Biography

He probably learned painting from his father, also a painter, but who died when he was still quite young, in 1636. That is the same year that he moved to Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, where he stayed until 1647, whereupon he moved to Leiden. According to Houbraken he was the son of a Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

 preacher in Leeuwarden who was a respected art teacher. His father was Lambert Jacobsz

Lambert Jacobsz

Lambert Jacobsz, also Lambert Jacobsz. or Lambert Jacobszoon , was a Dutch Golden Age painter and preacher.Jacobsz was born in Amsterdam. He was the father of Abraham Lambertsz van den Tempel, and primarily painted figures. He was also active in his local Mennonite community...

 (or Jacobszoon), who had taught Govert Flinck

Govert Flinck

Govert Teuniszoon Flinck was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age.-Life:Born at Kleve, he was apprenticed by his father to a silk mercer, but having secretly acquired a passion for drawing, was sent to Leeuwarden, where he boarded in the house of Lambert Jacobszoon, a Mennonite, better known...

 and Jacob Adriaensz Backer

Jacob Adriaensz Backer

Jacob Adriaensz Backer was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He produced about 140 paintings in twenty years. In his style he was influenced by Wybrand de Geest, Rubens and Abraham Bloemaert. Also his drawings are highly interesting and skillful...

 in their youth, both of whom were artists from Mennonite families. Abraham took the name Tempel because when he studied in Leiden, he lived in a house there with a relief of a Tempel in the keystone. He became a pupil of Jacob Backer, and studied mathematics at Leiden University. He met with great success with the Leiden city council, earning several generous commissions, including a series of three large allegorical paintings on the cloth industry of Leiden for the Cloth Hall which still hang in their original place today in the Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal

Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal

Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal is a city museum of fine arts in Leiden, the Netherlands. The museum hosts a collection of altarpieces and religious artifacts from before the Protestant Revolution that were formally ceded to the state in 1572, but it is mainly of interest for its collection of...

.

He became master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1657 and in 1659 he was chartermaster. In 1660 he returned to Amsterdam. His pupils were Frans van Mieris the Elder, Carel de Moor

Carel de Moor

Carel de Moor was a Dutch Golden Age etcher and painter. He was a pupil of Gerard Dou.-Biography:Carel de Moor was born in Leiden. According to Houbraken, his father was an art dealer who wanted him to study languages and only allowed him to study art when his talent for drawing surfaced at a...

, Michiel van Musscher

Michiel van Musscher

-Biography:According to Houbraken, he showed a talent for drawing at a young age, and had many teachers, of which he kept a record. His first teacher was Martinus Saeghmolen in 1660 for two months, and in 1661, he took lessons from Abraham van den Tempel. In 1665 he took seven lessons with Gabriel...

, Ary de Vois

Ary de Vois

Ary de Vois was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:Ary de Vois was the son of Alewijn de Vois from Utrecht, who was organist in the Pieterskerk, Leiden, in 1635. Ary became a pupil in Utrecht of Nikolaus Knüpfer, who also taught Jan Steen. Ary then returned to Leiden to study with Abraham van...

, and Isaac Paling

Isaac Paling

Isaac Paling , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was a pupil of Abraham van den Tempel and a colleague of Jacob Torenvliet in Leiden....

.

External link

• Abraham van den Tempel at PubHist