14), 61(n.100), 70- Bruegel, Pieter the Elder 7, 18, 38-39, 44,
78, 101, 134-135, 170 50 (n. 65), 55, 9 (n.16), 160, 162, 170
Alleyns, Magriet 72, 74 Bruges 4, 15, 16, 20-21, 23, 28, 38, 141,
Alva, Duke of 38, 42, 43, 44 (n. 35), 55 163-165, 169
Americas (the) 4, 11, 86 Brugmans, I-Iuybrecht 108
Amsterdam 5, 35 (n. 1), 38, 51, 111-112, Brussels 21, 23, 28, 31, 35 (n. 1), 36, 38,
114-115 44,47, 87, 89, 110(n.7),169-170
Ancona 83 Bulincx, I-Ians 76
Andalousia 156 Bunel, François II 58 (n. 96), 59, 61 (n. 98)
Anjou, see François, Duke of Anjou Burgos 33 (n. 61)
Arenberg family 151 (n. 45)
Atlantic Ocean 4, 15 Calvinist Republic(s) 44, 101
Augsburg 40 (n. 21), 88, 97 Campeggio, Lorenzo, Cardinal 63
Averbode, abbey 143 Capriano, Beneditto 98
Carra, Anthony 107
Badens, François 1 111 Carrying ofthe Cross 69
Badens, François Il 111 Castiglione, Baldassare 150 (n. 39)
Baltic Sea 85 Cathedra!, Antwerp 113, 143, 147
Baruzeel, Jan 62 Central America 17
Beda:, Kerstyane 53 Charles V, Emperor of Spain 33, 64, 87 (n.
Berckmans, Aerdt 98 209), 149
Bergami, Jehan 83 Châlons 73, 104, 106
Bergen-op-Zoom 23 Christmas Eve 69
Beuckelaer, Joachim 38 Christus, Petrus 163
Bijns, Dierick 106, 122, 154 Cimon 60
Bijns, Johanna 70, 72 Cleopatra 69
Bisaert, Claude 108 Cock, I-Iieronymus 26, 50, 57 (n. 91), 61
Bloemaert, Abraham 102 (n. 269) (n. 99), 77, 157
Boge, Margaretha 64 Cock, Jeroen 92
Bologna 88 Cock, Mi chi el 74
Bonenfant, Pierre, see Goetkint, Peter Coeberger, Wenceslas 102 (n. 269)
Borremans, Elisabeth 69 Coecke Van Aalst, Pieter 36, 145 (n. 15)
Bosch, Jeroen 9 (n. 16), 61, 160 Cologne 44, 88, 92, 104 (n. 281), 112
Bourse, new, Antwerp 21, 44, 48-53, 55- Congnet, Gillis 77
58, 79, 118, 145 Co un cil of Trent 144

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 p AINTING FOR THE MARKET

Coxcie, Mi chi el 101, 107 De Nouveau, René 102

Cupid 60 De Palermo, Anthoni 101, 105, 116, 157
De Palermo, Catherina 3 (n. 1), 105
Death ofMary 107 De Pape, Jans 62
Danzig, see Gdansk De Prince, Jan 74
D'Aragon, Luigi 17 De Requenses, Don Luis 44
Dartois, Cornelis 66, 67 (n. 120), 69 De Riem, Willem 102
Datti, Giorgio 121 De Samora, Jaspar 98
David, Gerard 163-164 De Vleeminck, Peter 157
De Backer, Jacques 157 De Vos, Anna 72
De Backere, Marten 66, 86 De Vos, Barbara 72-74, 76, 77 (n. 170),
De Bakmaker, Gillis 160 101
De Beeldsnijder, Aerdt 158 De Vos, Jan 70
De Beer, Jan 29 De Vos, Peter 70-72
De Carvalho, Arnao 33 (n. 60) De Vos, Pieter 72
De Coninck, Willem 103 De Vos, Marten 72, 83, 101, 113-114
De Cray, family 151 (n. 45) De Wesele, Michiel 88
De Fonteynes, Jan 103 De Witte, Henric 25
De Jode, Gerard (Geert) 66-67, 92 De Wittere, Frederick 113 (n. 20)
De Jonghe, Peter 70 Diana 60
De Gheyn, Jacob 112 Diericx, Volcxken 57 (n. 91), 77
De Hane, Willem 96 Diest 23
De Heere, Anna 72 Dinant 18
De Heere, Lucas 102 Dominicanpand 19-21, 23-24, 27-28, 46-
De Heysdonck, Guillaume 86 50, 138, 158
De Hollander, Adriana 69-70, 76 Doornik, see Tournai
De Hollander, Jan 69 Dosima, Diego 98
De Kampafia, Pedro 82 Dunkirk 110
De Kempeneer, Willem 63, 103 Dürer, Albrecht 19
De Kempeneer, Pieter 82 Dutch Republic 5-7, 62, 68, 112 (n. 13),
De la Derriere, Margaretha 71-72 115, 118, 141 (n. 3)
De Laval, Guy, Count 103 Dutch Revoit 68, 75, 100, 102, 124
Del Barca, Samson 158
Delft 5, 112 (n. 13), 148 Ecce Homo 69
De Linde, Hieronimo 81 Edicts of Nantes 116
De Lorme, Philip 91 Eighty Years' War, see Dutch Revoit
Del Rio, Antonio 98 Elisabeth, Queen of England 40
De Mercado, Tomâs 95 (n. 243) Emden 40
De Momper, Bartholomeus 51, 54-58, 61, England 28, 33, 43, 82, 84, 87-88, 92, 94,
66-67, 71, 75, 78, 101, 134-136 112
De Momper, Joas 55, 114, 118 Farnese, Alexander, Duke of Parma 45, 56,
Den Briel 43 109, 111, 114, 116
Denmark 33 Flemish Primitives 79

204
 INDEX

Florence 83, 121, 151 Guicciardini, Jan Baptist 103

Floris, Cornelis II 86 Guicciardini, Ludovico 11, 20, 40, 51, 75,
Floris, Cornelis III 102 (n. 269) 139
Floris, Frans 7, 9 (n. 16), 38, 101, 160, 170 Guild of Saint Luke, Amsterdam 115
Flushing 43 (n. 34) Guild of Saint Luke, Antwerp 3, 8, 11, 18,
Fontainebleau 101-102 21,23-24, 26,28,32, 38,47, 55,66-
France 33, 40, 43, 46, 68, 83-84, 91-92, 67, 69, 73, 86, 92-93, 112-114, 124-
101-108, 112, 171 125, 126-139, 157-159
François, Duke of Anjou 45, 147 Guild of Saint Luke, Bruges 128, 137-139
François I, King of France 63, 64, 101 GuildofSaintLuke, Brussel 128, 137-139
Franken, Ambrosius I 102, 114 Guild of Saint Nicholas, Antwerp 21, 23-
Francken, Hieronymus I 102, 106, 114 24, 47-48, 67
Frankenthal 44, 111-112 Guild of the Old Cloth Salesmen, Antwerp
Frankfort 40 (n. 21), 92 9, 147
Frankfort, Master of 125 Guild of the Old Footbow, Antwerp 24
Frederick I, King of Denmark 86
Friday Market, Antwerp 9, 131 Hamburg 111, 114
Fugger, trading fom 97-98 Hansa House, Antwerp 40
Henry IV, King of France 116
Gabron, Hans 67, 132 Henry V1II, King of England 64, 84, 87
Galle, Philip 92 History of Constantine 63
Garcia, Christoforo 98 History ofJacob 63
Gautier, François 103 History ofLot 63
Gdansk 4, 31, 85 (n. 192), 99 Halffroose, Suzanna 117 (n. 44)
Genoa 83, 88 Holy Family 136
Genoots, Jan 131 Hondschoote 35 (n. 1)
German territories 43, 82, 84, 92, 94, 111, Huegenots 116
122 Hulsbosch, Pieter 88
Gijsbechtssen, Gheert 66 Huybrechts, Adriaen 66
Gheens, Jacob 43
Gheerart van Rems 61 Iberian Peninsula 18, 31, 33, 80, 82, 87,
Ghemich, Hans 71 89, 91, 94-98, 106, 110, 114 (n. 26),
Ghent 21, 23, 38 (n. 14), 45, 47 122, 156
Goethals, Jacques 115 In den Boge, Jaques 113 (n. 20)
Goetkint, Antoon 105 Isabella, Archduchess 110, 114
Goetkint, Peter I 3 (n. 1), 105 Isenbrant, Adriaan 164
Goetkint, Peter II 105, 116 (n. 32) Italy 3, 15, 33, 35, 43, 82-83, 88, 94, 122,
Goetkint, Sara 3 (n. 1) 142, 151, 153, 159
Golts, Hubrecht 69
Goltzius, Hendrick 69 (n. 131) Jacobs, Filips 71
Gossaert, Jan 19, 29, 170 Jader 33
Grimmer, Jacob 126 Janssen, Abraham 3, 114
Groenenborch, Melchior 158 ]udgment ofSolomon 145

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Joy, Jacques 69, 116 Metz 148

Jupiter 60 Meuse 43
Michelangelo 3
Keldermans, Laureis 27 Michiel, Mercantonio 83
Key, Willem 39, 101 Middelburg 69, 110-111
Kortrijk 23, 155, 160 Milan 83, 88
Kriek, François 66 Molenaer, Cornelis 77
Morctus, Jan 113
Leicester, Earl of 110 Moro, Antonio 39
Le Picq, Thibault 103 Mostaert, Gillis 58 (n. 96), 126
Leiden 115
Le Roy, Jacques 115 Naes, Robert 103
Leuven 18 Naples 88
Leys, Jan 145 (n. 15) Neptune 3
Leys, Pieter 147 Nieuwen pand 23, 48 (n. 58)
Liefrinck, Hans 66-67, 92 North Sea 3
Liesaert, Abraham 72-73 Norway 33
Liesaert, Jehan 116 (n. 32) Nuremberg 40 (n. 21), 87
Liesaert, Peter 72, 108, 135 Nuyts, Jan 36
Liesaert, Philips 71-72, 135 Nuyts, Martin 98
London 51,88,92, 114(n.26)
Luys, Allonso 98 Oens, Henrick 103
Luyssens, Jacques 74 Of Utrecht, Joao 33 (n. 60)
Lyon 103, 107, 116 Onze-Lieve-Vrouwelof Brotherhood, Antwerp
143
Madonna with the Cherries 126 Ortelius, Abraham 113
Madrid 68 Ostend 110, 115
Magelhaen 8 Oudenaarde 47, 87, 89-90, 169-170
Mahieu, Nicolaes 98 Our Lady's pand 19, 23-28, 34, 46-50, 53-
Mandijn, Jan 145 (n. 15), 158 54, 62, 69-70, 75, 86, 92, 138, 143,
Margaret of Parma 42 154, 158
Mars 60
Mathias, Archduke 114 Palermo, Scipion 116 (n. 32)
Maurits, Prince 110 Paris 84, 92, 95, 102-108, 112, 115, 136
Mechlin 23, 28, 31, 33, 44, 38 (n. 14), 160 Parma, see Farnese, Alexander
Mediterranean 15 Patinir, Joachim 18-19, 29, 160, 161
Meduwael, Jan 62, 66 Pauwels, Promeneur 103
Memling, Hans 15, 163 Pavia 83
Mercer's Guild, Antwerp 147 Pepijn, Marten 113 (n. 23)
Merchant Adventures 84, 88 Perman, Jacques 67 (n. 120)
Mercury 60 Pero 60
Metsijs, Quinten 7, 18-19, 29, 33, 82, 160, Philipines 86
170 Philips II, King of Spain 40-42, 89, 110

206
 INDEX

(n. 7), 116, 128, 149 104, 106, 109, 111, 156, 169
Pine, Henry 84 Schilderspand 10, 21, 46-51, 53-58, 60, 68,
Plantin, Christoffer 91-93, 100 71,74,92,96, 101, 104, 113, 116-118,
Poland 17 (n. 13), 31, 86 121, 154, 156-157, 169-170
Pontheus, Anthony 76 Schotelier, Peter 54
Portugal (see also: Iberian Peninsula) 29, Scodand 33
33,86,92,99 Seville 4, 83, 95 (n. 243), 99
Pourbus, Frans the Eider 39, 101 's-Hertogenbosch 23, 63
Pourbus, Jacob 102 (n. 269) Sicily 88
Prague 112 Sigismund II August, King of Poland 88
Provoost, Jan 164 Sint Truiden 87, 89, 170
Provost, François 76, 108, 112 Snellinck, Jan 3
Provost, Peter n.15 Spain, see also Iberian Peninsula 3, 29, 31,
Puschingcr, Wolf 97-98 33, 68, 86-87, 92, 99, 112
Putman, Jacques 67 (n. 120) Spanish Fury 73
Spanish pand 24
Raphael 61, 155 Speck, Pieter 54
Rhine 31 Spillemans, brothers 51
Rhineland 44 (n. 40), 112 Spranger, Bartholomeus 112
Riga 85 (n. 192) Stuerbout, Daniel 147
Robiano, Lancelotto 98, 156 Sturm, Hernando 82
Robin, Guillaule 98 Swandeleeren, Heylwijch 62, 69
Rome 43, 83, 88, 112, 151 Sweden 33
Rouan 106, 108, 115
Rubens, Peter Paul 114, 144 Tafur, Pero 16, 20
Ruckers, Hans the Eider 93, 133 (n. 45) Tapestry pand, see Tapissierspand
Ruckerts, Hans 103 Tapissierspand 20 (n. 22), 24, 47-48, 96,
Ruiz, Alonso 98 145, 170
Thibault, Henry 103
Sadeler, Aegidius the Younger 112 Tournai 23, 87, 115
Sadeler, Gillis 66-67 Towerson, William 88
Saint Andrews church, Antwerp 143 Treaty of Calais 64
Saint Georges church, Antwerp 106 (n. Treaty of Crépy 103
292) Tromeon, Anthonio 103-104
Saint-Germain-des-Prés 105, 107, 171 Turnhout 94
Saint Jacobs church, Antwerp 143
Saint Malo 106 Uranus 60
Saint Pauls church, Antwerp 143
Saint Walburgis church, Antwerp 143 Valcx, Cornelis 27
Saturn 60 Valencia 110 (n. 7)
Scaldis 3 Valladolid 33 (n. 61)
Scandinavia 33 Van Amstel, Jan 69 (n. 128)
Scheldt, River 3, 7, 11, 18, 39, 43, 45, 100, Van Bimont, Joys 132

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 PAINTING FOR THE MARKET

Van Boven, Peter 70 Verachtert, Hans 7 4

Van Bredael, Goyvaert 66 Verheacht, Godevaert 116 (n. 32)
Van Brussel, Hans 116-118, 136 Verhaecht, Peter 7 4
Van Cauwenberghe, Peter 85 Venice 83, 88, 95 (n. 244), 151
Van Cleve, Joos 29, 64, 65, 125-126 Venus 60
Van Coninxloo, Gillis 77, 111 Vezeleer, Joris 63-67
Van Dalem, Cornelis 126 Vinckboons, Gillis 71-73
Vanden Borch, Cornelis 103-104 Vinckboons, Hendrick 71-72
Vanden Hindel, Dierick 103 Vissenaken, Hieronymus 105 (n. 283)
Vanden Kerckhove, Jan 130 (n. 28) Vlaminck, Jacop 54
Van den Queeckborne, Daniel 116 Vrancx, Sebastiaan 123
Van den Queeckborne, Hans 116 Vredeman De Vries, Hans 44 (n. 41), 86,
Van der Heyden, Pieter 162 126 147
Van de Wyere, Huybrecht 54 (n. 76) Vrindt, Batista 66-67
Van de Wyere, Jacques 73, 76, 107, 115,
135-136 Warsaw 31
Van den Bosche, Jan 54 Wavel Hill, Krakow, 88
Van Eyck, Jan 15, 82, 163 William of Orange 43 (n. 35), 45
Van Ghent Olivier 33 (n. 60)
Van Haesbroeck, Cornelis 74 (n. 159) Ypers 23
Van Hemessen, Catharina 75
Van Hemessen, Jan 67 (n. 120), 75 Zukowo 31-32
Van Holland, Claes 62 Zwin 15
Van Ieper, Jan 33 (n. 60)
Van Kessel, Hans 61
Van Kessel, Jan 60-61, 67 (n. 120), 71-72,
84, 122, 134, 155
Van Kessel, Willem 71-72
Van Luyck, Hans 67
Van Mander, Karel 11, 17-18, 41, 69, 77,
105-107, 111, 139, 155, 157
Van Oudenhove, Ghijsbrecht 81
Van Overbeke, Adriaen 29
Van Rossum, Marten 96
Van Schoonbeke, Gilbert 48 (n. 52), 145
Van Sevenhoven, Jan 69, 104
Van Sint Aldegolde, Marnix 109
Van Valkenborch, Lucas 44
Van Valkenborch, Merten 44
Van Veen, Otto 44 (n. 40), 113 (n. 23),
114
Van Wavere, Jannen 33
Vasari, Giorgio 75

208