Philips Wouwerman
(May 24, 1619 - May 19, 1668) |
|
Secular Narratives, Historic Narratives, Mythological Narratives, Portraiture, Genre Subjects Art Work
| Name: |
Philips Wouwerman |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Haarlem, The Netherlands |
| Nationality: |
|
| Birth: |
May 24, 1619 |
| Death: |
May 19, 1668 |
| Website: |
|
| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
|
|
Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Secular Narratives, Historic Narratives, Mythological Narratives, Portraiture, Genre Subjects |
| Medium: |
|
| Method: |
|
| Style: |
|
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
|
|
|
Biography
| Esteemed by his contemporaries as one of the greatest painters of his day, Philips Wouwerman was a virtuoso master who painted figures, horses, and landscapes with equal facility. His death at age forty-eight cut short a career whose output was already prodigious some 1,000 paintings reportedly left behind, which were extensively copied and engraved, particularly in eighteenth century France. Imaginative, original, and productive, Wouwerman's landscapes; especially those featuring the Haarlem dunes set diagonally across the canvas, are considered forerunners of the later developments of Wijnants in (he 1650s and anticipate the early paintings of Jacob van Ruisdael.* Today, undeservedly, Wouwerman is nearly as obscure as he once was famous. Baptized in Haarlem on 26 May 1619, Philips was likely the pupil of his father, Paulus (Pauwels) Joosten Wouwerman. Philips probably also studied with Pieter Cornelisz Verbeek, an equestrian painter. Cornells de Bie reports that Philips studied with Frans Hals, but there is no documentation or stylistic evidence to substantiate that claim. In 1638, at age nineteen, the Protestant Philips ran away to Hamburg to marry his Catholic sweetheart. There he studied with Evert Decker, a local painter of histories and biblical subjects. Philips returned to Haarlem by 1640, joined its guild that year, and became its commissioner in 1645. Philips enjoyed a highly successful career, living in comfort and prosperity and granting his daughter Ludovica a dowry of 20,000 florins when she married his pupil Hendrick Fromantiou. Philips apparently spent most of his life in Haarlem, the Italianate feeling in some of his work derives from other artists (notably the work of Pieter van Laer,* who had come back from Italy in 1638 and whose drawings Philips acquired after van Laer's death). In Philips's earliest dated pictures (from 1639) he reveals himself as one of the more innovative personalities active in Haarlem. He painted views of the Haarlem dunes, capturing the light and producing a realism in landscape painting that anticipates nineteenth-century developments. Roughly a quarter of his output concentrated on pure landscapes, which include winter scenes (such as the grisaille in Lyon). Philips's paintings are rarely large, though his small-scale depictions of battles, camping scenes, hunting parties, and the like have a vastness of space and a sense of atmosphere that belies their size. Most of these scenes feature horses and were particularly important for his many battle pictures and other military subjects, which were a favorite among his collectors. He often set a white horse against darker colors, a device that became nearly synonymous with his name. Few of Wouwerman's paintings are dated, making a chronology difficult to establish. However, scholars point to an increasing complexity in his imagery and a transformation of his palette from the warm Italianate colors of his early manner to a more silvery gray and blue. His later works, such as Halt of a Hunting Party (London, Dulwich College Picture Gallery), with their fluid form and their sense of atmosphere and delicacy, anticipate the rococo manner of the French eighteenth century. His paintings were particularly popular in France and were engraved there by Jean Mayreau (1690-1762). Besides supplying staffage for other artists including Ruisdael, Comelis Decker, and Wijnants, Wouwerman had a number of important pupils. These included his brothers Pieter and Jan, as well as Hendrick Berckman, Emanual Murant, Johannes van der Bent, Koort Witholt, Jacob Warnars, Anthony de Haen, Nicolaes Ficke, Hendrick Fromantiou, Barend Gall, and Willem Schellinks. Besides the French, the Germans were particularly enthusiastic collectors of Wouwerman, and today important collections of his works can be found in Kassel, Dresden, and Munich. He had many followers and imitators. Today he is best appreciated for his fresh, open paintings of dunes near Haarlem; in his own day he was most famous for his battle scenes (which he and Hendrick Verschuring made their specialty). Such subjects are not nearly as popular today, though his abilities as a horse painter are still acknowledged for their skill, variety, and veracity. |
Samples of Work
|
|
