FLEMISH ARTIST, after WILLEM VAN NIEULANDT II
18th century
Adoration of the Magi
oil on board, cm. 50×106
This Adoration of the Magi closely follows a similar composition by the Flemish master Willem van Nieulandt (Antwerp, c. 1582 – Amsterdam, 1635), housed at the Royal Castle in Warsaw (ZKW-dep.FC/86/ab). However, our version lacks the upper portion of the original, which features a stormy sky with prominent white ruins. The skilled follower nonetheless maintains the dramatic structure, narrative vitality, and rich setting amidst classical ruins and lively landscapes.
What makes our version noteworthy is not only its compositional fidelity, but also the painter’s ability to translate the master’s iconography through a distinct personal sensibility. While the colour palette is less saturated than in the original, the figures maintain a clear and readable narrative order, with an arrangement that preserves the theatricality of the source. In this regard, it is possible to attribute our painting to a local or domestic commission.
Nearly identical versions of Nieulandt’s original have been previously attributed to the circle of Frans Francken II (1581 – 1642), reflecting the popularity of the Flemish artist’s inventions among his contemporaries. The influence of Nieulandt’s original even reached Italy, where a fresco by the Cremonese painter Gian Giacomo Inchiocchio, known as il Barbelli (1604 – 1656) depicting an Adoration of the Magi (1643) (Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Crema), testifies the circulation of Nieulandt’s iconography beyond Northern European borders.