Master of the Bentvueghels; Possibly Pieter Van Bloemen

Master of the Bentvueghels; Possibly PIETER VAN BLOEMEN (Antwerp, 1657- 1720 ).
"Roman popular characters by the basilica of St. John and St. Paul".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 71 x 55 cm.
The painting shows a scene set in Baroque Rome, with a narrative and academic approach that combines the interest in classical architecture with the costumbrista representation. In the left margin of the composition we can recognize the basilica of St. John and St. Paul, an early Christian building whose severe forms and dark volumes dominate the background. The basilica serves as a solemn frame for a lively scene of food distribution, probably a monastic almsgiving, involving a heterogeneous group of popular characters: soldiers, beggars, musicians and women, all organized in an almost theatrical arrangement.

The scene is carefully choreographed, with emphatic gestures and postures that guide the viewer's gaze in a circular path. The academic style is evident in the firm drawing, the balanced composition and the clear narrative approach, which seeks not only to describe an episode, but also to convey a moral or religious message. The treatment of light and color, although somewhat obscured by the passage of time, preserves a clear scenographic intention, emphasizing the monumentality of the temple as opposed to the humility of the characters.

Both the aesthetics of the work and the subject matter indicate that it is a work of the circle of the Bentvueghels, a group of artists from Holland and the Netherlands, who traveled to Rome for academic training, although detached from the Academy of St. Luke. Among them was Pieter van Bloemen, also known by his nickname Standaart or Stendardo, was a prominent Flemish painter of the Baroque period, specializing in Italianate landscapes animated with equestrian scenes, within a late Baroque sensibility. The elder brother of the painters Jan Frans and Norbert van Bloemen, he was the most outstanding member of this prolific family of artists.
He began his training in Antwerp as a disciple of Simon Johannes van Douw in 1667, and in 1673 he was already a registered master in the guild of St. Luke in his native city. However, his career soon took a decisive turn: attracted by Italian culture and the Roman landscape tradition, he moved to Rome in 1674, where he would remain, except for brief interruptions, until 1693. During his stay in the Eternal City, he joined the well-known group of Nordic artists the Bentvueghels, among whom he was known by the nickname Standaart. In 1684 he interrupted his Roman residence to travel to Lyon, in the company of other Dutch painters, returning shortly afterwards to Italy.
On his definitive return to Antwerp in 1694, Pieter was appointed dean of the guild of St. Luke in 1699, confirming the prestige he had achieved in his native city. His artistic production, very prolific, focused on animated landscapes, both rural and urban, in which he included popular scenes, classical ruins and, with special emphasis, horses and riders, elements that often occupy a principal place in the composition. His skill in equestrian representation links him directly to the tradition of Philips Wouwerman and Peter van der Lint, who also exalted horsemanship as an autonomous pictorial motif, apart from the traditional battle scenes.
Unlike his brother Jan Frans, more attached to classical idealism, Pieter showed a preference for a more earthly and dramatic vision, incorporating a typically late-baroque pathos. He also engaged in collaborations, especially with Jan Frans, in whose landscapes he often took charge of the human and animal figures, integrating them with great ease into the natural surroundings.
Two of his most representative works, Caravan and Roman Landscape (the Campo Vacino in Rome), are currently preserved in the Prado Museum, as part of the former royal collections. Both were acquired by Charles IV and were originally located in the Casita del Príncipe in El Escorial.