Hendrick Avercamp
(1585 - 1634) |
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Landscapes, Genre Narratives Art Work
| Name: |
Hendrick Avercamp |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Amsterdam |
| Nationality: |
British |
| Birth: |
1585 |
| Death: |
1634 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Landscapes, Genre Narratives |
| Medium: |
Oil |
| Method: |
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| Style: |
Baroque |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painter
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Biography
| Avercamp concentrated almost exclusively on winter scenes, mostly depicting peasants and people amusing themselves on the ice. Full of anecdotal detail and rich observation, his small yet epic depictions continue the traditions of landscape genre established by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Hendrick's outdoor scenes can be grouped into two general types: those filled with people engaged in all kinds of activity, and less populated scenes where the landscape itself predominates (a manner that anticipates later developments in landscapes). Avercamp's development is not clear (only a few dated works are known); it is possible that he produced both types simultaneously. Avercamp composed his paintings from preparatory sketches that he sometimes reused. His oeuvre includes highly finished drawings, which were treated as independent works. Occasionally these were elaborately colored. Most of Avercamp's early works tend to show a fairly high horizon line, offering a deep bird's-eye view of a scene. Sometime after he returned to Kampen he lowered his horizon line and grouped his figures more "naturally" within the pictures. He has sometimes been criticized for being limited and repetitious, but he is also witty, masterful, and elegant. His nephew and pupil, Barent Avercamp, followed his style, as did Arent Arentsz. |
Samples of Work
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