Jacob van Oost the Elder

Paintings

Head of a young girl

Adoration of the Shepherds with Saint Francis of Assisi

Parrot watching a Boy holding a Monkey

A young man at a stone window playing a theorbo-lute

Jacob van Oost the Elder

Death of Seneca

Jacob van Oost the Elder

Portrait of a Boy aged 11

Jacob van Oost the Elder

Two Boys before an Easel

Head of a young girl

Jacob van Oost or Jacob van Oost I (1603–1671) was a Flemish painter of history paintings and portraits who was the most important painter of Bruges in the 17th century.

Life

Van Oost was born in Bruges. He was probably a pupil of his brother Frans van Oost.[1]

He became master of the Bruges Guild of St. Luke in 1621. He left that year for Italy and after his return in 1628 he became a director of the guild. He married Jaquemyne Van Overdille in Bruges in 1630. His wife died the next year leaving him one son Maarten. In 1633 Jacob van Oost married Maria van Tollenaere. The couple had six children. His sons Jacob II and Willem became notable painters in their own right. Between 1633 and 1662 he held various positions in the Guild of St. Luke.[2] From 1651 until his death he was the official city painter of Bruges.[3]

His registered pupils were his sons Jacob II and Willem, and the painters Boudewijn Bodet, Franschoes Gheilliaert, Jan Maes, Jan Baptist van Meunincxhove, Jan Ramon and Arnoldus de Roose.[2]

Van Oost died in Bruges.[2]
Work

Van Oost was the leading 17th-century painter from Bruges. He was a prolific painter who made portraits for the local bourgeois and history paintings. He is primarily known for the altarpieces in the spirit of the Counter Reformation and his portraits.[3] A small number of paintings, mostly with secular themes, was likely aimed at private individuals and possibly for the open market.[1]

His work was strongly influenced by early Baroque painters such as Caravaggio and his follower Bartolomeo Manfredi whose work he had studied during his stay in Italy. The influence of Caravaggio can be seen in the chiaroscuro effects as well as the non-idealised figures. An example of this is the 1630 Adoration of the Shepherds (Hermitage Museum).[1]

After this early Caravaggesque influence, his work developed towards more monumental figures and a more classicist treatment that reflected the work of Annibale Carracci and his follower Domenichino.[3] From the 1650s, his work started to display greater emotionality, the use of dramatic spatial effects and a palette closer to Venetian art. Van Oost's paintings of that period show the influence of Federico Barocci, Correggio and Anthony van Dyck.[3] A few times he even simply copied van Dyck’s compositions. While this stylistic development was quite common among contemporary Flemish artists, the clear structure and strong modelling of van Oost’s work make his manner distinctive.[1]
Christ Crowned with Thorns, 1661

His portraits are generally rather formulaic. An exception is the Portrait of a Bruges Family (1645, Groeningemuseum, Bruges), which was more carefully composed and through its emblematic and monumental character is a masterpiece of high Baroque painting.[1]

Many of his religious works can still be seen in the churches of Bruges.[2]
References

Hans Vlieghe. "Oost, Jacob van, I." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 16 Jul. 2014
Jacob van Oost (I) at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)

Matthias Depoorter, Jacob van Oost I at Barok in Vlaanderen