Paulus Pontius

Paul Pontius
Paul Pontius by Anthony van Dyck.
Birth name	Paul Pontius
Born	1603 Antwerp
Died	1658 (aged 54–55) Antwerp
Nationality	Belgium
Field	Painting
Movement	Baroque

Paulus Pontius (or Paulus Du Pont) (Mai 1603 – January 1658) was a well known Flemish engraver.

Écorché by Paulus Pontius after Peter Paul Rubens.

Biography

Paulus Pontius, an eminent Flemish engraver, was born at Antwerp in 1603, and was instructed in the art of engraving by Lucas Vorsterman; but he improved his designs by the advice and friendship of Rubens, from whose works he engraved many admirable plates. Few artists have equalled him in the correct and faithful delineation of his model; and in the character and expression of his figures he appears to have possessed himself of the mind of Rubens. He was not less successful in the fine portraits he engraved after Van Dyck, in which he seems to have adapted his style to the particular character of the person represented. His plates are executed with the graver in a clear, bold style; and, though he did not possess the facility of Bolswert, or the delicacy of Vorsterman, his plates will ever be esteemed among the ablest productions of Flemish art. He died in 1658. The following are his principal works:

Portraits after Van Dyck

Daniël Mijtens, after Van Dyck

• Paulus Du Pont, or Pontius, engraver.
• Peter Paul Rubens.
• Jacob De Breuck, architect.
• Jan Wildens, painter, of Antwerp.
• Jan van Ravesteyn, painter, of the Hague.
• Palamedes Palamedesz, Dutch painter.
• Theodoor van Loon, painter, of Louvain.
• Theodoor Rombouts, painter, of Antwerp.
• Cornelis van der Geest, celebrated connoisseur.
• Gerard Honthorst, painter, of the Hague.
• Hendrik van Balen, painter, of Antwerp.
• Adriaen Stalbent, painter, of Antwerp.
• Daniel Mytens, painter, of Holland.
• Gerard Seghers, painter, of Antwerp.
• Simon De Vos, painter, of Antwerp.
• Gaspar De Craeyer, painter, of Ghent.
• Hendrik Steenwyck, painter, of Antwerp.
• Gaspar Gevartius, jurisconsult, of Antwerp.
• Nicolaas Rockox, magistrate, of Antwerp,
• Jan van den Wouwer, Counsellor of State.
• Caesar Alexander Scaglia, Abbot of Stophard.
• Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden.
• Mary de' Medici, Queen of France.
• Francis Thomas, of Savoy, Prince of Carignan.
• John, Count of Nassau.
• Don Alvarez, Marquis of Santa Cruz.
• Don Carlos de Colonna, Spanish General.
• Don Diego Felipe de Guzman, Marquis de Leganez.
• Mary, Princess of Aremberg.
• Henry, Count de Berghe, in armour.
• Sir Balthasar Gerbier.
• Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange.

Portraits after Rubens

Fernandus, engraving after a painting by P.P.Rubens

• Philip IV, King of Spain. 1632.
• Elizabeth of Bourbon, his Queen.
• Isabella Clara Eugenia, infanta of Spain.
• Ferdinand, Infant of Spain, on horseback.
• Gasparo Guzman, Duke of Olivarez.
• Cristoval, Marquis of Castel Rodrigo.
• Manuel de Moura Cortereal, Marquis of Castel Rodrigo.
• The Mother of Manuel, Marquis of Castel Rodrigo.

Various subjects after Rubens

• Susannah and the Elders. 1624.
• The Adoration of the Shepherds.
• The Murder of the Innocents. In two sheets. 1643. Very fine.
• The Presentation in the Temple.
• Christ bearing His Cross.
• The Crucifixion, with Angels, one of whom is overcoming Sin and Death.
• The Dead Christ supported by the Virgin, with Mary Magdalen, St. Francis, and other figures; very fine.
• The Descent of the Holy Ghost.
• The Assumption of the Virgin.
• The Virgin suckling the Infant Christ.
• St. Roch interceding with Christ for the Plague-stricken; very fine.
• Thomyris causing the Head of Cyrus to be put into a Vessel of Blood.

Subjects after various masters

• The Flight into Egypt; after Jordaens.
• Twelfth-Night; after the same.
• The Adoration of the Magi; after G. Seghers.
• The Virgin with the Infant Christ and St. Anne; after the same.
• St. Francis Xavier kneeling before the Virgin and Child; after the same.
• St. Sebastian, with an Angel drawing an Arrow from his breast; after the same.
• A Dead Christ, supported by the Virgin; after Van Dyck.
• St. Rosalia, receiving a Crown from the Infant Jesus; after the same.
• The Holy Family; after J. van Hoeck.
• The Entombment of Christ; after Titian.

References

This article incorporates text from the article "DU PONT, Paulus" in Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers by Michael Bryan, edited by Robert Edmund Graves and Sir Walter Armstrong, an 1886–1889 publication now in the public domain.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paulus Pontius.

External links

• The Getty Artist Bio
• Works by Paulus Pontius at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa