Room 205
Northern European History Painting 1580-1700
Claude Vignon, Lot made drunk by his two Daughters, 1625.
The 17th century saw the development of a clearly defined hierarchy within the art genres. History painting enjoyed the highest rank as the genre required artists to use their imagination to give visual form to abstract concepts and the written word. The themes are dramatic depictions from mythology or crucial moments from the Biblical stories.
Like the princes and monarchs from other countries, the Danish kings bought many history paintings. Christian IV acquired the first in 1621, among these The Fall of the Titans by Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem. Cornucopia by the Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens was commissioned by Frederik III and delivered 1652/53. Jordaens’ paintings were popular with the Danish court, and the many paintings by him in the room let us follow the overall developments within his production.
Jacob Jordaens, The Apotheosis, c. 1617.
Jacob Jordaens, Christ Blessing Little Children. Suffer Little Children to Come unto Me, 1660-69.
