CLEVE.—Two painters of this name. Of Joos van C. (Ioos van der Beke) the Elder, the year of birth is unknown; he died in Antwerp in 1540. This painter, hitherto known as the “Master of the Death of the Virgin,” traveled in Italy around 1528. He was then in Paris in 1529 (working for Francis I) and in England in 1536 (as a portraitist).
After having been influenced by the school of Bruges (David, Memling, Patinir), C. played an active part in the development of the Antwerp school of painting during the first half of the 16th century. His sacred compositions generally show an Italianizing eclecticism and appear rich in ornamentation with studies of ancient architecture, polychrome marbles, etc.; the influence of Leonardo and Raphael is often evident. Already mentioned by Guicciardini. His works are to be found in Munich, Paris, Dresden, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, etc.; in Italy: in Florence (Uffizi), Naples (Museum), Modena (Gallery), and especially in Genoa (triptych in S. Donato, c. 1514, and paintings in private collections); the Adoration of the Magi in Dresden (from S. Luca d’Erbe, after 1525) and the Deposition in the Louvre (from S. Maria della Pace, c. 1530) also come from Genoa. Famous is the Portrait of Cardinal Clesio in the Corsini Gallery in Rome, reminiscent of Holbein himself.
Joos van C. the Younger, born in Antwerp between 1510 and 1520, died in London c. 1554. Active especially at the courts of France and England.