SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The son of Quinten Matsys and brother of Cornelis, Jan Matsys became a master in Antwerp in 1531. Exiled in 1544, he developed a painting practice attentive to Italian models before returning to work in his native city. Female figures and their elaborate presentation occupy an important place in his religious compositions. Susanna and the Elders, dated 1564 at the Norton Simon Museum, shows Susanna dismissing her servants before bathing while the two men wait.
The Louvre’s Judith Holding the Head of Holofernes, around 1543, concentrates the biblical narrative on the heroine and her trophy. The Kunsthistorisches Museum preserves Lot and His Daughters, painted on panel in 1563. These works offer distinct interpretations of Old Testament narratives within a body of work separate from his father’s.
This profile brings together identity references for Jan Matsys and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Lempertz
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
Ruhe auf der Flucht nach Ägypten
Öl auf Holz
Auction date : 2016-05-21
Published result : 19840 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 18000
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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