Jan Porcellis
(1584 - 1632) |
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Seascapes, Marine Subjects, Landscapes, Art Work
| Name: |
Jan Porcellis |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Ghent |
| Nationality: |
Dutch |
| Birth: |
1584 |
| Death: |
1632 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Seascapes, Marine Subjects, Landscapes, |
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| Style: |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
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Biography
| One of the innovators in marine painting in the early seventeenth century in Holland, Porcellis led painting away from the early phase of minute realism as seen in the "portraits" of ships done by Hendrick Vroom to the tonal, atmospheric treatment of sea and sky based on direct observation of nature (in which ships are of secondary importance), which became the prevailing trend in the 1620s. in his approach to atmosphere and palette, Porcellis anticipated the later developments of Jan van Goyen. Jan (also known as Joannes) was born in Ghent. His parents emigrated to the United Ptovinces in 1584. Jan's teacher is not known, but Houbraken reports that he studied with the Haarlem painter Hendrick Vroom. Early in his life Jan probably lived in Rotterdam, where he married in 1605. By 1615 he had had three children, become a widower, undergone bankruptcy in Rotterdam, and moved to Antwerp, joining the guild there in 1617. At some point he was in London. In 1622 he was back in Holland, living in Haarlem and remarried. His fortunes improved and he gained admirers to the point that Samuel Ampzing, in his description of Haarlem, declared him the greatest painter of ships in 1628. By 1629 Jan had moved to Zoeterwoude, near Leiden, and had become increasingly prosperous. He owned a small yacht in which he used to observe water and sky directly. His son Julius (d. 1654) emulated his father's style, and their works are still often confused. Porcellis's early manner follows the style of Vroom. If the two works in the Royal Collection (Storm at Sea and Sea Battle at Night) date from about 1613 as has been thought, then we have proof of Porcellis's early manner of recording ships in minute detail. Here, however, he has already integrated his ships into the more overpowering elements of sea and sky, and this trend continues in his later works. Dated examples of his paintings are known from 1624 on, and in his treatment of inland waterways, coasts, and ships Porcellis produced remarkably convincing observations of atmosphere, water, and light. His subtle monochromatic hues of grays and browns led the way to a new interpretation of nature. His low horizon lines, his de-emphasis on ships, and his sensitivity to movement and to change resulted in images at once more ordinary than earlier examples and also more poetic and certainly more influential. Besides his effect on other marine painters like Simon de Vlieger, Jan helped inspire Jan van Goyen (from whom Porcellis bought a house in 1629) and other Haarlem landscape painters in the 1620s and 1630s. His fellow artists must have admired him because we know that Rubens, Rembrandt, Allan van Everdingen, and Jan van de Cappelle all owned his pictures. In addition to approximately sixty paintings, some thirty drawings (as well as a set of etchings and engravings by Claes Jansz Visscher after Jan's designs) have been preserved. |
Samples of Work
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