Provenance
Possibly Sir John Rushout, 2nd baron Northwick [1770-1859]. Otto Mündler [1811-1870], until 1863.[1] Emile [1800-1875] and Isaac [1806-1880] Péreire, Paris; (Péreire sale, at their residence by Pillet and Petis, Paris, 6-9 March 1872, no. 148, as _Apollo et Midas_). Edwards, Paris.[2] C.G. Candano, Paris; purchased 1899 by William A. Clark [1839-1925], New York; bequest 1926 to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] The early provenance is according to the 1872 Péreire sale catalogue, where the first listed owner is Identified as "lord ***." This is believed to be Lord Northwick because of the mention of the Northwick collection as one of the notable sources of the collection formed by the Péreire brothers.
[2] According to Edward Dillon, _Rubens_, London, 1909: 221, as _Apollo and Midas_.
Accession Number
2015.143.18
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 73.66 × 103.51 cm (29 × 40 3/4 in.) | framed: 96.52 × 126.37 × 13.34 cm (38 × 49 3/4 × 5 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection)
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Panel Painting Flemish
Background & Context
Background Story
Jan van den Hoecke (1611-1651) was a Flemish painter known for the dynamic, Rubenesque mythological and religious paintings that make him one of the most important followers of Rubens in the generation after the master's death. The Judgment of Midas from c. 1640 depicts the mythological subject of Midas judging a music contest between Apollo and Pan in the dynamic, Rubenesque manner that distinguishes van den Hoecke's best work from his contemporaries. The c. 1640 date places this in van den Hoecke's most productive period, when he was producing the dynamic mythological paintings that demonstrate how the Rubens tradition was maintained by his followers after the master's death in 1640.
Cultural Impact
The Judgment of Midas is important in the history of Flemish Baroque painting because it demonstrates how the Rubens tradition was maintained by his followers in the generation after the master's death. Van den Hoecke's dynamic, Rubenesque mythological paintings—combining Rubens's compositional energy with his own more refined manner—represent the continuation of the Rubens tradition in the generation after Rubens, and the c. 1640 painting shows this continuation at its most dynamic.
Why It Matters
The Judgment of Midas is van den Hoecke's Rubenesque mythological painting: the contest between Apollo and Pan rendered in the dynamic manner of one of Rubens's most important followers. The c. 1640 painting shows how the Rubens tradition was maintained in the generation after the master's death—compositional energy combined with a more refined manner.
![Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel]](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/e6890364-4d99-4684-a62b-5060ee3c3446/full/400,/0/default.jpg)
