Artus Wolffort (Antwerp, 1581 – 1641) and workshop - Saint Matthew

Descriptio Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 117 x 96 cm (each). We are grateful for the cataloging assistance of Professor Hans Vlieghe, who has identified the master’s hand in this series, with the help of his workshop; a communication is attached. This important set of three paintings belongs to a celebrated series of apostles created by Artus Wolffort during the first decades of the 17th century in Antwerp. The compositions depict Saint Matthew, Saint John the Evangelist, and Saint Andrew in half-length, accompanied by their traditional attributes and trompe-l’œil cartouches with Latin inscriptions taken from the Apostles’ Creed. This follows an iconographic tradition widespread in Flanders from the late 16th century and related to engraved series such as those by Hendrick Goltzius. Each apostle is associated with one of the articles of the Creed, thus creating a doctrinal and devotional cycle intended to be viewed as a whole. The importance of this series lies in the quality of its execution and the direct involvement of the master and his workshop, a fact confirmed by Professor Hans Vlieghe, whose assistance in cataloging is enclosed. The works possess remarkable expressive power, evident in the intense lighting effects, the tenebrist contrasts, and the monumentality of the figures—elements that demonstrate the assimilation of Caravaggesque models within Flemish painting in Antwerp. The construction of the faces, the refinement of the hands, and the treatment of the drapery also reveal Wolffort’s close connection to the artistic milieu dominated by Rubens and Jordaens in the city. The group can be dated to around 1616–1625, a period of peak activity for the artist, and constitutes an important testament to the large devotional series produced in Antwerp for private collectors and religious contexts. Provenance: important European private collection.

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