Nicolaas Rockox
Nicolaas Rockox knight | |
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![]() Nicolaas Rockox, painted by Otto van Veen. | |
Mayor of Antwerp | |
Monarch | Philip II of Spain |
Personal details | |
Born | 14 December 1560 Antwerp |
Died | 12 December 1640(1640-12-12) (aged 79) Antwerp |
Spouse | Adriana Perez (1568–1619) |
Nicolaas Rockox (1560–1640), was an art patron and collector, numismatist, humanist, philanthropist and mayor of Antwerp. He was a close personal friend and important patron of Peter Paul Rubens. His residence in Antwerp was a centre where Antwerp's humanists and artists congregated and housed a large collection of artworks, antiques, rare objects and coins. It is now a museum known as the Snijders&Rockox House. He was knighted by Archduke Albert and Isabella, the Governor General of the Habsburg Netherlands.[1]
Early life
Nicolaas Rockox was born in de Keizerstraat in Antwerp as the oldest son of Adriaan II and Isabella van Olmen. His parents were both scions of prominent families. Rockox was a nephew of John III van de Werve, Lord of Hovorst and a first cousin of Lancelot II of Ursel, mayor of Antwerp. After his father died when Nicolaas was only 10, his mother and other family members ensured that he and his two younger brothers received an advanced education. After schooling in Antwerp, he studied at the universities of Leuven and Paris. He finished his studies at the University of Douai where he graduated in law on 24 August 1584.[2]
Career
Upon his return to Antwerp he became a member of the local schutterij, the civic guard of Antwerp which was tasked with maintaining the peace in the city as well as defending it from external attack. At the time, Antwerp had a Calvinist administration under the leadership of the mayor Philips of Marnix, Lord of Saint-Aldegonde and was in open revolt against the Catholic Spanish rulers of the Habsburg Netherlands. When the city was besieged by troops under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma Antwerp in 1584, Rockox assisted in the city's defence.[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_Christ%27s_Apparition_to_the_Disciples_%28the_Rockox_Triptych%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/300px-Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_Christ%27s_Apparition_to_the_Disciples_%28the_Rockox_Triptych%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
After the fall of Antwerp on 17 August 1585 he did not join the exodus of citizens who left the city. In 1588 he served for the first time as alderman of Antwerp. On 5 September 1589 he married Adriana Perez (1568–1619) in the Cathedral. His wife was a neighbor in the Keizerstraat and the daughter of the wealthy merchant and banker Luis Perez (1532–1601) and Maria van Berchem. Her parental grandparents were Spanish conversos who had arrived in Antwerp during the early sixteenth century. The couple would remain childless.[3]
In 1590, he was knighted by the Archdukes Albert and Isabella. He was put on the list of honours when their Joyous Entry took place.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Blason_de_Nicolaas_Rockox_%28Anvers%29_-_1603.svg/200px-Blason_de_Nicolaas_Rockox_%28Anvers%29_-_1603.svg.png)
In 1603 Rockox bought the house named Gulden Rinck in the Keizersstraat and developed it into his main residence. It is now the Snijders&Rockox House museum. It housed an important collection of art and of curiosities, famous in his own time. His collection included a Samson and Delilah painted for him by his friend Rubens. After 1608 the friendship between them was very close. Rockox commissioned several paintings from him, including The Rockox Triptych. Other friends of Rockox included Abraham Ortelius, who taught him the art of numismatics, and the young Anthony van Dyck, who painted several portraits for him.
Rockox served several terms as mayor of Antwerp. He held other important posts including Justice of the Peace, guild master of the Cloth Hall, head of the Arquebusiers’ Guild, chief treasurer and head of the civic guard.[4] He died in the Gulden Rinck and was buried in the church of the Recollect convent, where he had a private chapel built for his deceased wife in 1619.[5] Because he had no children, his property was given to the poor, in devotion.
During his life Rockox spent an important part of his private fortune to benefit the poor. He commanded that a public reserve of grain be prepared for the poor in case of war or siege. He paid 45,300 florins for this from his private fortune. After his death his famous collection of artworks spread to other collections worldwide.
Patronage and collection
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Frans_Francken_%28II%29_-_Supper_at_the_house_of_the_Burgomaster_Rockox.jpg/289px-Frans_Francken_%28II%29_-_Supper_at_the_house_of_the_Burgomaster_Rockox.jpg)
Rockox commissioned multiple paintings from Peter Paul Rubens. Some of these commissions were for the public, while others were for his private residence. Among those he commissioned for the public included Adoration of the Magi for the Antwerp City Hall, Descent from the Cross for the city's Arquebusiers' Guild's altar, and The Rockox Triptych for the funerary monument of Rockox and his wife in the Recollects church in Antwerp (now in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp). Rockox's private commissions from Rubens included Samson and Delilah. At the time of his death, Rockox had 82 paintings in his personal collection, of which several by Rubens. Rockox commissioned Frans Francken (II) to make a painting of his art chamber (Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich). This painting provides a view of the rich collection of Rockox, including two paintings by Rubens and one by Quentin Matsys and various Antique statues and rare objects.[5]
Other artists in his collection included Anthony van Dyck, Frans Snyders, Jan van Eyck, and Pieter Bruegel. After his death, his art collection was sold publicly.[6]
Numismatist
Rockox was also an avid coin collector and kept a detailed catalague annotated in his own hand (Museum Meermanno, The Hague). His collection was extensive and included Greek and Roman coins from the 5th century BC through to the 2nd century AD. He corresponded with Nicolas Claude Fabri de Peiresc, the renowned French humanist, botanist and numismatist who was also a friend of Rubens. Rockox and Rubens shared the same interest in coins and collaborated with the prominent numismatist Jacob de Bie on the republication of the works of the engraver and numismatist Hubert Goltzius.[4]
References
- ^ Van de Velde, Hildegarde en Van Hout, Nico, Het Gulden Cabinet. Koninklijk Museum bij Rockox te gast, uitgave van de vzw Museum Nicolaas Rockox, Antwerpen, 2013 (in Dutch)
- ^ a b "Nicolaas Rockox (1560–1640), Burgemeester van de Gouden Eeuw" (in Dutch). www.tento.be. 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
- ^ Froukje Wattel, Nicolaas Rockox, erfenis van een ultieme Antwerpenaar, MUSEUMCLUB.NL, 20/02/2019
- ^ a b Who was Nicolaas Rockox at the Snijders&Rockox House
- ^ a b Hildegard Van de Velde. "Museum Rockoxhuis | Barok in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden". Barokinvlaanderen.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ Veronique van Passel, "Rockox, Nicolaas", Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
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and drawings
- The Descent from the Cross (Siegen; 1600–1602)
- Leda and the Swan (1601, 1602)
- The Deposition (1602)
- Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua (1602–1605)
- Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603)
- Portrait of a Young Woman (1603)
- Hercules and Omphale (1603)
- Heraclitus and Democritus (1603)
- Virgin and Child (c. 1604)
- The Fall of Phaeton (c. 1604/1605)
- The Baptism of Christ (1604–1605)
- The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity (1604–1605)
- Transfiguration (1604–1605)
- The Circumcision (1605)
- Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria (1606)
- Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra (1606)
- Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant (1606)
- Portrait of Giovanni Carlo Doria on Horseback (1606)
- Madonna della Vallicella (1606–1608)
- Susanna and the Elders (1607)
- The Head of Saint John the Baptist Presented to Salome (c. 1609)
- Adoration of the Magi (Madrid; 1609 and 1628–29)
- Samson and Delilah (1609–1610)
- Honeysuckle Bower (1609–1610)
- Coronation of the Virgin (1609–1611)
- Juno and Argus (1610)
- Raising of the Cross (1610–1611)
- Conversion of Saint Paul (London; 1610–1612)
- Massacre of the Innocents (c. 1611)
- Venus Frigida (1611)
- Prometheus Bound (1611–1612)
- The Four Philosophers (1611–1612)
- Antwerp Resurrection (1611–1612)
- Visitation (c. 1611–1615)
- Roman Charity (1612)
- Ecce Homo (1612)
- Descent from the Cross (Antwerp; 1612–1614)
- Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Rotterdam; 1612–1614)
- Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Cambridge; c. 1614)
- The Tribute Money (1612–1614)
- The Defeat of Sennacherib (1612–1614)
- The Four Continents (1610s)
- Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter (1612–1614)
- Portrait of a Commander (1613)
- The Crowning of the Virtuous Hero (1613–1614)
- The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (1613–1615)
- The Death of Adonis (1614)
- Venus and Adonis (1614)
- St Sebastian (c. 1614)
- The Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (c. 1614)
- Madonna della Cesta (1615)
- Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (1615)
- Daniel in the Lions' Den (1615)
- Bacchanalia (c. 1615)
- A Statue of Ceres (c. 1615)
- The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616)
- The Tiger Hunt (1615–1616)
- Theodosius and Saint Ambrose (1615–1616)
- The Wild Boar Hunt (1615–1617)
- Florence Resurrection (1616)
- The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents (1616)
- Erichthonius Discovered by the Daughters of Cecrops (c. 1616)
- The Wolf and Fox Hunt (c. 1616)
- The Lion and Leopard Hunt (c. 1616)
- Romulus and Remus (1615–1616)
- Miracles of St. Francis Xavier (1616–1617)
- Saint Stephen Triptych (1616–1617)
- Two Women with a Candle (1616–1617)
- Descent from the Cross (Lille; 1616–1617)
- The Meeting Between Abraham and Melchizedek (1616–1617)
- Christ and the Penitent Sinners (1617)
- Mars and Rhea Silvia (1617)
- The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617)
- The Great Last Judgement (1617)
- A Bearded Man (c. 1617–18)
- Adoration of the Magi (Lyon; 1617–1618)
- The Five Senses (1617–1618)
- Two Satyrs (1618)
- Medusa (1618)
- The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (c. 1618)
- Christ Triumphant over Sin and Death (c. 1618)
- The Prodigal Son (1618)
- The Union of Earth and Water (c. 1618)
- Tigress with Her Cubs (attributed; 1618)
- Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsenna (c. 1618–1620)
- Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (1618–1620)
- The Wild Boar Hunt (1618–1620)
- St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (1619–1620)
- The Small Last Judgement (1619)
- Conversion of Saint Paul (1620s)
- The Fall of the Damned (c. 1620)
- Landscape with Philemon and Baucis (c. 1620)
- Portrait of a Young Man in Armor (c. 1620)
- Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1620)
- Perseus Freeing Andromeda (1620)
- Saints Dominic and Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (1620)
- The Rape of Orithyia by Boreas (1620)
- Christ on the Cross (1620)
- The Three Graces (Florence; 1620–1623)
- Isabella Brant (c. 1621)
- The Lion Hunt (1621)
- Marie de' Medici cycle (1621–1630)
- Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622)
- Perseus and Andromeda (c. 1622)
- The History of Constantine (1622–1625)
- Self-Portrait (1623)
- The Conversion of Saint Bavo (1623–1624)
- Diana and Her Nymphs Leaving for the Hunt (1623–1624)
- Adoration of the Magi (Antwerp; 1624)
- The Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob (1624)
- Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims (1623–1626)
- Portrait of Infante Isabella Clara Eugenia (1625)
- Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (c. 1625)
- Assumption of the Virgin (Antwerp; 1625–1626)
- Angelica and the Hermit (c. 1626–1628)
- Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry (1627)
- The Triumphal Entry of Henry IV into Paris (1627)
- The Annunciation (1627–1628)
- The Fall of Man (1628–1629)
- The Rape of Europa (1628–1629)
- Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars (1629–1630)
- Cimon and Pero (1630)
- Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1630)
- The Crowning of Saint Catherine (1631)
- The Ildefonso Altarpiece (1630–1631)
- Last Supper (1630–1631)
- Odysseus on the Island of the Phaecians (1630–1635)
- The Finding of Erichthonius (1632–1634)
- The Rainbow Landscape (Saint Petersburg; 1632–1635)
- The Garden of Love (c. 1633)
- Adoration of the Magi (Cambridge; 1634)
- Bathsheba at the Fountain (c. 1635)
- The Dance of the Villagers (1635)
- Helena Fourment with Her Son Frans (1635)
- Venus and Adonis (New York; 1635)
- The Triumph of the Church (1635)
- The Feast of Venus (1635–1636)
- Deucalion and Pyrrha (1636–1637)
- The Feast of Herod (1635–1638)
- The Village Fête (1635–1638)
- Mercury and Argus (1635–1638)
- Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye (c. 1636)
- Helena Fourment with Children (1636)
- A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (1636)
- Saturn (1636)
- The Rainbow Landscape (London; 1636)
- Pallas and Arachne (1636–1637)
- Het Pelsken (1636–1638)
- Assumption of the Virgin (Vienna; c. 1637)
- The Birth of the Milky Way (c. 1637)
- Consequences of War (c. 1638)
- Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides / Deianira Listens to Fame (1638)
- The Three Graces (Madrid; 1636–1638)
- The Rape of Ganymede (1636–1638)
- Diana and Callisto (1637–1638)
- Helena Fourment with a Carriage (1638)
- Self-Portrait (Vienna; 1638–1639)
- Bacchus (1638–1640)
- The Rape of the Sabine Women (1639–1640)
- The Peasants Returning From The Fields (1640)
- The Rainbow Landscape (Munich; 1640)
- Judgment of Paris (various)
- The History of Constantine (1622–1640) (with Pietro da Cortona)
- Palazzi di Genova (1622)
- Rubens family
- Isabella Brant (first wife)
- Helena Fourment (second wife)
- Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen (son)
- Albert Rubens (son)
- Jan Rubens (father)
- Maria Pypelinckx (mother)
- Philip Rubens (brother)
- Tobias Verhaecht (teacher)
- Adam van Noort (teacher)
- Otto van Veen (teacher)
- Nicolaas Rockox (friend)
- Poussinists and Rubenists
- Rubens (1977 film)
- Rubenesque
- Rubens' Europe (exhibition)