Joost Cornelisz

JOOST CORNELISZ DROOCHSLOOT (Holland, 1586-1666).
"Preaching of St. John the Baptist". 1664.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated
Relined 50 years ago.
Eighteenth century frame. Rear frame.
Measurements: 73 x 115 cm; 84 x 125 cm (frame).
In this choral scene, of remarkable workmanship, different social classes gather in the shade of a tree to listen to the word of Saint John the Baptist, who preaches the arrival of Jesus. This is an important painting by Joost Cornelisz, signed and dated by the artist. It belongs to his mature period. As Dutch painters of Cornelisz's time, such as Bartholomeus Breenbergh (his "Preaching of John the Baptist" is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York) or Brueghel the Younger in his painting of the same name of 1566, the theme of the sermon is used as an excuse to depict a crowd of varied social backgrounds and origins in order to emphasise the idea of spreading the good news beyond frontiers. Sumptuous costumes of exotic appearance coexist with the humble attire of peasants, the aristocratic classes mingle with the servants. All of them are symbolically levelled by their faith. The landscape depicted is not the typical Dutch one of wide plains, but is dotted with ruins and a landscape reminiscent of Italy. Joost Cornelisz excelled in his recreation of lively scenes set in natural landscapes. Through a skilful use of light and colour nuances, he creates a successful effect of perspective and spaciousness. In addition, each figure has been individualised, characterised in clothing and gestural language. The salmon-coloured lights fluff the clouds in the clear sky.
Joost Cornelisz was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. He is thought to have been born in Utrecht. It is possible that he spent some years in The Hague. Documentation dates from 1616 when he was enrolled as a master in the guild of Saint Luke in Utrecht, of which he was elected dean in 1623, 1641 and 1642. A respected member of his community, in 1638 he was elected regent of the Sint Jobs hospital, a deacon of the Reformed Church in 1642 and an officer in the schutterij or urban militia in 1650 and 1651. In addition, from 1665 to 1666 he was painter to the University of Utrecht. A prolific painter, his earliest known works, such as The Good Samaritan in the Centraal Museum, Utrecht, signed and dated 1617, in which his knowledge of Jan van Scorel's work on the same subject is evident, and The Seven Works of Mercy in the same museum, dated 1618, are large historical compositions on religious themes, a genre he never abandoned (Parables of the Unprofitable Servant and the Guest at the Wedding, 1635, Centraal Museum, Utrecht; The New Version of the Seven Laws of Mercy, 1644, The Hague, Museum Bredius), but what is most common in his production are urban landscapes or landscapes set in small villages, with a wide avenue arranged diagonally and directed towards the depths, serving as a setting for festive and market scenes. Influences of the Flemish masters, both Pieter Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Brueghel the Younger, have been noted.