Cornelis Floris de Vriendt
[2] He developed a new style, which was informed by Flemish traditions, the 16th century Italian Renaissance and possibly the School of Fontainebleau.
His innovations spread throughout Northern Europe where they had a major influence on the development of sculpture and architecture in the 16th and early 17th centuries.
(abbreviation of Floriszoon, meaning son of Floris) de Vriendt, left his native Brussels and settled in Antwerp in the mid 15th century.
These grotesque motives, that were inspired by Italian contemporary models which in turn were based on archeological finds in Rome, would become an important characteristic of the Floris style and were used by him (as well as his brother Frans) in his other works.
[5] A hypothesis put forward in 2021[6] and explained in 2024[7] stating that the famous Roman drawings in the two Berlin scrapbooks were not executed by the Dutch painter Maarten van Heemskerck and the Anonimi A and B, but with a few exceptions entirely by Floris and dated between 1535/36 and 1538, was not taken up by archaeological and art-historical research and was refuted by several contributions to the Berlin exhibition catalog “The Allure of Rome.
In 1549, he received the commission for a funeral monument to be placed in Königsberg Cathedral for Dorothea, the wife of Albert, Duke in Prussia and daughter of the Danish king Frederick I.
In his home country, he created in 1522 for the St. Leonard's Church in Zoutleeuw a stone tabernacle in the form of an 18-meter-high, nine-level tower.
The tower made of white Avesnes stone was shipped in parts from Floris’ workshop in Antwerp to the church.
He also made the rood screen for the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai and the tomb monument of Jean II de Mérode in the Saint Dymphna Church in Gheel.
[11] There are divergent views on the precise role of Cornelis Floris in the design of the building and its construction, as it was a collaborative effort which involved a great number of architects and sculptors including, amongst others, Willem van den Broeck, Hans Hendrik van Paesschen and Jan Daems.
[5] He visited quarries to choose stone and at that time maintained a large workshop in the Everdijstraat with a dozen assistants who were mainly busy with work related to the construction of the city hall.
Cornelis Floris also designed in Antwerp the Hanseatic League building and the town house of his brother Frans (1562–5).
The grotesque decoration originated from ancient Roman designs rediscovered in the late 15th century in the underground rooms, or grottoes, of the Golden House of Emperor Nero in Rome.
Grotesque ornaments took inspiration from fish and animal forms or from vegetation.were used to decorate a wide range of objects, such as ceramics.
[14] Hieronymus Cock published Veelderleij Veranderinghe van grotissen ende Compertimenten ghemaeckt tot dienste van alle die Conste beminne ende ghebruiken (Many variations of grottoes and compartments made to serve all who love and use art) in 1556 in Antwerp.
