Nicolaes Jonghelinck

Nicolaes Jonghelinck (* 1517; † 1570) was a merchant, banker (tax official) and art collector in Antwerp. He is known as a patron and collector of the works of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Frans Floris. His brother is the sculptor Jacques Jonghelinck (1530-1606).

Iongelinck. Detail of a plan of the surroundings of Antwerp (1582)

From a surety dated February 15, 1566,^[1] which he concluded for his friend Daniel de Bruyne, who was in debt to the tune of 16,000 florins, it is known that he was in possession of sixteen paintings by Bruegel, including The Tower of Babel, The Carrying of Christ to the Cross, and The Seasons. Also appearing here is a ten-part Hercules cycle by Frans Floris, now preserved only in engravings.^[2] Jonghelinck owned a country house at the gates of Antwerp, where his collection of paintings was probably also located. The land for it was acquired in 1547 by his brother Jacques, who also built the country house and sold it to Nicolaes in 1554. It is still shown on a plan of the surroundings of Antwerp from 1582. It was destroyed together with other mansions during the siege of Antwerp in 1584.^[3][4]

Spelling of the name

The name also appears in literature as Niclaes Jonghelinck and Nicolaas Jongelinck.

Individual references

1. ↑ Original dating is February 15, 1565 – at Jonghelinck’s time in the Netherlands the new year began at Easter. See also: Christian Gräf – Die Winterbilder Pieter Bruegels d. Ä. p. 12f.
2. ↑ Christian Gräf – The Winter Paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder., VDM Verlag Dr. Müller 2009 p. 12f ISBN 978-3-639-12775-1
3. ↑ Christian Vöhringer – Pieter Bruegel. 1525/30-1569, Tandem Verlag 2007 (h.f.ullmann imprint) p. 116f ISBN 978-3-8331-3852-2
4. ↑ The Winter Paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, p. 18