Salomon de Bray was a Dutch Golden Age

Dutch 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...

 architect and painter.

Biography

De Bray was born 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...

, but established himself in Haarlem before 1617, where he is registered as being a member of the schutterij

Schutterij

Schutterij refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces within the city, near the city walls, but, when the...

 that year in the St. Adrian's cloveniers. He probably followed draftsmanship and painting lessons in the small academy started by Karel van Mander, Hendrick Goltzius and 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:...

, and where he married in 1625. He is registered as a pupil of Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem, but he probably started his training in Amsterdam with Jan Pynas, Nicolaes Moeyaert and 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...

. He painted history painting

History painting

History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...

s, portrait

Portrait

thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

s and landscapes. As a Catholic he probably also made altar pieces for the Haarlem underground Catholic churches known as mission stations, or staties. He was a poet and member of the Chamber of rhetoric

Chamber of rhetoric

Chambers of rhetoric were dramatic societies in the Low Countries. Their members are called Rederijkers , from the french word 'rhétoricien', and during the 15th and 16th centuries were mainly interested in dramas and lyrics...

 called "De Wijngaertranken". This is probably how he met his wife Anna, the sister of the painter Jan and the poet Jacob Westerbaen. They married in 1625 and in 1630 he became a member of 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:...

. He cooperated with fellow Haarlem lukasguild member Jacob van Campen

Jacob van Campen

Jacob van Campen , was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age.-Life:He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and with time on his hands, he took up painting mainly as a pastime...

 in the decoration of Huis ten Bosch

Huis ten Bosch

Huis ten Bosch is one of the three official residences of the Dutch Royal Family, located in The Hague in the Netherlands. It has been home to Queen Beatrix since 1981. The other Royal palace in The Hague, Noordeinde Palace, is used for work-related purposes...

 in The Hague. His works draw on the spirit of the Dutch classicism beginning at that time, and are comparable with those of Pieter de Grebber

Pieter de Grebber

Pieter Fransz de Grebber was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Life:De Grebber was the oldest son of Frans Pietersz de Grebber , a painter and embroiderer in Haarlem, and the brother of the painters Maria and Albert. He learned to paint from his father and from Hendrick Goltzius...

.

De Bray was also active as a designer of silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

work, and became headman of the Guild of St. Luke and even prepared a new charter for the guild (that was never ratified) in 1631. One of his poems was set to music by his friend the composer Cornelis Padbrué.

Salomon de Bray was the father of ten children, of whom three (Dirck de Bray

Dirck de Bray

Dirck de Bray was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was a multi-talented son and pupil of the painter and architect Salomon de Bray. He was known as a flower painter, but he could also sculpt...

, 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"...

, and Joseph de Bray) became notable artists. He probably died of the plague that hit Haarlem in 1664, as he and his children Jacob, Josef, Juliana and Margaretha all died in April and May of that year. His wife had already died the previous year. He was buried in the Sint-Bavokerk

Sint-Bavokerk

The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem...

 in Haarlem.

Work as an architect

As an architect, he was involved in the construction or expansion of Haarlem's City Hall

City Hall (Haarlem)

The City Hall in Haarlem is the seat of the city's government.-History:Around 1100 a wooden building was constructed on the location of the current Gravenzaal of the City Hall. Traces of this building were found in 1955....

, the new consistory

Consistory

-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....

 of the Bavokerk, the Zijlpoort

Zijlpoort (Haarlem)

The Zijlpoort was a city gate in Haarlem, built in the 17th century. Salomon de Bray was involved in the design....

, and St. Annakerk (Church of St. Anne), and Nijmegen's city orphanage. He was also a town planner for the city council of Haarlem. He designed an ambitious plan to expand the city on the North side that was partially implemented in the decades after his death. In 1631 Salomon de Bray wrote "Architectura Moderna" which provided a biography and descriptions of buildings built by Hendrick de Keyser

Hendrick de Keyser

Hendrick de Keyser was a Dutch sculptor and architect born in Utrecht, Netherlands, who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism in Amsterdam...

, one of the key
Dutch architects of the period.

External links

• Works and literature on PubHist
• Backed by Backer
• Salomon de Bray on Artnet
  Artnet
  artnet is an online service provider for the international art market with headquarters in New York, Berlin and Paris. Additionally, artnet has regional offices in China, the UK and Russia.- Business model :...