Friday, August 13, 2021

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (Versatility in Amsterdam)

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Children in a Park
1671
oil on canvas
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
The Infant Samuel brought by Hanna to the priest Eli
ca. 1665
oil on panel
Musée du Louvre

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
The Infant Samuel brought by Hanna to the priest Eli
ca. 1660-65
oil on canvas
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Joseph and his Brothers
1657
oil on canvas
Skokloster Castle, Sweden

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
The Continence of Scipio
ca. 1650-66
oil on canvas
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Abraham and the Three Angels
1656
oil on canvas
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Vertumnus and Pomona
ca. 1669
oil on panel
Indianapolis Museum of Art

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Bathsheba pleading with King David for the succession of Solomon
ca. 1645
oil on canvas
National Gallery, Prague

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Soldiers in a Guardroom
before 1674
oil on panel
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Men Bathing
ca. 1650-70
oil on panel
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Party on a Terrace
1652
oil on canvas
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Officers of the Guild of Coopers and Wine-Tappers
1673
oil on canvas
Amsterdam Museum

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Portrait of a 12-year-old Boy
1653
oil on canvas
Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Portrait of Jan Pietersz van den Eeckhout
1651
oil on canvas
private collection

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
Self Portrait
1659
oil on canvas
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout – was born in Amsterdam on August 19, 1621, and died in his native city on September 22, 1674.  Although his life and artistic career are scantily documented, Arnold Houbraken wrote that Van den Eeckhout was a favorite pupil and long-standing friend of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).  The dates of his apprenticeship to Rembrandt are unknown, but he most likely studied with the master during the latter half of the 1630s.  His first dated paintings are from 1640.  During his long and productive career Van den Eeckhout made history paintings, landscapes, portraits, and genre scenes.  . . .  The broad brushwork and powerful chiaroscuro effects of his religious and mythological paintings generally reflect the influence of Rembrandt and also that of his master's teacher, Pieter Lastman (1583-1633), whose paintings and drawings he would have seen in Rembrandt's workshop.  Lastman's inspiration is particularly evident in the attention Van den Eeckhout paid to sumptuous attire and in  his use of a stagelike platform on which to present his narrative.  On the other hand, Van den Eeckhout executed his portraits and genre scenes in a refined and elegant manner that reflected a more Flemish pictorial tradition.

– from biographical notes by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. and Lara Yeager-Crasselt at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC