Cornelis de Wael

Cornelis de Wael (Antwerp, 1592 – Rome, 1667) was a Flemish painter, engraver and merchant who was primarily active in Genoa in Italy. He is known for his genre paintings, battle scenes and history paintings. Through his art work, support for Flemish painters working in Italy and role as an art dealer, he played an important role in the artistic exchange between Italy and Flanders in the first half of the 17th century.

Cornelis de Wael was born into an artistic family in Antwerp as the son of the painter Jan de Wael I (1558-1633). His mother Gertrude de Jode came from a family of artists: her father was the cartographer Gerard de Jode and her brother was the engraver Pieter de Jode I.

He immigrated in 1619 to Italy, together with his brother Lucas de Wael (1591-1661), who was also a painter. The pair settled in Genoa, where Cornelis would reside for most of his life, whereas his brother Lucas returned to Antwerp in 1628. Genoa was at the time an attractive destination for artists since the competition between artists there was less intense than in the leading cultural centres Rome, Florence and Venice, while Genoa was a thriving port city where a large number of potential customers and collectors lived.

The workshop of the brothers de Wael in Genoa became the centre of the colony of Flemish artists who resided in or passed through the city. These Flemish artists could take advantage of the work and artistic activity that their workshop attracted. The brothers provided a home, materials and tools, they assisted their compatriots with their local integration, passed on recommendations to clients and formulated competition rules. When Anthony van Dyck visited Genoa, he stayed with the brothers and Cornelis was one of his closest collaborators in the city. Van Dyck painted a portrait of the brothers de Wael (Pinacoteca Capitolina, Rome) that was later engraved by Wenceslas Hollar. Cornelis was also involved in trading activities with his hometown dealing in a wide variety of goods. His brother Lucas returned to Antwerp and played a major role in these business activities.

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