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Denys Calvaert
Danaë and the Shower of Gold
oil on canvas
109,5 x 77,6 cm
Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston upon Hull
inv. no. KINCM:2005.4794
Denys Calvaert (Antwerp 1540 - 1619 Bologna)
Danaë and the Shower of Gold
oil on paper
163 x 196 mm
Denys Calvaert was born in Antwerp, ca. 1540. According to the Antwerp liggeren (the record of the members of the Guild of St Luke), he studied with the renaissance painter...
Denys Calvaert was born in Antwerp, ca. 1540. According to the Antwerp liggeren (the record of the members of the Guild of St Luke), he studied with the renaissance painter Christian van den Queborn in 1556/7. He left for Italy at a relatively early age, arriving around 1560 in Bologna, where he was to remain for the rest of his life, except for a period in Rome from 1572 - 1575. In Bologna, he entered the workshop of Prospero Fontana; two years later he went to work with Lorenzo Sabatini, with whom he collaborated on several large projects, such as Sabatini's Holy Family with the Archangel St. Michael, now kept in the S. Giacomo Maggiore, Bologna.
When Sabatini was summoned to Rome by Pope Gregory XIII in 1572, Calvaert accompanied him and remained in Rome for three years, assisting Sabatini on his paintings in the Sala Regia. While in Rome, Calvaert studied the works of Michelangelo, Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo, producing many painted and drawn copies after their work. After his return to Bologna in 1575 he established his own studio, soon attracting many pupils who went on to become prominent painters, including Lavinia Fontana (his former mentors daughter), Guido Reni, Francesco Albani and Domeninichino.
The late sixteenth century in Bologna was a period of great religious fervor, thanks to the city's enthusiastic embracing of the Counter Reformation, and Calvaert was the recipient of numerous ecclesiastical commissions. Stylistically, Calvaert combined the visual language of late Italian mannerism with elements from Northern painting. Painters such as Corregio and Barocci clearly greatly influenced his style.
In addition to paintings, Calvaert also produced drawings, either studies for paintings or independent works in their own right. The present work, an oil sketch painted in brunaille tones on paper, is a preparatory study for the two central figures in his ca. 1616 painting Danaë and the Shower of Gold (see illustration), now preserved in the Ferens Art Gallery in Kingston upon Hull (inv. no. KINCM:2005.4794).