Antoon Sallaert or Anthonis Sallaert (1594–1650) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and printmaker who was active in Brussels. Sallaert produced many devotional paintings for the Brussels court of Archdukes Albert and Isabella as well as for the local churches. Sallaert was an innovative printmaker and is credited with the invention of the monotype technique. He was an important tapestry designer for the local weaving workshops.
Life
Antoon Sallaert was a pupil of the Brussels painter Michel de Bordeaux starting from 1606. He was registered as a master in the Brussels Guild of Saint Luke in 1613. Some sources mention that Sallaert was a pupil of Peter Paul Rubens or worked in the workshop of Rubens. There does not appear to be evidence for this, although some of his works are close in style to Rubens.
In the 1620s and 1630s Sallaert received commissions from the Archdukes Albert and Isabella but he was never listed as an official court painter. Sallaert was the deacon of the Brussels Guild of Saint Luke in 1633 and in 1648. He received irregular commissions from local nobles and produced religious compositions for the Jesuit churches in and around Brussels. He provided designs for tapestries to the local tapstry workshops. In 1647 he accepted a large commission from the clergy of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk of Alsemberg to paint a series of 11 compositions on the history of the church. The last recorded payment he received for the commission dates to 1649.
He was buried in the Chapel Church Brussels in 1650.
Sallaert married Anna Verbruggen. Their son Jan Baptist Sallaert (baptized on 14 February 1612) trained with his father and became a painter.
Work
General
Sallaert was a versatile artist who worked in various genres and media. He painted religious as well a mythological subjects and was also a portrait painter. He was a regular contributor of designs for local publications and produced many monotypes. He further designed cartoons for the local weaving workshops. Sallaert was known in his time as an accomplished draughtsman and it is possible that his paintings and drawings have been attributed to other artists such as Rubens or Jacob Jordaens.
He used the monograms ASall f and AS entwined.
Paintings
Sallaert's painting style is characterized by its nervous brushstrokes, lively outlines and expressive distortion of the composition and figures. He often used foreshortening as a dramatic effect. His early compositions dating to before 1635 have a strong monumentality and plasticity through light effects. while there usually is a group of figures. These early works followed the style of Rubens' works of c. 1610–20, although it may have been the work of Gaspar de Crayer who resided in Brussels from whom he learned the style. He created ambitious figure compositions and portraits in the Rubens manner. His later works became more dramatic and his style had an almost calligraphic and mannered quality.
Sallaert was in the first place a very accomplished draftsman, particularly in the technique of ink on paper. Like Rubens, he was a master of the oil sketch. Despite a certain dependence on Rubens, his oil sketches have a very personal approach and style. The use of a reddish-brown background tone was characteristic of his oil sketches.
Sallaert painted multiple portraits which were compared to those of Anthony van Dyck.
Prints
It is primarily in his prints and print designs that Antoon Sallaert proved himself to be one of the most original artists on the Flemish art scene during the Rubens era. He only made a few etchings. About 12 woodcuts are ascribed to Sallaert, some of which are book illustrations. He created about 11 monotypes. In his prints, especially the woodcuts and monotypes, have a clear experimental character. As Sallaert's etchings and woodcuts are very rare, the editions were likely rather small. An example of his woodcuts is The Evangelist Matthew Writing the Gospel which shows his nimble yet forceful linework. Through the contrast between bright, untreated surfaces and dense patches of black Sallaert creates dramatic light effects. A few lines and dark splashes of colour are sufficient in this woodcut for Sallaert to give a strong character to the faces, bodies and garments. The work has an unconventional, even modern outlook. Sallaert's formal language sometimes borders on the caricature and his use of a rare, tinted paper accentuates the experimental character of his woodcuts.