Artus Quellinus the Elder

Artus Quellinus, engraving after a painting by Erasmus Quellinus.

Artus Quellinus also known as Artus (Arnoldus) Quellijn, Artus I Quellinus or Artus Quellinus the Elder (30 August 1609  – 23 August 1668), was a Flemish sculptor.

Life

Mercurius, sculpture in the Amsterdam town hall

In one of three reliefs in the tribunal depicting justice, Lucius Junius Brutus beheads his sons Titus and Tiberius under a statue of Romulus and Remus

Vierschaar

Sleeping baby, Ivory, Walters Art Museum

Quellinus was born and died in Antwerp. He trained in Rome in the studio of François Duquesnoy and brought the classicizing Baroque style of what Duquesnoy's circle, an informal academy, called la gran maniera greca to his native Antwerp on his return from Rome in 1639; he took over the workshop of his father, the sculptor Erasmus Quellinus I, the following year.

He won commissions in Amsterdam and, from 1650, worked for fifteen years on the new city hall together with the lead architect Jacob van Campen. Now called the Royal Palace on the Dam, this work became an example for other buildings in Amsterdam, especially his marble decorations. His work found a large following, thanks mostly to his brother Hubertus Quellinus, who engraved many of his works in the city hall and in 1665 published a book of these together with 30 architectural drawings by Van Campen. His tribunal or vierschaar reflects the fashion of the period in its use of columns reflecting the Italian ideals of Andrea Palladio, his student Vincenzo Scamozzi and Cesare Ripa.

The works of Artus Quellinus are divided among the cities of Brussels, Antwerp and Amsterdam. His nephew had the same name and also became a sculptor. He is known as Artus II Quellinus or Artus Quellinus the Younger.

External links

• Web Galley of Art: Artus Quellinus