Christie's, London, 2015

Benson, Ambrosius

?, ca 1495 - Bruges, 1550

Other names

Benson / Bencon / Bensoni / Bensons / Bentsoen / Benzone, Ambrosius / Hambrose

Biography

Originally from Lombardy, Ambrosius Benson moved to Bruges in the autumn of 1518, where he worked in Gerard David's studio as an apprentice or assistant. Their relationship ended in a famous court case: when Benson left his master's studio without repaying a debt of 7 pounds, David decided to keep two cases containing materials, several works and sketches and models, some of which he had borrowed from the painter Albert Cornelis in return for payment. The outcome of the dispute was clear: Benson was sentenced to work as a journeyman three days a week for his former master and David was ordered to return the cases. However, David did not respect the decision and was sent to prison in 1520.

On 21 August 1519, Benson was registered as a painter with the Guild of Image-makers and Saddlers in Bruges. He held a number of important positions within the guild: juror in 1521-1522, 1539-1540, 1545-1546, dean in 1537-1538 and 1543-1544, and governor in 1540-1541. His professional activity can also be seen in his participation, between 1522 and 1530, in the cloister fair of the Friars Minor. The large number of paintings that must have been ready for sale there explains the heterogeneous nature and differences in quality of the works attributed to him, betraying the participation of a major workshop. Scientific research confirms the differences in pictorial techniques and the collaboration of several painters on the same work.

His relations with the Spanish and Portuguese have also been documented. In 1532, he bought a house in Bruges from the Iberian merchant Lucas de Castro and paid half the price by delivering eight paintings. His relations with the Iberian market may have been facilitated by one of his close friends, Sancho de Santander. In fact, it was because of the large number of attributed works preserved in Spain that he was initially given the name of Master of Segovia by Carl Justi. Examples include the large altarpiece, now dismembered, in the monastery of Santa Cruz de Segovia (Madrid) and the Deposition in the church of Saint Michael in the same city. Some authors have also put forward the hypothesis that he travelled to Spain between 1532 and 1536 and suggested that two of his pupils were the Spanish artists Diego de Rosales and Baltasar Grande. However, only two apprentices are named in the Bruges archives. The first, in 1541, was Joachim Spaers, an orphan from the Bogaerdenschool. The second, Jacob Vinson, also an orphan from the Bogaerdenschool, was active at the end of the master's career in 1549.

Benson married Anna Ghyselin on an unknown date. They had two sons, Guillaume and Jan, who also became painters. In 1530, he was accused of adultery and had to pay a sum of money for the illegitimate daughter he had with Jozine Bentin. His wife died between 5 August 1547 and 15 October 1548. He married Jozine Michiels shortly afterwards. Two other daughters were born out of wedlock. Ambrosius Benson died between 12 and 19 January 1550. He was buried in the parish of Our Lady in Bruges.