![Prinsegracht in The Hague, Netherlands](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Prinsegracht_in_The_Hague%2C_Netherlands.jpg)
The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
(the Netherlands) by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the
Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...
there.
History
The guild of St. Luke in the Hague existed already in the 15th century and like most large Dutch cities, it catered not just to painters, but were united also with
glazier
A glazier is a tradesman responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass (and materials used as substitutes for glass, such as some plastics).Elizabeth H. Oakes, ''Ferguson Career Resource Guide to Apprenticeship Programs'' ( Infobase: ...
s, engravers, sculptors, goldsmiths, printers and book sellers. In those days guilds were represented in churches with their own altars, and in the case of the painters' guild, they were sponsored by the church, and sometimes even ensured an income for church fathers through donations to the St. Luke's altar. After the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, this all changed, and the churches were no longer a part of guild life. With the altarpieces gone that had traditionally been the public signboard for the artists, a new venue was necessary for sales. In addition, with the influx of talented painters from the Southern Netherlands cities such as
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, , the guild fathers felt that more protective measures were necessary. When securing a new protective charter for the St. Luke's guild failed to have the desired effect, the Confrerie Pictura was set up by 48 dissatisfied painters.
[Confrerie Pictura]
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by Arnold Houbraken
Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters.
Life
Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) fr ...
, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature
The Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Dutch: Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren or DBNL) is a website (showing the abbreviation as dbnl) about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, second ...
They were led by the first deacon and popular Hague portrait painter
Adriaen Hanneman Adriaen is a Dutch form of Adrian. Notable people with the name include:
*Adriaen Banckert (1615–1684), Dutch admiral
*Adriaen Block (1567–1627), Dutch private trader and navigator
*Adriaen Brouwer (1605–1638), Flemish genre painter
*Adriaen ...
.
Among the founders were
Willem Doudijns
Willem Doudijns (1630–1697), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver.
Biography
According to the RKD he learned to draw from Alexander le Petit, and he spent 12 years in Italy. He returned home in 1661, where he collaborated with Jan ...
(1630–1697),
Jacob van der Does (1623–1673),
Jan de Bisschop
Jan de Bisschop, also known as Johannes Episcopius (1628–1671), was a lawyer, who became a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver.
Biography
According to the RKD he learned to draw from Bartholomeus Breenbergh, and he influenced in his turn ...
(1628–1671),
Theodor van der Schuer
Theodor van der Schuer (1634–1707) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
Van der Schuer was born and died in The Hague. According to Houbraken he travelled to Italy where he joined the Bentvueghels with the nickname "Vrientschap", or fr ...
,
Dirck van der Lisse
Dirck van der Lisse (6 August 1607, The Hague - buried 31 January 1669, The Hague) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
Van der Lisse was born in The Hague. He learned to paint from Cornelis van Poelenburch, and later lived in Utrecht from 1 ...
,
Daniel Mijtens the Younger
Daniël Mijtens the Younger (7 August 1644, The Hague – buried on 23 September 1688, The Hague), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the son of Daniel Mytens the Elder, although some early sources indicate that his father was Jan Mijtens. H ...
,
Johannes Mytens
Johannes Mytens or Jan Mijtens, or "Mytens" to the English (c.1614 – 24 December 1670) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, almost entirely as a portraitist.
Mytens was born in The Hague. According to Houbraken, Johannes (Jan) Mijtens was trained ...
,
Willem van Diest,
Adriaen van de Venne
Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne (1589 – 12 November 1662), was a versatile Dutch Golden Age painter of allegories, genre subjects, and portraits, as well as a miniaturist, book illustrator, designer of political satires, and versifier.
Bio ...
,
Robbert Duval Robbert is a Dutch form of the masculine given name Robert. People with the name include:
* Robbert A.J. Agerbeek (born 1937), Indo Dutch boogie-woogie and jazz pianist
* Robbert Andringa (born 1990), Dutch volleyball player
* Robbert Baruch (bo ...
,
Joris van der Haagen
''Surroundings of Arnhem'' Fine Arts of Carcassonne
Joris Abrahamsz. van der Haagen (c. 1615 – The Hague, 23 May 1669 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter specialized in landscapes.
Biography
It is unclear where Joris van der Haa ...
and
Augustinus Terwesten
Augustinus Terwesten or Augustinus Terwesten the Elder (4 May 1649 in The Hague – 21 January 1711 in Berlin) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, printmaker and art educator. He specialized in portraits, architectural and historical themes. He w ...
.
Charter of 1656
The goal of the Confrerie Pictura was to protect the Hague painters and to reinforce ties between its members. Everyone working as a painter in The Hague was obliged to be a member of the Confrerie. Guilds installed strict rules to restrict what was seen as unfair trading, but also obliged its members to attend the funerals of its members for instance.
The Confrerie had a set of 28 rules. One important rule was that its members were obliged to exhibit their works permanently at their meeting room. As soon as a work had been sold it had to be replaced by a new one.
The Confrerie started meeting upstairs at the
Boterwaag
The Boterwaag is a former weigh house for butter in The Hague, Netherlands. The right half is a café.
History
The left-half of the building was designed by the architect-painter Bartholomeus van Bassen.Rijksmonument report He designed and built i ...
building, where butter was traded at the Prinsegracht. They paid rent by donating a painting to the city council. The Confrerie was governed by a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
(deken), three governors (hoofdmannen) and a secretary, who were chosen every two years by the
Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
of The Hague.
Haagse Tekenacademie
![Aert Schouman 1750 Simon Fokke 1751](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Aert_Schouman_1750_Simon_Fokke_1751.jpg)
Later, in the 1680s the Confrerie received a somewhat better place at the Koorenhuis, the building where wheat was traded, also on the Prinsegracht. They had four separate rooms at the upper floor of this building.
In 1682, several members of Confrerie Pictura:
Willem Doudijns
Willem Doudijns (1630–1697), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver.
Biography
According to the RKD he learned to draw from Alexander le Petit, and he spent 12 years in Italy. He returned home in 1661, where he collaborated with Jan ...
,
Daniel Mijtens the Younger
Daniël Mijtens the Younger (7 August 1644, The Hague – buried on 23 September 1688, The Hague), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the son of Daniel Mytens the Elder, although some early sources indicate that his father was Jan Mijtens. H ...
,
Augustinus Terwesten
Augustinus Terwesten or Augustinus Terwesten the Elder (4 May 1649 in The Hague – 21 January 1711 in Berlin) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, printmaker and art educator. He specialized in portraits, architectural and historical themes. He w ...
,
Theodor van der Schuer
Theodor van der Schuer (1634–1707) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
Van der Schuer was born and died in The Hague. According to Houbraken he travelled to Italy where he joined the Bentvueghels with the nickname "Vrientschap", or fr ...
and
Robbert Duval Robbert is a Dutch form of the masculine given name Robert. People with the name include:
* Robbert A.J. Agerbeek (born 1937), Indo Dutch boogie-woogie and jazz pianist
* Robbert Andringa (born 1990), Dutch volleyball player
* Robbert Baruch (bo ...
, founded a proper art school called ''The Hague Drawing Academy''. (Dutch: ''Haagsche Teekenacademie'') It would occupy one of the rooms in the Koorenhuis building. The academy proved to be a success, and later on it would transform into the ''
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
The Royal Academy of Art (KABK, nl, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten) is an art and design academy in The Hague. Succeeding the ''Haagsche Teeken-Academie'' (part of the Confrerie Pictura), the academy was founded on 29 September 1682, m ...
'', which still exists today.
Article about the ''Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten Den Haag''
The original building is undergoing a restoration and expansion, but still exists (though damaged in the second world war) on the Prinsessegracht 4 in the Hague. Many original works of the founders and early members can be seen in the building's decorations.
Legacy
Paying dues to a second guild in addition to Confrerie Pictura proved too expensive for most painters, however protective it was, and the St. Luke's guild was soon to be dissolved. Confrerie Pictura existed until 1849, when the newly founded art society Pulchri Studio
Pulchri Studio (Latin:"For the study of beauty") is a Dutch art society, art institution and art studio based in The Hague ('s-Gravenhage), Netherlands.
This institute began in 1847 at the home of painter Lambertus Hardenberg. Since 1893 the c ...
(founded 1847) proved to be a more modern alternative.
See also
* Guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
* Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...
* Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
The Royal Academy of Art (KABK, nl, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten) is an art and design academy in The Hague. Succeeding the ''Haagsche Teeken-Academie'' (part of the Confrerie Pictura), the academy was founded on 29 September 1682, m ...
References
* Haagse Schilders in de Gouden Eeuw, Uitgeverij Waanders, Zwolle, 1998,
* Honderd jaar Haagse schilderkunst in Pulchri Studio, Dr. H.E van Gelder, Uitg. G.W. Breughel, Amsterdam 1947.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Confrerie Pictura
*
Dutch artist groups and collectives
.
Artists from The Hague
History of The Hague
Netherlandish Baroque art
Organizations established in 1656
1656 establishments in the Dutch Republic