Gillis Claesz. de Hondecoeter or d'Hondecoeter (c. 1575–1580 – buried 17 October 1638) was a Dutch

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, working in a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

style, painting landscapes, trees, fowl and birds. Later on d'Hondecoeter painted in a more Dutch, realistic style. Gillis was the father of

Gijsbert d'Hondecoeter Gijsbert d'Hondecoeter (1604 – 29 August 1653) was a Dutch landscape and animalier painter. Hondecoeter belonged to a family of painters. His father was Gillis d'Hondecoeter and his son was Melchior d'Hondecoeter. Hondecoeter primarily ...

and grandfather of the more successful

Melchior d'Hondecoeter Melchior is the name traditionally given to one of the biblical Magi appearing in the Gospel of Matthew. There are many notable people with this name, or close variations. As a first name * Melchior Anderegg (1828–1914), Swiss mountain guide ...

and

Jan Weenix Jan Weenix or Joannis Wenix (between 1641/164919 September 1719 (buried)) was a Dutch painter. He was trained by his father, Jan Baptist Weenix, together with his cousin Melchior d'Hondecoeter. Like his father, he painted various subjects, but ...

. His daughter Josijntje married

Jan Baptist Weenix Jan Baptist Weenix, also spelled Jan Baptiste Weeninx (1621–c. 1659), was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Despite his relatively brief career, he was a very productive and versatile painter. His favourite subjects were Italian land ...

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Life

Gillis d'Hondecoeter was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, the son of Nicolaes Jansz d'Hondecoeter, a painter who fled from Antwerp 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, ...

, after the Spanish occupied the city in 1585. Gillis married in 1602 Maaijke Gijbrechts in

, while working in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. The couple had six children, before they moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 1615, where another three children were baptized. His brother was a surgeon in that city. In 1622 his wife died. Six years later he married the young and (probably) beautiful Anna Spierinx, who first had refused his son Gijsbert, according to

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch people, Dutch Painting, painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadt ...

.Melchior de Hondekoeter biography
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by

, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature The couple lived on

Singel The Singel () is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central St ...

and had one child together. Hondecoeter died in

Works

Gillis, his son Gijsbert, working in Utrecht and both his grandchildren specialized in fowl and birds, using probably a small gallow, as was mentioned in the inventory of his grandson Melchior de Hondecoeter. Gillis painted

, hilly, fantasy landscapes, most of the time in connection with a biblical scene. It is said he was influenced by

Roelant Savery Roelant Savery (or ''Roeland(t) Maertensz Saverij'', or ''de Savery'', or many variants; 1576 – buried 25 February 1639) was a Flanders-born Dutch Golden Age painter. Life Savery was born in Kortrijk. Like so many other artists, he belonged ...

, a Flemish painter who also moved in Amsterdam. The figures on one of his paintings he left to his colleague,

David Vinckboons David Vinckboons (baptized 13 August 1576 – c. 1632) was a Dutch Golden Age painter born in Mechelen, Southern Netherlands. Vinckboons, whose name is often spelled as Vingboons, Vinghboons, Vinckebonis or Vinckboom, had at least ten childr ...

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070312180136/http://www.steigrad.com/images/artlge/hond01.jpg {{DEFAULTSORT:Hondecoeter, Gillis d 1570s births 1638 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Painters from Antwerp