(Amsterdam 1507/08 – 1575), workshop of
The Four Evangelists, oil on panel, 77.5 x 112 cm, framed

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the Kassel Picture Gallery each conserve a similar version of the present composition, however both are more developed and characterized by a different palette, as well as being executed in more detail. The present composition, which is vigorously rendered, may have served as a preliminary design for the two versions mentioned above. Aertsen’s significance lies above all in the fact that he held fast to the national Dutch style more than any of his contemporaries during a period dominated by Dutch Romanism. He retained a powerful drawing style and modelling and, except for a few examples, adhered to a palette that pleasantly detached itself from the strongly decadent colourism of his time. He enjoyed a high reputation in Amsterdam during his lifetime and also produced large and important works for other Dutch towns, most of which fell victim to Protestant iconoclasm. The genre of market and kitchen scenes introduced by Aertsen considerably influenced Flemish still-life painting. However, many of his altarpieces were destroyed as early as 1566, during the ‘Beeldenstorm’, and large parts of his oeuvre were demolished during subsequent wars.

Comparative literature: Pieter Aertsen: Die Vier Evangelisten, exh. cat., Kunst-historisches Museum, Vienna & Gemäldegalerie Alter Meister, Kassel.