Cornelis van Cleve

Starting his career in Antwerp in the workshop of his father Joos van Cleve, he later worked for a while in London.

It is not clear when Cornelis van Cleve became a master in the local Guild of Saint Luke.

[7] The madness was reportedly caused by a conflict between Cornelis and the prominent portrait painter Anthonis Mor.

[5] The English King Charles I also owned two works by 'Sotte Cleve', which are no longer in the Royal Collection including a 'Bacchus feast of children being some, one and twenty figures'.

[3] Walter Friedländer organised van Cleve's pictures in chronological order, based on the development in his style.

Initially he was a representative of the tradition in the period dominated by Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Frans Floris and Anthonis Mor, Flemish painters who had studied in Italy or had become influenced by Italian art.

[5] This paintings show influences from Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Sarto.