Leiden 1613-1675 was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly-polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his trompe l'oeil "niche" paintings and candlelit night-scenes with strong chiaroscuro. His first instructor in drawing and design was Bartholomew Dolendo, an engraver; and he afterwards learned the art of glass-painting under Peter Kouwhoorn. At the age of 15 he became a pupil of Rembrandt, with whom he continued for three years. From the great master of the Dutch school he acquired his skill in coloring, and in the more subtle effects of chiaroscuro; and the style of Rembrandt is reflected in several of his earlier pictures, notably in a portrait of himself at the age of 22, in the Bridge-water House gallery, and in the "Blind Tobit going to meet his Son", at Wardour Castle. At a comparatively early point in his career, however, he had formed a manner of his own distinct from, and indeed in some respects antagonistic to, that of his master. Gifted with unusual clearness of vision and precision of manipulation, he cultivated a minute and elaborate style of treatment; and probably few painters ever spent more time and pains on all the details of their pictures down to the most trivial. He is said to have spent five days in painting a hand; and his work was so fine that he found it necessary to manufacture his own brushes. Notwithstanding the minuteness of his touch, however, the general effect was harmonious and free from stiffness, and his color was always admirably fresh and transparent. He was fond of representing subjects in lantern or candle light, the effects of which he reproduced with a fidelity and skill which no other master has equaled. He frequently painted by the aid of a concave mirror, and to obtain exactness looked at his subject through a frame crossed with squares of silk thread. His practice as a portrait painter, which was at first considerable, gradually declined, sitters being unwilling to give him the time that he deemed necessary. His pictures were always small in size, and represented chiefly subjects in still life. Upwards of 200 are attributed to him, and specimens are to be found in most of the great public collections of Europe. His chef-d'oeuvre is generally considered to be The dropsical woman, 1663, and The Dutch Housewife, 1650, both in the Louvre. The Evening School, in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, is the best example of the candlelight scenes in which he excelled. In the National Gallery, London, favorable specimens are to be seen in the Poulterer's Shop,   Related Paintings of Gerard Dou :. | Woman Pouring Water into a Jar | Old Woman Cutting Bread | The Prayer of the Spinner | The Night School. | portratt av rembrandts mor |
Related Artists:
David Roberts
1796-1864
Aelbrecht Bouts
( 1450s, Leuven - March 1549, Leuven) was a Netherlandish painter. His first name is sometimes spelled eAlberte, eAelberte or eAlbrechte. He was born into a family of painters. Aelbrechtes father was Dieric Bouts the Elder (ca.1415-1475), and his brother was Dieric Bouts the Younger (ca.1448-1490). Jan Bouts (ca.1478-ca. 1530), son of Dieric Bouts the Younger, also became a painter. Dieric Bouts the Younger inherited his fatheres shop in 1475, while Aelbrecht established his own workshop, also in Leuven. Whereas Dieric the Younger continued in his father's style, Aelbrecht developed his own unmistakable style with strong colors, rich texture and fine details. Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery (Greenville, South Carolina), the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge), Harvard University Art Museums, The Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Hood Museum of Art (Hanover, New Hampshire), the Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena, California), the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the Czartoryski Museum and the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart are among the public collections having paintings by Aelbrecht Bouts.
Edward Hicks
1780-1849 Edward Hicks (April 14, 1780 ?C August 23, 1849) was an American Folk painter, a distinguished minister of the Society of Friends, and he also became a Quaker icon because of his paintings. Edward Hicks was born in his grandfather's mansion at Langhorne, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was born into a life of luxury, and his parents were both Anglican. After his mother passed away when he was eighteen months old, Matron Elizabeth Twining - a close friend of his mother's- raised him as one of her own. She also taught him the Quaker beliefs. This had a great effect on the rest of his life. At the age of thirteen he was an apprentice for coach makers William and Henry Tomlison. He stayed with them for seven years. His living situation inspired him to desire a much better way of life for himself. He wanted a simple, well respected life and to be able to earn his own wages. He wanted to be able to make choices for himself, in all that he did. It was then that he knew that something amusing and entertaining such as a career in art could satisfy his goals. He spent three years contemplating what his life meant to him, and grew a strong passion for art. His religious commitments affected his thoughts on living and art in many ways. In 1803, he married a Quaker woman named Sarah Worstall.