Jacques Jonghelinck, bronze sculptor of the Low Countries in the sixteenth century

What is it about?

Jacques Jonghelinck (1530-1606) was one of many Netherlandish artists of his generation that traveled to Italy. Originating from Antwerp, he worked in the Leoni workshop in 1552 and settled in Brussels on his return north, where he became a prominent court artist. A comparison between his works and that of Leone and Pompeo Leoni (1509-1590 and 1533-1608) tells us more about the impact of Italian bronze sculpture on the techniques of Netherlandish workshops, and helps determine the characteristics of Jonghelinck's bronzes. In both workshop practice and his use of materials, Jonghelinck clearly followed his Milanese employer. Alas, not that many monumental sculptures left the artist's workshop, but the pieces that did demonstrate his artistic resourcefulness. In this paper, particular attention is paid to the Planet Series to support this statement. Additionally, we argue that the artist might have been trained by an Augsburg master, as a result of which he would have become the perfect Renaissance bronze sculptor with an outstanding background in goldsmithing.

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Why is it important?

Today, the sculptural oeuvre of Jonghelinck is scattered over the world, and has not received much technical attention. The tradition of bronze sculpture in the Netherlands leaps from the more ornamental brass works of Jan Aert van Tricht to the life size Renaissance figures of Jonghelinck, with very little in between (Leone Leoni and Conrad Meit were working in Brussels in this period, but little is known about their influence and the broader sculptural developments in that time). As Jonghelincks early career is strikingly similar to that of Giambologna, Adriaen de Vries and others, this paper might also contribute to a deeper understanding of the background of this particular group of sculptors.

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