RKD STUDIES

Twenty-seven of the sheets feature drawings, which vary from a study of a chicken to completely finished compositions. Descriptions of 2004 in RKDimages were linked to the provisory name Masters of the Van Eeghen Drawing Book. In fact the hands of several artists may be discerned. Two series of drawings each appear to have been rendered by one hand:

fourteen Old and New Testament Depictions plus a study of three figures by a tree,¹

and four landscapes with dilapidated farms.²

The remaining finished works, a Venus with Three Nymphs Mourning the Dead Adonis [a] done in red chalk, a Landscape with a Saint Anne Trinity [b] and a Mary with Christ, Saint John the Baptist and His Parents Elizabeth and Zacharias [c]³ are by hands that do not show up elsewhere in the drawing book, whereas a few small sketches in chalk were presumably added by later owners. This is certainly true for the pages with calligraphic lines. The interspersed written names, Jesyn Cornilje (fol. 1r), Jan van Eeghen (fols. 1r and 100r, with the date 1738), and Jan Cornilje (fol. 3r) establish that the book was already handed down within the same family back in the 18th century.⁴

The group of four landscapes is closely related to the work of Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651). Although a number of the biblical depictions also betray the influence of that Utrecht master, the landscapes are drawn in a more confident and refined hand to which six sheets in sundry museums and the art trade are also attributed. Two of these are dated 1630 and 1632 respectively.⁵ In the past these landscapes have been attributed to Jacob van Geel (1585-after 1638), presumably on the basis of comparable gnarled trees in his paintings, but the known drawings by him are much stiffer in composition and execution.

a
Meesters van het Van Eeghen Tekenboek Master of the Van Eeghen Drawing Book
Venus and her nymphs mourning at the lifeless body of Adonis, first half 17th century
Private collection, inv./cat.nr. /, fol. 25 recto

Because of the ‘Reyer Claessoon’ that is inscribed on the front cover, for the 15 predominantly biblical scenes the name of Reyer Claesz. Suycker (c. 1590/1600 - c. 1655) has come up, but the similarity to the work of this landscape painter is slight. There are clear stylistic differences within this group of drawings, varying from sheets that are reminiscent of the mannerist style of Abraham Bloemaert and Joachim Wtewael (1566-1638), such as the Preaching of Saint John the Baptist [d], to compositions close to Pre-Rembrandtists like Pieter Lastman (1583-1633) and Jan Tengnagel (1584-1635), such as Elijah and the Worshippers of Baal [e], while still others bring to mind Italians such as Jacopo Bassano, witness the Adoration of the Shepherds [f]. Nor is the group uniform with respect to drawing technique and quality of execution and composition. However, striking characteristics such as the foliage, the gnarled trees, the stocky figures with disproportionally large heads set low on the bodies, the overly long arms with large, often gesticulating hands, and the architectural backgrounds recur in ever changing combinations, allowing the conclusion that the series is by the same hand or that it originated in the same workshop.

d
studio of Rombout Uylenburgh
Preaching of John the Baptist, c. 1605-1615
Private collection, inv./cat.nr. fol. 11 recto