George Geldorp, Georg Geldorp or Jorge Geldorp (1580/1595,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

– 4 November 1665,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) was a Flemish painter who was mainly active in England where he was known for his portraits and history paintings. He was also active as an

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationsh ...

and

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

.M. J. T. M. Stompé and Oliver Millar. "Geldorp." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.

Life

Geldorp was the son of the Flemish portrait painter Gortzius Geldorp who lived and worked in

. Geldorp first trained and worked as a painter in Cologne before being admitted as a Master in 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 ...

in Antwerp in 1610. Two years later his first wife Margriet Parmentiers died in Antwerp.George Geldorp
in the

RKD 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 ...

In 1623, Geldorp moved to London where he painted a number of portraits in the Anglo-Netherlandish style, notably of

William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, (28 March 1591 – 3 December 1668), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1605 to 1612, was an English peer, nobleman, and politician. Early years, 1591–1612 Cecil was the son of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of ...

and his wife Catherine in 1626 (

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house, a leading example of the prodigy house, was built in 1611 by Robert Cec ...

, Hertfordshire) and of Sir

Arthur Ingram Sir Arthur Ingram (ca. 1565 – 1642) was an English investor, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1610 and 1642. The subject of an influential biography, he has been celebrated for his "financial ...

in late 1638/early 1639. He was involved in organizing commissions in England for Flemish and Dutch artists including Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Peter Lely. Upon the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, he assisted with the reconstitution of the art collection and possessions of the English Royal family and was rewarded for his services with the post of picture mender and cleaner to the King. George Geldorp - Portrait of Elizabeth Bassett (1617-1643), Later Duchess of Newcastle

George Geldorp - Portrait of Elizabeth Bassett (1617-1643), Later Duchess of Newcastle

He was the teacher of Isaac Sailmaker. Geldorp rented a house in Orchard Street from Lawrence Swettnam between 1643 and 1649. He undertook to paint for Swettnam "two good picture to life yearly". The Westminster house was previously occupied by the painters Alexander Keirincx and

Cornelis van Poelenburgh Cornelis van Poelenburgh or Cornelis van Poelenburch (1594 – 12 August 1667),Cornelis van Poelenburch
...

Work

George Geldorp was a portrait specialist. His portraits are regarded as less accomplished and more stiffly articulated than those of contemporary painters active in London such as

Daniel Mijtens Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

. The surfaces of his paintings are decorative. The background of the ''Portrait of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury'' contains an historically important view of

with sportsmen in the foreground. Geldorp was also active as a collaborator and copyist of Anthony van Dyck and later Peter Lely. The Dutch biographer Arnold Houbraken reported that Geldorp was known to the artist biographer

Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the '' T ...

. Von Sandrart had written that Geldorp was not a very accomplished draughtsman and had the habit of tracing other's sketches, and then pricking holes in these sketches, and sponging this onto the canvas as a guide to paint his subjects. Houbraken disapproved of this practise and wrote that he preferred to write about painters who were good draughtsmen.Gelsdorf biography
in: Arnold Houbraken, ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geldorp, George 1580s births 1665 deaths Flemish Baroque painters Flemish portrait painters Flemish history painters Flemish art dealers Painters from Antwerp Surveyors of the Queen's Pictures Artists from Cologne German people of Belgian descent Belgian expatriates in England