Matthijs Balen (1684 in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

– 1766 in

) was an 18th-century painter from the Northern Netherlands. According to the RKD he was a registered pupil of

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) fr ...

, and like him, became a printmaker as well as a painter. He lived in The Hague from 1705–1715 and is known for Italianate landscapes, portraits, and historical allegories.Matthijs Balen
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 ...

He was probably the son or grandson of the Dordrecht writer

Mathias Balen Mathias or Matthijs Jansz. Balen (born 1 October 1611 in Dordrecht; died 1691) was a Dutch historian. Biography He first distinguished himself as a poet, but afterwards applied himself to historical researches, and in 1677 published a description ...

, who wrote ''Beschryvinge der stad Dordrecht'' in 1677. Houbraken himself had been a pupil of

Samuel van Hoogstraten Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten (2 August 1627, in Dordrecht – 19 October 1678, in Dordrecht) was a Dutch painter of the Golden Age, who was also a poet and author on art theory. Biography Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten trained first with his fat ...

and was friends with

Romeyn de Hooghe Romeyn de Hooghe (bapt. 10 September 1645 – 10 June 1708) was a late Dutch Baroque painter, sculptor, engraver and caricaturist. Biography He was born in Amsterdam, and was a skilled etcher, draughtsman, painter, sculptor and medalis ...

, both of whom assisted the elder Balen with some poems and etchings for his book.

References

Matthijs Balen
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Balen, Matthijs 1684 births 1766 deaths 18th-century Dutch painters 18th-century Dutch male artists Dutch male painters Artists from Dordrecht