Jan Weenix or Joannis Wenix (between 1641/164919 September 1719 (buried)) was a Dutch painter. He was trained by his father,

Jan Baptist Weenix Jan Baptist Weenix, also spelled Jan Baptiste Weeninx (1621–c. 1659) was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Despite his relatively brief career, he was a very productive and versatile painter. His favourite subjects were Italian land ...

, together with his cousin

Melchior d'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 ...

. Like his father, he painted various subjects, but is mostly known for his paintings of dead game and hunting scenes. Many paintings in this genre were formerly ascribed to the elder Weenix, but are now generally considered to be the work of the son.

Life

Foto van prent van panorama - Amsterdam - 20319251 - RCE

Jan Weenix was born in Amsterdam according to his notice of marriage in 1679 but his date of birth is not exactly known as the baptismal record of this catholic church did not survive. Between 1643 and 1647 his father (Jan Baptist) worked in Italy, but the family moved to Utrecht around 1649. His father subsequently moved into a castle near

Vleuten Vleuten is a former village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. Today, it is a neighbourhood of the city of Utrecht, and lies about 6 km west from the city centre. Vleuten has a railway station on the line between Utrecht and Woerden Woerde ...

, but died rather young in 1659. By the age of twenty Jan Weenix rivalled and later surpassed his father in breadth of treatment and richness of colour. Jan Weenix was a member of the

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

guild of painters 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 1664 and 1668. Marriage and children In 1679, Jan Weenix married the 20-year-old Pieternella Backers (he told the

schepen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...

he was "around thirty"). Between 1680 and 1700, the couple had 13 children who were baptized in a hidden church. At least four were sons –Jan Baptista (1680-), Willem Ignatius (1690-1764), Jacobus (1693-), Nicolaes Andreas (1699-1757) – and two were daughters: Sara and

Maria Weenix Maria Weenix (1697–1774), was an 18th-century painter from the Northern Netherlands. Biography According to the RKD she was the daughter of Jan Weenix, who taught her to paint. Weenix-Gibier et armes de chasse

In 1697 he painted a portrait of Peter the Great, visiting the Republic to study shipbuilding, science, and the art of fortification building. In Amsterdam, Weenix was frequently employed to decorate private houses with wall-paintings on canvas. He painted five fixed paintings or

wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so ...

on canvas for Jacob de Granada; these became very popular in the second half of the 18th century when nature and

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

were fashionable and copied. The paintings survived in the house until 1922. Then the enormous "paintings" were sold before an auction to

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

in a private arrangement. After Hearst went bankrupt, the paintings were dispersed; one is in the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, two are in the Hotel Carlyle in New York, one has been in the

Allen Memorial Art Museum The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) is an art museum located in Oberlin, Ohio, and it is run by Oberlin College. Founded in 1917, the collection contains over 15,000 works of art. Overview The AMAM is primarily a teaching museum and is aimed at ...

since 1953 and one is lost. Between 1702 and 1712 Weenix was occupied with an important series of twelve large hunting pictures for the Elector Palatine Johann Wilhelm's castle of Bensberg, near

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. Also

Eglon van der Neer Eglon van der Neer (1635/363 May 1703) was a Dutch painter of historical scenes, portraits and elegant, fashionable people, and later of landscapes. Life Van der Neer was born in Amsterdam and was probably first taught by his father, Aert ...

Rachel Ruysch Rachel Ruysch (3 June 1664 – 12 October 1750) was a Dutch still-life painter from the Northern Netherlands. She specialized in flowers, inventing her own style and achieving international fame in her lifetime. Due to a long and successful care ...

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 ...

had a very good relationship with the court, being paid well or knighted as ridder and probably meeting an international crowd of artists and musicians. The treasury was empty when Jan Wellem, as he was called in Düsseldorf, died. Most of this collection is now at the Munich Gallery. Weenix' pupils were his daughter

Nieuwezijds Kapel Nieuwezijds Kapel (Dutch - New Side's Chapel), or Heilige Stede (Dutch - holy site) or Chapel of the Heilige Stede refers to a site in Amsterdam that includes shops and a Dutch Reformed church built in 1908 on the site of a church once called the ...

a nearby catholic church on the

Rokin The Rokin is a canal and major street in the centre of Amsterdam. The street runs from Muntplein, Amsterdam, Muntplein square to Dam Square, Dam square. The Rokin canal used to run from Muntplein square to Dam Square, but in 1936, the part between ...

. His widow and daughters stayed in the

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

business, selling stones and tiles.

Work

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

was impressed by the treatment of animals in Weenix pictures which he saw in Munich. He devoted a poem to Weenix's technique, in which he stated that Weenix equaled and even surpassed nature in his treatment of animal textures such as hair, feathers and claws. Many of his best works are to be found in English private collections. The

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

has two paintings, including "A Deerhound with Dead Game and Implements of the Chase", while the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along w ...

(also in London) has thirteen paintings, including "Flowers on a Fountain with a Peacock." Outside the United Kingdom, Jan Weenix is well represented in the galleries of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. A medium-sized Weenix, "Still Life with Dead Game", hangs in the dining room of the

Filoli Filoli, also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, is a country house set in of formal gardens surrounded by a estate, located in Woodside, California, about south of San Francisco, at the southern end of Crystal Springs Reservoir, on the eastern ...

estate in California. A certain "Still Life with Hunting Trophies" hangs in the

Ackland Art Museum The Ackland Art Museum is a museum and academic unit of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded through the bequest of William Hayes Ackland (1855–1940) to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is located a ...

, Chapel Hill, NC, and a large "Peacock with Hunting Trophies" hangs in the

Museu Calouste Gulbenkian The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world's most important private art collections. It includes works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, spanning the arts of the Islamic World, China and Japan, as well as the French decor ...

. "Boy with Toys, Pet Monkey and a Turkey" is in the

Kresge Art Museum The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (colloquially MSU Broad), is a contemporary art museum at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. It opened on November 10, 2012. History On June 1, 2007, Michigan State received a $28 millio ...

. "Still Life with Dead Hare" in the

Museum of Western and Oriental Art The Khanenko Museum (official name: The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts) is an art museum located in Kyiv, in Ukraine, which holds the biggest and most valuable collections of European, Asian and Ancient art in the country. T ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

.Helena Roslavets (Ed.): Museum of Western and Oriental Art Kyiv, Aurora Art Publishers, Leningrad 1985

Gallery

File:After the Hunt by Jan Weenix.jpg, ''After the Hunt'' (1665), oil on panel, 44.7 × 34.5 cm.,

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinak ...

File:Jan Weenix - The Prodigal Son - WGA25514.jpg, ''The Prodigal Son'' (1668), oil on canvas, 111 x 99 cm., Residenzgalerie File:Jan Weenix - Still Life with a Peacock and a Dog - WGA25517.jpg, ''Still-Life with a Peacock and a Dog'' (1669), oil on canvas, 143.5 x 187 cm.,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

File:Jan Weenix - Still Life of a Dead Hare, Partridges, and Other Birds in a Niche - 2001.82 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, ''Dead Hare, Partridges, and Other Birds in a Niche'' (ca. 1675), oil on canvas, 105.5 x 88.5 Cm.,

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

File:Een hond bewaakt een parelhoen Centraal Museum 29837.jpg, ''A Dog Guards a Guinea Fowl'' (ca. 1680), oil on canvas,

Centraal Museum The Centraal Museum is the main museum in Utrecht, Netherlands, founded in 1838. The museum has a wide-ranging collection, mainly of works produced locally. The collection of the paintings by the Northern Mannerist Joachim Wtewael is by a lon ...

File:Jan Weenix 003.jpg, ''The White Peacock'' (1692), oil on canvas, 191 x 166 cm.,

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

File:Landscape with Huntsman and Dead Game 1697 Jan Weenix.jpg, ''Landscape with Huntsman and Dead Game'' (1697), oil on canvas, 344 x 323 cm.,

Scottish National Gallery The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

File:Jan Weenix - Südamerikanischer Königsgeier - GG 9045 - Kunsthistorisches Museum.jpg, ''South American King Vulture'' (ca. 1700), 117 x 98 cm.,

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...

File:Jan Weenix - Still life - M.Ob.2501 MNW - National Museum in Warsaw.jpg, ''Still Life'' (1705), oil on canvas, 123 x 99 cm.,

National Museum, Warsaw The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art ( Eg ...

File:Jan Weenix - Dead Birds and Hunting Equipment in a Landscape - 41.744 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, ''Dead Birds and Hunting Equipment in a Landscape'' (no date), oil on canvas, 97.8 x 83.8 cm.,

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

File:Jan Weenix (1642-1719) - Dead Peacock and Game - P140 - The Wallace Collection.jpg, ''Dead Peacock and Game'' (1707), oil on canvas,

Notes

Sources

Attribution: * * Anke A. Van Wagenberg-Ter Hoeven (2018) Jan Baptist Weenix & Jan Weenix: The Paintings. Zwolle: Waanders & De Kunst,

External links

*
Weenix_in_Liechtenstein_Museum
,_Vienna.html" ;"title="Liechtenstein Museum">Weenix in Liechtenstein Museum
, Vienna">Liechtenstein Museum">Weenix in Liechtenstein Museum
, Vienna
Boy with Toys, Pet Monkey and a Turkey at Michigan State University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weenix, Jan 1640s births 1719 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Painters from Amsterdam Painters from Utrecht