Beer, Cornelius
Utrecht, ca 1585 - Madrid, 1651
Biography
A painter originally from Flanders, son of Joost de Beer, a painter from Utrecht. He came to Spain in the early decades of the 17th century, and "pintó con reputación cuadros de caballete con alegre y fresco colorido y buena imitación de la naturaleza"[gained a reputation for painting easel paintings with cheerful, fresh colours and a fine imitation of nature] (Ceán Bermúdez 1800, I, p. 123).
His presence in Madrid is documented; he lived on the Carrera de San Jerónimo from 1622, and later on Calle de la Cruz. (M. Agulló y Cobo and M. T. Baratech 1996, p. 11).
His daughter Eugenia de Beer was an active engraver in Madrid. She was probably trained by the Flemish-born engraver Pedro Perret.
Links with the region of Murcia have led to the suggestion that he may have settled there for a time around 1640. Among other signed or attributed paintings, Ceán describes a painting, now lost, "en una capilla de la iglesia de las capuchinas de Murcia: es apaisado, tiene tres varas de ancho sobre dos de alto, y representa el triunfo del Sacramento con muchas figuras de ángeles, doctores y otros santos"[in a chapel of the Capuchin church in Murcia: it is landscape-format, three varas wide by two high, and depicts the Triumph of the Sacrament with many figures of angels, doctors and other saints] (Ceán Bermúdez 1800, I, p. 123).
The inventory of Cornelis de Beer’s estate upon his death (1651) was drawn up by the royal archer and painter Juan Appelmans, originally from Brussels.
Bibliography
- J. L. Barrio Moya (2000): "Las pinturas de Cornelio de Beer en la Iglesia de San Patricio de Lorca y algunas noticias sobre el artista", Murgetana, Revista de la Real Academia de Alfonso X el Sabio, nº 102, Academia Alfonso X el Sabio, Murcia, p. 11.
- M. Agulló y Cobo y M. T. Baratech (1996): Documentos para la historia de la pintura española, vol. II, Museo del Prado, Madrid, p. 11.
- A. Baquero Almansa (1913): Los profesores de las Bellas Artes murcianos, Imp. Sucesores de Nogués, Murcia, pp. 90-91.
- J. A. Ceán Bermúdez (1800): Diccionario histórico de los mas ilustres profesores de las bellas artes en España, vol. I, Viuda de Ibarra, Hijos y Compañía, Madrid, p. 123.