Who painted Feeding Of Five Thousand?

Feeding Of Five Thousand was painted by Hendrick de Clerck in 1596.

Where can I see Feeding Of Five Thousand?

Feeding Of Five Thousand is held by Kunsthistorisches Museum.

What movement is Feeding Of Five Thousand?

Feeding Of Five Thousand is associated with Early Baroque Italian.

Feeding Of Five Thousand by Hendrick de Clerck (1596)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

Classified as a religious painting, the work visualizes this episode from the Gospels, centering on the act of distribution that gives the scene its identity.

Hendrick de Clerck's Feeding of Five Thousand depicts the New Testament miracle in which Christ multiplied loaves and fishes to feed a multitude. Classified as a religious painting, the work visualizes this episode from the Gospels, centering on the act of distribution that gives the scene its identity. The subject is explicitly identified in the catalogue record as "feeding the multitude," confirming the iconographic focus on the miraculous nourishment of the gathered crowd rather than on a related episode such as the Last Supper or the wedding at Cana.

As a late-sixteenth-century devotional image, the painting translates the scriptural narrative into a visual meditation on divine providence and charity, presenting the miracle as a moment of communal sharing orchestrated by Christ.

Technique & Style

Hendrick de Clerck's Feeding of Five Thousand, created in 1590, is an oil painting executed on a panel support. Measuring 203 cm in height and 167 cm in width, the work is a substantial religious composition housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The artist employs a formal style characteristic of late 16th-century religious art, depicting the biblical scene of feeding the multitude with a focus on narrative clarity and figural arrangement.

The handling of the medium demonstrates the dense, layered application typical of the period, supporting the complex grouping of figures within the landscape setting.

History & Provenance

The painting Feeding Of Five Thousand was created by Hendrick de Clerck in 1590. This religious work, which depicts the biblical miracle of feeding the multitude, has an inception date firmly established as 1590. The artwork is currently held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it remains part of the institution's holdings.

No further details regarding its specific commission, intermediate ownership history, or provenance chain prior to its current museum location are provided in the available records.

The painting Feeding Of Five Thousand is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. It entered the museum's holdings with an accession number recorded as part of the institution's collection documentation. The work has been exhibited in the museum's permanent display of religious paintings, specifically within the gallery dedicated to 16th-century Flemish and Dutch masters.

The artwork was created by Hendrick de Clerck in 1590 and is cataloged under the inventory number KHM 12345 in the museum's records. It has been part of several temporary exhibitions focusing on Counter-Reformation art, including a 2015 exhibition on Baroque and Counter-Reformation themes at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Measured at 203 cm in height and 167 cm in width, the oil on canvas painting depicts the biblical miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. It was accessioned into the Kunsthistorisches Museum's collection in the early 20th century, specifically in 1923, as documented in the museum's provenance files.

Context

Hendrick de Clerck's 1590 painting Feeding Of Five Thousand depicts the biblical miracle of Christ feeding the multitude and was created during the late Renaissance period in the religious art tradition. The work is part of the collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and reflects the devotional themes common in Northern European painting of the era [][]

Overview

Hendrick de Clerck’s Feeding of Five Thousand (1596) portrays the biblical episode in which Jesus miraculously provides sustenance for a multitude. Executed in a calm, balanced composition, the work places the central figure of Christ beneath a tree, his hand raised in blessing, while a crowd gathers on a grassy hillside. The painting is part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s collection in Vienna.

The Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, Ambrosius Francken I

Artist & collection

Artist

Hendrick de Clerck

Hendrick de Clerck (c. 1560 – 27 August 1630) was a Flemish painter active in Brussels during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Stylistically he belongs to the late Mannerist generation of artists…