Hendrick Aerts (alternative names: Hendrick Aertsz., Henricus Arijssel, Hendrik Arts, Henricus A. Rijssel) (probably

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, between 1565 and 1575 - probably

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, January 1603) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

who painted mainly

architectural painting Architectural painting (also Architecture painting) is a form of genre painting where the predominant focus lies on architecture, including both outdoor and interior views. While architecture was present in many of the earliest paintings and illum ...

s and was active in Gdańsk and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

.Biographical details
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 ...

Life

Little is known about the origins, formation and life of Hendrick Aerts. It was originally assumed that he was from

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, which at the presumed time of his birth was part of the Southern Netherlands. Recent research, in particular that conducted by Bernard M. Vermet, has questioned the previous assumptions about the life of the artist and Aerts is now assumed to be a native of Mechelen. Vermet has further suggested that the clear influence of the work of the Flemish architecture painter

Paul Vredeman de Vries Paul Vredeman de Vries ( Antwerp, 1567 – Amsterdam, 1617), was a Flemish painter and draughtsman who specialised in architectural paintings and, in particular, church interiors. Life He was a son of the Dutch-born architect, painter and engin ...

is likely due to Aerts having been a pupil of Paul Vredeman de Vries. The training probably took place when both artists resided in Gdańsk in the period from 1592 to 1595. Aerts would then have accompanied Vredeman de Vries to Prague from 1596 to 1599, where he worked as his assistant in the decoration of the ceilings and the reception rooms of

Emperor Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...

's castle.Madeleine Van De Winckel. "Vredeman de Vries, Hans."
Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. From 1599 Aerts could have returned to Gdańsk, where he probably died in 1603.

Work

Only a few paintings of Hendrick Aerts have been preserved. Research attributes less than ten paintings to him. The earliest reliable work is dated 1600 and the last known work 1602. Like his presumed master Paul Vredeman de Vries, he exclusively painted fantastic architectural works of imaginary and luxurious palaces and church interiors, in which the human figures often represent allegories.

Known works

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

** Imaginary renaissance palace. 1602 *

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum The Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum (HAUM) is an art museum in the German city of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. History Founded in 1754, the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum is one of the oldest museums in Europe. The museum has its origins in the art and nat ...

** Interior of a Gothic church. *

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 ...

Museum Bredius Museum Bredius is a museum named after Abraham Bredius on the Lange Vijverberg in The Hague. It is remarkable for its collection of etchings and paintings, but is most attractive to visitors for its accurate restoration of the 18th-century ''Heren ...

** Allegory of death. 1602Allegory of death
at the Museum Bredius *Whereabouts unknown ** Allegory of love and death. c. 1600/01 '' (2002 in Paris, Galerie De Jonckheere)'' ** Marketplace. '' (until at least 1913 in a private collection in Schwedt an den Oder) '' ** Interior of a Gothic church. '' (attributed - auctioned on 7 June 1994 by the

Dorotheum The Dorotheum () is one of the world's oldest auction houses and is the largest auction house of art items in Continental Europe. Established by Emperor Joseph I in 1707, it has its headquarters in Vienna on the Dorotheergasse and branches in o ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) '' ** The inside of a cathedral with procession. '' (on 5 July 2000 auctioned by Bonhams Knightsbridge) ''

Literature

*Bernard M. Vermet, ''Hendrick Aerts'', Gentse Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis en Oudheidkunde, 30 (1995), S. 107-118 *Bernard M. Vermet, ''Architektuurschilders in Dantzig. Hendrick Aerts en Hans en Paul Vredeman de Vries'', Gentse Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis en Oudheidkunde, 31 (1996), S. 27-57 *Jan Briels, ''Vlaamse schilders en de dageraad van Hollands Gouden Eeuw 1585-1630'', Antwerpen 1997, S. 292 *Hendrick Aerts. In: Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker u. a.: Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Band 2, Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1908, S. 165. *Hendrick Aerts. In: Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker (AKL). Band 5, Saur, München u.a. 1992, , S. 341f *G.L.M. Daniëls, ''Kerkgeschiedenis en politiek in het perspectief van Hendrick Aerts,'' Antiek 9 (1974-1975), S. 63-69

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aerts, Hendrick 1570s births 1603 deaths Flemish Renaissance painters Artists from Mechelen