Jürgen Ovens (1623 – 9 December 1678), also known as Georg, or Jurriaen Ovens whilst in the Netherlands, was a
portrait painter
Portrait Painting is a Hierarchy of genres, 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 commissi ...
and art-dealer from
North Frisia and, according to
Arnold Houbraken, a pupil of
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 co ...
. He is best known for his painting in the city hall of
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 ...
and paintings for the
Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp for whom he worked for more than 30 years, also as an art dealer.
Life
Ovens was born and grew up in
Tönning
Tönning ( German; Low German ''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen''; Danish: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
History
Tönning was destroyed in the ...
,
Duchy of Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
, the son of
Frisian farmer and alderman Ove Broders and Agneta Ovens (also called Broders). Although that duchy was formally a Danish
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...
, Ovens is often counted among German painters.
[Schmidt, p. 286] Since 1640 he worked for
Hendrick van Uylenburgh with
Govaert Flinck
Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age.
Life
Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...
in the
Sint Antoniesbreestraat
The Sint Antoniesbreestraat ("St. Anthony's Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The street runs south from Nieuwmarkt square to the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates, where it continues as the Jodenbreestraat. ...
. It has been suggested he went to Italy between 1643 and 1649, but there is no evidence. Until 1651, he lived in Amsterdam, then from May 1651 he went back to
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...
, claimed by
Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659) was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frederi ...
. In 1652 he married Maria Jens Martens (daughter of a rich Tönning alderman) in
Friedrichstadt
Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum.
History
The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Duk ...
. His father-in-law gave him 60,000 Thaler, but demanded that he settle down nearby.
In 1654 Ovens spent a few weeks in
Stockholm to paint the marriage between
Charles X Gustav and
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. In 1655
Gerrit van Uylenburgh came to visit him. In 1657 Ovens travelled to Amsterdam because of a
war between the Swedish and the Danish. He cooperated with Govert Flinck. Ovens became a citizen of Amsterdam in order to start a business or to get a job, as the rules of guilds were very strict. He also sent statues by
Artus Quellinus the Elder to Gottorf.
Ovens was living 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 Prinsengra ...
in a canalhouse with a large studio under the roof. He rented out the cellar as a public house, just like Flinck did, who used to own it and died the year before. The art-dealer Gerrit van Uylenburgh bought the house next door owned by Flinck.
Johannes Lingelbach
Johannes (or Johann) Lingelbach (1622–1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, associated with the second generation of Bambocciate, a group of genre painters working in Rome from 1625–1700.
Biography
Lingelbach was born in Frankfurt, th ...
was a friend and a witness when his children were baptized in the Lutheran church. In 1661 Ovens was asked to finish a painting begun by Flinck. The painting had to be placed in the town hall, within a few days, when Rembrandt's painting ''
The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis'' was rejected. Ovens was paid 48 guilders, very little compared to the others, but still a good salary in those days.
In 1663 Ovens returned to Friedrichstadt at the instruction of
Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Christian Albert (, Gottorp – , Gottorp) was a duke of Holstein-Gottorp and bishop of Lübeck.
Biography
Christian Albert was a son of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and his wife Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony. He became duk ...
, as one of the richest inhabitants. He invited
Johannes Voorhout to work for him, but the painter declined the offer. From 1674 to 1675, he lived again in Holland and painted
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch ...
and
Joan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen. After returning to Schleswig he painted the altarpiece of
St. Christopher's in Friedrichstadt, painting himself in its top right section. His grave is also in the church.
Ovens owned six painting by
Anthony van Dyck and three by
Jacob Jordaens
Jacob (Jacques) Jordaens (19 May 1593 – 18 October 1678) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter, Drawing, draughtsman and tapestry designer known for his history paintings, genre scenes and portraits. After Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyc ...
, Rubens, etc.
Works

Ovens was appreciated for his portraits and painted
Nicolaes Tulp
Nicolaes Tulp (9 October 1593 – 12 September 1674) was a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam. Tulp was well known for his upstanding moral character and as the subject of Rembrandt's famous painting '' The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tul ...
twice, his daughter Margaretha Tulp, her brother
Dirk
A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...
and his wife Anna Burgh. He also painted a portrait of the parents of
Godert de Ginkell, 1st Earl of Athlone
Godard van Reede, 1st Earl of Athlone, Baron van Reede, Lord of Ginkel, born in the Netherlands as Baron Godard van Reede (14 June 1644 – 11 February 1703), was a Dutch general in Williamite service who rose to prominence during the Williamite ...
,
Comenius
John Amos Comenius (; cs, Jan Amos Komenský; pl, Jan Amos Komeński; german: Johann Amos Comenius; Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is consider ...
,
Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy.
Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being capture ...
,
Charles II of England,
Colonel John Hutchinson
Colonel John Hutchinson (1615–1664) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1648 to 1653 and in 1660. He was one of the Puritan leaders, and fought in the parliamentary army in the English Civil War. As a mem ...
,
Adam Olearius
Adam Olearius (born Adam Ölschläger or Oehlschlaeger, 24 September 159922 February 1671) was a German scholar, mathematician, geographer and librarian. He became secretary to the ambassador sent by Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, to ...
, three times
Christina of Sweden
Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his deat ...
,
Queen Sophie Amalie of Denmark,
Jacob Backer,
Jacques Specx,
Lucia Wijbrants,
Dirck Kerckring
Theodor Kerckring or Dirk Kerckring (sometimes Kerckeringh or Kerckerinck) (baptized 22 July 1638 – 2 November 1693) was a Dutch anatomist and chemical physician.
Kerckring was born as the son of the Amsterdam merchant and VOC captain Dirck K ...
and twice
Giuseppe Francesco Borri, an eye doctor,
charlatan
A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include ''shy ...
and
alchemist
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
.
Ovens' best-known work is the ''
Blue Madonna
''Blue Madonna'' is the second studio album by American musician Børns. It was released on January 12, 2018 through Interscope Records.
Background
On July 28, 2017, Børns released the single "Faded Heart" on Interscope Records. On September ...
'' in
Schleswig Cathedral
Schleswig Cathedral (german: Schleswiger Dom, da, Slesvig Domkirke) officially the Cathedral of St. Peter at Schleswig (german: St. Petri-Dom zu Schleswig), is the main church of the city of Schleswig and was the cathedral of the Bishop of S ...
. A self-portrait may be seen in the Laurentius-Kirche in Tönning. Further works by Ovens can be found in the collections of the Schleswig-Holsteinischen Landesmuseums at the
Schloss Gottorf
Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ...
. He made 45 paintings for the Amalienburg in Gottorf. The
Earl of Arundel
Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The ...
(or his grandmother
Aletheia Talbot?) owned seventeen paintings by Ovens, belonging to a collection of 78 paintings which were sold on September 26, 1684 in Amsterdam.
According to Schmidt there is nothing German in his paintings and he belongs to the
Dutch School of painting.
[
]
References
;Citations
;Works cited
*
Furt