| Lyckle de Vries, Stories in Gilded Frames: Dutch Seventeenth-century Paintings with Biblical and Mythological Subjects (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2016). |
| Lyckle de Vries, Stories in Gilded Frames: Dutch Seventeenth-century Paintings with Biblical and Mythological Subjects (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2016). |
Catherine King, \"National Gallery 3902 and the theme of Luke the Evangelist as artist and physician\", Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 48, no. 2 (1985): p. 249-255.
","citation":"Catherine King, \"National Gallery 3902 and the theme of Luke the Evangelist as artist and physician\", Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 48, no. 2 (1985): p. 249-255.
, p. 254, fig. 12","date":1985,"id":5099,"uri":"https://www.jstor.org/stable/1482280"},{"boilertext":"George Roethlisberger, \"The Four Evangelists by Abraham Bloemaert,\" Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 51, no. 1 (1992): p. 2–14.","citation":"George Roethlisberger, \"The Four Evangelists by Abraham Bloemaert,\" Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 51, no. 1 (1992): p. 2–14., p. 2, fig. 1","date":1992,"id":3083,"uri":"https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774709"},{"boilertext":"Lisbeth M. Helmus and Gero Seelig, eds., The Bloemaert effect: colour and composition in the Golden Age, (Petersberg, Germany: Michael Imhof Verlag, 2011).","citation":"Lisbeth M. Helmus and Gero Seelig, eds., The Bloemaert effect: colour and composition in the Golden Age, (Petersberg, Germany: Michael Imhof Verlag, 2011)., p. 104-105 (illus.), 191; cat. no. 28","date":2011,"id":1442,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/767578267"},{"boilertext":"Jane Turner, Rembrandt’s world: Dutch drawings from the Clement C. Moore collection, (New York: Morgan Library & Museum, 2012).","citation":"Jane Turner, Rembrandt’s world: Dutch drawings from the Clement C. Moore collection, (New York: Morgan Library & Museum, 2012)., additional use on an exhibition label","date":2012,"id":1451,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/761196066"},{"boilertext":"\"Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1991,\" Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 51, no. 1 (1992): p. 22-78.","citation":"\"Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1991,\" Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 51, no. 1 (1992): p. 22-78., p. 22 (illus.)","date":1992,"id":3085,"uri":"https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774711"},{"boilertext":"Joaneath Spicer, Lynn Federle Orr, et. al., Masters of light: Dutch painters in Utrecht during the Golden Age, (Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery; New Haven; London: Yale University Press [distributor], 1997).","citation":"Joaneath Spicer, Lynn Federle Orr, et. al., Masters of light: Dutch painters in Utrecht during the Golden Age, (Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery; New Haven; London: Yale University Press [distributor], 1997)., cat. no. 3; p. 138-141 (illus.)","date":1997,"id":443,"uri":"https://search.worldcat.org/title/38269550"}],"nowebuse":"False","periods":[],"department":"European Painting and Sculpture ","attribute_groups":[{"id":2199321,"term":"European Art","termtype":"Collecting Area"},{"id":2199338,"term":"Nazi-era gaps","termtype":"Provenance & Cultural Heritage"}],"daterange":"A.D. 1600-1700","dateend":1615,"depicted":[],"titles":[{"title":"The Four Evangelists","titletype":"Primary Title","displayorder":1}],"hasimage":"true","creditlinerepro":"","objectnumber":"y1991-41","inscribed":null,"texts":[{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Handbook Entry","textentryhtml":"\r\nThe four evangelists traditionally appeared alone, but in 1526, Albrecht Dürer showed two groups of two evangelists, and about 1566, Frans Floris showed all four together. Other artists followed suit. Bloemaert’s student Hendrick Terbruggen (1588–1629) and Peter Paul Rubens prolonged the theme, but it disappeared after 1621.\r\nHere the Utrecht painter attempts to unify the evangelists and their symbols in a logical, horizontal composition. Luke with his ox, Mark, John with his eagle, and Matthew with his angel are gathered around a table, each figure intently writing his Gospel. Mark’s lion peeks out from underneath a heavy carpet. Bloemaert boldly poses Matthew with his back toward the viewer, perhaps to convey an impression of an uncontrived gathering of figures in a realistic setting. The scene is set in a shallow space, but the vibrant coloring of the figures, the angularity of their poses, and the frontal lighting give the composition a feeling of depth. Various naturally observed details stand out, such as the broken rush seat of Matthew’s humble chair and Luke’s ox, which gazes out from this learned gathering. The patron saint of artists and doctors, Luke is shown with the tools of these professions, including the artist’s palette and the doctor’s bottle for urine samples, and he is writing the Gospel in Greek characters. One of the folio volumes at his feet bears Bloemaert’s signature on the spine.\r\nUtrecht was a Catholic stronghold, and Bloemaert, a practicing Catholic, was a founding member of its painter’s guild in 1611; he had patrons in both the Northern and the Southern Netherlands. The location for which this painting was commissioned has not been identified. The subject of the four evangelists appealed to both Catholics and Protestants, so it might have been a \"safe\" subject for a Northern Netherlandish Catholic church. ","remarks":null},{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Provenance","textentryhtml":"Col.. of Gommer Spranger, Amsterdam, inventory of 2 Sept., 1638?; sale, Amsterdam, March 9, 1734, lof 6?; sale, Amsterdam, October 4, 1769, lot 29; purchased for Dr. Mackleane; sold by Sotheby’s, London, July 6, 1988, lot 27, ill.; sold Christies, New York, May 31, 1991, lot 51.","remarks":"From accession card. "},{"texttype":"Online","textpurpose":"Gallery Label","textentryhtml":"\n\tThis canvas portrays the Four Evangelists, authors of the four gospels of the New Testament, with their associated symbols—Matthew with the angel, Mark with the lion, Luke with the ox, and John with the eagle. The scene is set in a shallow space, but the vibrant coloring of the figures, the angularity of their poses, and the frontal lighting give the composition a feeling of depth. Luke, the patron saint of painters, is turned toward the viewer with an artist’s palette and brushes at his feet. The subject of the Four Evangelists is notable for its relative doctrinal neutrality at a time when Protestantism was the dominant religion of the Dutch Republic and Catholicism was officially restricted yet secretly practiced by a significant minority. Over a third of Utrecht’s population was Catholic, including Bloemaert, and he received several commissions from the city’s hidden Catholic churches. This painting’s large size and strong visual presence suggest it may have been displayed in such a context.\n
","remarks":"European Pavilion Rotation July 2026 "}],"datebegin":1612,"sortnumber":"1991 41y","published_date":"2026-08-12 02:00:32.945270","objectid":33564,"dimensions":"179 × 227.3 cm (70 1/2 × 89 1/2 in.)\r\nframe: 212.4 × 260.7 × 13.3 cm (83 5/8 × 102 5/8 × 5 1/4 in.)","on_view":true}