The Leiden Guild of Saint Luke refers to three artist collectives in Leiden; the ''Leidsche St. Lucas Gilde'' dating from 1648, the newer ''Leidse Tekenacademie'' established in 1694, and the collective known as ''Ars Aemula Naturae'' (art competes with nature) established in 1799.

History

Like other Dutch cities, Leiden required membership in the guilds in order to sell wares falling under those guilds. In the Middle Ages,

Lucas van Leyden Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very ac ...

had kept a workshop that was more or less seen as a guild. Leiden in the Middle Ages was a small city in the Northern Netherlands, smaller than Gouda or Haarlem. Leiden seems to have not had a specific guild for painters prior to March 10, 1648, when Gerard Dou and

Abraham Lambertsz van den Tempel Abraham van den Tempel (c.1622 – 8 October 1672) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography He probably learned painting from his father, also a painter, but who died when he was still quite young, in 1636. That is the same year that he m ...

signed a charter and founded the ''Leidse Sint Lucasgilde'' with his colleagues Gabriel Metsu, Jan Steen,

Joris van Schooten Joris van Schooten (1587–1651) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the uncle of the Leiden mathematician Frans van Schooten. Biography According to Houbraken he was born in Leiden with a talent for drawing, and his teachers were upset that he ...

David Bailly David Bailly (1584–1657) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Bailly was born at Leyden in the Dutch Republic, the son of a Flemish immigrant, calligrapher and fencing master, Peter Bailly. As a draftsman, David was pupil of his fathe ...

and

Pieter de Ring Pieter de Ring, or Ryng (1615/1620 – 22 September 1660) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, famous for his opulent, flashy still lifes or banquet pieces with fruit, a lobster, a goblet, shrimps, oysters, a rug and Chinese porcelain. Hi ...

.See the RKD entries for these artists This collective was for trades connected to the art industry. After the change of governance that the siege of Leiden caused, Joris van Schooten issued his first proposal to the city council for a St. Luke Guild in 1609 and again in 1610. His petitions were refused for being ''too Catholic''. Previously, the Leiden artists had been unified in the workshop of the Leiden councilman Isaac Nicolai. Later collectives were founded as a Leiden-based art academy along the lines of the

Confrerie Pictura The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague (the Netherlands) by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there. History The guild of St. Luke in the Hague existed a ...

in The Hague. In 1694, Willem van Mieris,

Carel de Moor Carel de Moor (25 February 1655 – 16 February 1738) was a Dutch Golden Age etcher and painter. He was a pupil of Gerard Dou. Biography Carel de Moor was born in Leiden. According to Houbraken, his father was an art dealer who wanted him to s ...

and

Jacob Toorenvliet Jacob Toorenvliet (1640–1719) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works. Biography Toorenvliet was born in Leiden, to Abraham Toorenvliet (1620–1692), a glass painter and drawing instructor. The younger Toorenvliet first studied art wit ...

began a true drawing academy with evening classes for artists where they could draw from live models.Website
Ars Aemula Naturae

Ars Aemula Naturae

Guilds were disbanded during the French occupation, so the collective became a society and in 1799 the name changed to ''Ars Aemula Naturae'', which still exists today. The society meets in an old building on Pieterskerkgracht 9 since 1859. The building is a

rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

and contains some rare paintings on the ceiling by one of the earliest guild members,

Martin Zaagmolen Martin Zaagmolen or Martinus Saeghmolen (buried 1 November 1669) was a Dutch painter. biography Zaagmolen was born in Oldenburg. Houbraken notices him as a painter of history, and describes a picture of the Last Judgment by him, in which were int ...

Other guild members registered in Leiden

Abraham Begeyn Abraham Begeyn (c. 1637 Leiden – 11 June 1697 Berlin), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Begeyn was born in Leiden. Though perhaps known mostly for his ''Italianate'' landscapes and cattle in the manner of Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem, ...

* Evert Collier *

Cornelis Liefrinck Cornelis Liefrinck (1581–c. 1662) was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter. Biography According to Houbraken he was born and lived in Leiden and was still painting in 1640, along with his contemporaries Arnout Elsevier, Jan van Goyen, an ...

Matthijs Naiveu Matthys or Matthijs Naiveu (16 April 1647 in Leiden – 4 June 1726 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to Houbraken he was trained in drawing by Abraham Toorenvliet (1620–1692), a glass painter and drawing instruc ...

Ary de Vois Ary de Vois (1632-1635 – July 1680) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Ary de Vois was born and died in Leiden. He was the son of Alewijn de Vois from Utrecht, who was organist in the Pieterskerk, Leiden, in 1635. Ary became a pupil i ...

Roelof Jansz van Vries Roelof van Vries (1631, Haarlem – 1681-1701, Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to the RKD he is known for landscapes in the manner of more famous Haarlem landscapists such as Jacob van Ruisdael, Meindert Hob ...

References

{{reflist Guilds in the Netherlands History of Leiden Dutch artist groups and collectives Painters from Leiden