Jan van Nickelen (1655,

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

– 1721,

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

), 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.

Biography

According to Houbraken he learned to paint from his father

Isaak van Nickelen Isaak van Nickelen (1632–1703) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Van Nickelen was born and died in Haarlem. According to Houbraken he painted church interiors in the manner of Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet.< ...

, who taught him perspective and who sent him to school to learn Latin and French.Jan van Nickelen 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 ...

He was very inventive and discovered an innovation in textile production, which he was unable to exploit due to lack of funds. He also invented a new type of hard varnish, which he used in the production of chassinets, a painted silk backdrop for shadow plays and room screen decorations. His chassinets were popular with

Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine (''"Jan Wellem"'' in Low German, English: ''"John William"''; 19 April 1658 – 8 June 1716) of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Elector Palatine (1690–1716), Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg, Neuburg (1690–1716), ...

, whom he met through his Amsterdam friend Herman van der Mijn and Jan Frans van Douven. He won a commission to make screens with views of his properties, and Van der Mijn became the teacher of his daughter, the flower painter Jacoba Maria van Nickelen . After the death of the Elector in 1716 he moved to Kassel where he worked five years for the

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

on decorations for the residence "Slot Winterkaste" there, until his death cut the works short.Jan van Nikkelen in the Nieuw Schouburg
by

Jan van Gool Johan, or Jan van Gool (1685–1763), was a Dutch painter and writer from The Hague, now remembered mainly as a biographer of artists from the Dutch Golden Age. Life Jan van Gool was a pupil of Simon van der Does and Mattheus Terwesten.

According to the RKD He became a member of the

Haarlem Guild of St. Luke The Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke was first a Christian, and later a city Guild for various trades falling under the patron saints Luke the Evangelist and Saint Eligius. History During the lifetime of Geertgen tot Sint Jans, there was probably a ...

in 1688, moved to Dusseldorp in 1712, and moved to Kassel in 1716.Jan van Nickelen
in the RKD

References

Jan van Nickelen
on

Artnet Artnet.com is an art market website. It is operated by Artnet Worldwide Corporation, which has headquarters in New York City, in the United States, and is owned by Artnet AG, a German publicly traded company based in Berlin that is listed on t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickelen, Jan van 1655 births 1721 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Artists from Haarlem Painters from Haarlem