Jean Humbert (painter)
Encyclopedia
Jean Humbert de Superville (Amsterdam
, May 7, 1734 - Amsterdam, October 1794) was a Dutch
painter of Swiss and French
extraction. Humbert was primarily known as a portrait painter.
He was the son of Pierre Humbert, a merchant from Geneva
who had settled in Amsterdam in 1706 as a bookseller and publisher, and his second wife Emilie de Superville, daughter of Daniel de Superville
, a Calvinist
theologist from Saumur
who had fled to the Dutch republic in 1685.
Humbert studied painting in Paris
, where he served as apprentice to Jean Fournier and subsequently probably also to Joseph-Marie Vien
. In 1761 or 1762 he moved from Amsterdam to The Hague
. In 1767 he became an apprentice of the academy of drawing of the local painter's guild Confrerie Pictura
. In 1787 he was chosen as one of the guild officers and in 1792 he was even elected as head of the guild.
He painted portraits as well as historic and mythological subjects. His portrait subjects included Dutch East India Company
official Abraham du Bois (1760), politician Hendrik Fagel (1766) and writer Isabelle de Charrière
(1769). The portrait of du Bois originally hung in the Dutch East India Company offices in Rotterdam
, but is now part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Humbert designed the ornate decorations of the facade of The Hague's town hall during the wedding of Stadtholder
William V
to Wilhemina of Prussia in 1767. He also painted a room in the courthouse of The Hague. A work by Humbert hung in the stadtholder quarters at the Binnenhof
but it was removed around 1808 along with a number of other paintings during a remodeling ordered by king Louis Bonaparte
, who had used the stadtholder quarters as a royal palace since 1806.
In 1768, Humbert married Elisabeth Antoinette Deel. The marriage produced seven children, including:
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...
, May 7, 1734 - Amsterdam, October 1794) was a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
painter of Swiss and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
extraction. Humbert was primarily known as a portrait painter.
He was the son of Pierre Humbert, a merchant from Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
who had settled in Amsterdam in 1706 as a bookseller and publisher, and his second wife Emilie de Superville, daughter of Daniel de Superville
Daniel de Superville (1657-1728)
Daniel de Superville , also known as Daniel de Superville père , was a Huguenot pastor and theologian who fled France for the Dutch Republic in 1685 and became the minister of the Walloon church in Rotterdam...
, a Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
theologist from Saumur
Saumur
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
who had fled to the Dutch republic in 1685.
Humbert studied painting in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he served as apprentice to Jean Fournier and subsequently probably also to Joseph-Marie Vien
Joseph-Marie Vien
Joseph-Marie Vien , French painter, was born at Montpellier. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791....
. In 1761 or 1762 he moved from Amsterdam to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. In 1767 he became an apprentice of the academy of drawing of the local painter's guild Confrerie Pictura
Confrerie Pictura
The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague, by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there.-History:The guild of St...
. In 1787 he was chosen as one of the guild officers and in 1792 he was even elected as head of the guild.
He painted portraits as well as historic and mythological subjects. His portrait subjects included Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
official Abraham du Bois (1760), politician Hendrik Fagel (1766) and writer Isabelle de Charrière
Isabelle de Charrière
Isabelle de Charrière , known as Belle van Zuylen in the Netherlands and Madame de Charrière elsewhere, is a Dutch writer of the Enlightenment who lived the latter half of her life in Switzerland. She is now best known for her letters although she also wrote novels, pamphlets, music and plays...
(1769). The portrait of du Bois originally hung in the Dutch East India Company offices in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, but is now part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Humbert designed the ornate decorations of the facade of The Hague's town hall during the wedding of Stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
William V
William V, Prince of Orange
William V , Prince of Orange-Nassau was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and between 1795 and 1806 he led the Government of the Dutch Republic in Exile in London. He was succeeded by his son William I...
to Wilhemina of Prussia in 1767. He also painted a room in the courthouse of The Hague. A work by Humbert hung in the stadtholder quarters at the Binnenhof
Binnenhof
The Binnenhof , is a complex of buildings in The Hague. It has been the location of meetings of the Staten-Generaal, the Dutch parliament, since 1446, and has been the centre of Dutch politics for many centuries....
but it was removed around 1808 along with a number of other paintings during a remodeling ordered by king Louis Bonaparte
Louis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu , King of Holland , was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino...
, who had used the stadtholder quarters as a royal palace since 1806.
In 1768, Humbert married Elisabeth Antoinette Deel. The marriage produced seven children, including:
- Jean Emile HumbertJean Emile HumbertJean Emile Humbert was a Dutch lieutenant-colonel who can be credited with rediscovering ancient Carthage. As an agent for the Dutch government he procured vital parts of the collection of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden...
, a military engineer credited with rediscovering ancient CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC... - David Pierre Giottino Humbert de SupervilleDavid Pierre Giottino Humbert de SupervilleDavid Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville was a Dutch artist and art scholar. He was a draughtsman, lithographer, etcher, and portrait painter, and also wrote treatises on art, including the influential work Essai sur les signes inconditionnels dans l'art...
, a scholar and artist who wrote the influential Essai sur les signes inconditionnels dans l'art.
External links
Sources
- Nieuw Nederlands Biografisch Woordenboek (Dutch)
- Nieuw Nederlands Biografisch Woordenboek (Dutch)
- Nieuw Nederlands Biografisch Woordenboek (Dutch)
- Pieter Wagenaar, Marie-Christine Engels en Chales Dumas: Den Haag: Geschiedenis van de stad. Deel 2: De tijd van de republiek. Zwolle, 2005 (Dutch)
- Trudie Rosa de Carvalho-Roos, "Hoe houdt de stadhouder hof?" Oud Holland, Vol. 116, Nrs. 3-4, 2003, pp. 121-223 (Dutch)