Hendrik Frans Verbrugghen
Hendrik Frans Verbrugghen or Hendrik Frans Verbruggen
Life
He was born into a family from which in the 17th and 18th century a number of prominent sculptors emerged who were mainly active in Antwerp. His father, the sculptor
Hendrik Frans Verbruggen was trained by his father.
In 1670, Verbrugghen and Sebastiaen van den Eynde were "specifically invited for their advice" to travel to Mechelen as consultants for works on the Cathedral there.[6]
He became a master sculptor at the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1682. That year he married Susanna Verhulst. He became dean of the Guild of Saint Luke in 1689. In 1713 he went bankrupt but this did not prevent him from completing ongoing commissions.[5]
He was the master of Egidius Adrianus Nijs and Marcus de Cock.[3]
Works
Hendrik Frans Verbruggen was active during the Baroque period when the Catholic Church was the main sponsor of artists in the Southern Netherlands. He therefore worked principally on religious commissions and became one of the leading sculptors of the late Baroque church furniture. This furniture has more depth than the high baroque altars of his father and brother. The three-dimensional altars are often designed to allow the placing of a sculpture although sometimes they served to hang a painting. The latter is the case in the St. Augustine Church in Antwerp, where a painting by Rubens has been placed in the altar. Hendrik Frans Verbruggen was one of the founders of the so-called naturalistic pulpits. These appear as a single grand sculpture in which the constructive form disappears. Examples are the pulpit in St. Augustine Church in Antwerp and the pulpit designed for the Church of Saint Michael in Leuven (now in the Cathedral of Brussels).[2] In the pulpit of the St. Augustine Church in Antwerp he used the grain of the wood to depict the wrinkles of the face of St. Augustine and the texture of his clothes.[5]
In 1684 he created two limewood side altars for the Chapel of the Church of Our Lady of Good Will in
In the Baroque worldview, art was expected to educate the faithful and encourage them in their faith. The motifs of Hendrik Frans Verbruggen often reflect this didactic purpose. An example is the late-Baroque pulpit in the St. Peter and Paul Church in
Many of his drawings have been preserved.[2]
Selected works
- 1676: Epitaph for Bishop Capello, Antwerp Cathedral
- 1680: Confessionals in St. Catherina Church in Sinaai, Sint-Niklaas
- 1686: Altar rails in the Sacrament Chapel of the Antwerp Cathedral
- 1694: Western outer portal of the St. James' Church Church in Antwerp
- 1695: White marble altar rails in the St. Walburga in Bruges
- 1696: Pulpit, Cathedral of Brussels (originally in the St Michael Church in Leuven)
- 1697: Pulpit in the St Augustine Church in Antwerp
- 1700: Pulpit and altar rails in St Peter and Paul's Church in Mechelen
- 1705–1709: high altar in the Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent
- 1720: Saint Servatius Altar in the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Grimbergen (attributed)
Notes
- ^ Alternative first names: Hendrik Fransiscus, Henricus-Franciscus and Frans
- ^ a b c Hendrik Frans Verbruggen on Amuz
- ^ a b c d Biographical details at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (in Dutch)
- ^ Iris Kockelbergh. "Pieter Verbrugghen II." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
- ^ a b c d Iris Kockelbergh. "Hendrik Frans Verbrugghen." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 2 December 2013.
- ^ "Flemish sculpture: Art and manufacture c.1600-1750" (PDF). University College London: 19, 28, 33, 50, 66, 90, 93, 185, 192, 193, 196, 199, 205, 211, 251, 252, 258, 271. 2008.
- ^ Helena Bussers, ‘’De baroksculptuur en het barok’’ on Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen (in Dutch)
External links
- Media related to Hendrik Frans Verbrugghen at Wikimedia Commons