Louis de Caullery (Cambrai ca. 1580 - 1621 Antwerp)

Louis de Caullery was probably born around 1580 in Caullery, a small town near Cambrai. No known documents testify that he actually came from this region in Northern France, but after his death his wife and children inherited some properties in Cambrai, suggesting he probably did hail from the region. According to the Liggeren of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke, he became a pupil of Joos de Momper during the season of 1593/94 under the name of Loys Solleri. He married Maria Adriaenssens, with whom he had several children. In 1608 he had a pupil, whose name however has not been preserved. In 1621, his death duties were paid to the guild, where he had been listed as a master since 1602/3. As he painted views of Florence, Venice and Rome, it has been assumed that de Caullery travelled to Italy, though there is no archival evidence for this.

 

The cultural theatre of these cities evidently fascinated the Northern artist, whose scenes are often populated by masses of carnival goers and even bull-fights, such as in the present work. De Caullery was inclined towards genre painting and dealt with a wide variety of scenes: carnivals on ice, fireworks, plein-airscenes, allegories of the five senses and also courtly gatherings and festivities painted in the spirit of the Fontainebleau School. In his depictions of buildings, he appears to be concerned with fine precision, while being very skillful at presenting perspective. Hans Vredeman de Vries' designs greatly influenced his handling of architecture, whilst his staffage clearly shows the influence of the works of his contemporaries Sebastian Vrancx and Frans II Francken. Only two extant paintings by the master are fully signed. One is a depiction of a Carnaval in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg and the other is a Gallant Festival belonging to the Louvre, but on display in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Cambrai. The latter of these is also dated 1620. A further 'L C' monogrammed work showing an Allegory of the Senses in the Nelahozeves Castle in Bohemia is dated 1618. With only two dated paintings that are just two years apart, it is difficult to sketch De Caullery’s stylistic development. 

 

The present work is a rare example of a drawing which can be given to de Caullery with any certainty. Though a number of other drawings have been attributed to the master in the past, a lot of these should in fact be attributed to the Master of the Hermitage Sketchbook, a late 16th-century Flemish master whose identity continues to elude us - at one point this artist was thought to be de Caullery himself. There are several arguments which point to de Caullery as the author of the present sheet. Firstly, there are many similarities in the staffage and the architecture which can be made with several of his painted multi-figured compositions, such as his ... or his ...

Secondly, de Caullery is the only early Northern artist known to have depicted bullfights, such as in his ... and his ... Bullfights, though associated with Spain, also took place in Venice, often on the occassion of the festivities accompanying the entry of important people into the city. The bullfight depicted in the background of the present drawing is quite similar to the scenes in these works. 

Lastly,