Jan Wyck (also Jan Wiyck or Jan Wick) (29 October 1645 – 17 May 1702) 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 ...

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

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 ...

, best known for his works on military subjects. There are still over 150 of his works known to be in existence. In an era when French artists dominated the genre, the arrival of Wyck and other Dutch and Flemish artists in Great Britain from 1660 onwards provided the catalyst for the development of military and naval art in Britain. Like other painters from the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

such as Dirk Maas,

Peter Tillemans Peter Tillemans ( 1684 – 5 December 1734)Noakes, Aubrey, ''Sportsmen in a Landscape'' (Ayer Publishing, 1971, )pp. 47–56: ''Peter Tillemans and Early Newmarket''at books.google.com, accessed 7 February 2009. ONDB writes: "In 1733 Tillemans re ...

and William van de Velde, Wyck moved to England and worked there throughout his life, often under

royal patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

, producing many fine works of battle paintings,

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

, hunting scenes and

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

as well as advancing the development of British art through teaching.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:Wyck, Jan, by Katherine Gibson pp.615

Early life

Jan Wyck was born on 29 October 1652, in

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 ...

, then part of 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 ...

. The son of

Thomas Wyck Thomas Wijck (also Thomas Wijk, or Thomas Wyck; 1616–1677) was a Dutch painter of port views and genre paintings. Biography Wijck was born into an artist family and received his training from his father. He journeyed to Italy, presumably by 1 ...

(1616-1677), also a Dutch painter, it is assumed that his father taught him to paint, although little is actually known of his early life. His father had spent much of the 1630s in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, refining an Italianate style, which can be seen in the works of both father and son. It appears likely that at a fairly young age he and his father moved to England during the reign of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

, possibly in 1664. It also seems likely that they were in London at the time of the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

, as his father created one of the last sketches of

Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Paul of Tarsus, Saint Paul, ...

in its ruined state before it was knocked down to create the new

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, as well as night scenes of the fire itself. The first documented reference to Jan Wyck comes from the sessions of the London court of the Painter-Stainers' Company where, on 17 June 1674, he is recorded as promising to pay both his own and his father's quarterly fees. At this hearing he also promised to soon deliver his ''. However his father had returned to Haarlem within a year, and died less than two and a half years later on 19 August 1677. Although the details of his first marriage are unknown, Jan Wyck was married for a second time on 22 November 1676 with his certificate stating: 'Jan Wick of St Paul's Covent Garden, gent., widower, about 31 ...'. The reference to him being a widower at the age of 24 indicates he was first married at a young age. His second wife was a 19-year-old English woman called Anne Skinner of

St Martin-in-the-fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

, and she bore him four children between 1678 and 1683, but none of them survived their early childhood. Following the death of Anne in 1687, he remarried for the third time to a Dutch woman by the name of Elizabeth Holomberg in 1688. They moved into a new home in

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...

, and between 1689 and 1693 they had two sons (John, b.1689 and William, b.1691) and a daughter (Elizabeth, b. 1693) together. His wife Elizabeth died giving birth to their daughter.

Art career

As the son of a fairly successful artist, it is likely Wyck was painting and drawing from a young age. Enjoying the patronage of the

Duke of Ormond The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

Wyck was known as the best landscape painter in London by 1686. By the time

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

ascended to the throne, Wyck was also enjoying the patronage of the

Duke of Monmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

.British Artists and War. Peter Harrington (1993) He painted a portrait of Monmouth on horseback in the 1670s, as well as many depictions of him in battle, such as at the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, and at the

Battle of Bothwell Bridge A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1679. Wyck was placed upon the committee of Acting Painters of the Painter-Stainers' Company on 24 November 1680, which was a recognition of his rising talent. He first made a public name for himself when he accompanied fellow Dutch painter

Dirk Maas Dirk Maas (12 September 1659 – 25 December 1717), was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter. Biography Maas was born and died in Haarlem. According to Houbraken he was first a pupil of Hendrick Mommers, a Haarlem painter of vegetable mark ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to paint the

campaigns Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bl ...

of William III. Maas had received a commission from King William to paint the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...

, and, although it is not known if he was also present at the battle, Wyck also painted many scenes from the battle. Throughout the 1690s, he is known to have created at least half a dozen oils of the battle, as well as countless battle pieces, encampments and equestrian portraits of soldiers before battle. William was impressed with his work, and commissioned him to paint himself, which he did many times, often in equestrian poses. William had soon also called upon Wyck to depict countless scenes of his campaigns throughout the

low countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

(also known as

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

), including the Siege of Namur, and the Siege of Naarden. Other scenes he painted include the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

(1689), and the horse and battle portion of

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

's famous portrait of the

Duke of Schomberg Duke of Schomberg in the Peerage of England was created in 1689. The title derives from the surname of its holder (originally Schönberg). The Duke of Schomberg was part of King William of Orange's army and camped in the Holywood hills area of ...

, who had been killed at the Battle of the Boyne. Wyck's works are notable for their flair and colour, as well as the excellent attention to detail. He highlights features such as flourishing sabres, firing muskets, flaring horses nostrils and cannons spouting flames. But most importantly he brought the viewer into the battle at a time when the prevailing trend was to present birds-eye views over a battle, showing disposition and locations of troop formations. He personalised the soldiers, and created an atmospheric presentation of the scenes depicted. He also celebrated notable commanders and recognisable figures within his works, a feature that made him popular with those commissioning works.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:Wyck, Jan, by Katherine Gibson pp.616

Later life

Jan Wyck began to school young British artists whilst continuing to work on his own projects, and became highly influential in the development of British art in the period, particularly in the genre of battle painting. One of his principal students that went on to produce great works of national importance was

John Wootton John Wootton (c.1686– 13 November 1764)Deuchar, S. (2003). "Wootton, John". Grove Art Online. was an English painter of sporting subjects, battle scenes and landscapes, and illustrator. Life Born in Snitterfield, Warwickshire (near Stratfo ...

, who exemplified British equestrian and military art in the early eighteenth century. Another student was the amateur painter Sir

Martin Beckman Sir Martin Beckman (1634/35–1702) was a draughtsman/painter, Swedish-English colonel, chief engineer and master gunner of England. Life Beckman was born in Stockholm, the son of Melcher Beckman and his wife Chistiana van Benningen. He left ...

and Matthias Read. Read moved to

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

and became known as the "Father of Cumbrian Painting". Jan Wyck died at his family home in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, on 17 May 1702, aged 56.

Known works

*''Lieutenant and Lieutenant-Colonel Randolph Egerton MP (d. 1681), the King’s Troop of Horse Guards'', c1672 (in the collection of the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public body. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) *''James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch'', 1675 (in the collection of the

National Portrait Gallery (London) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

) *''William III leading his troops at the Battle of Namur'', 1690s? (in private ownership; sold at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

auction in 2008 for €6,250 ($8,020)) *''William III Landing at Brixham, Torbay, 5 November 1688'', 1688, (in the collection of the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

, London) *''King William III'', 1688 (in the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in t ...

) *King William III on horseback, 1690 (in the

) *''A cavalry skirmish'', 1680s?, (in the collection of the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

, London) *''Cavalry Battle'', 1680s?, (in the collection of the Courtauld Institute, London) *''A river landscape with travelers bathing, by a village'' *''A battle scene'' *''A prospect of Whitehaven'', 1686 (in the collection of Lord Cavendish,

Holker Hall Holker Hall (pronounced Hooker by some) is a privately owned country house located about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Cartmel in the ceremonial county of Cumbria and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is "the grandest ...

) *''The Battle of the Boyne'', 1690 (in the collection of the

, London) *''King William III and his army at the Siege of Namur'', 1695 (in the collection of the

, London) *''The battle of the Boyne, prior to the death of the Duke of Schomberg before William III'', 1690 (in private ownership; sold at Whyte's auction in 2008 for an undisclosed amount) *''Stag hunting beside a river'', 1690s, (unsold at Christie's auction in 2008) *''A race meeting on Newmarket Heath'', unknown, (in private ownership; sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

auction in 2002 for an undisclosed amount) *''A huntsman with a hare and hounds above

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

, Hertfordshire'', signed; sold Sotheby's 1986.''Sotheby's International Preview'', no. 61 March/April, (1986), p.3 and cover illustration. *''Hunting party, said to be the Duc de Chartres in an extensive landscape'', unknown (in private ownership; sold at Sotheby's auction in 1994 for an undisclosed amount) *''An elegant hunting party resting under a tree, a river and a village beyond'' *''An Extensive Landscape with an Army Fording a River, Said to be Louis XIV Crossing the Rhine'', 1692 (in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

) *''A Cavalry Battle In a Valley Beneath a Fortified City'' *''Horse Guards Parade'', 1690s, (in the private collection of Ackermann and Johnson Ltd) *''Italianate Landscape with Town and Waterfall'', 1680s? (in the collection of

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

) *''A Fortified Village in a Rocky Landscape'', 1680s? (in the collection of

, London) *''A Rocky Landscape with Bridge and Cottage'', 1680s? (in the collection of Tate Gallery, London)

References

External links