Thomas de Keyser - Syndics of the Amsterdam Goldsmiths Guild - Google Art Project

Thomas de Keyser (c. 1596–1667) was a Dutch

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

, a dealer in Belgium bluestone and

stone mason In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

. He was the most in-demand portrait painter in the Netherlands until the 1630s, when

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

eclipsed him in popularity. Rembrandt was influenced by his work, and many of de Keyser's paintings were later falsely attributed to Rembrandt.

Biography

Thomas de Keyser was a son of the architect and sculptor

Hendrik de Keyser Hendrick de Keyser (15 May 1565 – 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor, merchant in Belgium bluestone, and architect who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism changing into Baroque. Most of his works appeared in Ams ...

and the brother of

Pieter Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 to ...

and Willem de Keyser. He and his brothers were raised in a house on the

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 ...

canal

Groenburgwal The Groenburgwal () is a canal in Amsterdam that connects the Raamgracht with the Amstel. The Groenburgwal is parallel to the Kloveniersburgwal and the Zwanenburgwal, in the shadow of the tower of the Zuiderkerk. History The area between the K ...

. In 1616 he and Pieter became apprentices of their father; in 1619 he presented his first painting, an Anatomic Lesson,A.W. WEISSMAN (1904) Het geslacht De Keyser
/ref> but this attribution was rejected; nowadays Pickenoy is mentioned as creator. It is possible Thomas was influenced by

Cornelis Ketel Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

and

Pieter Isaacsz Pieter Isaacsz (ca 1569, Helsingør – 14 September 1625), was a Danish court and portrait painter from Dutch origin who worked in a mannerist style on historical, biblical and mythological subjects. He was also a tapestry designer and art- ...

, for years friendly to his father. In 1622 Thomas and Pieter became members of the

Guild of St. 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 Four Evangelists, Evangelist Saint Luke, Luke, the patron sa ...

. According to 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 ...

, he was a pupil of

Cornelis van der Voort Cornelis van der Voort or van der Voorde (1576 – buried on 2 November 1624) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter from the early 17th century. Life Very little is known about Van der Voort's early life. He was born in Antwerp; his father w ...

, the head of the guild, who died in 1624.Thomas de Keyser
at the

Van der Voort lived in what is now the

Rembrandthuis The Rembrandt House Museum ( nl, Museum Het Rembrandthuis) is a museum located in a former house in the Jodenbreestraat, in the center of Amsterdam. Between 1639 and 1658, the house was occupied by the well-known Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn ...

. The painters

Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy (10 January 1588 – 1653/1656) was a Dutch painter of Flemish origin. Pickenoy was possibly a pupil of Cornelis van der Voort and presumably Bartholomeus van der Helst was his own pupil. Life He was the son ...

, who lived next door, and

Werner van den Valckert Werner van den Valckert (ca. 1585 - after 1635Werner van den Valckert
in the

have been accredited by different authorities with having developed his talent, and sometimes his works have been confused with these painters, who painted portraits in similar styles. The works of

Pieter Lastman Pieter Lastman (1583–1633) was a Dutch language, Dutch painter. Lastman is considered important because of his work as a painter of history pieces and because his pupils included Rembrandt and Jan Lievens. In his paintings Lastman paid carefu ...

and

Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the ''Te ...

he knew very well. In 1622 Thomas and his brother Pieter became member of the Guild. In 1626 the painter lived in

Jodenbreestraat The Jodenbreestraat ("Jewish Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam, which connects the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates to the Mr. Visserplein traffic circle. North of the sluice gates, the street continues on to Nieuwmarkt square ...

when he married Machtelt Andries, the daughter of a goldsmith in

Warmoesstraat Warmoesstraat ('Chard Street') is one of the oldest streets in Amsterdam, running parallel to Damrak from Nieuwebrugsteeg to Dam Square. Its origins are in the 13th century. In the 16th and 17th century it was the shopping street. During the Dut ...

. As an heir of his uncle Aert the property was sold to the Sefardic community and changed into a house synagogue. Thomas de Keyser faced strong competition from Rembrandt, as a portrait painter and received very few commissions. In 1640 he remarried and lived at Lindengracht in the

Jordaan The Jordaan is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the west; the Prinsengracht to ...

. The couple had five children, baptized as

Remonstrants The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that had split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ...

. He owned a

Petit Granit Petit Granit (also known by a variety of names including: Nero Belga, Granit de Flandre, Pierre Bleue, Blue Stone, Belgian Granite, Belgian Blue Limestone, Arduin) is, despite its name, a grey-bluish limestone, rather than being a true Granite. It i ...

business from 1624 until 1654, which he sold to Pieter. Willem, his younger brother, cooperated with the architect

Jacob van Campen Jacob van Campen (2 February 1596 - 13 September 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect of the Dutch Golden Age, Golden Age. Life He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and wit ...

on sketches for the town hall, but left for England after being accused of fraud and went broke. Thomas occasionally returned to painting: in 1652 a

Nausicaa Nausicaa (; grc, Ναυσικάα, Nausikáa, or , ) also spelled Nausicaä or Nausikaa, is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of Phaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships" ( 'ship'; 'to b ...

meeting

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

on the beach, intended for "Desolate Boedelkamer" in the town hall. The landscape painter

Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural ac ...

painted a landscape as a background to one of his group portraits, mayor

Cornelis de Graeff Cornelis de Graeff, also Cornelis de Graeff van (Zuid-)Polsbroek (15 October 1599 – 4 May 1664) was the most illustrious member of the De Graeff family. He was a mayor of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age and a powerful Amsterdam regent after ...

and

Andries de Graeff Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a powerful member of the Amsterdam branch of the De Graeff - family during the Dutch Golden Age. He became a mayor of Amsterdam and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the death of his ...

in front of their estate near Soestdijk. From 1662, at the age of 65, until his death he succeeded Daniel Stalpaert as chief supervisor of the construction, now the

Paleis op de Dam The Royal Palace of Amsterdam in Amsterdam (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Paleis van Amsterdam'' or ) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of the monarch by Act of Parliament. It is situated on the west side of Dam Square i ...

.Cultuurarchief
/ref> He was buried in the

Zuiderkerk The Zuiderkerk (, "southern church") is a 17th-century Protestant church in the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The church played an important part in the life of Rembrandt and was the subject of a painting by Cla ...

, like his father.

Work

According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, " s portraiture is full of character and masterly in handling, and often distinguished by a rich golden glow of color and Rembrandtesque

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

. Some of his portraits are life-size, but the artist generally preferred to keep them on a considerably smaller scale, like the famous ''Four Amsterdam burgomasters assembled to receive Marie de Medici'' in 1638..." which now on display at the

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 ...

museum in The Hague. The

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

in Amsterdam has the largest collection of paintings by de Keyser. His work can also be seen at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in Paris, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York City, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

in London, among others. A contemporary namesake of the painter was T(h)omas de Keyser, Gerritsz. (

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, 1597–1651), his cousin and a stone mason, member of the chamber of rhetoric and actor.Letterkundig woordenboek voor Noord en Zuid
/ref>

Gallery

File:Thomas de Keyser - Portrait of a Silversmith - WGA12178.jpg, Portrait of a silversmith File:Thomas de Keyser - De compagnie van kaptein Allaart Cloeck.jpg, The militia company of captain Allaert Cloeck and lieutenant Lucas Jacobsz. Rotgans (1632) File:Thomas de Keyser - Portret van een vrouw.jpg, Portrait of a woman File:A Musician and His Daughter MET DP145937.jpg, '' A Musician and His Daughter'', 1629, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Notes

External links

Works and literature on Thomas de Keyser
list of museums with works by Thomas de Keyser

at WGA {{DEFAULTSORT:Keyser, Thomas de Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch portrait painters 1596 births 1667 deaths Dutch Golden Age architects Dutch male painters Painters from Amsterdam Architects from Amsterdam 17th-century Dutch architects