around 1566 -1638 · Utrecht, Padua, France, guild and municipal council

Twisted bodies, enameled colors and scholarly stories make Joachim Wtewael one of the last great mannerists of the North.

Joachim Anthonisz Wtewael was born around 1566 in Utrecht into the family of a glass painter. After working with his father, he studied oil painting with Joos de Beer. In 1586, he accompanied the bishop of Saint-Malo to Italy, stayed in Padua then in France before returning to Utrecht. His art lastingly retains the imprint of international mannerism: elongated and twisted bodies, difficult poses, dense space, brilliant color and taste for erudite storytelling. Jupiter entering Danae's room transforms the metamorphosis of the god into golden rain into a scene of desire, surprise and luxury. Perseus rescuing Andromeda opposes the heroic movement to the curves of the monster and the chained body. The Flood multiplies nudes, diagonals and panicked groups in a catastrophe where formal virtuosity increases violence. Wtewael works on both large canvases and small copper panels with precious finishes. His biblical and mythological subjects alternate with portraits and genre scenes. A successful artist, he also ran a linen business and actively participated in Utrecht politics. He joined the municipal council in 1611 and became one of the founders of the local painters' guild in 1611. While many contemporaries gradually abandoned mannerism, Wtewael maintained its expressive possibilities until the 1620s. Death in Utrecht in 1638, he left a relatively concentrated corpus but of exceptional narrative invention. The "Joachim Wtewael" selection notably compares Jupiter entering Danae's room and Perseus rescuing Andromeda. His reading favors details.

Wtewael makes the story an arabesque: arms, fabrics, monsters and lightning follow one another with brilliant precision which transforms danger into pictorial energy.