or is a book written by the Flemish writer and painter Karel van Mander first published in 1604 in Haarlem in the Dutch Republic, where van Mander resided. The book is written in 17th-century Dutch and its title is commonly translated into English as 'The Book of Painters' or 'The Book of (or on) Painting' and sometimes as 'The Book on Picturing'. consists of six parts and is considered one of the principal sources on the history of art and art theory in the 15th and 16th century Low Countries. The book was very well received and sold well. Karel van Mander died two years after its publication. A second posthumous edition, which included a brief, anonymous biography of van Mander was published in 1618. This second edition was translated by Hessel Miedema into English and published in 1994-1997 together with a facsimile of the original and five volumes of notes on the text.
Summary is divided into six parts that have separate title pages and are indexed. The parts are:
The foundations of the noble and free art of painting () Lives of the illustrious ancient painters including Egyptians, Greek and Romans () Lives of the modern or contemporary illustrious Italian painters () Lives of the illustrious Netherlandish and German painters () Commentary on the Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidius Nasso () Depiction of figures ()
Historiographic background The history of early Netherlandish painting was first described by the Italian Lodovico Guicciardini in his (1567; The Description of the Low Countries). This book formed a source for Giorgio Vasari's famous biographical accounts of painters in his book Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, often referred to as the . That tradition took little account of the geographic topology of the Low Countries and the van Eyck brothers were considered the fathers of Netherlandish painting concentrated in Bruges. Karel van Mander intended to correct this misconception by listing all the famous early Netherlandish painters. He encountered many difficulties in obtaining accurate information, due to the political and religious unrest at the time.
The biographies in the are similar in style and format to Vasari's . Karel van Mander digresses only rarely from the format: starting per painter with an overview of the childhood years and a list of teachers, followed by some career information and concluding with a list of notable works. The second edition includes a biography of van Mander himself that Miedema believes was written by his brother, who may have been with him on his deathbed. Other candidates have been proposed as authors of the biography. Recently his son Karel van Mander the Younger was identified as a possible author. His son would have relied on biographical information that Karel van Mander had written himself as well as on his own recollections and notes. The information in the biographical sketch is not entirely reliable but is still regarded as the best source of information on van Mander's life.H. Duits, 'Het leven van Karel van Mander. Kunstenaarsleven of schrijversbiografie?', De zeventiende eeuw 9 (1993), nr. 2, p. 117-136
Dominicus Lampsonius was an important source for Karel van Mander, through both his letters to VasariMelion, Walter S., Shaping the Netherlandish Canon: Karel van Mander's Schilder-Boeck, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1992, p. 145: "Lampsonius provided Van Mander with a model response to the Vite in his first letter to Vasari, dated 30 October 1564. Quoted in the 1568 edition of the Vite, the letter approves landscape to question Vasari's assumptions about the primacy of the istoria. Lampsonius commends Vasari while insisting on reading him in a northern way. Vasari countered by embedding the letter in the chapter, 'Diversi artefici fiamminghi,' where it served to confirm the hegemony of Tuscan criteria." and his publication ''Pictorum aliquot celebrium Germaniae Inferioris effigies'',Lampsonius, Dominicus, Pictorum aliquot celebrium Germaniae Inferioris effigies, published by Volcxken Diericx (widow of Hieronymus Cock), Antwerp, 1572. a work he published together with Hieronymus Cock in 1572.Hauterive, Nicolas Galley, PhD Thesis presented to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, 2014, p. 154: "Carel van Mander, who had been unable to obtain the Vita of Lombard, used it on numerous occasions and translated Lampson's epigrams within his Schilderboeck. The deep respect he had for the Liège humanist was evident for the one who was emerging as his worthy successor."
Van Mander was writing in a country where Calvinists were powerful and religious art was regarded with suspicion. The market for religious subjects was quickly replaced in favor of genre scenes and historical allegories. It became fashionable to choose politically correct subjects such as stories too old to be offensive to either Protestants or Catholics. The city of Haarlem needed to reinvent itself after losing its attraction as a pilgrimage site for St. Bavo. Its leaders commissioned paintings depicting the city's glorious past, such as in the story of the crusade against Damietta, which was the basis for the Coat of arms of Haarlem. Artists and writers helped update the local source of inspiration for art. Van Mander contributed to this effort by supplying a list of biographies of ancient painters in Lives of Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman painters and his commentaries on Ovid's Metamorphoses and the depiction of figures.Index to Lives of great Greek and Roman painters on the DBNL
The six parts of the
The foundations of the noble and free art of painting The book begins with a book on the "foundation" of the art of paintings. This introductory book has fourteen chapters on art theory listing such subjects as landscapes, animals, drapery, and arrangements of subjects.
Lives of the illustrious ancient painters including Egyptians, Greek and Roman s biographies of ancient painters is almost entirely based on Pliny's Naturalis Historia and offers no new material.Hessel Miedema, Karel Van Mander's Grondt Der Edel Vry Schilder-Const: ("Foundations of the Noble and Free Art of Painting"), Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1973), pp. 653-668, Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press
Van Mander's list of ancient Greek painters
Agatharchus Androcydes Antiphilus Apelles Apollodorus Aristides of Thebes Cimon of Cleonae Echion Euphranor Eupompus Melanthius
Nicomachus of Thebes Pamphilus of Amphipolis Panaenus Parrhasius Pausias Polyeidos Polygnotus Protogenes Theon of Samos Timarete Timomachus Zeuxis
Lives of the modern or contemporary illustrious Italian painters Van Mander based this part of the on Vasari's . The had been published half a century earlier. For this reason he only translated about half of Vasari's biographical sketches, and he added Italian artists from his years in Italy, such as Tintoretto who became known after Vasari's work was published. Van Mander also purposefully editorialized Vasari's biographies by reinterpreting some of Vasari's material and by adding to Vasari's text with a view to updating it.Amy Golahny, "Insights into the Dutch Vasari: Van Mander's Life of Titian", In: Canadian Journal of Netherlandic Studies 2001 What follows is a list of Vasari sketches that van Mander translated and included in his work:Index to the Lives of modern Italian painters on the DBNL
Cimabue Andrea Tafi Gaddo Gaddi Margaritone Giotto, with Puccio Capanna Stefano di Giovanni and Ugolino di Nerio Pietro Lorenzetti (Pietro Laurati) Buonamico Buffalmacco Ambrogio Lorenzetti (Ambruogio Laurati) Pietro Cavallini Simone Martini with Lippo Memmi Taddeo Gaddi Andrea Orcagna (Andrea di Cione) Tommaso Fiorentino Lippo Masaccio Leon Battista Alberti Antonello da Messina Domenico Ghirlandaio Antonio del Pollaiuolo Sandro Botticelli Andrea del Verrocchio Andrea Mantegna Filippino Lippi Francesco Francia Pietro Perugino Luca Signorelli Leonardo da Vinci Giorgione da Castelfranco Antonio da Correggio Raffaellino del Garbo Baldassare Peruzzi Pellegrino da Modena (Pellegrino Aretusi) Andrea del Sarto
Giovanni Antonio Licino Polidoro da Caravaggio and Maturino da Firenze (Maturino Fiorentino) Bartolommeo Ramenghi (Bartolomeo Da Bagnacavallo) Franciabigio Francesco Mazzola Jacopo Palma (Il Palma) Lorenzo Lotto Giulio Romano Sebastiano del Piombo (Sebastiano Viniziano) Perino Del Vaga Giovann'Antonio Lappoli Baccio Bandinelli Jacopo da Pontormo Giovanni da Udine Francesco Rustichi Francesco detto de' Salviati Daniello Ricciarelli da Volterra Taddeo Zucchero Michelangelo Buonarroti (Michelangelo) Francesco Primaticcio Tiziano da Cadore (Titian) Tintoretto Paulo Caliary, student of Giovanni Francesco Caroto Jacopo Bassano Giorgio Vasari Frederick Zucchero Frederick Barozio Lorenzo Lotto Giuseppe Cesari Other Italian painters worthy of mention; Annibale Carracci (Caratz), Michael Agnolo van Caravaggio List of painters he knew during his time in Italy, and afterwards; Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta, Antonio Tempesta, Ventura Salimbeni, Marco Pino, Andrea Boscoli
Lives of the illustrious Netherlandish and German painters Van Mander is less known for his translated work on Italian art than he is for his biographical sketches of Netherlandish painters. What follows is the list of already famous painters from the low countries discussed in the book.Index to the Lives of great Dutch and German painters on the DBNL
Jan and Hubert van Eyck Rogier van Brugghe Hugo van der Goes Albert van Ouwater and Albert Simonsz Geertgen tot Sint Jans Dirk Bouts Rogier van der Weyden Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen Albrecht Dürer Cornelis Engelbrechtsz Bernard van Orley Lucas van Leyden Ian den Hollander Quentin Matsys Hieronymus Bosch Cornelis Cornelisz Kunst Lucas Cornelisz de Kock Jan Joest van Calcar Pieter van Aelst Joachim Patinir Herri met de Bles Lucas Gassel van Helmont Lambert Lombard Hans Holbein the Younger Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen Jan Mabuse Augustijn Ioorisz Joos van Cleve Aldegraef Swart Jan Frans Minnebroer with Frans Verbeeck, Vincent Geldersman, Hans Hoogenbergh, Frans Crabbe, Claes Roegier, Hans Kaynoot den dooven, Cornelis Enghelrams, Marcus Willems, and Iaques de Poindre, and Gregorius Beerings Jan Mostaert Adriaen de Weerdt
Hendrick and Marten van Cleef Anthonis Mor Jacob de Backer Matthys Cock and Hieronymus Cock Willem Key Pieter Brueghel the Elder Jan van Scorel Aertgen van Leyden Joachim Beuckelaer Frans Floris Pieter Aertsen Maarten van Heemskerck Richard Aertsz Hubert Goltz Pieter Vlerick van Cortrijck and Carel van Yper Anthonie van Montfoort Lucas de Heere Jacques Grimmaer Cornelis Molenaer Pieter Balten Joos van Liere Pieter Pourbus and Frans Pourbus the Elder with Frans Pourbus the younger Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder Christoffel Swarts Michael Coxcie Dirck Barendsz Lucas and Marten van Valckenborgh Hans Bol Frans and Gillis Mostart with Jan Mandijn Marinus van Reymerswaele Hendrik van Steenwijk I Bernaert de Rijcke Gielis Coignet Joris Hoefnagel Aert Mijtens Joos van Winghen Marten de Vos
Van Mander also described contemporary painters who he felt were of note. The following is a list of all of these painters.
Hans Vredeman de Vries Stradanus Gillis van Coninxloo Bartholomeus Spranger Cornelis Ketel Gualdrop Gortzius Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt Hendrick Goltzius Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom Jan Soens Hans von Aachen Peter Candid Paul Bril and Matthijs Bril Cornelis van Haarlem, with Gerrit Pietersz Sweelink Jacob de Gheyn II Otto van Veen, Jan Snellinck, Tobias Verhaecht, Adam van Noort, Hendrick van Balen, Sebastian Vrancx, Joos de Momper