Johann Boeckhorst
Gemälde und Zeichnungen
Maria Galen

In this catalogue raisonné of the works of Johann Boeckhorst, art historian Maria Galen presents an almost forgotten artist of the 17th century. He was a very important painter in the circles of Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Sir Anthony van Dyck. Johann Boeckhorst, born in Münster, Westphalia, moved during the Thirty Years’ War to Antwerp where the most influential artists of the century were working. In 1633/34 he became a master of the Guild of Saint Luke. After the death of Rubens and Van Dyck he was one of the leading painters in Antwerp. His esteem by his contemporaries is documented by numerous important commissions. Boeckhorst was not just a follower of Rubens and Van Dyck but a highly productive successor who transformed their stylistic features into his own style which was accepted and esteemed by a broad public. As well as the first catalogue raisonné, the volume includes a thoroughly researched biography of the artist and a detailed inquiry into his particular style of painting and drawing. It lists more than a hundred paintings, oil sketches and drawings by Boeckhorst. The catalogue entries analyse the style, iconography and chronological classification of each work. The rejected works, in particular, show that we now have a clear picture of Boeckhorst’s artistic output. A comprehensive collection of source and archive materials and a classification of the research results concerning the artist’s life and style enable the reader to assign Boeckhorst’s work a place in 17th century Flemish art. This catalogue raisonné will be essential reading for anyone doing further research into the circle of Rubens and will prove an inevitable tool in the art market.