Pieter Anthonisz van Bronckhorst or Bronkhorst (16 May 1588 – 21 June 1661), was a Dutch painter active in Delft. He was mainly an architectural painter known for his church interiors and fantasy palaces with small figures representing biblical stories. It is possible he also painted still lifes and was a

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape, that are not the primary subject matter of the work. Typically they are small, and there to add an indication of scale and add interest. Before ...

painter for other painters.Pieter van Bronckhorst
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 ...

Life

Pieter van Bronckhorst -oordeel van Salamo - vierschaar Delft

Details on his life are scarce. He was born on 16 May 1588 in Delft as the son of Anthonis Pieters (van Bronckhorst), a tailor, and Machteld Dirxdr. van Coolwijk.Michiel Kersten, Danielle Lokin, ''Delftse Meesters. Tijdgenoten van. Vermeer'', Waanders, Zwolle, museum Prinsenhof Delft 1996, pp. 42-44 His master(s) are not known but it is likely that he studied painting in Delft. He visited France in his youth to study perspective painting. He had returned by 1609. He was one of the co-founders of the

Guild of Saint 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 Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...

of Delft in 1613 and was its headman in 1655-1656. On 5 October 1614 he married in Delft Jacobmina Nicolaesdr. de Grebber (died 1666), daughter of the prominent goldsmith Nicolaes Adriaensz. de Grebber. Around 1652 fellow Delft painter

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 ...

painted the couple's double portraits. The couple had three children: Machtelijna Pieters (died 1682), Claes Pietersz. (1617-1656) and Maria (1631-1708). His son Claes Pietersz. also became a painter. He was possibly the teacher of the architectural painter

Dirck van Delen Dirck van Delen or Dirck Christiaensz van Delen (c. 1605 – 16 May 1671) was a Dutch painter who specialized exclusively in architectural paintings, principally depicting palace perspectives and church interiors. Life Van Delen was born in ...

. He died in Delft on 21 June 1661 and was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

Work

He was known for his architectural paintings. He used the monogram PVB (entwined) to sign his paintings. He painted the interiors of churches, temples and palaces, which he ornamented with small figures representing historical subjects. Examples are the two large pictures he painted for the City Hall of Delft: the ''Christ driving the Money-changers out of the Temple'' and the ''Judgment of Solomon'' (now in

Museum Het Prinsenhof The Prinsenhof ("The Court of the Prince") in the city of Delft in the Netherlands is an urban palace built in the Middle Ages as a monastery. Later it served as a residence for William the Silent. William was assassinated in the Prinsenhof by B ...

in Delft).Anthonie Palamedesz Biography
in: Arnold Houbraken ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718 He painted the latter work in 1620 or 1622 on a commission from the

Vierschaar A Vierschaar is a historical term for a tribunal in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , establis ...

, the local tribunal which had its seat in the Delft City Hall, which had been rebuilt after a fire in 1618.Juliette Roding, A. Agnes Sneller, Boukje Thijs, ''Beelden van Leiden: zelfbeeld en representatie van een Hollandse stad in de vroegmoderne tijd, 1550-1800'', Uitgeverij Verloren, 2006, p. 68 The bible story of the judgement of Solomon was often used to illustrate the kind of wisdom judges are required to possess. The story recounts how two women had a child at the same time and in the same house. One child died after which both women claimed to be the mother of the living child. When King Solomon was hearing the court case brought by the women, he ordered a soldier to cut the child in half, stating that in that manner each mother would receive an equal share of the child. Thereupon one of the women fell on her knees and begged that the other woman should be given the child, so that the child's life would be spared. Solomon then determined that the real mother was this woman and ordered the child to be given to her.Ruud van Capelleveen, ''Pieter van Bronckhorst (1588-1661)''
op CultuurArchief.nl The scene is set in a sumptuous renaissance palace, which may be a reference to the new city hall of Leiden. He has thus placed the biblical story in contemporary Leiden. His architectural works show the influence of leading perspective painter

Hans Vredeman de Vries Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527 – c. 1607) was a Dutch Renaissance architect, painter, and engineer. Vredeman de Vries is known for his publication in 1583 on garden design and his books with many examples on ornaments (1565) and perspective (1604 ...

and the Flemish artist Hendrick Aerts. The latter's only known church interior had been engraved in Delft by Flemish emigré printmaker Jan van Londerseel. He may have also practised as a still life painter. A fish still life on the German art market in 2001 was signed P. van Bronchorst. He may have painted the

(figures) in the works of landscape painters, such as Pieter Stael.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bronckhorst, Pieter van 1588 births 1661 deaths Artists from Delft Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters