| One of the more gifted painters of early seventeenth-century Utrecht, Bronckhorst could, at his best, create creamily sensuous female nudes, beautiful lighting effects, and an idealism tempered by realism that is characteristic of the Utrecht painters. Bronckhorst began his career designing stained glass windows, making etchings and engravings, and later concentrating on painting. He was in Rome around 1621, sharing a studio with Jan van Bijlert* and Cornelis van Poelenburgh.* Not named as a founder of the Bentveughels in Rome, he must have departed there shortly after 1621 and may have made his way to Paris before returning lo Utrecht. He was back home in Utrecht in 1626, the year he married. None of Bronckhorst's surviving paintings can be dated before 1640. He designed stained glass windows in Brussels and then received an important commission in 1640 for the windows of the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam (destroyed in a fire of 1645). In 1655 he signed and dated the organ shutters painted for the same church, which he had decorated with a scene of David Playing the Harp before Saul. Though he was active in Amsterdam, it was in Utrecht that Bronckhorst's style and approach was formed, with its strong Italianate leanings and earthy yet decorative sensuality so often found among the pastoral and historical subjects popularized by Utrecht painters. An acknowledged masterwork is his Allegory of Dawn and Night (Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum), which charmingly adapts a classical subject to a Dutch setting. The damp, luminous atmosphere, as well as the pose of some of the figures, suggests that Bronckhorst cast an appreciative eye at Correggio during his travels through Italy. Poelenburgh was also an important influence on Bronckhorst's style. Besides his histories, Bronckhorst was a notable portrait painter who achieved excellent likenesses and conveyed a vivid sense of character. His portraits have been linked with those by Paulus Bor. |
