Theodoor Rombouts, Virtuoso of Flemish Caravaggism

All the versions of this article: English , français

Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, MSK, from 21 January to 23 April 2023.

When one thinks of Caravagesques, Italian, Spanish, French or Dutch painters come to mind. Flemish painters are often overlooked, sometimes forgotten. This is probably a consequence of the overwhelming predominance of Rubens and his pupils in Flemish art in the first half of the seventeenth century, which somewhat overshadowed the importance of certain other artists who nevertheless had successful careers. The commissions they received on their return from Italy are evidence of this, as for their foreign colleagues, this journey was almost a necessary condition for the practice of their profession.


1. View of the retrospective
"Theodoor Rombouts" in Ghent
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page
2. View of the retrospective "Theodoor Rombouts" in Ghent
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

While the name of Theodoor Rombouts has thus remained familiar to specialists, it is clear that it is hardly known to other amateurs. The retrospective exhibition, with its very sober but effective museography (ill. 1 and 2), which the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent has devoted to him, is a success that reveals a talented artist, sufficiently original that, after visiting the exhibition, one can recognise his style without too much difficulty. He died young, leaving only about forty paintings (twenty-six of which are signed and only seven dated), but his workshop (there are at least nine pupils) increases the number of works of his invention, several compositions being known in multiple copies.


3. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
The Trickster’s Players, 1634
Oil on canvas - 160.7 x 234.8 cm
Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

His career can be divided into three parts: an initial period in Antwerp until 1616, when he headed for the Peninsula; then his Italian period from 1616 to 1624; and finally his return to Antwerp from 1625 until his early death in 1637, aged only 40. The exhibition, like almost all those devoted to a single artist, is both chronological and thematic. Although he was known as a religious painter, and also produced allegories and historical paintings, much of his output is in line with what one would expect from a northern Caravagesque: genre scenes, including music players or card players or trictracers (ill. 3). His style is marked by that of many other painters, which he was able to assimilate in order to create his own: rather angular physiognomies, especially the faces, intense colours, compositions that are always well structured...


Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
Cephalus and Procris, c. 1615
Oil on canvas
Saint Petersburg, Hermitage Museum
Photo : Hermitage Museum
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His first training, from the age of 11, was due to a painter about whom nothing is known, Franck Van Lanckvelt, whose influence on his style it is difficult to say. From the observation of his paintings, even in the absence of contemporary testimonies, we can deduce that he was also a pupil of Abraham Janssens. There is no doubt that if the paintings in the Hermitage had been loaned to this exhibition, we would have seen the Cephalus and Procris (ill. 4) dated around 1615, which is so close to its master that, without Rombouts’ signature, it could have been attributed to him. Janssens, born in 1575 when Rubens was born in 1577, was a more caravagesque alternative to the latter’s art, which prepared our artist for what he was to discover in Italy, a journey which he probably began in Venice, the first years of which are nonetheless poorly documented, since the first certain trace of his presence in Rome dates from 1620, when the Stati d’anime (parish registers) place him in the neighbourhood of Sant’Andrea della Fratte.


5. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
The Card Players, c. 1620-1630
Oil on canvas - 116.5 x 112.5 cm
Cambrai, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

Few definite works from this period are known, but the influence on him of Caravaggio’s followers, notably Bartolomeo Manfredi and his Manfrediana Methodus (interior scenes with half-body figures, in a Caravaggesque atmosphere) (ill. 5) is evident, even before his trip to Italy.
The exhibition presents many of Rombouts’ paintings, but it does not forget those of his contemporaries to show the often reciprocal influences, and the way in which the same themes were treated by different painters. It is regrettable that in this type of exhibition the works of other artists are not systematically indicated clearly, for example with different coloured labels, which would simplify the visit and the apprehension of the style of the artist to be highlighted. The fact remains that, with a few exceptions, Rombouts’ hand is easily recognisable.


6. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple, c. 1628-1632
Oil on canvas - 168 x 237 cm
Antwerp, Museum voor Schone Kunsten
Photo : Didier Rykner
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7. Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582-1622)
Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple, c. 1616-1617
Oil on canvas - 162 x 244 cm
Libourne, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

8. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
Les Joueurs de carte (détail), vers 1620-1630
Huile sur toile - 116.5 x 112.5 cm
Cambrai, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo : Didier Rykner
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The two versions of his Christ chasing the merchants from the Temple [1] (ill. 6) are thus confronted with the masterpiece of the same subject by Manfredi preserved in the Libourne Museum (ill. 7). With the very beautiful Denial of St Peter, Rombouts’ strong Caravaggio influence, which continued until his death, is evident. One cannot help but notice the detail of each painting, each figure (ill. 8 to 10), painted with very vivid and varied colours, and of a striking quality. The entire exhibition demonstrates that Rombouts is a great painter, and that he is better than his still somewhat confidential reputation. Comparisons with the works of Baburen, Ter Brugghen or even Rubens never do him any harm, but rather show how much he fits into the painting of his time.


9. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
The Trickster’s Players (detail), 1634
Oil on canvas - 160.7 x 234.8 cm
Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page
10. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
The Descent from the Cross (detail), c. 1628-1630
Oil on canvas - 351 x 256 cm
Ghent, St Bavo’s Cathedral
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

Some of them are exciting, and even if the incessant shifting of Caravaggio’s paintings may cause concern for their conservation in the long run, the side-by-side hanging of The Puller of Teeth (ill. 11 and 12) by both artists is one of the great moments of the exhibition.


11. Michelangelo Merisi,
called Caravaggio (1571-1610)
The Tooth Extraction, c. 1608-1610
Oil on canvas - 140 x 195 cm
Florence, Palazzo Pitti
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page
12. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
The Tooth Extraction, c. 1625
Oil on canvas - 118 x 223 cm
Madrid, Museo del Prado
Photo : Didier Rykner
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A large room is devoted entirely to musical subjects (ill. 13), one of the main themes treated by Rombouts as by many of his fellow Caravaggists. This was an opportunity for him to accompany his figures with superb still lifes. If at the end of his life he collaborated with a landscape painter, Jan Wildens, and a still life specialist, Adriaen Van Utrecht (ill. 14), the reason for this was probably more the number of commissions to be satisfied than an inability to paint this type of work, since the ones that appear in the paintings painted solely by his hand are of such high quality.


13. View of the retrospective
"Theodoor Rombouts" in Ghent
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page
14. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637) and
Adriaen Van Utrecht (1599-1652)
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, c. 1634
Oil on canvas - 200 x 230 cm
Private Collection
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

15. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
Prometheus, c. 1627-1628
Oil on canvas - 154 x 222.5 cm
Brussels, Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

The exhibition also presents some rare mythological paintings such as the Prometheus (ill. 15) whose liver is devoured by an eagle with little knowledge of anatomy (it attacks the left side of the hapless hero, whereas the liver is on the right side), and religious works whose quality is, again, particularly striking.
We should note, for example, a painting from a Florentine church (ill. 16), whose real author has only recently been identified, whereas it was thought to be a painting by Jacop Vignali, such was Rombouts’ ability to adapt to local taste and manner.


16. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
Saint Francis in Ecstasy Supported by Angels, c. 1623
Oil on canvas - 278 x 168 cm
Florence, chiesa Santi Simone e Giuda
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page
17. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
The Descent from the Cross, c. 1628-1630
Oil on canvas - 351 x 256 cm
Ghent, St Bavo’s Cathedral
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

His particularly impressive and monumental Descent from the Cross from Ghent Cathedral (ill. 17) owes as much to Janssens as to Rubens [2] which Rombouts could not totally ignore. Some of his later paintings also show architectural backgrounds that are reminiscent of Van Dyck’s art. As for the very large painting (the artist’s largest) entitled Allegory of the Second Bench of Aldermen of ‘Gedele’ (ill. 18), painted for the town hall in Ghent, it is almost a summary of the painter’s art, once again mixing memories of Janssens, Caravaggism, particularly in the figures in the foreground, but also an underlying influence of Rubens and his workshop.


19. Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637)
Allegory of the Second Bench of Aldermen of ‘Gedele’, 1627-1628
Oil on canvas - 435 x 382 cm
Ghent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten
Photo : Didier Rykner
See the image in its page

Of course, a painter cannot be reduced to the painters who have left their mark on him, and Rombouts is undoubtedly an artist with his own originality. We cannot, in a simple article, summarise the richness of this remarkable retrospective, accompanied by a no less good catalogue, very well illustrated, with all the necessary appendices and an exhaustive list of the paintings preserved by Rombouts and his studio.
It should be noted that it is perfectly possible to travel from Paris or London to Ghent and back in a day. It seems, from the information coming from the StädelMuseum, that our readers are following our advice (they are amazed to see all the French coming to see Guido Reni, many of whom have read our review enthusiastically). Trust us: this Ghent event is also worth the trip.


Curator: Frederica Van Dam.


Under the direction of Frederica Van Dam, Theodoor Rombouts. Virtuoso of Flemish Caravaggism, Snoeck/MSK Ghent, 2023, 288 p., €50, ISBN: 9789461618139.


Practical information: Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 1 Fernand Scribedreef, 9000 Ghent. Open every day except Monday, from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm from Tuesday to Friday, from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Price: €20 (free up to 18 years, €3 between 19 and 25 years).
Museum website.

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