Hans Speckaert

Hans Speckaert (c. 1540 in Brussels – c. 1577 in Rome), was a Flemish Renaissance painter who was active in Italy. He is known for his portraits, history paintings and his many drawings. The artist was one of the earliest representatives of Northern Mannerism. His fluid and elegant drawing style exerted an important influence on contemporary Northern artists.

Details about the life of the artist are scarce. According to the early Flemish painter and artist biographer Karel van Mander Speckaert was the son of an embroiderer in Brussels and a friend of the painter Aert Mijtens. He may have received his training in the Brussels workshop of Pieter de Kempeneer who was known as Pedro Campaña (1503-1580).

He travelled to Italy at an unknown date and is believed to have arrived in Rome sometime in 1566. Van Mander visited Italy during the period that Speckaert was there. In Rome, Speckaert joined a group of Northern painters working in Rome in the 16th century. He made a close study of the art of the great Italian Renaissance masters Michelangelo, Raphael, and others. A document from April 1575 reports that the artist had been paralyzed. Possibly this was the result of an accident which had occurred while he was working at an unknown church early in the year 1575, together with the artist Anthonie van Santvoort.

After a long period in Rome, Speckaert attempted to return to the Netherlands and got as far as Florence, but feeling unwell, he turned back to Rome, where he died. His death likely occurred around 1577.

Hans Speckaert is known for his portraits, history paintings and his many drawings. Only four paintings have been attributed with certainty to the artist, including the portrait of the engraver Cornelis Cort (Kunsthistorisches Museum), who was a close friend. The other known paintings include Moses and the Brazen Serpent (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires), Diana and Actaeon (Palazzo Patrizi, Rome) and The Conversion of St Paul (Louvre, Paris). He made designs for prints that were executed by Cornelis Cort en Aegidius Sadeler and form the basis for further attributions. His oeuvre is not yet clearly defined since the attribution of drawings is hampered by the fact that the artist's work was widely imitated.

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