CLEVES. - Two painters of this name. Of Joos van C. (Joos 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 Mary," travelled in Italy around 1528. He was therefore in Paris in 1529 (for works for Francis I) and in England in 1536 (as a portraitist).

After having been influenced by the school of Bruges (David, Memling, Patinir), C. took an active part in the development of the painting school of Antwerp during the first half of the 16th century. His compositions on sacred subjects generally show an Italianizing eclecticism and appear rich in ornaments with studies of ancient architecture, polychrome marbles, etc.; the recollection of Leonardo and of Raphael is often evident. Already mentioned by Guicciardini. Works of his are in Munich, Paris, Dresden, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, etc.; in Italy: there are some in Florence (Uffizi), Naples (Museum), Modena (Gallery) and especially in Genoa (triptych in S. Donato, of c. 1514, and paintings in private collections); also from Genoa come 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, around 1530). Famous is the Portrait of Cardinal Clesio in the Corsini Gallery in Rome, which recalls Holbein himself.

Joos van C. the Younger, b. in Antwerp between 1510 and 1520, d. in London c. 1554. Active especially at the Courts of France and England.

Bibliography10 works

BIBL.: F. Guicciardini, Descrizione di tutti i Paesi Bassi, Antwerp 1567, p. 98; Carel van Mander, Het Schilder Boeck, Antwerp 1906, passim; W. Cohen, s. v. in Thieme-Becker, VII (1912), p. 97 ff.; J. v. d. Branden, Paintings by C., in Burlington Magazine, 26 (1914-15), pp. 169-72; L. Baldass, Die Anfänge des C., in Festschrift für A. Goldschmidt, Leipzig 1923, pp. 83-90; id., C., Vienna 1925; id., Bildnisse C., in Zeitschrift für Bildende Kunst, 62 (1928), pp. 145-52; F. Winkler, Die altniederländische Malerei, Berlin 1924, p. 230; M. J. Friedländer, Altniederländische Malerei, IX, ibid. 1931, p. 20 ff.; A. Morassi, Mostra della pittura antica in Liguria, Genoa 1946, pp. 49-51.

Bernardo Degenbart

@incollection{ec3_cleve, author = {Degenhart, Bernardo}, title = {Cleve}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {III}, pages = {1869--1870}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/cleve} }

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Cleves

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