Jean-Baptiste Descamps - Guerard Melder Tome Quatrieme p 280

Gerard Melder (1693 – 1754), was an 18th-century miniature and watercolor painter from the Northern Netherlands.

Biography

He was born in Amsterdam. According to Johan van Gool who devoted six pages to his biography in his ''Nieuwe Schouburg'', Melder's father Cornelis Melder died when he was six, and he was named after his grandfather, the Utrecht fortifications master Gerard Melder, who published an instructional booklet in 1658 on the Utrecht fortifications.Gerard Melder Biography, Part 2, page 226
in ''Nieuwe Schouburg'' (with painter index), (1750) by Jan van Gool, in the ''Institute of Dutch History'' This younger Gerard Melder made copies on ivory after

Rosalba Carriera Rosalba Carriera (12 January 1673 – 15 April 1757) was a Venetian Rococo painter. In her younger years, she specialized in portrait miniatures. Carriera would later become known for her pastel portraits, helping popularize the medium in eighte ...

whose miniatures he collected. He became acquainted with the works of Rosalba after

Theodoor Wilkens Theodoor Wilkens or Theodorus Wilkens (alias Goedewil) (1690, Amsterdam – 1748, Amsterdam), was an 18th-century painter and draughtsman from the Dutch Republic who specialised in landscapes. Biography Nothing is known about his apprentices ...

returned from Italy with a few of them. Melder became, through practise, quite good at making Rosalba-like miniature copies of Dutch masters for snuffboxes, and later tried his hand at larger works. Van Gool mentioned copies by his hand of works by Gerard Dou,

Adriaen van der Werff Adriaen van der Werff (21 January 1659 – 12 November 1722) was a Dutch painter of portraits and erotic, devotional and mythological scenes. His brother, Pieter van der Werff (1661–1722), was his principal pupil and assistant. Life At the ag ...

, and

Hans Rottenhammer Johann Rottenhammer, or Hans Rottenhammer (1564 – 14 August 1625), was a German painter. He specialized in highly finished paintings on a small scale. Biography He was born in Munich, where he studied until 1588 under Hans Donauer the Eld ...

. In 1728 he married Margareta Schalkwijk a Velden, and in 1735 they moved to Utrecht. Van Gool used a portrait of

Margaretha Wulfraet Margaretha Wulfraet (1678–1760) was an 18th-century painter from the Northern Netherlands. Biography Wulfraet was born and died in Arnhem. According to Houbraken she was the daughter of Matthijs Wulfraet who travelled to Frankfurt and bec ...

that was in Melder's possession for his engraved portrait of her. According to the RKD he was also a follower of

Herman Saftleven Herman Saftleven the Younger (1609 - 5 January 1685 (buried)), was a Dutch painter of the Baroque period. Biography Born in Rotterdam, Saftleven lived most of his life (1632–1685) in Utrecht. His brothers, Cornelis Saftleven (1607–1681) ...

, and is known for etchings and watercolors as well as his copied miniatures on ivory after old masters.Gerard Melder
in the RKD He died in Utrecht.

References

Gerard Melder
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Melder, Gerard 1693 births 1754 deaths 18th-century Dutch painters 18th-century Dutch male artists Dutch male painters Painters from Amsterdam