TILBORGH, Gillis van

The panel depicts a barn interior with a maid opening mussels and a man with a stick standing, together with a still-life of vegetables and fruits in baskets, crabs and other fish, and pots and other stoneware on a table.

Gillis van Tilborgh painted this scene of elegant interior with twelve gentleman surrounded by paintings and leather wall coverings with a game of backgammon at centre in the 1660s. He specialized in group portraits of upper-class citizens in a style comparable to that of his Gonzales Coques. Among his most distinguished group portraits are those set within collector’s cabinets or paintings galleries, as exemplified in the present painting, for they showcase not only his skills in rendering portraits and realistic spaces, but they also provide a fascinating window into the Flemish art collections of the seventeenth century.

In the present work, twelve elegantly dressed full-length figures are set within this space and gathered in small, contained groups. At left, four men stand near a table covered with remnants of food and drink, and nearby on the floor are scattered five oyster shells. At centre, six figures are gathered around a game of backgammon, and next to the fireplace at right are poised two additional men. Although the identity of the twelve men remains unknown, the 1779 sale catalogue describes them as being painters contemporary to van Tilborgh. The seven paintings visible in this work, however, are almost all identifiable, and many are currently found in the collections of prominent museums.

Van Tilborgh executed several other paintings with this subject.

The stage of the figures of this family portrait is the family home as they wish the world to see it. The head of the family sits in the middle at a set table. His black Sunday clothes with the obligatory hat serve the purpose of the portrait rather than those of the meal. On the other side of the table his wife takes her place, in a yellow dress with a napkin in her lap. They are the ones who introduce the family and the home to us and consequently they are the only ones facing us from the picture.

The painter took care to demonstrate the well-being of the family with extras, props and scenery. The walls are covered with figured wallpaper, servants are eagerly waiting for the master and the mistress’ commands and there is animated activity in the kitchen. It is the task of the dogs playing in the foreground to introduce a modicum of dissonance into this tableau of complete harmony.

The painter took care to demonstrate the well-being of the family with extras, props and scenery. On the left, on the table a huge golden platter and a goblet are shown, the walls are covered with figured wallpaper, there are paintings not far below the ceiling, servants are eagerly waiting for the master and the mistress’ commands and there is animated activity in the kitchen.

This painting represents the interior of a guardroom. In seventeenth century Dutch painting guardroom scenes became a popular subject with several specialists active in this domain: Jacob Duck, Pieter Codde, Willem Duyster, and above all Anthonie Palamedesz.. By contrast, in Flemish painting these scenes were rather rare. The present painting is unique in the oeuvre of Gillis van Tilborgh. It depicts an officer reading a letter for four men, amidst a pile of weapons and a war standard.

Paintings of school life by Dutch and Flemish artists of this era reflect changing views on childhood and the role of elementary education as a necessary part of moral growth. Van Tilborgh’s scene offers a window into a typical schoolroom of the day. Most classes were large, with the older children expected to help the younger ones. Students reported to the teacher’s desk to have work checked. Children are reading and writing, their sober expressions reflecting the importance of their task. Behind the teacher are a rod, ferule (a flat ruler with a widened end to punish children), and switch, tools of discipline. The open bird cage suggests that some of these children are preparing to leave and enter adulthood. His composition owes much to the style of his teacher, David Teniers II. Van Tilborgh is remembered for genre scenes and paintings that merge genre with the idea of the group portrait.

This painting depicts a scene with sportsmen and other men and women drinking outside a tavern near the dunes, together with hounds and horsemen.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):

Franz Schubert: Drinking song from the 16th century D 847, quartet

The group portraits by Gillis van Tilborgh, who worked in Brussels, were similar in style to Gonzales Coques in Antwerp, but more stereotyped.

Gillis van Tilborgh made his name with peasant scenes, particularly in the 1650s. The most original are the small-sized pictures with only one or two figures and often meant as allegorical illustrations of the senses.