Jan Roos (painter)

Jan Roos was the son of a merchant. He studied painting with Jan de Wael from 1605. In 1610 he joined the workshop of Frans Snyders, the important still life and animal painter who had recently returned from Italy.[https://rkd.nl/explore/artists/68069 Jan Roos] at the Netherlands Institute for Art History {{in lang|nl}} There he acquired a mastery in painting still lifes and animals.

File:Jan Roos - Still Life with Fruit and Vegetables - Google Art Project.jpg

In 1614, Roos travelled to Genoa and then on to Rome, where he stayed for almost two years. With the intention of returning to Antwerp, he traveled back in 1616 via Genoa. Given the high demand for his work in Genoa he decided not to continue his return journey and so he stayed in Genoa for the remainder of his life.[http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/jan-roos Jan Roos] on the National Gallery website

He married in Genoa with Benedetta Castagneto. He opened a workshop that became the busiest of the Flemish Genoese colony. His brother in law who is known only by his Italian name Giacomo Legi, but who was originally from Flanders, was a student in his workshop. It is possible that Roos was encouraged to seek his luck in Italy following in the steps of his first master Jan de Wael's two sons, Lucas (1591–1661) and Cornelis (1592–1667). Genoa was an attractive destination for artists since the competition between artists was less intense there than in Rome, Florence and Venice, while at the same time Genua was a wealthy city with a large number of potential customers and collectors.{{Cite web |url=http://www.codart.nl/exhibitions/details/215 |title=Flanders-Genoa: mutual exchange in 17th-century painting |access-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308040324/http://www.codart.nl/exhibitions/details/215/ |archive-date=8 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}

Jan Roos achieved considerable success as demonstrated by the presence of his name in a number of contemporary inventories.[https://web.archive.org/web/20160306205544/http://www.canesso.com/Jan-ROOS-called-Giovanni-Rosa-Anvers-1591-Genoa-1638-Still-Life-DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=6&tabindex=5&objectid=224560&categoryid=5216 Jan ROOS called Giovanni Rosa (Anvers 1591 - Genoa 1638), Still Life] at Galerie Canesso Paris The artist remained in Genoa until his death in 1638.

Jan Roos is best known for his still lifes but he also excelled in painting the human figure and portraits. He is also known for religious and mythological scenes. One of his favorite themes where large scale market scenes and still lives which revealed his debt to Frans Snyders. He adapted these compositions to appeal to the local taste.

File:Jan Roos - A city market scene.jpg

The composition City market scene is an example of Roos' large scale market scenes. Roos reveals in this composition the techniques he acquired during his time in the studio of Frans Snyders for the naturalistic representation of animals, flowers, birds, insects and fruits. In the composition he also displays his remarkable ability to render a range of textures; the downy, white plumage of the geese; the shimmering surface of the beaten copper vessel; the frosted, translucent skin of the grapes; and the gnarled, waxy surface of the pumpkin; each rendered with lifelike precision. The muted palette of the background is interrupted by flashes of colour. Roos utilized in this composition certain devices to create a dialogue with the viewer. The bearded man looking out from the canvas over his shoulder leans over the stall, forming a diagonal echoed by the neck of the drinking goose and the extended leg of the young woman, which guides the beholder through the composition.[http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/important-old-master-paintings-n08825/lot.130.html Jan Roos, A city market scene] at Sotheby's

In addition to the work he produced as an independent artist, he collaborated with other artists. He is known to have collaborated regularly with Anthony van Dyck during the two periods that van Dyck stayed in Genoa (1621 and 1625–1627).{{Cite web |url=http://www.canesso.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=6&tabindex=5&objectid=224560 |title=Jan ROOS called Giovanni Rosa |access-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220422/http://www.canesso.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=6&tabindex=5&objectid=224560 |archive-date=4 October 2013 |url-status=dead }} Some see the brush of Roos in the still lifes that appear in van Dyck's Vertumnus and Pomona[https://archive.today/20130816102334/http://www.rkd.nl/rkddb/dispatcher.aspx?action=search&database=ChoiceImages&search=priref=48606 File on Vertumnus and Pomona] at the Netherlands Institute for Art History {{in lang|nl}} and in Diana and Endymion.[https://archive.today/20130816102405/http://www.rkd.nl/rkddb/dispatcher.aspx?action=search&database=ChoiceImages&search=priref=208411 File on Diana and Endymion] at the Netherlands Institute for Art History {{in lang|nl}} The style of van Dyck influenced Roos' work as can be seen in the Portrait of a boy, now in the Museo del Prado. Some of Roos' works such as The holy family (Parochial church of Moltedo, Imperia) have in the past been attributed to van Dyck.[https://www.museodelprado.es/aprende/enciclopedia/voz/roos-jan-i/a63422b4-98e0-4bad-8b3e-7c728cd71a0f?searchid=bf8d842d-1ac3-a52c-fb9e-4d9713ed14df Roos, Jan I] at the Prado site {{in lang|es}}

File:Anton Van Dyck - Vertumnus and Pomona - Google Art Project.jpg

His work had a major influence on the art of the local painters of the Genoese school. He was able to convince Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione to enliven his religious and mythological compositions with animal and still life elements. He also influenced the work of Sinibaldo Scorza, Stefano Camogli and Antonio Maria Vassallo.Carl Velde, Flemish Art in Hungary: Budapest, 12–13 May 2000, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belgie voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, 2004, p. 55-58 {{in lang|de}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons-inline|Category:Jan Roos|Jan Roos}}

{{ACArt}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roos, Jan}}

Category:Flemish Baroque painters

Category:Flemish still life painters

Category:Painters from Antwerp

Category:1591 births

Category:1638 deaths