Anthony van Dyck - Portrait of Palamedes Palamedesz

Palamedes Palamedesz. (I), Palamedes Palamedesz. the Elder or Palamedes Palamedesz. Stevers (bapt. 6 August 1605,

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

M. Westhoff, 'Fragmentgenealogie van Palamedes Stevensz', Gens Nostra 73 (2018), p. 188-189 – buried 26 March 1638,

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

), was a Dutch painter, and younger brother of

Anthonie Palamedesz. Anthonie Palamedesz., also Antonie Palamedesz, birth name Antonius Stevens (1602 in Leith, ScotlandM. Westhoff, 'Fragmentgenealogie van Palamedes Stevensz', Gens Nostra 73 (2018), p. 188-189 – 27 November 1673 in Amsterdam), was a Dutch po ...

He is known mainly for his battle scenes and equestrian portraits.Palamedes Palamedesz. (I)
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

He was born in

, Scotland as the son of Palamedes Willemsz. Stevens and Marie Arsene (in Dutch, called Maeijken van Naerssen) and was baptized on 6 August 1605. His father was a sculptor, stone cutter and court artist who was likely Flemish. His father carved semi-precious stone such as jasper, porphyry, and agate into vases and practised other decorative arts. He was in the service of the Scottish

King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

and possibly traveled with the King to London when he was crowned King of England as James I of England.Palamedes Willemsz. Stevens
at the

Palamedes Palamedesz. Stevers Biography
in:

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 ...

, ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718 Palamedes Palamedesz - Frederik Hendrik te paard

His father had married Maeijken van Naerssen in Leith on 6 June 1601. The couple had three children: Guilliaem (or William) (1601-1688), who became a tailor, Anthonie (1602-1673), who became a painter, and Palamedes. After Palamedes was born, the family left Scotland and established themselves in

in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

where the boys grew up. The early biographer

mentions that he was so talented that he became a master without having had a master, and only practised by copying the works of

Esaias van de Velde Esaias van de Velde (17 May 1587 (baptized) – 18 November 1630 (buried) ) was a Dutch landscape painter. Biography He was born in Amsterdam, where his Flemish father Hans had fled as a Protestant in 1585. He probably studied under his fath ...

, which he did so well that he became very well known. Contrary to this story, it is more likely that he was taught by his older brother Anthonie.Walter A. Liedtke, Michiel Plomp, Axel Rüger, ''Vermeer and the Delft School''
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 322-323 He entered the Delft

Guild of St. Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Four Evangelists, Evangelist Saint Luke, Luke, the patron sa ...

in 1627. When Palamedes and his brother Anthonie were registered with the Guild, they received the discounted entry fee reserved for residents of the city, which suggests that their father had lived in Delft before leaving for Scotland, possibly as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

fugitive from the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

in his native Flanders.

His brother became a respected portrait and genre painter. Palamedes was described as short, hunchbacked and ugly. He married Maria Ewouts van Schravesande in Delft on 19 January 1630 (died 1695). His wife was the daughter of a wealthy family. The pair were the parents of Palamedes Palamedesz. (III) (1631-1683) who was a painter. He spent time in Antwerp in 1631 and returned to Delft in 1632. His motto was "nog eerst te zullen beginnen" ("yet to start first"). He died at age 33 and was buried on 26 March 1638 in Delft.

Work

Palamedesz. primarily painted battle scenes of cavalry engagements and soldiers in military camps. He may have painted some equestrian portraits and genre scenes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palamedes, Palamedes 1605 births 1638 deaths Artists from Delft Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Painters from Delft People from Leith