Cornelis de Baellieur the Elder (1607 – Antwerp – 1671) 

The Virgin and Child Enthroned
oil on copper
21 ½ x 17 ¼ inches (54.6 x 43.8 cm.)

The following note was written by Dr. Ursula Härting

The Virgin and Child Enthroned is a work by the Antwerp small-figure painter Cornelis de Baellieur (1607-1671); the picture is known to me in the original.  Cornelis de Baellieur was mentioned as a student of Anton Lisaert in Antwerp in 1617; afterwards the young painter probably continued his artistic education as a member of the atelier of the famous Antwerp small-figure painter, Frans Francken the Younger (1598-1641).
                                                                                
The Enthroned Virgin is here seated before gothic architectural elements, illuminated in gold against a dark background.  On Mary’s right side (our left) there are two angels singing from a song book, another playing the bass viola and another, the lute.  On the right, a lute playing angel looks heavenward to The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, who appears over the scene of harmony in a nimbus of gold.  From this aureole falls Godly light in fine gold strands over the lovely scene, over which the dove protectively spreads its wings.  The upper gloriole is the counterpart to Mary’s saintly halo, indicating that she is the Queen of Heaven.

The prototype for this composition stems from Frans Francken the Younger (1581-1642), and it exists in several versions by the master and different assistant from his studio.  There are always variations between the number of music making angels and the instruments that they play.  The popularity of this composition probably derives from its role as a private devotional image, showing the gracefulness of the Virgin and the harmony of the music playing angels.  

The copper support encourages the implementation of fine workmanship and allows us to see the precious colors.  The local color in the angels’ drapery and in their wings allows us to recognize the hand of Cornelis de Baellieur.  The artist’s contemporaries would have been aware of the word in the bible, where in Paul’s letters the music of the angels is referred to as sound we earthly mortals can not hear.  In 1732 Johann Sebastian Bach composed a canto with verses of heavenly music, where “never an ear can hear”, nor “any eye can see”.  Even today we can appreciate in this painting the silent prayer and the “spiritual ear” of the devoted worshipper.