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| Jan Baptist Weenix Ruins in Rome before 1660 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Roman ruins in a wooded landscape before 1660 drawing Harvard Art Museums |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Landscape with ruins before 1660 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
"In 1639,when he was 18, Jan Baptist Weenix married Josina, the daughter of the landscape painter Gillis d'Hondecoeter. . . . On 30 October 1642 Weenix had a will drawn up. It appears from this document that he was leaving his wife and 14-month-old son behind, 'having determined to travel to Italy to practise his art'. According to the story recounted by Houbraken, he originally sneaked away surreptitiously but was fetched back from Rotterdam by his wife. He then took proper leave of his family, promising to stay away no longer than four months. He was gone for four years, probably because of the success he achieved in Rome. For some considerable time Weenix had as his patron Cardinal Camillo Pamphili, 'who helped him into the service of Pope Innocent, for whom he made a large work'. He is mentioned for the first time in the Pamphili archives in 12 January 1645 and for the last time on 28 July 1646, usually in connection with payments for paintings. It appears from these references that in 1646 Weenix probably produced paintings for a villa near the Pancras Gate belonging to Camillo and Giovanni Battista Pamphili. The latter had become Pope Innocent X in 1644. Weenix, who spoke very quickly, was given the nickname Ratel (Rattle) by the Bentvueghels, the club of Netherlandish artists in Rome."
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| attributed to Jan Baptist Weenix Ponte Rotto in Rome before 1660 drawing British Museum |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Modern dwellings built into ruins before 1660 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Rocky landscape before 1660 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Italian landscape with town on a hill and waterfall before 1660 drawing British Museum |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Landscape with trees and wagon before 1660 drawing Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Landscape with goatherd reclining by a cascade before 1660 drawing British Museum |
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| Jan Baptist Weenix Scene with Roman church ca. 1647-59 etching Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
"The distinction between the father's drawings [Jan Baptist Weenix, 1621-1660/61] and those by the son [Jan Weenix, 1640-1719] has not been clearly established. Jan will almost certainly have inherited his father's studio property on his death in 1660/61 and may have used his father's materials."
– Peter Schatborn, from the catalogue of a 2001 exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, published in English as Drawn to Warmth: 17th-century Dutch artists in Italy, translated by Lynne Richards
Below, several drawings of Roman sites attributed to the son, almost certainly based on sketches or other works his father brought home from the Italian sojourn of the 1640s.
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| Jan Weenix Roman arch with Corinthian columns ca. 1655-1719 drawing British Museum |
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| Jan Weenix Ruins of Roman building ca. 1655-1719 drawing British Museum |
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| Jan Weenix Roman archway at the entrance of a street ca. 1655-1719 drawing British Museum |
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| Jan Weenix View of Italian buildings on a slope above a river ca. 1655-1719 drawing British Museum |