Gillis Coignet

Gillis Coignet, Congnet or Quiniet (c. 1542 – 1599) was a Flemish Renaissance painter, who was strongly influenced by the Italian style. He painted historical and mythological subjects of an easel size, but was more successful in landscapes, in candlelight subjects, and moonlight. He was a Lutheran, which probably influenced his moves from Antwerp to Amsterdam and then Hamburg. He spent most of the 1560s in Italy.

Gillis was born in Antwerp, the son of Gillis sr., a scientific instrument maker, and Brigitta Anthonis. In the certification book of the city of Antwerp of 1579 he claimed to be 37 years old, in that of 1586 he claimed to be 43, thus he was born ca. 1542 and, if his statements are correct, he was born between April and September of that year. He had the misfortune to be born with a large hairy mole in his face, hence his nickname Gillis met de Vlek (Gillis with the Spot). According to the Guildbooks of the Guild of St. Luke, Gillis was apprenticed to Lambrecht Wenslyns. Van Mander's claim that he stayed with the art dealer Anthony Palerme for some time is correct. The latter testified in 1586 that Gillis had been boarding with him when his parents were still alive (i.e. before 1562). In 1561 Gillis was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke as a Master.

In the second half of the 1560s he journeyed through Italy, where he visited inter al. Florence, Rome, Naples and Sicily. According to the Florentine Accademio del Disegno, Giulio Cognietta fiamingo P(ictor) was present at their meeting of 16 January 1568. In Terni (Umbria) he worked with a painter called Stello on frescoes and an altar in fresco style. According to Van Mander, Stello was Flemish, Nicole Dacos identifies this Stello as a member of the family of painters Stellaert from Mechelen. Both painters are mentioned in a document as members of a group of decorators who embellished the salon of the Villa d'Este under the supervision of Frederico Zuccaro, they also worked on an embossed grotesque in the Palazzo Giocosi. Apparently Gillis also worked for Francesco de' Medici.

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