by Guido Jansen

The name of Cornelis Stangerus will be unfamiliar to most people. He is one of the many artists whom we know primarily from documents. Bredius succeeded in identifying a number of paintings by this artist.[1] In the sixty-odd years that have elapsed since, this small oeuvre has been supplemented by a few other works. Once again it has become clear that a painter who was merely one of the legion of unknown artists in the seventeenth century produced some pictures of outstanding quality.

Cornelis Stangerus was born in Delft in 1616. His father was a clergyman in Rysoort. Through his mother Cornelis was related to the slightly younger but better known painter Cornelis de Man.[2] After being dismissed as a minister on account of his Remonstrant leanings in 1618, Cornelis' father became one of the headmasters of the Latin School in Delft.[3] He is probably the „Dr. Stangerus" who had his portrait painted by Mierevelt.[4] Cornelis therefore came from an educated and prominent family in Delft.

Nothing is known about his training. His name first occurs in a document dated February 1634, in which he is mentioned as an „artful painter, living in the Valcke steegh in Leiden". Later in the same year he appears to have been living in Amsterdam, where he married Maria Sibauts in December. Their first son had been baptized earlier that year, on May 22nd, in the Westerkerk. The baptismal register of this church lists five more children of the couple, at least three of whom must have died in their early childhood.[5]

Between 1654 and 1659 Stangerus' name crops up repeatedly in Amsterdam documents. In 1656 he is mentioned as collaborating with Isaack Versteech, a painter about whom no further information has come down to us. A deed drawn up in 1658 suggests that Stangerus was a friend of the still-life painter Jan Fris.[6] A document of December 1656 reveals that he was in serious financial difficulties; he may even have left Amsterdam for financial reasons. In 1664 Stangerus is mentioned in Middelburg, where he paid his dues to the guild.[7] He appears to have died in that town before February 1667.

 

From the few surviving paintings and the occasional mention of his works in auction catalogues we may conclude that Stangerus was primarily a history painter.[8] The reason for his practising the most difficult genre of painting is unclear, since the artist lacked the technical skill to create satisfactory compositions with a group of full-length figures. This is to be seen in the Allegorical family portrait dated 1655, which was identified by Blankert as Tobias in the Bridal Chamber (Tobit 6:20) (Fig. 1).[9] The unsatisfactory composition, the awkward manner of portrayal and the faulty perspective demonstrate Stangerus' limited talent. It is indeed not unlikely that such a manner of painting should have been rewarded with poverty.