Philip Wouwerman
Encyclopedia
Philips Wouwerman (24 May 1619 (baptized) – 19 May 1668) was a Dutch
painter
of hunting, landscape and battle scenes.
. Embedded in the artistic environment and tradition of his home town of Haarlem
, Wouwerman made an important and highly influential contribution to the canon of seventeenth-century Dutch painting. His pictures were in demand during his lifetime, but evenmore sought after in the 18th century. Throughout Europe, formerly princely art collections like in Dresden and St. Petersburg still bear witness to this widespread and great admiration of Wouwerman's elegant and picturesque refined works of art.
Born in Haarlem in 1619, the son of a now altogether obscure painter named Pouwels Joostsz. Wouwerman, little is known about the artistic schooling of Wouwerman. According to Cornelis de Bie
, he studied with Frans Hals
(1581/85-1666), but the particular style of Hals didn't leave a footmark on his oeuvre. Apart from a short stay in Hamburg at the end of the 1630es, Wouwerman seemed to have lived in Haarlem during his whole artistic career and died as a well-respected member of the community at the age of 48.
He joined the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke
in 1640 and here took on several official posts in the years to come. At an early age, Wouwerman married Anna Pietersz. van Broeckhoff with whom he had ten children. Seven of them survived and, after the death of their mother in 1670, accepted a substantial inheritance. Wouwerman also worked as an estate agent in his home town, as many documents in Haarlem archives mentioned the artist in this context.
Wouwerman started his artistic career with simple depictions of everyday life in the tradition of the bamboccianti by Pieter van Laer
(1592/99-after 1642). Over the next thirty years he developed an individual style, treating a wide range of subjects from genre and landscape to military and religious scenes (equestrian scenes, hunting and hawking parties, landscapes with travellers, cavalry battles and military encampments, peasants festivities etc.). Yet his skills are legendary as regards the depiction of horses of all breeds seen in motion, and the masterpieces from his best period (around 1650-1660) are of indisputably high quality, beautifully combining imaginary southern landscapes and a typically Dutch atmosphere. Wouwerman's fine paintings - displaying delicate, subdued colours, a cool atmosphere and a wealth of witty, anecdotal details. He died in Haarlem.
The first retrospective exhibition of Philips Wouwerman's work took place in Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, and in The Hague, The Royal Picture Gallers Mauritshuis, 2009/2010
and Pieter Wouwerman
, the younger brothers of Philips, were often regarded as close followers whose pictures seemed to have been frequently attributed to Philips. And indeed, the oeuvre of Pieter (1623–1682) clearly manifests the influence of Philips with regard to the range of subjects, but regarding the artistic style, Pieter had quite one of his own. And Jan (1629–1666) was a rather autonomous landscape painter. Out of the countless followers, some of the most gifted artists working in Wouwerman's style are worth mentioning: Jan van Huchtenburgh (1647–1733), the brothers Jan Frans
(1683–1750) and Joseph (1688–1739) van Bredael as well as Carel van Falens
(1683–1733).
His registered pupils were Johannes van der Bent
, Hendrick Berckman
, Eduard Dubois, Nicolas Ficke, Barent Gael
, Anthony de Haen, Emanuel Murant
, Matthias Scheits
, Kort Withold, and his brothers.
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
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
of hunting, landscape and battle scenes.
Life and Work
Philips Wouwerman was one of the most versatile and prolific artists of the Dutch Golden AgeDutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
. Embedded in the artistic environment and tradition of his home town of Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, Wouwerman made an important and highly influential contribution to the canon of seventeenth-century Dutch painting. His pictures were in demand during his lifetime, but evenmore sought after in the 18th century. Throughout Europe, formerly princely art collections like in Dresden and St. Petersburg still bear witness to this widespread and great admiration of Wouwerman's elegant and picturesque refined works of art.
Born in Haarlem in 1619, the son of a now altogether obscure painter named Pouwels Joostsz. Wouwerman, little is known about the artistic schooling of Wouwerman. According to Cornelis de Bie
Cornelis de Bie
Cornelis de Bie was a Brabant rederijker, poet, jurist and minor politician from Lier.He is the author of about 64 works, mostly comedies...
, he studied with Frans Hals
Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
(1581/85-1666), but the particular style of Hals didn't leave a footmark on his oeuvre. Apart from a short stay in Hamburg at the end of the 1630es, Wouwerman seemed to have lived in Haarlem during his whole artistic career and died as a well-respected member of the community at the age of 48.
He joined the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke
Haarlem Guild of St. Luke
The Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke was first a Christian, and later a city Guild for a large number of trades falling under the patron saints Luke the Evangelist and Saint Eligius.-History:...
in 1640 and here took on several official posts in the years to come. At an early age, Wouwerman married Anna Pietersz. van Broeckhoff with whom he had ten children. Seven of them survived and, after the death of their mother in 1670, accepted a substantial inheritance. Wouwerman also worked as an estate agent in his home town, as many documents in Haarlem archives mentioned the artist in this context.
Wouwerman started his artistic career with simple depictions of everyday life in the tradition of the bamboccianti by Pieter van Laer
Pieter van Laer
Pieter van Laer was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre scenes, active for over a decade in Rome, where his nickname was Il Bamboccio...
(1592/99-after 1642). Over the next thirty years he developed an individual style, treating a wide range of subjects from genre and landscape to military and religious scenes (equestrian scenes, hunting and hawking parties, landscapes with travellers, cavalry battles and military encampments, peasants festivities etc.). Yet his skills are legendary as regards the depiction of horses of all breeds seen in motion, and the masterpieces from his best period (around 1650-1660) are of indisputably high quality, beautifully combining imaginary southern landscapes and a typically Dutch atmosphere. Wouwerman's fine paintings - displaying delicate, subdued colours, a cool atmosphere and a wealth of witty, anecdotal details. He died in Haarlem.
The first retrospective exhibition of Philips Wouwerman's work took place in Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, and in The Hague, The Royal Picture Gallers Mauritshuis, 2009/2010
Output
About 800 pictures were listed in John Smith's Catalogue raisonné (1829/1842) as the work of Philip Wouwerman. In Hofstede de Groot's enlarged Catalogue (1908) the number exceeds to 1200. In Birgit Schumacher's recently published Catalogue raisonné (2006), only about 570 pictures were listed as authentic works, as many of the pictures mentioned by Hofstede de Groot were actually painted by countless followers and imitators all over Europe. JanJan Wouwerman
Jan Wouwerman was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:Wouwerman was born and died in Haarlem. According to Houbraken he was the youngest brother of the painters Philips and Pieter Wouwerman, who lived and worked in Haarlem...
and Pieter Wouwerman
Pieter Wouwerman
Pieter Wouwerman , was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was the brother of the landscape painters Jan and Philips Wouwerman, who like his more famous brother, made a living selling Italianate landscapes in the manner of Pieter van Laer...
, the younger brothers of Philips, were often regarded as close followers whose pictures seemed to have been frequently attributed to Philips. And indeed, the oeuvre of Pieter (1623–1682) clearly manifests the influence of Philips with regard to the range of subjects, but regarding the artistic style, Pieter had quite one of his own. And Jan (1629–1666) was a rather autonomous landscape painter. Out of the countless followers, some of the most gifted artists working in Wouwerman's style are worth mentioning: Jan van Huchtenburgh (1647–1733), the brothers Jan Frans
Jan Frans van Bredael
Jan Frans van Bredael a Flemish painter, was the best known of a dynasty of painters, and the son of Alexander van Bredael , who was also an artist....
(1683–1750) and Joseph (1688–1739) van Bredael as well as Carel van Falens
Carel Van Falens
Carel van Falens or Valens was a Flemish painter, specialising in hunting and hawking scenes.-Life:He lived most of his life in France, where he was made a member of the Académie royale in 1726. Many of his compositions base their harmony, pictorial details, vivid and vibrant colours, and texture...
(1683–1733).
His registered pupils were Johannes van der Bent
Johannes van der Bent
-Biography:According to Houbraken he was a student of Philips Wouwerman and Adriaen van de Velde. His birthdate is uncertain, but he was judged to be about forty when he died of tuberculosis. Houbraken thought he caught the disease from melancholy resulting from losing a large sum of money , which...
, Hendrick Berckman
Hendrick Berckman
-Biography:He was a pupil of Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert and Jacob Jordaens in Antwerp, and spent some time in Haarlem studying with Philip Wouwermans. He is registered in Leiden from 1652–1654, and in 1655 he settled in Middleburg...
, Eduard Dubois, Nicolas Ficke, Barent Gael
Barent Gael
Barent Gael , was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was a pupil of Philips Wouwerman who painted many battle pieces and staging areas...
, Anthony de Haen, Emanuel Murant
Emanuel Murant
Emanuel Murant , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:He was the son of a silversmith from Bolsward who probably taught him to draw...
, Matthias Scheits
Matthias Scheits
Matthias Scheits , was a German Baroque painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was in Hamburg while Johannes Voorhout was there and though he had initially trained in Haarlem under Philips Wouwerman, he later painted farm & village scenes in the manner of David Teniers...
, Kort Withold, and his brothers.
Selected Works
- The White Horse, panel, 43.9 x 37.6 cm, Amsterdam, RijksmuseumRijksmuseumThe Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
- Horse and Dismounted Rider, panel, 32.3 x 36.2 cm, 1646, Leipzig, Museum der bildenden KünsteMuseum der bildenden KünsteThe Museum der bildenden Künste is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. On 7,000 square meters of display area, 3,500 paintings, 1,000 sculptures and 60,000 graphical works are shown...
- Landscape with River and Bathers, canvas, 59 x 82 cm, Vaduz-Vienna, The Collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein
- Festive Peasants in an Extensive Landscape, canvas, 70 x 112 cm, 1653, Minneapolis, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- Winter Landscape with Wooden Bridge, panel, 28.5 x 36.5 cm, Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie
- A Horse Stable, canvas, 47 x 67 cm, London, The National Gallery
- The Apple Grey at a Blacksmith, panel, 34.4. x 38.3 cm, Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
- Riding School and Watering Place, canvas, 82.5 x 127 cm, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches MuseumKunsthistorisches MuseumThe Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
- Departure for the Hunt, panel, 45 x 64 cm, Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
- Landscape with a Hawking Party, canvas, 76 x 105 cm, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado
- Battle at a Mountainous Fortress, canvas, 69 x 82 cm, Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
- Cavalry at a Sutler's Booth, panel, 49.5 x 44.4 cm, London, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II., Buckingham Palace
- Lady and Gentleman at a Harbour, canvas, 51 x 71.3 cm, St Petersburg, The State HermitageHermitage MuseumThe State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
- The Ascension of Christ, canvas, 85 x 68 cm, Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum
Literature
- Philips Wouwerman (1619-1668). Exhibition Catalogue, Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel/ Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague, 2009/2010, ISBN 978 90 400 8592 5
- Birgit Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman. The Horse Painter of the Golden Age, Davaco Publishers, Doornspijk 2006, ISBN 90 70288 67 2
- Frederik J. Duparc, "Philips Wouwerman, 1619-1668", in: Oud Holland, 1993, vol. 107, no. 3, pp. 257–286
- Birgit Schumacher, Studien zu Werk und Wirkung Philips Wouwermans, Diss. Munich 1989
- Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, vol. 2, Esslingen and Paris 1908 (Reprint: Teaneck, NJ: Somerset House, 1976; A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, vol. 2)
- John Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, vol. 1, pp. 199–412 and vol. 9, pp. 137–233, London 1829 and 1842
External links
- www.wouwerman.org Works by Philips Wouwerman
- www.birgitschumacher.com Information on the catalogue raisonné of the paintings by Philips Wouwerman
- Works and literature