SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Trained from a very young age under Pierre Verhulst, Jan Wildens entered the profession through apprenticeship: he was ten when he began studying painting. Enrolled as an apprentice in the Guild of Saint Luke in 1596, he became a master in 1604. After attaining master status, he established his own studio and took on Abraham Leerse as an apprentice in 1610. His stay in Italy, which began in 1613, preceded the publication the following year of a series of twelve landscapes devoted to the months of the year and based on earlier drawings.
On his return, Wildens collaborated with Rubens, providing him with landscape settings and backgrounds for compositions and tapestries. In particular, he created the landscapes behind the figures in preparatory drawings for the Decius Mus tapestry series, as well as in several history paintings, including The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, around 1618. From 1620 onwards, his activity turned increasingly towards independent works, including hunting and country scenes. He also contributed to the decorations organised by Rubens for the Joyous Entry into Antwerp of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, providing two views of the city.
Landscape with Meleager and Atalanta is an example of his late work: this oil on panel, measuring 47 × 72 cm and datable to around 1640, combines a forest landscape with an episode from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The published provenance of the painting mentions the collection of Dr Albrecht Beckh, a Lempertz sale in Cologne in 1981, and subsequently a private collection in southern Germany. The work is listed in Wolfgang Adler’s study of Jan Wildens, published in 1980. In 1619, Wildens married Maria Stappaert. Their two sons, Jean Baptiste and Jérémy, also became painters.
This profile brings together identity references for Jan Wildens and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Lempertz · Schuler · Dobiaschofsky
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil on wood
Landschaft mit Meleager und Atalante
Öl auf Holz
Auction date : 2018-11-17
Published result : 8680 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 7000
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Oil on canvas
Weite Landschaft mit Hirten und einem Reiter
Öl auf Leinwand
Auction date : 2017-11-18
Published result : 22320 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 12000
View the lot at the auction house ↗These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Oil on wood
Entourage de JAN WILDENS — Landschaft mit Häusern, Bauern und Hirten.
Öl auf Holz
Umkreis - Circle
Catalogue period : 2022-11-04
Circle
Published result : 2000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 2200
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Oil on canvas
Attribué à Wildens, Jan — zugeschrieben Eisvergnügen auf einem zugefrorenen Kanal
Öl auf Leinwand
zugeschrieben
Catalogue period : 2016-12-16
Attributed
Published result : 28000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 20000–30000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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