Pieter Bodding van Laer (christened 14 December 1599,

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

– 1641 or later) was a Dutch

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

. He was active in Rome for over a decade and was known for

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

scenes, animal paintings and landscapes placed in the environs of Rome.Pieter van Laer
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History Pieter van Laer was an active member of the association of Flemish and Dutch artists in Rome 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 ...

. His nickname in this group ("bent name") was Il Bamboccio. The style of genre painting he introduced was followed by other Northern and Italian painters. These followers became known as the

Bamboccianti The ''Bamboccianti'' were genre painters active in Rome from about 1625 until the end of the seventeenth century. Most were Dutch and Flemish artists who brought existing traditions of depicting peasant subjects from sixteenth-century Netherla ...

and a painting in this style as a ''Bambocciata'' (plural: ''Bambocciate'').David A. Levine. "Laer, Pieter van." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 21 February 2020

Life

Pieter van Laer was born in

as the second child of Jacob Claesz. Boddingh of Haarlem and Magdalena Heyns of Antwerp. He adopted the surname van Laer only later in life. This surname was probably taken from his brother's godfather. He came from a well to do family and his parents operated a private school in Haarlem started by Magdalena's father, the well-known writer and publisher Peeter Heyns, after whom Pieter van Laer was named. LAER Pieter van The Flagellants

His older brother was Roedolff van Laer, who also became a painter and was known as Roeland van Laer and Orlando van Laer. His youngest brother Nicolaes Bodding became known later in life as Nicolaes Boddingius and was a prominent schoolmaster and minister. He also had two sisters called Barbara and AnthoynettaA. Welcker, ''P. Boddink alias Pieter van Laer Orlando Bodding alias Roeland of Orlando van Laer Nicolaes Bodding alias N. Boddingh van Laer of Ds. Nicolaes Boddingius'', in: Oud Holland, Vol. 59, No. 3 (1942), Brill, pp. 80-89 Pieter van Laer was possibly a pupil of Esaias van de Velde in Haarlem. His early work shows the influence of this painter as is evidenced by a drawing signed Pieter Bodink (formerly in the collection of A. Welcker), which is close to van de Velde's style. He traveled to Rome in 1625 via France, likely in the company of his brother Roeland. In 1626 their father is also recorded in Rome as a witness to a will. Here he became a member of the

, an association of mostly Flemish and Dutch artists in Rome who were known for their initiation rituals, which involved a lot of drinking. Pieter van Laer's nickname in Italy was ''Il Bamboccio'', which means "ugly doll" or "

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move ...

". This was an allusion to van Laer's ungainly appearance, as he is said to have had unusually long legs, short chest and almost no neck.Peter Schatborn, Judith Verberne, ''Drawn to warmth: 17th century Dutch artists in Italy'', Rijksmuseum, Waanders Publishers, 2001, p. 85 Pieter van Laer was also known for his pointed moustache.Liedtke, Walter A., Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., and Alexa J. McCarthy. ''Self-Portrait with Magic Scene.''
In The Leiden Collection Catalogue. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York Van Laer shared a home in the Via Margutta with Giovanni di Filippo del Campo, whose pupil he is said to have been according to certain art historians. However, such apprenticeship is unlikely since the two artists had approximately the same age. He was also a close friend of Joachim von Sandrart in Rome. Self-portrait by Pieter-Jacobsz van Laer

Self-portrait by Pieter-Jacobsz van Laer

Through the works he created in Rome Pieter van Laer initiated a new style of genre painting. Paintings in this new style were named ''Bambocciate'' after his nickname. He became the inspiration and focal point around which likeminded artists congregated during his stay in Italy.David A. Levine (December 1988). ''The Roman Limekilns of the Bamboccianti''. The Art Bulletin (College Art Association) 70 (4): 569–589 The initial Bamboccianti included

Jan Miel Jan Miel (1599 in Beveren-Waas – April 1664 in Turin) was a Flemish painter and engraver who was active in Italy. He initially formed part of the circle of Dutch and Flemish genre painters in Rome who are referred to as the 'Bambocciant ...

Andries Andries is a Dutch and Afrikaans masculine given name or surname equivalent to Andrew. Given name People with this name include * Andries van Artvelt (1590–1652), Flemish painter * Andries Beeckman (1628–1664), Dutch painter * Andries Bek ...

and Jan Both,

Karel Dujardin Karel Dujardin (September 27, 1626November 20, 1678) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Although he did a few portraits and a few history paintings of religious subjects, most of his work is small Italianate landscape scenes with animals and peasan ...

, Johannes Lingelbach and the Italian Michelangelo Cerquozzi. The Frenchman Sébastien Bourdon was also associated with this group during his early career. Other Bamboccianti include Michiel Sweerts, Thomas Wijck,

Dirck Helmbreker Dirck Helmbreker, Theodor Helmbreeker, or Teodoro Elembrech (1633–1696) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of Italianate landscapes. Biography According to Houbraken he lived from 1624 to 1694, but this has since been proven to be incorrect.