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Cornelis van der Meulen
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Cornelis van der Meulen
Cornelis van der Meulen or Cornelis Vermeulen (1642, Dordrecht – 1691, Stockholm), was a Dutch painter who after training in the Dutch Republic had a career in Sweden where he became a court painter. He is known for still lifes of flowers and game, trompe-l'œil and vanitas still lifes, topographical views and portraits.
He was born in Dortrecht where he was baptized on 5 September 1642. His parents were Cornelis Adriaensz. van der Meulen, a cloth maker, and Helena Gijsbrecht van der Spiegel. In the late 1650s, he was a pupil of Samuel van Hoogstraten in his hometown. Samuel van Hoogstraten was a painter who practised in many genres and had been a pupil of Rembrandt. Van Hoogstraten set van der Meulen in the direction of the painting of trompe-l'œil still lifes.
It is possible that he traveled to Italy and spent time in Rome since his Vanitas still life (Sotheby's sale of 10 May 2019, London, lot 287) includes a statuette of Saint Susanna, which is based on a sculpture by the Flemish sculptor François Duquesnoy. As this sculpture was located on the altar of Santa Maria di Loreto, Rome and was little known until the 18th century, it seems probable that van der Meulen can only have known the statuette if he had seen it personally in Rome.
He probably arrived in Stockholm some time in the first half of 1678. In the next year he appeared as a member on the register of the Stockholm painters' guild. He painted vanitas still lifes and a still lifes with musical instruments for Ericsberg Palace in Sodermanland. The Swedish still life painter Christian von Thum is mentioned as his master in some sources. In 1683 he was commissioned to assist with the decoration of Drottningholm Palace, the private residence of the Swedish royal family.
He died in Stockholm where he was buried on 5 January 1692.
Van der Meulen's known oeuvre consists of a limited number of works, most of which were created during his stay in Sweden and are kept in Swedish museums and collections. Most of these works are still lifes. The subjects of his still life paintings are trompe-l'œil, vanitas, flower pieces and game pieces. He also created a topographical view of Stockholm.
Van der Meulen's master Samuel van Hoogstraten contributed to the use of illusionistic effects such as trompe-l'œil in Dutch painting. He was in particular one of the first to paint so-called quod‐libet still‐lifes, which are illusionistically rendered wooden surfaces on which various disparate objects are pinned by means of a ribbon. The objects range from letters to other trifles such as scissors, quill pens, portrait miniatures, prints, etc. The Flemish painter Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts was the first to introduce this type of painting into Sweden. While working as a court painter in Denmark Gysbrechts spent the winter of 1673–74 in Stockholm. Here he created a quod-libet still‐life commissioned by the burgesses of Stockholm as a gift to Claes Rålamb, the governor of the city.
Cornelis van der Meulen further developed quod-libet still‐lifes in Sweden. The Trompe-l'œil still life of a letter rack (Stockholm, Royal Collections Sweden) may be identical with the work referred to as The little letter, which is mentioned in the Royal Stockholm Paintings Office's minutes from 1679. Cornelis van der Meulen's earliest completed painting in Sweden is likely the painting referred to as The Little Letter, which is mentioned in the Stockholm Paintings Office's minutes in the year 1679. It is a quod-libet composition of a traditional kind in which a collection of letters, drawings and cutlery is scattered over a board wall. The painting can be regarded as an intellectual self‐portrait, as it shows letters addressed to the artist together with implements from the artist's trade such as a quill pen, a print, a burin etc. Some objects may carry a symbolic meaning. For instance, the scissors may refer to the fragility of human life. A miniature hanging on the board from a pink silk ribbon contains a women's portrait in profile in an oval. It gives the work a personal touch. One of the letters pinned to the board carries the words "Cornelis van der Meulen Schilder tot Dordrecht" (Cornelis van der Meulen Painter from Dordrecht). This indicates that perhaps the painting was a work he created while still in Dortrecht and showed as a masterwork to be accepted by the guild of Stockholm.
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Cornelis van der Meulen
Cornelis van der Meulen or Cornelis Vermeulen (1642, Dordrecht – 1691, Stockholm), was a Dutch painter who after training in the Dutch Republic had a career in Sweden where he became a court painter. He is known for still lifes of flowers and game, trompe-l'œil and vanitas still lifes, topographical views and portraits.
He was born in Dortrecht where he was baptized on 5 September 1642. His parents were Cornelis Adriaensz. van der Meulen, a cloth maker, and Helena Gijsbrecht van der Spiegel. In the late 1650s, he was a pupil of Samuel van Hoogstraten in his hometown. Samuel van Hoogstraten was a painter who practised in many genres and had been a pupil of Rembrandt. Van Hoogstraten set van der Meulen in the direction of the painting of trompe-l'œil still lifes.
It is possible that he traveled to Italy and spent time in Rome since his Vanitas still life (Sotheby's sale of 10 May 2019, London, lot 287) includes a statuette of Saint Susanna, which is based on a sculpture by the Flemish sculptor François Duquesnoy. As this sculpture was located on the altar of Santa Maria di Loreto, Rome and was little known until the 18th century, it seems probable that van der Meulen can only have known the statuette if he had seen it personally in Rome.
He probably arrived in Stockholm some time in the first half of 1678. In the next year he appeared as a member on the register of the Stockholm painters' guild. He painted vanitas still lifes and a still lifes with musical instruments for Ericsberg Palace in Sodermanland. The Swedish still life painter Christian von Thum is mentioned as his master in some sources. In 1683 he was commissioned to assist with the decoration of Drottningholm Palace, the private residence of the Swedish royal family.
He died in Stockholm where he was buried on 5 January 1692.
Van der Meulen's known oeuvre consists of a limited number of works, most of which were created during his stay in Sweden and are kept in Swedish museums and collections. Most of these works are still lifes. The subjects of his still life paintings are trompe-l'œil, vanitas, flower pieces and game pieces. He also created a topographical view of Stockholm.
Van der Meulen's master Samuel van Hoogstraten contributed to the use of illusionistic effects such as trompe-l'œil in Dutch painting. He was in particular one of the first to paint so-called quod‐libet still‐lifes, which are illusionistically rendered wooden surfaces on which various disparate objects are pinned by means of a ribbon. The objects range from letters to other trifles such as scissors, quill pens, portrait miniatures, prints, etc. The Flemish painter Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts was the first to introduce this type of painting into Sweden. While working as a court painter in Denmark Gysbrechts spent the winter of 1673–74 in Stockholm. Here he created a quod-libet still‐life commissioned by the burgesses of Stockholm as a gift to Claes Rålamb, the governor of the city.
Cornelis van der Meulen further developed quod-libet still‐lifes in Sweden. The Trompe-l'œil still life of a letter rack (Stockholm, Royal Collections Sweden) may be identical with the work referred to as The little letter, which is mentioned in the Royal Stockholm Paintings Office's minutes from 1679. Cornelis van der Meulen's earliest completed painting in Sweden is likely the painting referred to as The Little Letter, which is mentioned in the Stockholm Paintings Office's minutes in the year 1679. It is a quod-libet composition of a traditional kind in which a collection of letters, drawings and cutlery is scattered over a board wall. The painting can be regarded as an intellectual self‐portrait, as it shows letters addressed to the artist together with implements from the artist's trade such as a quill pen, a print, a burin etc. Some objects may carry a symbolic meaning. For instance, the scissors may refer to the fragility of human life. A miniature hanging on the board from a pink silk ribbon contains a women's portrait in profile in an oval. It gives the work a personal touch. One of the letters pinned to the board carries the words "Cornelis van der Meulen Schilder tot Dordrecht" (Cornelis van der Meulen Painter from Dordrecht). This indicates that perhaps the painting was a work he created while still in Dortrecht and showed as a masterwork to be accepted by the guild of Stockholm.
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