Pieter Fransz de Grebber
(1600 - 1652) |
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History Paintings, Secular Narratives Art Work
| Name: |
Pieter Fransz de Grebber |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Haarlem |
| Nationality: |
Dutch |
| Birth: |
1600 |
| Death: |
1652 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
History Paintings, Secular Narratives |
| Medium: |
Oil on Canvas |
| Method: |
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| Style: |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
Embroidery
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Biography
| Considered a leading figure among the Haarlem classicists, a "school" he is often credited with founding, Pieter de Grebber was an influential history painter whose pictures are notable for their symmetry of composition, for the monumentality of their figures, and for their rich, sensuously painted surfaces, reminiscent of Flemings such as Jacob Jordaens and Anthony van Dyck, as well as Rubens. De Grebber began as a pupil of his father, Frans Pietersz de Grebber, and then studied with Hendrick Goltzius. Recorded in 1621 in a list of Haarlem painters published by Adriaen Roman, de Grebber entered the guild in 1632. He bought a house in Haarlem in 1634 and is recorded living with his father there. In 1638 he is mentioned in Delft, and in 1642 he became dean of the Haarlem guild. In 1649 he published a series of eleven rules for a good painter to follow. Besides the influence of his father, Goltzius, and the Flemings, Pieter responded to the work of Rembrandt, whose influence is notable in de Grebber's portraits and etchings. In his own lifetime Pieter was mentioned in descriptions of Haarlem painters, including those of Samuel Amp zing and Th6odoor Schrevelius as well as Philips Angels (Lofder Schilder-Kunst, 1642). Hi dated painting is a Caritas (dated 1622, Houston, Museum of Fine Arts). He received important commissions for the Stadtholder's Palace in Honselaersdijk in 1638 (only one of the large-scale histories has been preserved). From 1648 to 1650 he produced four of the paintings in the Huis ten Bosch, The Hague. He also had commissions from the courts of Copenhagen and Hollstein. He had a number of Catholic patrons, for whom he provided altarpieces for "hidden" churches in Holland and open churches in Bruges and Ghent. A translator of Latin poetry, which he set to music, Pieter was, with Salomon de Bray,* a presence in the Haarlem musical circles. About seventy of de Grebber's paintings are preserved; most are "histories" depicting religious themes. Twenty portraits (including many of Roman Catholic priests and half-length saints) are known. But de Grebber is best appreciated for his narratives. These incorporate numerous figures, including shepherds and shepherdesses and mothers with children, recalling the biblical works of Paulus Moreelse. De Grebber's literal interpretation of his sources, with precise detail and rather pragmatic realism, anticipates the straightforward naturalism of various nineteenth-century schools. In his own time de Grebber was an important influence not only in Haarlem but also in Leiden, where he influenced such artists as the young Jan Lievens and Abraham van den Tempel. |
Samples of Work
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