Mattheus Terwesten or Matthäus Terwesten (23 February 1670, The Hague - 11 June 1757, The Hague) was a Dutch painter and art educator. He is known for his portraits as well as of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was a decorative painter he painted chimney pieces, overdoors, wall hangings and ceilings for the luxurious buildings of his time.Sheila D. Muller, Dutch Art: An Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2013, p. 179 He was director of The Hague Drawing Academy.Terwesten, Matthäus called Arents or Arend
at Oxford Art Online He became

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

to Frederick William I of Prussia and professor at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

.Mattheus Terwesten
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

Terwesten was born in The Hague of parents of German origin. His father, Hans Jacob Terwesten or Zurwesten, was originally from

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

while his mother Catharina came from Berlin. They had married in The Hague in 1648, where Hans Jacob worked as a goldsmith. The marriage produced ten children, of whom three sons and two daughters survived. Augustinus was the oldest son. In his father's workshop Augustinus learned the art of engraving, goldsmithing and wax modelling. This was followed by two years of apprenticeship with the history painter

Nicolaes Willingh Nicolaes Willingh (1640, The Hague – 1678, Berlin), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to Houbraken he was the teacher of Robbert Duval and Augustinus Terwesten.Ezaias, the middle son of the family, also worked temporarily in his father's workshop and settled later in Rome as a flower and fruit painter.Michael Lausberg, ‘’Prunkschlösser: Schloss Charlottenburg’’
He initially studied under his 21 years older brother Augustin. He further received training from Willem Doudyns and

Daniel Mijtens the Younger Daniël Mijtens the Younger (7 August 1644, The Hague – buried on 23 September 1688, The Hague), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the son of Daniel Mytens the Elder, although some early sources indicate that his father was Jan Mijtens. H ...

. When Augustin moved to Berlin in 1690, he finished several of the works left unfinished by his brother. He also received his own commissions. Mattheus Terwesten - Venus and Adonis

In 1695 he traveled via Berlin to Rome, where his mother and brother Augustinus were living. He took drawing classes at the Academy of Arts in Berlin for which he received a certificate. In the spring of 1696 he travelled via Leipzig and Neurenberg to Augsburg where to his regret no family members were still living. He then continued on to Florence and Siena to arrive in Rome. Here he produced in 1697 an extensive album of drawings after Antique models. In

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

he became a member of the Bentvueghels, an association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists working in Rome. It was customary for new members of the Bentvueghels to adopt an appealing nickname, the so-called 'bent name'. Terwesten took the nickname "Arend", "Arents" or "Aquila", meaning "eagle". He travelled to Berlin to visit his sick mother. He passed via Loreto, Bologna, Venice and Vienna. He stayed one month in Venice and met the Flemish painter

Anthoni Schoonjans Anthoni Schoonjans, nicknamed Parhasius (1655 – 13 August 1726) was a Flemish painter known for his portraits as well as his history paintings. After training in Antwerp he had an international career, which saw him work in various countries in ...

during his three-month stay in Vienna. He then continued on via Prague to Berlin where he resided in the years 1698/99. In June 1699 he was back in The Hague, where he worked on commissions from important public figures. He was recorded back in Berlin in April 1710 where his brothers Ezaias and Augustinus were active. When the latter died in 1711, he succeeded him as court painter in Berlin, while Ezaias went to Italy, where he married and settled permanently. He also became professor at the Academy of Berlin. He returned to The Hague in 1710. He married that same year Thedora van Rheenen with whom he had five children. Two of them, Augustinus the Younger and Pieter also became painters. His pupils were Herman Diederik Cuipers, Pieter van Cuyck (I),

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.

, Johan Graham, Hendrik van Hulst, Jacob van Nachenius, Andries Storck, as well as his two sons Augustinus the Younger and Pieter. He was active in the drawing academy of The Hague throughout his professional life. He worked until old age. As late as 1751, at the age of 81, he was commissioned to decorate a courtroom and executed it. After two strokes he died in The Hague on 11 June 1757.

Work

He painted portraits and wall and ceiling decorations with historical allegories. He collaborated with his brothers and specialist still life painters on his decorative paintings. The Flemish still life painters Pieter Hardimé and

Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen the Younger Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen or Gasparo Pedro Verbruggen (baptized on 11 April 1664 in Antwerp – buried on 14 March 1730 in Antwerp) was a Flemish still life painter who is principally known for his decorative still lifes with flowers and fruit. ...

who both worked in the Dutch Republic during their careers are among his known collaborators.Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen
at the

These collaborations were usually on decorative ceiling paintings, as well as chimney pieces and overdoors. When one of the flower painters was without a commission, Terwesten would occasionally paint a simple background motif such as a vase with drapery or playing putti and the specialist would add the flowers and have the finished painting offered for sale. Such a work was signed, if at all, by the flower painter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Terwesten, Mattheus 1670 births 1757 deaths 18th-century Dutch painters 18th-century Dutch male artists Dutch male painters Artists from The Hague Members of the Bentvueghels Court painters