Our painting partly resembles the composition of an unsigned painting sold as by Louis de Caullery at Millon, Paris, 20/06/22.

 

Louis de Caullery was a master of fantasized compositions: here a party takes place in the vast garden of an Italian palace, inspired by the Villa Medici in Rome, a Venetian gondola floats on the water, the guests are dressed according to the fashion current in the Low Countries circa 1620/1630, an Italian group of masked Commedia dell’Arte actors animate the party.

 

 

Flemish painter 

Caullery circa 1580 – 1621 Antwerp

 

Painter of genre scenes, allegorical subjects, Carnival scenes, architectural scenes and landscapes.

 

He was a pupil of the landscape painter Joos de Momper II (1564 – 1635) in Antwerp in 1594 and Master in the Painter’s Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp from the year 1602/03 onwards. He remained his complete career in Antwerp.

 

There is no proof for a trip to Italy, but his paintings are clearly inspired by Italian art. He did paint views of Venice, Florence and Rome, but those could have been inspired by engravings. As to his gallant allegories they were influenced by the School of Fontainebleau.

 

Caullery’s birthplace is a small village of the same name, 20 km from Cambrai, that belonged in those days to the County of Flanders. Following the conquest by Louis XIV this SW part of the historic County became and remained officially part of France with the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678.

 

Caullery’s paintings are characterised by an optimistic, pleasant, agreeable atmosphere. He focused on contemporary life: on people’s daily activities or on people indulging in all kinds of pleasures. The figures in his gallant scenes, banquets and feasts were influenced by Hieronymus Francken I and by Sebastian Vrancx.

Caullery regularly collaborated with the landscape painter Abel Grimmer.

 

 

The inspiration for the masked figures and for the poses they are striking is clearly indebted to the Italian Commedia dell’Arte. That was a form of improvised comedy theatre, usually performed in the open air, often played with masked actors, which originated in Italy in the 16th century. Revolutionary was the fact that here the female roles were no longer played by men, but by women.

Many Commedia dell’Arte troupes travelled all over Europe, adapting its characters and style to the local preferences. During the 17th century it was very popular in France.

 

Its professional actors played very recognizable social types that were an embodiment of a certain mood. Its plots are always about sex, love, old age and of course jealousy: a young couple falls in love, wants to get married, this is prevented by the elder characters, eccentric servants help the couple and finally all ends well.

 

The best known figures are:

- Arlecchino (Harlequin), an acrobatic, clownish servant

- the sad clown Pierrot and his love Colombina

- Pantalone, an old rich, mean merchant 

- Capitano, a caricature of a professional soldier

- Dottore, a pompous, old doctor in law or in medicine

- Scaramuccia, a coward.