Pieter Scheemaeckers (1640-1714, in the manner of): A Flemish Baroque carved limewood 'Mary and Elisabeth' group, early 18th C.

H 30 cm

The South Netherlandish sculptor, carver, draftsperson and guild master Pieter Scheemaeckers (I) was born in Antwerp. He married Catharina van der Hulst. This marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce in 1707, that dragged on for several years in the courts. The testimony of several people on the 2nd of July 1708 attested to the awful behaviour of Pieter I, who maltreated and beat his wife and children, which he called 'pigs', and who raged in his drunkenness, damaging his house and its contents. He died in Arendonk (link).

Ref.:

- Comparative literature: J. leeuwenberg, 'Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum', The Hague, 1973, p. 259, cat. no. 347.