Gerrit van Uylenburgh (c. 1625 – 1679), or Gerrit Uylenburgh, 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 art-dealer. He was the eldest son of Hendrick van Uylenburgh and took over the family art-dealing business after Hendrick's death and burial in the Westerkerk church in 1661. This business, then in a house on
Lauriergracht
The Lauriergracht (; literally "Laurel Canal") is one of the canals of Amsterdam, located in the Jordaan, west of the Grachtengordel.
History and inhabitants
It was painted and photographed by George Hendrik Breitner who set up a studio on the ...
, formerly owned by
Govaert Flinck
Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age.
Life
Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...
, played a key role in the art world of the
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, ...
.
Life
According to Arnold Houbraken, he started off as a landscape painter and painted rooms in the house of a wealthy man in Amsterdam. He soon saw he could earn more money dealing in art than in painting himself.Gerard Uilenburg biography 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 ...
Like his father he took young promising painters into his service, such as
Hendrick Fromantiou
Hendrik de Fromantiou (1633 – after 1693) was a Dutch still life painter.
Early life
Fromantiou was born in Maastricht. In his youth, he produced works for the art dealer Gerrit van Uylenburgh in Amsterdam and from 1658, he was active in ...
, Jurriaen Ovens and Gerard de Lairesse. He expanded the business internationally and sold many Italian masters and classical sculptures alongside Dutch art. The English painter
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.
Life
Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...
Cornelis
Cornelis is a Dutch language, Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius (name), Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees (given name), Kees, Neel and Nelis.
Cornelis (Kees) an ...
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
.
In 1671 he organised the auction of
Gerrit Reynst
Gerrit Reynst (1599 – 29 June 1658) (also known as Gerard Reynst) was, like his younger brother Jan (1601–1646), a Dutch merchant and art collector from Amsterdam, with his brother owner of the Reynst Collection. He was an alderman and me ...
's collection and offered thirteen paintings and some sculptures from among those which had not sold at the auction to
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...
. However, on Fromantiou's advice, Frederick accused them of being counterfeits and sent them back. Van Uylenburg then organized a counter-assessment, asking a total of 35 painters to pronounce on their authenticity, including Jan Lievens,
Melchior de Hondecoeter
Melchior d'Hondecoeter (; 1636 – 3 April 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscap ...
,
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (19 August 1621 – 29 September 1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and a favourite student of Rembrandt. He was also an etcher, an amateur poet, a collector and an adviser on art.
Biography
Gerbrand was born in A ...
,
Barend Graat
Barend Graat (21 September 1628, Amsterdam – 4 November 1709, Amsterdam),Barend Graat in the
Johannes Vermeer.
In 1675 van Uylenburgh hit financial problems, as a result of the war with France, falling art prices, and possibly due to the damage to his reputation from the Brandenburg affair. His business went bankrupt and Gerrit moved to London, where Lely exerted his influence at court and secured him the post of
Surveyor of the King’s Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by ...
. He died in 1679.
In 2006 the
Rembrandt House Museum
The Rembrandt House Museum ( nl, Museum Het Rembrandthuis) is a museum located in a former house in the Jodenbreestraat, in the center of Amsterdam. Between 1639 and 1658, the house was occupied by the well-known Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn ...
presented an exhibition about Hendrick and Gerrit. The exhibition was also shown at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
References
* Dudok van Heel, S.A.C. (1982) HET ‘SCHILDERHUIS’ VAN GOVERT FLINCK EN DE KUNSTHANDEL VAN UYLENBURGH AAN DE LAURIERGRACHT TE AMSTERDAM. In: Amstelodamum Jrb 74, pp. 77–8.