Adriaen van de Velde (bapt. 30 November 1636, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

– bur. 21 January 1672, in Amsterdam), was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and print artist. His favorite subjects were

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...

with animals and genre scenes.Adriaen van de Velde
at the National Gallery He also painted beaches, dunes, forests, winter scenes, portraits in landscapes, as well as mythological and biblical scenes.Adriaen van de Velde
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

He belongs to a group of painters referred to as the Dutch Italianate painters, who combined Dutch agricultural landscapes with mythological or Arcadian scenes in Italian settings. His paintings are characterised by their delicate, careful composition and his mastery of lighting effects as well as the human figure.Adriaen van de Velde: Dutch Master of Landscape
at the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Life

Adriaen was born in Amsterdam where he was baptised in the Oude Kerk on 30 November 1636. He was the son of the marine painter

Willem van de Velde the Elder Willem van de Velde the Elder (1610/11 – 13 December 1693) was a Dutch Golden Age seascape painter, who produced many precise drawings of ships and ink paintings of fleets, but later learned to use oil paints like his son. Biography W ...

and Judith Adriaens van Leeuwen. His brother

Willem van de Velde the Younger Willem van de Velde the Younger (18 December 1633 (baptised)6 April 1707) was a Dutch marine painter, the son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, who also specialised in maritime art. His brother, Adriaen van de Velde, was a landscape painter. ...

was also a marine painter. The beach near Scheveningen, by Adriaen van de Velde (II)

He initially studied with his father. Not wishing to follow in the family tradition of marine painting, he decided to move to Haarlem to continue his study in the workshop of Jan Wynants, a landscape painter. In Haarlem he also met Philip Wouwerman and

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point. Before Potter died of tuberculosis at the age of 28 he succeeded in ...

, both animal painters who had an important influence on his work. Adriaen van de Velde - Agony in the Garden - WGA24475

From 1657 he worked in Amsterdam where he married on 5 April 1657 Maria Pieters Oudekerck (or Ouderkerk), a Catholic. He converted to Catholicism even though its adherents suffered persecution and could only practise their faith in clandestine churches. All five of his children were baptized in such churches around Amsterdam. His daughter married the broker Sodyn in Amsterdam. She was the source for the Dutch biographer Arnold Houbraken's biographical sketch of her father. Van de Velde's career blossomed and he became one of the foremost landscape artists in the Dutch Republic.Adriaen van de Velde, ''A pastoral landscape with a dairymaid milking a cow, with a youth, a dog and another cow at the foot of a tree, two sheep beyond''
at Christie's He collaborated with other artists in Amsterdam typically adding the

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape, that are not the primary subject matter of the work. Typically they are small, and there to add an indication of scale and add interest. Before ...

or animals to their paintings. Thes artists included his master Wynants,

Meindert Hobbema Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema (bapt. 31 October 1638 – 7 December 1709) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of landscapes, specializing in views of woodland, although his most famous painting, '' The Avenue at Middelharnis'' (1689, National Galle ...

Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural ach ...

, Adriaen Hendriksz Verboom, Philips Koninck,

Jan van der Heyden Jan van der Heyden (5 March 1637, Gorinchem – 28 March 1712, Amsterdam) was a Dutch Baroque-era painter, glass painter, draughtsman and printmaker. Van der Heyden was one of the first Dutch painters to specialize in townscapes and became ...

and Frederik de Moucheron.George S. Keyes, Susan Donahue Kuretsky, Axel Rüger, Arthur K. Wheelock, ''Masters of Dutch Painting: Detroit Institute of Arts'', Detroit Institute of Arts, 2004, pp. 104-195 Despite his success as an artist, he was in dire straits throughout his life. His wife had to run a linen business to help make ends meet. When he died his possessions and works were auctioned off but the proceeds were insufficient to cover his debts. His pupils included Johannes Innevelt, Johannes van der Bent,

Dirck van Bergen Dirck van Bergen (1645, Haarlem – c. 1700, Haarlem) was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter. Biography According to Houbraken he was a pupil of Adriaen van de Velde, who copied his style very well.Jacob Coning.

Work

Couple in a Landscape by Adriaen van de Velde, 1667

Despite his short career, van de Velde created an extensive body of work of paintings, drawings and prints. His favorite subjects were meadows and Italianate views with herdsmen and cattle. He also painted beaches, dunes, forests, winter scenes, portraits in landscapes, as well as mythological and biblical scenes. Although primarily a painter of summer landscapes, he also depicted winter scenes and beaches. His early work with its tight, precise technique and hard, cool sunlight shows the influence of Paulus Potter.Adriaen van de Velde
at the J. Paul Getty Museum His mature style reveals the influence of Dutch Italianate painters such as

Karel Dujardin Karel Dujardin (September 27, 1626November 20, 1678) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Although he did a few portraits and a few history paintings of religious subjects, most of his work is small Italianate landscape scenes with animals and peasan ...

Nicolaes Berchem Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1 October 1620 – 18 February 1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and genr ...

and

Jan Asselijn Jan Asselijn (c.1610 – October 1, 1652) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Asselijn was born at Dieppe from a French Huguenot family as ''Jean Asselin''. He received instruction from Esaias van de Velde (1587–1630), and distingu ...

. This is reflected in his handling of the soft sunlight and warm hues in his depictions of the Italian landscape. He prepared his paintings meticulously by making preparatory drawings, many of which have been preserved. These drawings include sketches of landscapes, cattle in meadows and life figure studies. The many nude studies executed in red or black chalk are highlights of his oeuvre. He reused these studies in different compositions.An Van Camp, ''Review of Adriaen van de Velde: Dutch Master of Landscape By Bart Cornelis and Marijn Schapelhouman''
at Historians of Netherlandish Art He also was active as an etcher. His earliest known works are a set of six

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

s executed in 1653. His twenty-odd etchings depict mostly cattle in landscapes, occasionally with herders. These works were highly prized by collectors in his time.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velde, Adriaen van de 1636 births 1672 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch Golden Age printmakers Dutch landscape painters Animal artists Painters from Amsterdam Sibling artists