Jacques de l'Ange

Jacques de l'Ange or the Monogrammist JAD (c. 1621 – 1650) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman known for his genre scenes and history paintings executed in a Caravaggesque style.

It is not clear whether he should be identified with the genre and history painter Jacques (Jacob) de Langhe who was recorded in Antwerp in 1632–1633 and was a pupil of Jan Cossiers.

[6] Prior to his rediscovery, de l'Ange's compositions had been attributed to other painters principally from the Utrecht School, such as Gerard van Honthorst and Joachim Sandrart.

De l'Ange also shows a preference for scenes lit by candles or torches and when he renounces these devices, he achieves a similar light contrast by placing in the foreground figures in the shadow which are set off against the brighter central and background portions of the composition.

[2] The confusion with these other painters was likely caused by the fact that like them Jacques de l'Ange painted in a style influenced by Caravaggio.

His style and subject matter are clearly influenced by the Antwerp school, and in particular Rubens, van Dyck and Jordaens along with Adriaen Brouwer.

Examples of the former include the Chained Prometheus (Lempertz, 19 May 2007, Cologne, lot 1085) and The Holy Family (Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch).

[12] Another painting in the series of deadly sins depicting 'Lust' has been identified in the collection of the Reggio Emilia, Galleria Parmiggiani, where it had been attributed to Joachim Sandrart and Matthias Stom.