MICHAEL SWEERTS | MEN WRESTLING BEFORE A CROWD

The following two lots are early works by Sweerts, probably painted shortly after his arrival in Rome in the mid-1640s. Nothing is known of his work before he left Flanders, and most of his output dates from his years in Rome prior to his departure for Brussels in 1656. Since none of his Roman paintings are dated or hold clear clues to dating, their chronology cannot easily be established. The first painting relates to a Wrestling Match currently in the Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe and the second scene relates compositionally to Roman street scenes that can be dated to circa 1648-50. These two works exemplify Sweerts’ take on the Roman Bamboccianti style, which is characterized by so-called “low life” subject matter rendered with monumentality and strong shadows. 

Sweerts’ two compositions, with many figures arranged around a central point of interest in a Roman street, are similar to those of his peers, such as Michelangelo Cerquozzi, Jan Miel or Pieter van Laer. However, as in most of his works and unlike those of his contemporaries, the figures here are painted with attention to human anatomy and they are treated sympathetically rather than as caricatures. In the wrestling scene, most of the onlookers are of a lower social class, but the elegantly dressed couple on horseback is also drawn into the action, indicating that people of all classes enjoy this lively entertainment. One of the onlookers, a young boy in a brown vest and hat seated in the middle background, looks directly at the viewer, drawing them into the scene. This same figure appears in the Hunting party, where he sits in a more prominent, foreground location and acknowledges the viewer. This figure serves in both works and in others of Sweerts’ paintings to make the subjects seem more relatable and even to make the viewer uncomfortable, as if they too are being observed.

Sweerts was interested in studying the human figure and sculpture throughout his career. Wrestling match and the other known painting of this subject in Karlsruhe demonstrate Sweerts’ desire to elevate street scenes by incorporating poses and motifs from classical sculpture. When he returned to Brussels, Sweerts founded an academy for drawing from life, and his paintings recording students drawing may give a glimpse into his teaching methods. The figures in the Hunting party, while less sculptural, are also clearly drawn from observation of movement and the result of experimenting with compositions. The group of figures in the center foreground against a dark building with a bright blue sky opening to one side is a formula he also employed in Roman street scene with young artist drawing Bernini’s ‘Neptune and Triton’ in Rotterdam and Feeding the Hungry and Refreshing the Thirsty from the Seven Acts of Mercy series in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, all of which can be dated to the late 1640s.¹

1. Roman street scene with young artist drawing Bernini’s ‘Neptune and Triton’, oil on canvas, 85.5 by 120 cm. Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Feeding the Hungry, oil on canvas, 75 by 99 cm., and Refreshing the Thirsty, oil on canvas, 72 by 97.5 cm., both Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. See G. Jansen and P.C. Sutton, Michael Sweerts (1618 - 1664), exhibition catalogue, Zwolle 2002, cats nos. 3 and V, respectively.