Deodat del Monte
| Deodatus Belmont | |
|---|---|
 Deodatus Del Mont by Lucas Vorsterman. | |
| Birth name | Deodat del Monte |
| Born |
1582 Sint-Truiden |
| Died |
24 November 1644 (aged 62) Antwerp |
| Nationality | Belgium |
| Field | Painting, Architecture, Astronomy |
| Movement | Baroque |
Deodat del Monte, or Deodatus Delmont (alternative names: Dieudonné Delmont, Deodaat del Monte Deodati del Monte, Dieudonne van der Monte, Deodati del Mont and Deodati Dermond) (March 1582, Sint-Truiden - † 24 November 1644, Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter, architect, engineer, astronomer, and art dealer.
Life
Del Monte's life is closely connected to Rubens. According to contemporary witnesses, Del Monte and Rubens were best friends from an early age.[1] Del Monte would also have been his earliest pupil, at least in the area of painting. He travelled in 1600 with Rubens to Italy, according to some in Rubens’ service although others state that they travelled as best friends.[2][1] They were together in Italy most of the time for 8 years as is demonstrated by del Monte's witnessing in 1608 of a contract between Rubens and the Oratorians for the execution of a painting for an altar piece for the San Filippo Neri church in Ferro.[2] He returned to Antwerp with Rubens in 1608 and was immediately after this registered as a 'wijnmeester' ('wine master') of the local Guild of St Luke.[3] As this is a title reserved for the sons of members of the Guild, the conclusion can be drawn that his father was at that time also a member of the Guild. He started working as a painter and is recorded as having a workshop with two pupils in 1610.[1]
It is believed that he entered into the service of the then governors of the Southern Netherlands, the Archdukes Albert and Isabella.[1] He subsequently entered into the service of Philip Louis, Count Palatine of Neuburg, probably as court painter as well as architect and military engineer.[1] His master liked his work so much that he knighted him.[4] He also worked as an architect for King Philip III of Spain, who awarded him several privileges that were threatened in his later years. The king's son Philip IV of Spain intervened on Del Monte's side with his brother Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, who at the time was the governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, and his privileges were restored.[4]
His pupils include Boudewyn Claessen (1610), Thomas Morren (1610), Thomas van Bemelen (1621-22), Jakus Adriaenssen (1622-23), van den Berch (1623-24) and Martin Goes (1625-26).
Work
There is little information about del Monte’s own painting and only a few signed works have survived. He worked in de genres of history painting and portrait painting.[3] In 1610 he made an altarpiece for the St Benedict church of Mortsel, which has been lost.[1] In 1614 he painted a Transfiguration for the Antwerp Cathedral. There is a signed The Descent from the Cross (1623) in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Hemelvaart Church in Munsterbilzen.[5] These works show the classical plasticity that characterise the works that Rubens painted between 1612 and 1618.[2]
It is believed that he assisted Rubens in his architectural designs.[1]
Legacy
He was famous in his lifetime as shown by the lengthy entry on him in the early Flemish biographer Cornelis de Bie's Het Gulden Cabinet of 1662. De Bie writes that Del Monte predicted his own death from the stars.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Rutger Tijs, Rubens en Delmonte, een onmisbaar Italiaans interludium, in Renaissance- en barokarchitectuur in België, Lannoo Uitgeverij, 1999, p. 115-122.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hans Vlieghe. "Monte, Deodaat del." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Biographical details at the The Netherlands Institute for Art History. (Dutch)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Deodatus del Mont biography in De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (1718) by Arnold Houbraken. (Dutch)
- ↑ The Descent from the Cross in Munsterbilzen.
- ↑ Deodatus del Mont in Het Gulden Cabinet
