Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen ran a productive workshop on Kalverstraat in the heart of Amsterdam, which in his day counted only about 10,000 inhabitants. From an archival deed from 1500 we know that Jacob bought the house at number 62. In 1520 the successful artist purchased the neighbouring house at number 60.

Jacob’s work early on displays influences from the pictorial language of the Renaissance, which – inspired by a revived interest in classical antiquity – was then spreading from southern Europe. Jacob incorporated classical architecture and ornaments into his art and thus played a decisive role in the early Renaissance in the North.

For a long time, this self-assured likeness of the artist in the Rijksmuseum was regarded as the earliest known self-portrait in North Netherlandish painting. Research has demonstrated that it was probably painted by a workshop assistant around the year of Jacob’s death (1533) after a lost self-portrait.

Jacob worked successfully in an exceptionally wide range of media. In addition to paintings on panel and canvas, he produced woodcuts, drawings and ceiling paintings. He also designed stained glass, reverse glass paintings and even textiles.

Jacob’s well-known oeuvre consists mainly of religious scenes. While his painted altarpieces were commissioned by influential patrons from Amsterdam and Alkmaar, he also worked for the free market.

As far as we know, Jacob was Amsterdam’s first printmaker. With his woodcuts he made a crucial contribution to the development of this early reproduction technique in the Northern Netherlands, by means of which an image could be circulated in a large print run.

Several portraits by Jacob have been preserved, including one of the burgomaster of Alkmaar, Jan Gerritsz van Egmond van de Nijenburg. In his hand, the burgomaster holds a small prayer nut encased in silver, similar to a very rare example in the Rijksmuseum collection.

This very special painting in the Rijksmuseum serves as a warning against witchcraft. Jacob did not depict the main religious scene, but rather a witches’ sabbath, in the foreground. The fortune teller sits in a chalk circle surrounded by other witches, satyrs and imaginary figures, which were inspired by Hieronymous Bosch’s paintings. Depicted in the middle and background is the story of Saul, king of the Israelites, who fearing the outcome of a battle consulted the witch of Endor.

Little is known about Jacob’s life, but a Bible that certainly belonged to the artist has come down to us. It is now in New York and bears the following inscription in typical 16th-century handwriting: ‘This book belongs to Jacob Cornelisz, the painter living in the Kalverstraat.’

Jacob trained his sons Dirck Jacobsz and Cornelis Jacobsz in his workshop to become artists. The Rijksmuseum also owns several fine works by Dirck, such as this portrait of Pompeius Occo, an art-loving merchant who also lived in Kalverstraat and was an important patron of the family.