SCHUT Cornelis

(Antwerp 1597 – 1655)

Flemish painter and engraver in whose youthful works Rubens’s influence is clear, even if probably there was no direct relationship with the master.
In 1618 he joined the Guild of Antwerp which he would have left, paying a penalty, about fifteen years later, when the office of dean demanded a continuous commitment that he could not afford any longer.
After working for some time in Spain, he moved to Rome where he lived between 1622 and 1627 and where he was affiliated to the Schildersbent (a clan of painters: it was an association of painters, mainly Dutch and Flemish, who prospered for a century between 1620 and 1720 in Rome). Here he lived under the protection of the Marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani (a banker and art estimator) who also included several paintings by Schut in his art collection.
In 1628 he was active in Florence where he drawn cartoons for the Medicean Arazzeria.
He collaborated with Daniel Seghers by performing figures at the centre of the medallions in which the latter painted garlands of flowers. Some of these works are now conserved in the Prado Museum.
In his artistic production he adopted the baroque style in the track of Pietro da Cortona and Guercino. According to some scholars the artist was a follower of Rubens and, as attested in a document found in Rubens’ house, the master had paid money to Schut for the works that the latter had performed for him.