Simon de Vlieger ( 1601buried 13 March 1653) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 ai ...

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

and designer of

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows. While he is mainly known for his marine paintings he also painted beach scenes, landscapes and genre scenes.Simon de Vlieger
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 likely born in Rotterdam as the son of Jacob Pietersz van Zwet Bolleweck (died ca. 1634) and Lysbeth Wouters. His sister Neeltje de Vlieger became a still life painter.Peter C. Sutton, ''Simon De Vlieger''
at Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum It is not known with whom he trained. He married in Rotterdam on 10 January 1627 to Anna Gerrits van Willige (died 1647). The couple had a daughter Cornelia, who married the painter Paulus van Hillegaert II. De Vlieger moved in 1634 to

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, ...

, where he is recorded renting a house 'De Kranenburch' from 1 May 1634 for the duration of a year. A year later he moved to the house called 'De Houttuyn. He joined 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.

He then moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in 1638. Here he worked until 1642 on a commission to paint decorations for the reception of Queen Maria de' Medici. He made around 1640 in Arnhem a drawing of the Rijnpoort and was some time in the period 1642 to 1643 in Kleef where he made a drawing of the Rhine. He was active in Rotterdam intermittently from 1642 to 1644 where he worked on the organ shutters of the St Laurens church. All this time he maintained a residence in Amsterdam of which he had become a citizen on 5 January 1643. He moved to Weesp, a small town on the outskirts of Amsterdam in 1650 where he died in 1653.

Willem van de Velde the younger Willem van de Velde the Younger (18 December 1633 (baptised)6 April 1707) was a Dutch Republic, Dutch marine painter, the son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, who also specialised in maritime art. His brother, Adriaen van de Velde, was a landsc ...

was his pupil.

Work

While he is mainly known for his marine paintings, he also painted beach scenes, landscapes and genre scenes. In addition to painting, he designed

windows for the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, and the organ shutters for the St. Laurenskerk in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. De Vlieger signed his work with the letters "S.D.VL.F.", "Simon de Vlieger fecit".Joseph Heller, ''Monogrammen-Lexikon, enthaltend die bekannten, zweifelhaften und unbekannten Zeichen, so wie die Abkürzungen der Namen der Zeichner, Maler, ... u. s. w. mit kurzen Nachrichten über dieselben'', 1831, p. 326 Coastals30 x 39 cm

The earliest known works of De Vlieger date from 1624. These marine pieces were still strongly influenced by the work of Jan Porcellis and

Willem van de Velde the Elder Willem van de Velde the Elder (1610/11 – 13 December 1693) was a Dutch Golden Age seascape painter, who produced many precise drawings of ships and ink paintings of fleets, but later learned to use oil paints like his son. Biography W ...

and shows several ships and rocky coasts.Hans-Joachim Raupp, ''Simon Jacobsz de Vlieger'' in: ''Landschaften und Seestücke-Niederländische Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts der SØR Rusche Sammlung'' Münster/Hamburg/Berlijn/Londen, 2001, , p. 286Biography of Simon de Vlieger
National Maritime Museum Greenwich'Abridged Catalogue of the Pictures and Sculpture'',

Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (; en, Maurice House) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Vermeer ...

, The Hague, 2008, p. 95 In the 1630s and 1640s he was one of the best-known Dutch maritime painters. He moved away from the

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...

style of Jan Porcellis and Willem van de Velde the elder towards a more realistic use of colour, with highly detailed and accurate representations of rigging and ship construction. He painted ships in harbour and at sea as well as storms and shipwrecks. Simon de Vlieger - Calming the storm

During his residence in Delft, de Vlieger created a number of marine paintings showing the sea washing against a rocky shore. An example of a work from this period is the ''Calming the storm'' (1637, Art Collection of the University Göttingen).Vermeer and The Delft School
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 190 The close-up treatment of this subject and the overall composition go back to the print made by

Adriaen Collaert Adriaen Collaert (c. 1560 – 29 June 1618) was a Flemish designer and engraver. Biography The estimated year of his birth at Antwerp is between 1555 and 1565.

after a design by the Flemish artist

Maerten de Vos Maerten de Vos, Maerten de Vos the Elder or Marten de Vos (1532 – 4 December 1603)Maerten de Vos
at the

. That print depicting ''The storm on the sea of Galilei'' was plate 8 in the 12-part ''Vita, passio et Resvrrectio Iesv Christ'' which was published by Jan and Raphael Sadeler in Antwerp in 1583. As in the print, de Vlieger depicts the boat in a forward tilting position but he distances himself from the print by integrating the story into the seascape rather than solely focusing on the activities on the boat.G. Unverfehrt, ''Christus und die Jünger im Seesturm''
at Sammlungen der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen De Vlieger specialised in the detailed depiction of ships and was able to realistically depict the colours on the seawater. He depicted entire fleets and naval battles. In sketches he demonstrated his insight into

linear perspective Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of 3D projection, graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate r ...

.Anna Tummers, ''Aelbert Cuyp's Innovative Use of Spatial Devices'' in: Marieke van den Doel, Ernst van de Wetering ''The Learned Eye - Regarding Art, Theory, and the Artist's Reputation'', Amsterdam University Press, 2005, , page 89 Around 1630 De Vlieger produced his first beach scene, a landscape type that he painted frequently over the following two decades.Marian Bisanz-Prakken, ''Rembrandt and His Time - Masterworks from the Albertina, Vienna'', 2005, , p. 150 From 1650 until his death he mainly painted and drew sea coasts and forests. His work was highly influential on the younger generation of maritime painters. His work was copied by other artists, such as

Jan van Ossenbeeck Jan van Ossenbeeck (1623, Rotterdam – 1674, Vienna), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to Houbraken, who was quoting Sandrart, he painted in the manner of Pieter van Laer.Adam von Bartsch ''Le peintre graveur'', J.A. Barth, Leipzig, 1854, p. 304

Aelbert Cuyp Aelbert Jacobszoon Cuyp () (20 October 1620 – 15 November 1691) was one of the leading Dutch Golden Age painters, producing mainly landscapes. The most famous of a family of painters, the pupil of his father Jacob Gerritszoon Cuyp (1594–1651 ...

was familiar with the work of De VliegerArthur K. Wheelock, ''Aelbert Cuyp'', Washington, 2001, and he is said to have copied the characteristic Dutch skies with clouds and rays of sun falling through De Vlieger.Anna Tummers, ''Aelbert Cuyp's Innovative Use of Spatial Devices'' in: Marieke van den Doel, Ernst van de Wetering ''The Learned Eye - Regarding Art, Theory, and the Artist's Reputation'', Amsterdam University Press, 2005, , p. 89

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlieger, Simon De 1600s births 1653 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch landscape painters Dutch marine artists Painters from Delft Painters from Rotterdam Tapestry artists