The mysterious artist Pseudo Jan Wellens de Cock

Pseudo Jan Wellens de Cock

Five hundred years later, questions remain about the oeuvre and identity of some sixteenth-century Dutch artists. This is also true of Pseudo Jan Wellens de Cock, who went by various names in art history, including Jan de Cock, Jan Wellens de Cock, and Master J. Kock. Around forty paintings are associated with him, presumably created in Antwerp or Leiden, but the details of where he came from and worked remain unknown.

Infrared research

Infrared reflectography (IRR) has been used extensively in recent decades to study the underdrawings in paintings attributed to the artist. This RKD Study accompanies the addition of these IRR images to the RKDtechnical database.

“Infrared reflectography (IRR) provides insight into a hidden but methodologically crucial phase of the artistic process: the underdrawing. While painted surfaces may have changed over the centuries, underdrawings remain stable,” explains Dr. Moorea Hall-Aquitania, RKD Curator of Technical Documentation. “Systematic documentation and sustainable management of IRR material is therefore essential for attribution questions, studio practices, and the historiography of early Netherlandish painting.”

Preserving research and knowledge for the future

The RKD Study places the technical material in a broader art-historical context. Dr. Suzanne Laemers, RKD Curator of Early Netherlandish Painting, outlines how the artist and his work have been written about from 1912 to the present day. Former RKD Curator of Technical Documentation Dr. Margreet Wolters presents the results of the IRR research for each painting and discusses what they reveal about the underdrawings. The RKD Study does not offer conclusions and ready-made answers, but rather an open-ended narrative. In this way, the research material and what is known about its context are made available for future generations. 

This RKD Study was compiled at the initiative of Jan Piet Filedt Kok, former Chief Curator of Early Netherlandish Painting at the Rijksmuseum and professor emeritus of studio practices and technical art historical research at the University of Amsterdam. The work of Pseudo Jan Wellens de Cock regularly crossed his path during his career. The RKD thanks Jan Piet for generously making his research material available and sharing his knowledge about this enigmatic but fascinating artist.

The RKD Study The Mysterious Artist Pseudo Jan Wellens de Cock. Naming, Historiography, and Underdrawing can be read on RKD Studies.