#guardroom

by Jan Baptist Tijssens the Younger

Mahu painted a Guardroom with the Release of St. Peter (Sold at Agraa Art on 17 October 2004), which is freely inspired by two compositions of David Teniers the Younger in the Wallace Collection and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden. Cornelis Mahu's work depicts soldiers and officers on three different planes engaging in various activities such as gambling, smoking and talking. At the front left there is a pile of weapons and a drum. The armour depicted in the picture was already out of date at the time it was painted since metal armours, breast plates and helmets fell out of use from the 1620s. It is possible that in line with the moralizing intent of the genre, the armour is a reference to the vanitas motif of the transience of power and fame. The composition also includes a religious scene of the 'Release of St. Peter', which is visible through a gate in the background of the painting. This inclusion of a religious scene in a larger composition is reminiscent of the work of 16th century painters in Antwerp such as Pieter Aertsen and Joachim Beuckelaer who placed small religious scenes in the background of lush scenes of markets.

The Guardhouse by David Teniers the Younger

by David Teniers the Younger

Jan Baptist Tijssens the Younger (1660-1723) was a Flemish painter mainly known for his 'guardroom scenes' and still lifes. He was also active as an art dealer.

He was specialized in 'guardroom scenes', a type of genre scene that had become popular in the mid-17th century, particularly in the Dutch Republic. In Flanders there were also a few practitioners of the genre including David Teniers the Younger, Abraham Teniers, Tijssens' master Anton Goubau, Cornelis Mahu and Gillis van Tilborch. A guard room scene typically depicts an interior scene with officers and soldiers engaged in merrymaking. Guardroom scenes often included mercenaries and prostitutes dividing booty, harassing captives or indulging in other forms of reprehensible activities. Tilborch painted a Guardroom Interior with Armour and a Standard Behind (sold at Sotheby's on 10 July 2004 in London, lot 172), which depicts two soldiers and a woman drinking and smoking in a room. The soldiers are almost completely hidden behind a pile of weapons and a war standard. In its general arrangement and specific details such as the figures and the armour on the floor the painting is based on the signed composition of Tijssens' master Anton Goubau in the National Gallery in Prague. The Goubau painting continues to the left into a horizontal composition. It is likely that Tijssens' painting was cut down as on the extreme left margin the nose, moustache and chin of the figure next to the woman are visible. The original painting may therefore have been similar in composition to that of Goubau. The armour depicted in the picture was already out of date at the time it was painted since metal armours, breast plates and helmets fell out of use from the 1620s. It is possible that in line with the moralizing intent of the genre, the armour is a reference to the vanitas motif of the transience of power and fame.

Tijssens died in his birthplace Antwerp on 4 October 1723.

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