11. David De Noter & Willem Linnig
Here you can see a painting restored especially for this exhibition. It is just about the largest of the almost 150 paintings on display here. The painting depicts the studio of Antwerp baroque painter Frans Snijders as his fellow townsman David De Noter imagined it two centuries later. A contemporary of Rubens, Snijders, like De Noter, produced extravagant still lifes. Here, De Noter not only places the still life in an actual interior, it also becomes part of a story.
What at first glance looks like a realistic scene is afforded a different allure by the objects displayed at the front. A gigantic pile of plants, fruit, drapes and poultry appears to be tumbling into the studio like a waterfall. The window opening on the left acts as a spotlight, making celery, turkey and other white items shine brightly. All around are books, glassware and in a dark corner a bust adorns the scene... Snijders is looking away from it for a moment. It's as though he wants to take a break and have a chat during the enormous task of reproducing all this on canvas.
Note also the two playful dogs at the foot of the table. They become the protagonists on the canvas Snijders is painting. Snijders was known for rendering his extravagant still lifes more lively with dogs; Ensor used masked characters in a similar way.
There were other Antwerp locals who also kept their city's baroque art history alive. Such as Willem Linnig. Like father like son it seems, because not only did Willem Linnig share his father's name, they also both had a fondness for the 16th and 17th centuries. Father Willem Linnig's oeuvre is embedded entirely in that period. Willem Linnig II however also painted, drew and etched scenes set in his own era. But even then, as with David de Noter, his fondness for the old masters shines through.
A striking example is the work Vegetables. Willem Linnig II is best known for his paintings of flowers, but here he has just as delicately painted a table laden with cabbages, onions and leeks. They fill the whole canvas like fields of colour bursting at the seams. It is reminiscent of 17th-century meal paintings, which the owners used to reassure their visitors: the pantries in this house are well stocked, you won't want for anything here!
The work After the Wedding also looks exuberant, although calm seems to have returned. The party is over. You see a messy table strewn with empty bottles, leftover food, plates and a shirt carelessly thrown over a chair. There are even some mice nibbling an apple, as silent witnesses to what took place here. The scene might seem chaotic, but appearances are deceptive. Linnig brings calm and structure by means of a perfectly balanced composition with horizontal lines and strips.