Jan Mostaert
Landscape with an Episode from the Conquest of America
c. 1535
Jan Mostaert
Landscape with an Episode from the Conquest of America (detail)
c. 1535
Rijksmuseum acquires masterwork by Mostaert Rijksmuseum has acquired ‘Landscape with an Episode from the Conquest of America’ (c. 1535), a masterpiece by Jan Mostaert and the earliest known panel with an imaginary depiction of the Spanish conquest of the American continent.]]>
July 6, 2013, source: Rijksmuseum
Painted almost 40 years after the discovery of America by Columbus, this painting is one of the earliest attempts to give an impression of the new continent. One particularly striking detail is that the procession of indigenous people is depicted completely naked. There is fairly conclusive evidence that the indigenous people did not live naked at all, but that Mostaert portrayed them as such to contrast the violent Spaniards and the peaceful, heavenly landscape with its ‘unadulterated’ inhabitants. The landscape shown in this painting was drawn entirely from the Mostaert’s imagination, but to convey its exotic location, Mostaert added some local details, such as animals and birds.
“Landscape with an Episode from the Conquest of America” forms the basis for North Netherlandish landscape painting and is a milestone in art history. The panel is a special canonical work in Western painting history.
Provenance
In the 1930s, the work belonged to art dealer Jacques Goudstikker (1897-1940). During the German occupation, the Mostaert was confiscated for the collection of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring. After the war, it was displayed for years at the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem. In 2006, the painting was restored to Goudstikker’s heirs. The important painting was exhibited at Simon Dickinson’s stand at TEFAF Maastricht early this year, with a price tag of 11 million euro, according to several sources.
About the artist
Jan Jansz Mostaert (c. 1474-1552/53) is one of the most important 16th-century painters from the Northern Netherlands. He is famous for his portraits and religious paintings. Some of the most famous works by Mostaert are exhibited at the Royal Museum, Brussels; the Thyssen Museum, Madrid; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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Rijksmuseum opens after a ten year transformation (news, April 2013)
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