Abel Grimmer Antwerp circa 1570 - 1618/9

Private collection, France, from whom purchased by Silvano Lodi.

Schloss Brake, Weserrenaissance-Museum; Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Hans Vredeman de Vries und die Renaissance in Norden, May 26 - December 8, 2002;
Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus, 40 Years, May 17 - September 20, 2005.

In 1557, Hans Vredeman De Vries (1527-1696), a well traveled Dutch designer, architect and painter, produced an extremely detailed signed and dated drawing of a fantasy church interior (see Fig. 1), now in the Albertina, Vienna (Inv. no. 7887).  This drawing outlines a composition with three figures in the foreground.  Vredeman de Vries produced at least two engravings of very similar fantasy church interiors.  It is possible that Vredeman de Vries and Grimmer met: although there is no record of such a meeting, Vredeman de Vries spent extensive periods of time in Antwerp, where Grimmer spent almost all his life.  Even if the two men did not meet, Grimmer was doubtless familiar with the older master’s work, especially his architectural achievements in Antwerp. Grimmer also had significant experience as an architect, which is perhaps a reason why he felt a strong connection with Vredeman de Vries.  Both these painter’s experiences with architectural commissions translates in their superior ability to convey spatial order with the utmost clarity.  

Grimmer based his composition on Vredeman de Vries’ aforementioned drawing, but interpreted the composition very freely, integrating some elements from the latter’s prints, and adding many details of his own invention.  He chose to animate his grand architectural depiction with a biblical subject recounted in the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3: 1-8).  In this story, Saints Peter and John healed a man who had been crippled.  Grimmer chose the pivotal moment when the man is pulling on St John's coat, and St Peter is urging him to be healed.  These three figures are not the only ones depicted in this composition; Grimmer included a number of groups in the foreground, most of which are gesturing in awe at the miracle taking place before their eyes.  The figures in the background, however, are the same as those of the foreground's central group, with the two apostles and the cripple recognizable by their colorful cloaks and other figures rushing up to them.  The latter were most likely included in order to convey a sense of the grandeur of the surrounding architecture, as well as to evoke the immediate aftermath of the miracle.  The specific setting of this scene is the Beautiful Gate, one of the eight gates leading into the Temple of Solomon.  Thus, this picture presents us with what 16th century Europeans believed the famed bastion of the Jewish faith to look like.  This vision is based on a number of often inaccurate biblical references, which were studied in depth and used for reconstructions in drawings and models, and with which Vredeman de Vries was doubtless familiar.  These pieces of information must have been supplemented by more direct observations of the strong Jewish presence in 16th century Netherlands, including artefacts such as the large gold menorah placed in the center of the temple, close to the vanishing point.

It has been suggested that this picture is the product of a collaboration, and that the figures were probably painted by a different hand, as they display a breadth of handling that is not found elsewhere in Grimmer's art.  Such collaborative efforts were frequent, and allowed painters to specialize in a certain type of representation.  For instance, in this picture, Grimmer fully displays his extraordinary talent in constructing a convincing three dimensional space and depicting the various marbles and other building materials.