Wybrand de Geest

WYBRAND DE GEEST (Holland, 1592 - ca. 1661).
"Magdalene in ecstasy". After CARAVAGGIO (1571 -1610).
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents Repainting.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner. With inscription "Michealem/ Angelum Caravaggio.../Mediolan./".
Bibliography:
-J. Ainaud, "Ribalta y Caravaggio", in Anales del Boletin de los Museos de Barcelona, 1947, p. 394, no. 32;
-E. Valdivieso, Pintura Holandesa de Siglo XVII en Espana, 1973;
-B. Nicolson, "Recent Caravaggio Studies", in Burlington Magazine, vol. CXVI, no. 859, October 1974, p. 624, reproduced fig. 94;
-M. Cinotti & A. Dell'Acqua, "Michelangelo Merisi detto il Caravaggio. Tutte le opere", in I pittori bergamaschi dal XIII al XIX secolo. Il Seicento, vol. I, Bergamo 1983, p. 542, no. 64; La pintura holandesa del siglo de oro: la escuela de Utrecht, exhibition catalogue, Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona 1992-3, pp. 158-9, no. 32;
-M. Marini, Caravaggio, 'Pictor Praestantissimus, Rome 2001, p. 508, no. 76;
-V. Pacelli, L'Ultimo Caravaggio, Naples 2002, p. 66, reproduced fig. 74:
-S. Cassani (ed.), Caravaggio, L'Ultimo tempo, exhibition catalogue, Naples 2004-2005, p. 164- 5, no. 25b, reproduced.
Exhibitions:
-Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona, La pintura holandesa del siglo de oro: la escuela de Utrecht, 1992-3, no. 32;
-Naples, Museo di Capodimonte, Caravaggio. L'Ultimo Tempo 1606-1610, 23 October 2004- 23 January 2005, no. 25b.
Measurements: 110 x 87 cm; 124 x 144 cm (frame).

Wybrand de Geest was an outstanding portraitist of the Dutch Golden Age, specifically linked to Dutch Caravaggism. The present painting, in fact, is a version of the Magdalene in ecstasy that Caravaggio painted in 1606, albeit with notable variations with respect to the original, an aspect that gives our canvas its uniqueness. As in the original painting, Mary Magdalene seems to be asleep, experiencing mystical ecstasy as an inner rapture. It inherits from Caravaggio the expressive handling of chiaroscuro. The light models the contours with clean chisels. Virtuoso is also the use of glazes, appreciable in the tears that slide down a cheekbone. The half-open mouth and closed eyelids express the languid surrender to ecstasy. The long brown hair falls like silk thread to her lap. The velvety cloths compete in smoothness with the softness of the flesh. Mystical ecstasy becomes erotic, both in Caravaggio and in De Geest, whose paintings exhaled a great sensuality. Caravaggio had stripped the scenery of all ornamentation. De Geest adds two symbolic elements (the jar of ointment and the skull), which, however, do not detract from the nudity of the intimate contemplation of a sublime experience.

Wybrand de Geest was born and died in Leeuwarden. He learned painting with his father, Simon Juckesz, a glassmaker. Later he studied with Abraham Bloemaert. From 1614 to 1618 he traveled through France and Italy on a Grand Tour. In 1616 he met Leonard Bramer in Aix-en-Provence. During his stay in Rome he became part of the circle of painters known as the Bentvueghels. De Geest married Hendrickje Fransdr Uylenburgh, niece of Saskia van Uylenburgh, wife of Rembrandt. In 1634, just before their marriage, Rembrandt visited De Geest. De Geest was Friesland's foremost portraitist and painted numerous portraits of the well-to-do citizens of his day, many of which are preserved in the Frisian Museum. Perhaps the most intimate portraits he painted were those of his immediate family. De Geest influenced Jacob Adriaensz Backer, and his pupils were Jan Jansz. de Stomme and Jacob Potma. His sons Julius and Frank were also painters. His grandson Wybrand wrote plays, a travel guide to Rome and published "Het Kabinet der Statuen" (1702).