Maria Verelst (1680–1744) was an 18th-century English painter.
Biography
Verelst was born in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
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, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
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, timezone_DST ...
, but moved with her family to London at the age of three. Her father was the Dutch painter
Harman Verelst, who taught her and her brothers
Simon
Simon may refer to:
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* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
and
Cornelis how to paint.
[Maria Verelst]
in the RKD
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 ...
She is known for miniatures and portraits as well as becoming a language teacher. She spoke many different languages such as Dutch and Latin.
[
According to the Dutch artist biographer Jacob Campo Weyerman, she overheard some Dutch men in a London theatre speaking about artists in their native language and she corrected them. The gentlemen excused themselves and continued speaking in Italian. She corrected them again, and they continued in Latin with the remark that they would not be interrupted in that language again. When she again spoke, it was to insist that women could not be barred from learning languages, despite the fact that they were not allowed to participate in public proceedings. The gentlemen were so impressed they inquired of her occupation and came to visit her the next day bearing gifts and to order their portraits made.][Juffrouw Verelst Biography, p 254]
in ''De levens-beschryvingen der Nederlandsche konst-schilders'' (Volume 3, 1729) by Jacob Campo Weyerman
Career
Her earliest paintings have not survived. In the 1720s she worked with William Aikman and Charles Jervas
Charles Jervas (also Jarvis and Jervis; c. 1675 – 2 November 1739) was an Irish portrait painter, translator, and art collector of the early 18th century.
Early life
Born in Shinrone, County Offaly, Ireland around 1675, the son of John J ...
but her style more closely reflected Thomas Hudson by the next decade. Landscape backgrounds and informal dress were her style of choice for the majority of her female subjects. Hayes notes that while her modeling is firm, her staging of drapery is simple.
She also worked with Sir James Thornhill around this same period of time. Murals have been preserved in England that have been attributed as a joint effort between the two painters.
Works
Some of her works include: ''Portrait of Lady Smythe, three-quarter-length'', ''Portrait of a lady, half-length, in a silver white gown'', ''Nature morte aux huitres et aux crabs'', ''Portrait of Duke of Marlborough'', ''Portrait of a woman, Lady Middleton'', ''Portrait of a lady in a yellow dress seated, with a wooded landscape beyond'', ''Portrait of a Lady with a Country Estate in the Distance'', and ''Duke of Chandos in the dressing room''.
Family Tree
End of Life
She died in London in 1744, nearly 40 years after her father, and 20 years after her uncle. Both of whom were accomplished painters and her earliest mentors.
References
External links
Painting by Maria Verelst
of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...
on website of 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 ...
Maria Verelst
on Artnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verelst, Maria
1680 births
1744 deaths
18th-century English painters
18th-century English women artists
Artists from Vienna
English women painters
English people of Dutch descent