(Antwerp 1612–1652)
Saint Willibrordus in adoration of the Holy Family,
oil on copper, 73 x 56 cm, framed

We are grateful to Bert Schepers for suggesting the attribution on the basis of a photograph.

The present work is based on Rubens’ large-scale St. Willibrord adoring the Holy Family of circa 1630–31 in the Church of St. Willibrord, Antwerp. The Antwerp painting is now oval but was originally rectangular, and probably resembled the present painting. The St. Willibrord altarpiece was not included in the relevant Corpus Rubenianum (1972–73), by Hans Vlieghe; in 1977 Vlieghe rediscovered the altarpiece as a work by Rubens (and studio). Wolfvoet must have known the original. The only known print by Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert could not have been the model as it shows only the Virgin and Child, in reverse, and includes additional inscriptions and a fountain. The original painting in the church of St. Willibrord inspired Jan Boeckhorst for a composition for an altarpiece with the Holy Family and St Francis, known by a modello.

Victor Wolfvoet the Younger was born in Antwerp in 1612. His father, Victor I Wolfvoet, was a painter and art dealer whose oeuvre consists of only a few known works. The younger Victor may have studied under his father at an early age; though it is more certain that he later worked in the studio of Peter Paul Rubens, where he assisted in the production of works by the workshop. Wolfvoet married in 1639 and only became a member of the guild of St. Luke in 1644/45. Indeed, this may account for his rather limited known oeuvre. However, in light of recent research it can now be assumed that many works once attributed to Wolfvoet’s contemporaries, may be in fact by the artist himself.

From sometime in the 1630s Wolfvoet was active in Rubens’ workshop and clearly had ready access to the master’s modellos and drawings, which he frequently copied. The cooler and crisper tonality of his paintings however is very different to those of Rubens. Indeed, Wolfvoet freely omitted, changed and added many details to these compositions. His preferred medium were small copper plates, which not only allowed for a transparent and brilliant effect, but also enabled easy transportation. Like many of his fellow Antwerp artists, Wolfvoet also engaged in collaborative projects, working with several leading flower painters by painting the cartouches in their flower garlands. Besides being an artist, Wolfvoet, like his father before him, was also active as an art dealer. An inventory of his estate after his death lists over seven hundred works, including twenty oil sketches by Rubens (amongst which were several designs for the ceilings in the Antwerp Jesuit church). Interestingly, the inventory also mentions several copies after Rubens’ sketches, some clearly denoted as being in Wolfvoet’s own hand (such as the pair now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague).