Bidspirit auction | Jacques d'Arthois (Brussels 1613 –

Jacques d'Arthois (Brussels 1613 – 1686) - Jacques d'Arthois (Brussels 1613 – 1686) - Forest Landscape with Tobias and the Angel. This imposing canvas (81.3 x 104 cm) by the celebrated Flemish painter Jacques d'Arthois stands as a prime example of Baroque landscape painting and is officially published in the exhibition catalog of the Barockmuseum Oberaudorf(”Faszination – Sehnsucht – Entdeckung – Europäische Landschaftsmalerei im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert”). Born in Brussels in 1613, d'Arthois began his artistic training before the age of twelve as an apprentice under an unknown painter named Jan Mertens. His professional trajectory was remarkably swift; he officially attained master status and was admitted into the prestigious Guild of Saint Luke on May 3, 1634, at the young age of twenty-one. Widely sought after by contemporaries, his commercial success during his lifetime enabled him to acquire several properties across Brussels. The primary source of inspiration for his lush woodland scenes was the Soignes Forest (Soigneser Wald), located southwest of Brussels. D'Arthois established his reputation by specializing in densely wooded landscapes structured through dramatic plays of light and shadow, frequently featuring a textured, sandy foreground. Stylistically, his vibrant color palette and rapid, energetic brushwork reveal a profound and direct influence from the master of Flanders, Peter Paul Rubens. Analyzing the structural composition of this piece, the right side is dominated by a dense forest stand rendered in intense green-blue hues. This heavy arboreal mass serves the compositional purpose of opening up a breathtaking spatial depth toward a brilliantly luminous sky, where warm yellow tones merge with cool blue shades. The foreground terrain runs along a diagonal path, warmly illuminated at the front by incoming light in yellow-ochre shades. Oil on canvas, 81.3 x 104 cm Dimensions 81.3 x 104 cm