Matthias Withoos (1627–1703), also known as Calzetta Bianca and Calzetti, was a Dutch painter of still lifes and city scenes, best known for the details of insects, reptiles and undergrowth in the foreground of his pictures.Seymour Slive, ''Dutch Painting 1600-1800'', Yale University Press Pelican history of Art, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1995, p. 290. .H.-G. Dijk-Koekoek, "Withoos alzetti; Galzetta Bianca Matthias atteo" ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, ctober 29, 2007

Life

Withoos was born in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

. He studied under

Jacob van Campen Jacob van Campen (2 February 1596 - 13 September 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect of the Dutch Golden Age, Golden Age. Life He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and wit ...

, at his painters' school just outside the city at his country house, and then with

Otto Marseus van Schrieck Otto Marseus van Schrieck (ca. 1613, in Nijmegen – buried 22 June 1678, in Amsterdam) was a painter in the Dutch Golden Age. He is best known for his paintings of forest flora and fauna. Biography Marseus van Schrieck spent the years 1652 ...

. When he was 21, Withoos made a trip to

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 ...

with van Schrieck, and

Willem van Aelst Willem van Aelst (16 May 1627 – buried 22 May 1683)Aelst, Willem van

. In Rome they joined the group of northern artists known as the "

Bentvueghels The Bentvueghels (Dutch for "Birds of a Feather") were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome from about 1620 to 1720. They are also known as the Schildersbent ("painters' clique"). Activities The members, which included ...

" ("Birds of a feather"), and Withoos went by the alias "Calzetta Bianca" ("White

Hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called ''pipes'' (the word ''pipe'' usually refers to a rigid tube, whereas a hose is usually a flexible one), or more generally '' ...

") — a translation of his name into Italian. Withoos' work caught the eye of the cardinal Leopoldo de Medici, who commissioned various paintings from him. Matthias Withoos - Landscape with birds and flowers in the underbrush of a wood

Matthias Withoos - Landscape with birds and flowers in the underbrush of a wood

In 1653, the artist returned to Amersfoort. When French troops occupied Amersfoort in the "Disastrous Year" of 1672, Withoos fled from Amersfoort to Hoorn, where he would remain until his death in 1703. Many of Withoos' seven children also followed in his footsteps, including the

botanical artist Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

Alida Withoos Alida Withoos (c. 1661/62 – 5 December 1730 (buried)) was a Dutch botanical artist and painter. She was the daughter of the painter Matthias Withoos. Life Alida Withoos was born in Amersfoort. With three brothers Johannes, Pieter, Frans, and ...

. Following the artist's career as a painter of cityscapes, his student

Caspar van Wittel Caspar van Wittel or Gaspar van Wittel (born Jasper Adriaensz van Wittel; 1652 or 1653 – September 13, 1736), known in Italian as Gaspar Vanvitelli () or (), was a Dutch painter and draughtsman who had a long career in Rome. He played a p ...

was instrumental in developing the genre of architecture ''

vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre ...

'' in Rome.

Jacob van Staverden Jacob van StaverdenName variations: Jacomo van Staverden, Jacob van Staveren, nickname: IJver (Amersfoort, 1656 – Rome, (after) 1716) was a Dutch painter who emigrated to Rome where he formed part of the group of genre painters known as the Bamb ...

was possibly also one of his pupils.Biographical details of Jacob van Staverden
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 ...

Works

Still life paintings by Withoos, like those of his teacher Van Schrieck, are notable for their close-ups of dark and mysterious wild plants and undergrowth inhabited by insects, reptiles and other creatures from the natural world. These paintings, many of which have a

vanitas A ''vanitas'' (Latin for 'vanity') is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death. Best-known are ''van ...

motif, were popular with collectors of

cabinet painting A cabinet painting (or "cabinet picture") is a small painting, typically no larger than two feet (0.6 meters) in either dimension, but often much smaller. The term is especially used for paintings that show full-length figures or landscapes at a s ...

s. Additionally, he painted numerous large cityscapes, such as the ''View of the city of Amersfoort'' acquired in 2001 by the Museum Flehite in Amersfoort. This work of a size of 2.5 x 4 m was the largest city view in the Netherlands. Two versions of "De Grashaven" were in the collection of the

Westfries Museum The Westfries Museum is a museum of regional history established in the Dutch city of Hoorn. It was opened on 10 January 1880 and has been established in a monumental building dating to 1632. This building originally belonged to the Gecommitt ...

in Hoorn until they were stolen at the end of 2005.

References

External links

* 1627 births 1703 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch still life painters Cityscape artists People from Amersfoort Members of the Bentvueghels {{Netherlands-painter-stub