Michiel Coxcie
1499 - 1592
Painter and engraver from the Southern Netherlands. His name is also spelled as Coxie, or Van Coxcie. He was born in either Mechelen (Mechlin) or Liège; the exact date is not known. He probably studied with Barend van Orley in Brussels.
In the 1530s he lived in Rome. There he got to know the work of Raphael, the Renaissance master, whose style Coxie more or less copied. Bright colours, monumental figures.
In Rome he made a series of frescoes in the Santa Maria dell'Anima, an exceptional commission for someone from the regions north of the Alps.
In 1539 Coxie returned to the Netherlands. His Italian style was appreciated by the Habsburg rulers of the time. One of them, king Philips II of Spain, commissioned him to make copies of Van Eyck's Lamb of God (copy) and of Van der Weyden's Deposition.
At the age of 60 Coxie moved from Brussels to Mechelen. By then his style was less expressive. In his 80s he still made a number of triptychs.
His work consists mostly of religious works and portraits. Besides paintings he made several models for draperies, so-called cartoons.
Coxcie married twice and was the father of six children, some of which also became painters. He met his first wife in Italy. His second marriage was at the age of 70. He died in 1592 in Mechelen.
art