The Fall of the Titans

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Artist: Cornelis van Haarlem (Dutch, 1562–1638)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 239 × 307 cm
Museum: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark
Rights: Public Domain Mark

In his Schilder-Boeck (Book on Picturing) from 1604, the art theoretician Karel van Mander writes about this painting: ‘I cannot sufficiently express what excellent observation is achieved in all the various poses of the nudes, and it is a pity that such works are not to be seen in a public place.’ According to van Mander, the painting was then part of a private collection in Amsterdam. The painting occupies a significant position in the history of the SMK collection.

It was purchased by King Christian IV in 1621 and listed in one of the first inventories of the Royal Danish Kunstkammer in 1690, where it was catalogued as ‘A large painting (…) about the giants who were cast down from heaven’. In 1824, the Kunstkammer was dissolved and the painting relocated. It was not until 1922 that the painting was exhibited for the first time as part of the SMK collection. It took over three centuries for van Mander’s wish to be finally fulfilled (50 Favorites in the SMK Collection).