Willem (or William) van der Hagen (died 1745) was a Dutch painter who settled in Ireland in the early 1720s, where he subsequently painted many works of art. He was also active in Europe and England prior to this. He is regarded by many as the founder of the Irish school of

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

painting.

Personal life

Willem van der Hagen was born in the Netherlands, probably in The Hague. His exact date and place of birth are uncertain.

Career

Van der Hagen first worked in Europe, where he painted views of a number of locations – including one of Gibraltar. He then settled in England, where he painted views of towns. However, he moved to Ireland in the early 1720s, although his first recorded painting was of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

in 1718. He remained in Ireland the longest. He was one of Ireland's earliest landscape painters and is widely regarded as the founder of the Irish school of landscape painting. He painted ''View of

'' in 1718, this is probably his earliest work in Ireland. The painting is part of Drogheda municipal collection on show in the towns Highlanes Gallery. He is recorded in Dublin in 1722 painting sets for the Theatre Royal, Dublin. He painted a ''State Ball in Dublin Castle'' in 1731 and a ''View of Waterford'' about 1736. The second of these was commissioned by Waterford Corporation, who paid £20 for it in 1736 – today, it is kept in Waterford City Hall. It is one of the earliest detailed views of an Irish city.Foster, pp 176-177 (this book contains images of both of these paintings between these pages). These views were followed in the 1730s by many capriccio landscapes. One of Van der Hagen's paintings, titled "Corke Harbour 1738", was auctioned in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

on Wednesday, 11 February 2004. It obtained a price of €360,000. The painting is the oldest known surviving view of Cork Harbour.

References

Willem van der Hagen
at the RKD database

Bibliography

*Foster, R.F., ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. UK: Oxford University Press, 1989 - 2000. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, Willem van der Year of birth unknown 1745 deaths Hagen, Willem van der Dutch painters Dutch male painters Landscape artists Painters from The Hague