Louis Counet
Jean Louis Counet (baptized November 20, 1652 in Liège ; † August 5, 1721 in Trier ) was a Liège baroque painter who lived in Trier.
Origin and education in Liège
Louis Counet (variants: Jean-Louis, Ludovicus, Ludwig, Counette, Cunnet) came from a middle-class Liège family as the son of the businessman Nicolas Counet and Catherine Jacquet. His artistic career can no longer be documented. The consistent style and theme relationship of his work allows the conclusion that he was trained in the Liège school of painting. This art academy, which was founded by the Renaissance painter Lambert Lombard , had flourished again in the 17th century under Gérard Douffet and Bertholet Flémal (le) with classicist painting in the French-Italian style. In contrast to the imagery cultivated in Antwerp in the vicinity of Rubens , the priority of correct drawing over color and a clear composition in a austere, monumental basic conception were decisive for the Baroque of Liège . The so-called Bolognese School and in particular the works of Guido Reni still had an impact . The naturalistic image design and sophisticated lighting in sharp contrasts between light and dark by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio , who shaped the epoch, were still present - in a moderate form. Nicolas Poussin and his turn to the art of antiquity were definitely held in high esteem : With expansive, multi-figure historical pictures on biblical and mythological subjects, he and his followers, the “Poussinists”, became role models in Liège. Until Flémal's death in 1675, this training was probably also given to Counet, together with the proven classmate Englebert Fisen . Then both went to study in Italy.
Stay in Italy
With his five-year stay in Italy, Counet followed a common tradition that expected an ambitious artist to devote himself to ancient monuments and study the originals of the great Italian masters, make copies and expand his own repertoire accordingly. Counet also followed this requirement with painting copies, including those of Guido Reni. Presumably some of his copies were intended for Liège clients. Because in 1680 he sent a box with his self-portrait and about 20 other works back home through the mediation of a canon returning from Rome to Liège. An inventory drawn up in 1799 by the related Rhénasteine family of painters listed the paintings, which are largely lost today, including the copies.
Adopted home Trier
Returning to Liège, Counet had his first child, born from his marriage to Petronilla Hardy, baptized there in July 1681. From 1683, however, the couple's remaining six children were baptized in Trier. Counet had emigrated: from the densely populated capital of the bishopric of Liège (around 50,000 inhabitants) to the small town of Trier (fewer than 3,000 inhabitants), which, given the archbishops who had long resided in Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein , only had the noble title of cathedral city . Possibly he evaded the competitive pressure that had built up after Englebert Fisen's return and the quick successes in Liège. His contacts with the Trier clergy also made a market niche there probable, which he subsequently knew how to close profitably.
Counet and his family gained citizenship in Trier in 1690 and rose in a steep career to become a regional “painter prince”. The city council of Trier, monasteries, monasteries and parishes of the city and the greater region, even the electoral court in Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein were his clients for whole series of large-format paintings with religious, occasionally allegorical or mythological subjects and for his rarer portraits. His production of altar leaves, church decorations and secular easel paintings was so extensive that it could only be managed with the help of a larger workshop. He even carried out commissions for his old homeland, with which he continued to maintain contact, for example two large historical pictures and five over- portals for the city hall of Liège between 1717 and 1720 . If he acted as the highest paid painter in the project, that corresponded to his usual endowments in Trier. The high income was ultimately his undoing. With the fee for six large paintings in his pocket, he fell victim to a robbery on August 5, 1721. A memorial stone at the St. Paulin Church in Trier still reminds of him today.
Art transfer Liège / Trier
Counet transferred the achievements of the Liège School of Painting from the Maas to the Moselle, but interpreted them with his own handwriting. His style of painting showed a number of characteristics that ran through his work for decades: As a history painter, all his attention was directed to the large-scale figures, which he placed on stage up to the front edge of the picture. Even if his gestures and facial expressions were less expressive than Douffet, they conveyed baroque emphasis, often carried from a distance, “waving” folds. Their excellently painted heads with slightly elongated faces and straight noses can be seen as the painter's hallmarks, as can the negative features of an overemphasis on muscle cords and the occasional difficulties with the human anatomy, especially in the sequence of movements. On the other hand, Counet masterfully succeeded in modeling individuals or the often multi-figured scenes with high-contrast lighting effects and pronounced shading, modulating the mood of his compositions. His color palette was mostly restrained, dominated by cool blue, green and brown tones. Only the main actors were accented with bright red. According to Liège tradition, powerful ancient architecture often closed the background of his works; landscape elements were rather neglected.
Catalog raisonné
A catalog raisonné containing 53 surviving paintings by Counet plus a list of the missing works was published in 2009 in the catalog manual accompanying the exhibition “Baroque painting on the Meuse and Moselle: Louis Counet and the Liège School of Painting” (cf. lit. Verz.). As the result of a multi-year research project by the City Museum Simeonstift Trier in collaboration with museums and archives in Belgium and Luxembourg, it showed for the first time the enormous importance of the now almost completely forgotten painter for baroque art in the greater region.
The following list shows the range of motifs dealt with and the current spread of the works preserved in Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium:
- Trier: Allegory of the Arts and Discord, signed and dated 1697, Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier
- Trier: Allegory of Justice and Peace, counterpart to No. 1, as above
- Trier: St. Laurentius baptizes Lucillus in the dungeon, signed, undated, as above
- Trier: Samson and Dalila (attributed), undated, as above
- Trier: Noah's drunkenness (attributed to), undated, as before
- Trier: Minerva's dispute with Poseidon about the city of Athens, signed, undated, as above
- Trier: Cephalus and Procris (attributed), undated, as above
- Trier: Joshua and Caleb bring the grapes from the Promised Land (attributed), undated, as before
- Trier: Head of St. John the Baptist (attributed), undated, as above
- Trier: The Jesuit saints Ignatius and Xaverius (attributed), undated, as above
- Trier: David and Nathan (attributed to), undated, Episcopal Seminary Trier
- Trier: The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (attributed), undated, as above
- Trier: Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (attributed), undated, as above
- Trier: Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the Jakobsbrunnen (attributed), undated, Museum Am Dom Trier
- Trier: Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jakobsbrunnen (Counet workshop), undated, Trier Episcopal Chair
- Trier: Persecution and execution of the Trier Christians, signed and dated 1714, Museum Am Dom Trier (loan from the Catholic parish of St. Paulin, Trier)
- Trier: Thyrsus before the governor Rictiovarus, signed, undated, as above
- Trier: Execution of the Trier consul Palmatius, signed, undated, as above
- Trier: Paulinus and the church assembly in Milan, signed, undated, as above
- Trier: Transfer of the bones of St. Paulinus to Trier, signed and dated 1712, as above
- Trier: Martyrdom of Pope Cornelius, unsigned, 1715, Catholic parish of St. Paulin, Trier
- Trier: St. Nepomuk before King Wenceslaus, signed, undated, as above
- Trier: St. Nepomuk is thrown from the bridge, signed, undated, as before
- Trier: The finding of the corpse of St. Nepomuk in the Moldau, signed, undated, as above
- Trier: Michaels fight with Lucifer, signed and dated 1700, as before
- Trier: transfer of the corpse of St. Paulinus (attributed to) undated, as above
- Trier: Crucifixion (attributed), undated, as above
- Trier: Chronology (portraits) of the abbots of the St. Maximin Monastery, signed and dated 1699, Museum Am Dom Trier
- Trier: Portrait of the auxiliary bishop Johann Peter Verhorst (attributed), 1708, Museum Am Dom Trier
- Trier: Assumption of Mary, signed, undated, Welschnonnen Church
- Trier: St. Antonius with the baby Jesus (attributed), undated, Congregation of the Merciful Brothers of Maria-Hilf Trier
- Trier: Portrait of the Trier lawyer Dr. iur. utr. Peter Ernst Haydrich (attributed to), 1708, Vereinigte Hospitien Trier
- Saarburg: Descent from the Cross, signed and dated 1700, St. Laurentiuskirche
- Klausen: The Conversion of St. Augustine (attributed to), undated, Eberhardsklausen pilgrimage church
- Klausen: St. Augustine presents the rule (attributed) to his order, undated, as above
- Püttlingen: Martyrdom of St. Vitus, signed, undated, Catholic parish church St. Sebastian
- Art trade 2003, whereabouts unknown: Scene from the life of Alexander the Great, signed, undated
- Kunsthandel Stuttgart 2001, private collection: Healing of the lame man at the temple gate in Jerusalem by the apostles Peter and Johannes, signed, undated (before 1700)
- Wiesbaden, private collection: Conquest of Bouillon Castle, signed and dated 1717
- Private collection: St. Cäcilie, signed, undated.
- Unknown private collection: Achilles and Hector (?), Signed, undated
- Eppeldorf / Luxemburg: Assumption of the Virgin Mary, signed, around 1693–1717, St. Lambertus parish church
- Luxemburg-Pfaffenthal: Baptism of Christ, signed, undated, civil hospice, Luxemburg-Grund
- Houffalize / Belgium: Martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria, signed and dated 1698, parish church of Sainte-Catherine
- Nassogne / Belgium: The beheading of St. John the Baptist (attributed to), 1700–1705, Saint-Jean Baptiste Church
- Eupen / Belgium: Madonna and Child, signed, undated, Church of the Immaculate Conception
- Malmedy / Belgium: St. Sebastian, copy after Hans von Aachen (attributed to Counet), undated, Le Conseil d'Administration de Malmedy
- Liège: Assumption of Mary, signed, undated, Saint-Denis church
- Liège: Allegory of History, overlay, signed, undated (1717–1720), Liège City Hall, Salle du Conseil communal
- Liège: Allegory of Prosperity, signed, as above
- Liège: Allegory of Peace, signed, as above
- Liège: Allegory of Science, signed and dated 1719, as above
- Liège: Allegory of Religion (attributed), undated, as above.
This means that 22 individual works and cycles on saints and martyrs, 16 themes on the Old and New Testament, 7 allegorical representations on behalf of the public, 5 mythological or historical themes and 3 portraits have been preserved. However, it is essential to point out the large losses documented by written sources, above all the 20 large paintings on the history of the Benedictine order for the Church of St. Maximin in Trier.
literature
- Elisabeth Dühr, Gabriele D. Grawe, Frank G. Hirschmann, Christl Lehnert-Leven (eds.): Baroque painting on the Meuse and Moselle: Louis Counet and the Liège School of Painting - La peinture baroque entre Meuse et Moselle: Louis Counet et l'École liégoise . Bilingual catalog manual for the exhibition of the same name in the Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, September 26, 2009 - February 28, 2010 - with detailed references.
- Kurt Zoege von Manteuffel : Counet, Jean Louis . In: Ulrich Thieme (Ed.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists from Antiquity to the Present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 7 : Cioffi – Cousyns . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1912, p. 574 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
- Counet, Louis . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 21, Saur, Munich and others. 1998, ISBN 3-598-22761-2 , pp. 558 f.
- Le Dictionnaire des peintres belges du XIVe siècle à nos jours depuis les premiers maîtres des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux et de la Principauté de Liège jusqu'aux artistes contemporains. Bruxelles 1995, vol. 1, p. 213.
- Jacques Hendrick: La peinture liégeoise au XVIIe siècle. Gembloux 1973.
- Jacques Stiennon, Jean-Patrick Duchesne, Yves Randaxhe: De Roger de le Pasture à Paul Delvaux - Cinq siècles de peinture en Wallonie. Bruxelles 1988, pp. 136/137.
- Reinhold Baumstark, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen Munich (ed.), Konrad Renger and Nina Schleif (arrangement): Flemish Baroque painting. Catalog of the Staatsgalerie Neuburg an der Donau. Munich 2005.
- Pierre-Yves Kairis: Un peintre liégeois émigré à Trèves: Louis Counet (1652-1721). In: Bulletin de la Société Royale Le Vieux-Liège. No. 323 (XV, No. 12). Liège 2008, pp. 315-335.
- Philipp Wey: The "Descent from the Cross" by Louis Counet in the Saarburg parish church of St. Laurentius. In: New Trierisches Jahrbuch 1984, pp. 73–76.
- Robert Held: How family research led to the trail of a late baroque painter - panel paintings by Jean Louis Counet in churches in our homeland. In: Kreisjahrbuch 2007, Bernkastel-Wittlich 2007, pp. 334–336.
- Elisabeth Dühr, Frank G. Hirschmann, Christl Lehnert-Leven (ed.): City history in the city museum. Accompanying volume for the new city history exhibition in the City Museum Simeonstift Trier. Trier 2007.
- Elisabeth Dühr, Christiane Häslein, Frank G. Hirschmann, Christl Lehnert-Leven (eds.): A picture gallery for Trier - selection catalog from the inventory, Trier 2008, pp. 23-29.
Web links
- Counet Jean Louis in the Saarland Biographies database
Individual evidence
- ↑ According to the custom of the time, Catholic baptism was usually performed on the day of birth. The biographical information according to: Gabriele D. Grawe: To the life and work of Louis Counet. In: Baroque painting on the Meuse and Moselle - Louis Counet and the Lütticher Malerschule, such as Lit. Verz., Pp. 9-29.
- ↑ See the ballad "Cunnet's Tod" by Philipp Laven. In other words: Trier and its surroundings in legends and songs. Trier 1851, pp. 102-106.
- ↑ On the Liège education and the painting style of Counets see Pierre-Yves Kairis: A Trier painter with Liège roots. In: Baroque painting on the Meuse and Moselle - Louis Counet, as above, pp. 87-105.
- ↑ Gabriele D. Grawe, as above, based on the Counet dossier in the estate of Hélène Van Heule (Antwerp 1885–1960 Liège) with an unpublished first study of the painter from the 1950s. The self-portrait, now lost, is handed down there with a black and white photo.
- ↑ The painter Nicolas François Rhénasteine from Malmedy was Counet's son-in-law and student.
- ↑ The time of the marriage is not known.
- ^ Frank G. Hirschmann: Trier and Liège at the time of Louis Counets. In: Baroque painting on the Meuse and Moselle - Louis Counet and the Lütticher Malerschule, such as Lit. Verz., Pp. 69–86.
- ↑ Krämeramtsregister Trier, first entry 1690. Manuscript HS 1590/223 Stadtbibliothek / Stadtarchiv Trier.
- ↑ A council decision of October 19, 1691 released a confiscated vat that Counet wanted to send from Trier "to his people in Liège". Trier City Archives, Ta 100/14 - Council minutes 1691–1705, No. 17.
- ↑ Pierre-Yves Kairis, as above, p. 105, with reference to Liège city accounts. Two original handwritten receipts from the painter from 1721 for royalty payments for paintings delivered to Bernkastel-Kues have been preserved in the Trier diocese archive, BAT, Dept. 71, 139 Bl. 3-4.
- ^ Entry on Sankt Paulin - Monument Louis Counet (Thebäerstraße 52/54) in the database of cultural assets in the Trier region ; accessed on March 11, 2016.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Counet, Louis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Counet, Jean Louis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Liège baroque painter |
| BIRTH DATE | baptized November 20, 1652 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Liege |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 5, 1721 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | trier |