Classicist Godfried Maes painted religious, mythological and allegorical themes on a grand scale. He is therefore often regarded as a representative of the last generation of Flemish artists who practised Baroque painting, before it developed into Rococo. However, his work shows more affinity with the Classicism that had developed in Italy and France in the second half of the 17th century.
Metamorphoses Maes made 83 preparatory designs for an edition of the
Metamorphoses of
Ovidius. Maes' widow sold 45 of these drawings to the Dutch art dealer
Jacob de Wit in 1717. The drawings remained together until 1762 when they were sold and dispersed. The designs were apparently never used in a publication prior to the sale of the drawings to de Wit. The drawings and drawings after Maes' designs were later engraved by Bernard Picart et Peter van Gunst for the 1732 edition of the French translation of the
Metamorphoses by the abbot
Antoine Banier. The design drawings have become split up and some are kept at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art (3 drawings), Fondation Custodia (two drawings) and the
British Museum while a set of 18 was sold on 13 January 2013 by
Christie’s. Maes' designs for the Metamorphoses show a good knowledge of anatomy and a taste for drawing. These drawings reveal a secure and precise brush, an inclination for idealization and a search for perfection. They reveal the influence of Antique models and Roman examples of the Renaissance and a similarity to the achievements of the French artists of the late 17th century. However, his compositions do not deny his Northern heritage in their interest for minute detail and realism. These drawings show Maes to be one of the most interesting artists of the Flemish classicism at the end of the 17th century. The works of Maes form a kind of link between the Franco-Roman Classicism of
Nicolas Poussin and the Flemish classical tradition, just like the works of the painter
Gérard de Lairesse were for Dutch painting. A number of Brussels tapestry producers executed suites of
The Seasons and Elements and
The Four Continents after designs by Godfried Maes.
Publications He designed illustrations for various publications. These publications include: • Joannes à Castro,
De ongemaskerde liefde des hemels, tot weder-liefde door verscheyden beweegh-redenen, aen-spraecken ende betrachtinghen, published by the widow of Ioris Willemsens, 1686. An
emblem book by the friar Joannes à Castro for which
Gaspar Bouttats engraved the illustrations after Maes' designs. • Cornelis de Bie, Gaspar Bouttats, Godfried Maes, P. Starckmann, ''Den wegh der devghden, beset met scherpe dornen van quellinghen en onrechtveerdighe vervolginghen naer d'eeuwicheyt'', published by Jacob Mesens, 1697 • Joannes a Castro, Cornelis de Bie, Sébastien Jacobi, Godfried Maes, Gaspar Bouttats,
Den boeck van het stervende leven der menschen. Bevattende hunne toe-vallen in korte neep-dichten, oft epigrammata ... Verdeelt in dry deelen, published by Guilliam Engelbert Gymnicus, 1689
Decorative designs Maes made several designs for decorative paintings. Sotheby’s sold a design for a ceiling design on 8 July 2009 in London (lot 121). Two other designs for decorative paintings by Maes are known: the
Death of Achilles (
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) and a design for an overdoor of
Minerva flanked by the four Cardinal Virtues (Leiden University print room). ==Notes==