Jan Lievens
Encyclopedia
Jan Lievens was a Dutch
painter, usually associated with Rembrandt, working in a similar style.
, Jan was the son of Lieven Hendriksze, a tapestry worker (borduurwerker), and was trained by Joris Verschoten. He was sent to Pieter Lastman
in Amsterdam
at about the age of 10 for two full years. After that he began his career as an independent artist, at about the age of 12 in Leiden. He became somewhat of a celebrity because of his talent at such a young age. Specifically, his copy of Democriet & Herakliet by Cornelis van Haarlem
(illustration), and a portrait of his mother Machtelt Jans van Noortzant, were admired. This attracted the attention of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
, around 1620, who bought a life-size painting of a young man reading by the light of a turf-fire. He gave this painting in turn to the English Ambassador, who presented it to James I
. This was the reason why, when Lievens was 31, he was invited to the British court. When he returned from England via Calais
, he settled in Antwerp, where he married Suzanna Colyn de Nole, the daughter of the sculptor Michiel Colyns, on 23 December 1638. In this period he won many commissions from royalty, mayors, and city halls. According to Houbraken, a Continence of Scipio was painted for the Leiden city hall. A poem by Joost van den Vondel
was written in honor of a painting (a schoorsteenstuk, or over the mantel piece) he made for the mayor's office of the Amsterdam city hall (now the Royal Palace of Amsterdam) in 1661. According to the Amsterdams Historisch Museum
, this piece survives and depicts Brinno
raised on a shield with the Cananefates, after a similar painting by Otto van Veen
in 1613.
Lievens collaborated and shared a studio with Rembrandt van Rijn from about 1626 to 1631. Their competitive collaboration, represented in some two dozen paintings, drawings and etchings, was intimate enough to cause difficulties in the attribution of works from this period. Lievens showed talent for painting in a life-size scale, and his dramatic compositions suggest the influence of the Caravaggisti
. In Constantijn Huygens
' assessment, Lievens was more inventive, yet less expressive than Rembrandt. The two men split in 1631, when Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam and Lievens to England. In 1656 Rembrandt still owned paintings by his former friend.
During his time in England Lievens painted a portrait for Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel
, and became influenced by the works of Anthony van Dyck
. Lievens worked in Antwerp, and cooperated with Adriaen Brouwer
. After being a court painter in The Hague and Berlin, he returned to Amsterdam in 1655. After his first wife died he married a sister of Jan de Bray
in 1648. After 1672, the Rampjaar
Lievens had increasing financial difficulties and his family voided all claims of inheritance on his death due to his debts.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
painter, usually associated with Rembrandt, working in a similar style.
Biography
According to Arnold HoubrakenArnold Houbraken
Arnold Houbraken was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of artists from the Dutch Golden Age. He had ten children. His son Jacobus Houbraken was an engraver of portraits and book illustrations, including books by his father...
, Jan was the son of Lieven Hendriksze, a tapestry worker (borduurwerker), and was trained by Joris Verschoten. He was sent to Pieter Lastman
Pieter Lastman
Pieter Lastman was a Dutch painter . Lastman is considered important because of his work as a painter of history pieces and because his pupils included Rembrandt and Jan Lievens...
in 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...
at about the age of 10 for two full years. After that he began his career as an independent artist, at about the age of 12 in Leiden. He became somewhat of a celebrity because of his talent at such a young age. Specifically, his copy of Democriet & Herakliet by Cornelis van Haarlem
Cornelis van Haarlem
Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem , Dutch Golden Age painter and draughtsman, was one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in The Netherlands, and an important forerunner of Frans Hals as a portraitist.-Biography:...
(illustration), and a portrait of his mother Machtelt Jans van Noortzant, were admired. This attracted the attention of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange was sovereign Prince of Orange from 1618, on the death of his eldest half brother, Philip William, Prince of Orange,...
, around 1620, who bought a life-size painting of a young man reading by the light of a turf-fire. He gave this painting in turn to the English Ambassador, who presented it to James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. This was the reason why, when Lievens was 31, he was invited to the British court. When he returned from England via Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, he settled in Antwerp, where he married Suzanna Colyn de Nole, the daughter of the sculptor Michiel Colyns, on 23 December 1638. In this period he won many commissions from royalty, mayors, and city halls. According to Houbraken, a Continence of Scipio was painted for the Leiden city hall. A poem by Joost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel was a Dutch writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still most frequently performed, and his epic Joannes de Boetgezant , on the life of John the Baptist, has...
was written in honor of a painting (a schoorsteenstuk, or over the mantel piece) he made for the mayor's office of the Amsterdam city hall (now the Royal Palace of Amsterdam) in 1661. According to the Amsterdams Historisch Museum
Amsterdams Historisch Museum
The Amsterdam Museum, until 2011 called the Amsterdams Historisch Museum, is a museum about the history of Amsterdam. Since 1975, it is located in the old city orphanage between Kalverstraat and Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal.-History:...
, this piece survives and depicts Brinno
Brinno
Brinno was leader of the Canninefates when they joined in the Batavian rebellion at the mouth of the Rhine in AD69. According to Tacitus he was:-References:...
raised on a shield with the Cananefates, after a similar painting by Otto van Veen
Otto van Veen
Otto van Veen, also known by his Latinized name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius, was a painter, draughtsman, and humanist active primarily in Antwerp and Brussels in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century...
in 1613.
Lievens collaborated and shared a studio with Rembrandt van Rijn from about 1626 to 1631. Their competitive collaboration, represented in some two dozen paintings, drawings and etchings, was intimate enough to cause difficulties in the attribution of works from this period. Lievens showed talent for painting in a life-size scale, and his dramatic compositions suggest the influence of the Caravaggisti
Caravaggisti
The Caravaggisti were stylistic followers of the 16th century Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never established a workshop as most other painters did, and thus had no...
. In Constantijn Huygens
Constantijn Huygens
Constantijn Huygens , was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens.-Biography:...
' assessment, Lievens was more inventive, yet less expressive than Rembrandt. The two men split in 1631, when Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam and Lievens to England. In 1656 Rembrandt still owned paintings by his former friend.
During his time in England Lievens painted a portrait for Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel
Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel
Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel KG, was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politician. When he died he possessed 700 paintings, along with large collections of sculpture,...
, and became influenced by the works of Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
. Lievens worked in Antwerp, and cooperated with Adriaen Brouwer
Adriaen Brouwer
Adriaen Brouwer was a Flemish genre painter active in Flanders and the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century.-Biography:...
. After being a court painter in The Hague and Berlin, he returned to Amsterdam in 1655. After his first wife died he married a sister of Jan de Bray
Jan de Bray
Jan de Bray , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:Jan de Bray was born in Haarlem. According to Houbraken he was the most famous pupil of his father, the architect and poet Salomon de Bray. Houbraken called Jan the "pearl in Haarlem's crown"...
in 1648. After 1672, the Rampjaar
Rampjaar
The rampjaar was the year 1672 in Dutch history. In that year,the Republic of the Seven United Provinces was after the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War and the Third Anglo-Dutch War attacked by England, France, and the prince-electors Bernhard von Galen, bishop of Münster and Maximilian Henry of...
Lievens had increasing financial difficulties and his family voided all claims of inheritance on his death due to his debts.