JACOBUS VREL: Looking for Clues of an enigmatic Painter

Jacobus Vrel

Street Scene with People Conversing, after 1633

Wood, 39 x 29,3 cm

Purchased with the help of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung
© Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, photo: Nicole Wilhelms

Details   

JACOBUS VREL: Looking for Clues of an enigmatic Painter

Alte Pinakothek
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NEW ACQUISITION FOR THE ALTE PINAKOTHEK

His pictures appear peculiar, his figures quirky and his street scenes stage-like. For a long time, his works were confused with those of Johannes Vermeer. His paintings are represented among the world’s most famous museum collections, and they are coveted rarities among collectors. But to date the painter Jacobus Vrel appears to be a phantom.

The purchase of Vrel’s ‘Street Scene,’ with the help of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung represents the Alte Pinakothek’s first acquisition of a major work by this enigmatic painter. This painting is of particular importance within his small oeuvre of mainly cityscapes ­and interiors. It is one of Vrel’s earliest works and yet also his most complex architectural composition. This seemingly typical example of Dutch Baroque painting differs from all other architectural representations of the time and thus occupies a prominent position within the collection. Vrel was a pioneer in his field, and not an imitator as was long assumed.

As the result of an international research project in cooperation with the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen in Munich, the Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt in Paris and the Mauritshuis in The Hague, and in close collaboration with numerous international specialists from a variety of disciplines the first monograph and catalogue raisonné on Jacobus Vrel, "Jacobus Vrel. Looking for clues of an Enigmatic Painter" has recently been published in three languages by Hirmer Publishers. The first monographic exhibition on Jacobus Vrel will be shown in 2023 at the Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt in Paris and the Mauritshuis in The Hague:

Mauritshuis, The Hague: 16 February until 29 May 2023
Fondation Custodia, Paris: 17 June until 17 September 2023

JACOBUS VREL. LOOKING FOR CLUES OF AN ENIGMATIC PAINTER

FIRST MONOGRAPH AND CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ REVEALS THE ARTIST'S FASCINATING OEUVRE

His pictures look rather odd, his figures introverted and his street scenes curiously stage-like. Jacobus Vrel appears to record everyday life in the Dutch Republic during the 17th century, yet creates miraculous worlds at the same time.
The painter himself is like a phantom. In spite of years of research, the mystery surrounding his identity remains unsolved. We only know his name from a single contemporary inventory and from the signatures on his 50-surviving works, which can scarcely be compared with those of his contemporaries. Vrel was a pioneer in his field. In their austerity and sometimes oppressive silence, his paintings seem unexpectedly modern, and it is for that reason that they are compared with the work of Vilhelm Hammershøi.
With detective-like investigations from the authors, and extensive technical examinations of the paintings, this monograph explores the enigmatic pictures of an artist whose works were once thought to have been created by Vermeer. The volume’s three editors, Bernd Ebert, Cécile Tainturier and Quentin Buvelot, present a monograph-cum-catalogue raisonné that examines Vrel’s oeuvre from different angles and contributes significantly to our understanding of this elusive painter.

The present publication is the result of an international research project that brought together the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen in Munich, the Fondation Custodia, Frits Lugt Collection in Paris and the Mauritshuis in The Hague, working in close cooperation with numerous international specialists from a variety of disciplines.
Despite the growing interest in Vrel’s work, the artist has thus far been denied a monographic exhibition. One such exhibition was planned for 2020-2021, but due to COVID-19 the first venue in Munich had to be cancelled. The Mauritshuis in The Hague and the Fondation Custodia in Paris will present the exhibition in 2023. The Alte Pinakothek in Munich will exhibit Vrel's Street Scene with People Conversing for the first time on October 12, 2021, and this new acquisition by the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen will be the subject of a focus presentation. 

JACOBUS VREL. LOOKING FOR CLUES OF AN ENIGMATIC PAINTER
Eds. Bernd Ebert, Cécile Tainturier, Quentin Buvelot
Contributions by B. Bakker, P. Bakker, Q. Buvelot, B. Ebert, P. Klein, K. Leonhard, H. Stege, C. Tainturier, D. J. de Vries, J. Wagner
With a catalogue raisonné
256 pages, 224 colour illustrations, 21.5 × 26.5 cm, 8 ½ × 10 ½ in., hardcover
Linen with picture label, high-quality coated paper
£39.95 / US$50.00
ISBN: 978-3-7774-3587-9 (English)
ISBN: 978-3-7774-3586-2 (German)
ISBN: 978-3-7774-3588-6 (French)
Hirmer Publishers

The book is available in bookstores and in the Alte Pinakothek’s museum store, CEDON, during open hours. It can be ordered online through CEDON as well as through Hirmer Publishers.