Abraham van Calraet, or Kalraat (7–12 October 1642,

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

– 11 June 1722,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

) was a

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

painter and engraver.

Biography

He learned to paint from ''AEmilius'' and ''Samuel Hup'', or ''Huppe'', who were well known sculptors in the city of Dordrecht. After learning to sculpt, young Abraham took to the painter's brush, and started on fruit, while helping his father, who was a wood sculptor. He resided throughout his life in Dordrecht, and may have been a pupil of

Aelbert Cuyp Aelbert Jacobszoon Cuyp () (20 October 1620 – 15 November 1691) was one of the leading Dutch Golden Age painters, producing mainly landscapes. The most famous of a family of painters, the pupil of his father Jacob Gerritszoon Cuyp (1594–1651 ...

, who was a generation older. Cuyp's signature was often forged on top of Calraet's paintings.Abraham van Calraet RKD entry
/ref>

Abraham Bredius Dr. Abraham Bredius (18 April 1855 in Amsterdam – 13 March 1946 in Monaco) was a Dutch art collector, art historian, and museum curator. Life Bredius travelled widely, visiting various art collections in his youth, and worked at the Dutch Mus ...

was responsible for the first "rediscovery" of this painter, re-attributing two of his still life paintings that at that time were considered to be by Cuyp.

Cornelis Hofstede de Groot Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (9 November 1863 – 14 April 1930), was a Dutch art collector, art historian and museum curator. Life He was born in Dwingeloo and spent some time in Switzerland in his youth due to weak lungs, where he learned Germ ...

strongly disagreed with him and the Cuyp-Calraet question was escalated in the Dutch newspapers after

Frits Lugt Frederik Johannes "Frits" Lugt (Amsterdam 4 May 1884 – 15 July 1970 Paris), was a self-taught collector and connoisseur of Dutch drawings and prints and a selfless and tireless compiler of essential reference tools documenting Northern Europe ...

announced a new Abraham Calraet painting in the

Frans Hals Museum The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the '' Museum De Hallen'' (since 2018 called ...

in 1915. Bredius "won" the argument and many of his attributions still stand today. Calraet is known today for still life pieces with fruit, and recently also for landscapes with horses. He was the teacher of his younger brother, the landscape painter Barent van Kalraet.

References

* Laurens J. Bol, ''Goede onbekenden, Hedendaagse herkenning en waardering van verscholen, voorbijgezien en onderschat talent'', Tableau BV, Utrecht (1982),

External links

Works and literature on Abraham van Calraet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calraet, Abraham Van 1642 births 1722 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Artists from Dordrecht Dutch still life painters