Jacques de Gheyn II (Engraved Physiognomies)

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Reuben
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Levi
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Simeon
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Judah
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Zebulon
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Issachar
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Dan
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Gad
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Asher
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Napthali
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Joseph
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Twelve Sons of Jacob
Benjamin
ca. 1590
engraving
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The twelve sons of Jacob were born of four different mothers – two of them wives and two of them concubines.  Each son, according to the Old Testament, founded one of the twelve tribes of Israel.  De Gheyn and Van Mander supply traditional attributes or creatures to identify the sons (and the tribes), much as the four Evangelists of the New Testament had come to be presented visually with companion-animals.  

workshop of Jacques de Gheyn II after Pisanello
Four Portraits after Italian Renaissance Medals
Cosimo I de' Medici
ca. 1595
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

workshop of Jacques de Gheyn II after Pisanello
Four Portraits after Italian Renaissance Medals
Francesco Sforza
ca. 1595
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

workshop of Jacques de Gheyn II after Pisanello
Four Portraits after Italian Renaissance Medals
John VIII Paleologos
ca. 1595
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

workshop of Jacques de Gheyn II after Pisanello
Four Portraits after Italian Renaissance Medals
Sigismondo Malatesta
ca. 1595
engraving
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Jacques de Gheyn II (Paintings, Drawings, Prints)

Jacques de Gheyn II
Venus and Cupid
ca. 1605-1610
oil on panel
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn II
St John the Baptist Preaching
before 1629
oil on panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Jacques de Gheyn II
Young Woman mourning a Dove, a Partridge and a Kingfisher
ca. 1620
oil on panel
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

Jacques de Gheyn II
Two Witches with a Cat
before 1629
drawing
Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Jacques de Gheyn II
Witches' Sabbath
before 1629
drawing
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Jacques de Gheyn II
Bacchus and Ceres
before 1629
drawing
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Jacques de Gheyn II
Studies of Hands and Figures
1604
drawing
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn II
Landscape with Steep Rock Formations along a River
1603
drawing
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn II after Dirck Barendsz
Diana and Actaeon
ca. 1590
engraving
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Jacques de Gheyn II after Willem van Tetrode
Neptune's Kingdom
(interior of metalwork bowl)
1587
engraving
British Museum

workshop of Jacques de Gheyn II
Dancing Masqueraders
1595-96
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Four Elements - Earth
ca. 1588-92
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Four Elements - Air
ca. 1588-92
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Four Elements - Fire
ca. 1588-92
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacques de Gheyn II after Karel van Mander
The Four Elements - Water
ca. 1588-92
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

"Born in Antwerp, Jacques de Gheyn II (1565-1629) was a draughtsman, engraver and painter.  Originally taught by his father, in 1585 he was apprenticed to Hendrick Goltzius in Haarlem.  De Gheyn's work marks the transition from late 16th-century Mannerism to the more naturalistic style of the early 17th century.  From 1596 to 1602, De Gheyn lived in Leiden, where he worked with the humanist Hugo de Groot (Grotius).  The latter supplied texts for De Gheyn's engravings.  In 1605 he moved to The Hague, where he remained for the rest of his life.  An admirer of his work was Stadholder Prince Maurice, who commissioned numerous works.  De Gheyn also worked for the prince's successor Frederick Henry."

– biographical sketch from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Frans van Mieris (Genre Painting in Leiden)

Frans van Mieris
Woman feeding a Parrot
1663
oil on panel
National Gallery, London

Frans van Mieris
The Old Violinist
1660
oil on panel
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Frans van Mieris
Man seated at a Table with Woman reading
ca. 1676
oil on panel
Leiden Collection, New York

Frans van Mieris
Man and Woman with Two Dogs
1660
oil on panel
Mauritshuis, The Hague

Frans van Mieris
The Letter Writer
1680
oil on panel
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Frans van Mieris
The Drummer Boy
1670
oil on copper
private collection

Frans van Mieris
Soldier smoking a Pipe
ca. 1655-57
oil on panel
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Frans van Mieris
The Interrupted Song
1671
oil on panel
Musée du Petit Palais, Paris

Frans van Mieris
The Oyster Meal
1661
oil on panel
Mauritshuis, The Hague

Frans van Mieris
Woman threading Pearls
1658
oil on panel
Musée Fabre, Montpellier

Frans van Mieris
Portrait of a Man
1669
oil on panel
Leiden Collection, New York

Frans van Mieris
Portrait of a Woman
1669
oil on panel
Leiden Collection, New York

Frans van Mieris
Woman with a Dog
(Portrait of the Artist's wife, Cunera van der Cock)
1662
oil on panel
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts

Frans van Mieris
Portrait of the Artist's wife, Cunera van der Cock
1662
oil on panel
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Frans van Mieris
Self Portrait
1662
oil on panel
Alte Pinakothek, Munich

"Frans van Mieris, born in Leiden on April 16, 1635, came from a family of gold- and silversmiths.  From about 1649 to 1654 Van Mieris trained with three artists in his native Leiden, the most important being Gerrit Dou (1613- 1675).  Van Mieris spent his entire career in Leiden, where he gained well-deserved fame and fortune.  He initially adopted Dou's fine manner of execution and humble subject matter, but he soon developed an interst in social interactions generally absent from Dou's work.  Despite his extraordinary success, Van Mieris seems to have been inept in finance.  Documents from the time describe him deeply in debt to landlords, innkeepers, and even fellow artists.  In 1675 Van Mieris's wife, Cunera, went so far as to request payment from a patron of her husband's fee and stipulated that it be sent directly to her and without his knowledge, because the money would otherwise disappear 'like acid on an etching plate.' Van Mieris died in debt on March 21, 1681."

– extracted from biographical sketch, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Willem Jacobsz Delff and Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
1632
hand-colored engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Hugo de Groot
1632
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham
1626
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia
(The Winter Queen)
1630
engraving
Teylers Museum, Haarlem

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Frederick V of the Palatinate
(The Winter King)
1632
engraving
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Catharina, Countess of Pallandt
1636
engraving
Teylers Museum, Haarlem

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Christian the Younger of Brunswick
1623
engraving
Teylers Museum, Haarlem

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick
1631
engraving
Teylers Museum, Haarlem

Willem Jacobsz Delff after Michiel van Miereveld
Portrait of Henry Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz
ca. 1630-38
engraving (unfinished)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger
Portrait of Saloman van Schoonhoven (possibly)
1643
oil on panel
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger
Portrait of a Lady
1654
oil on panel
private collection

Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger
Portrait of Michiel Paux
1642
oil on panel
private collection

Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger
Officers of the Civic Guard, Delft
1648
oil on canvas
Museum Prinsenhof, Delft

Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger
Portrait of a Gentleman
1647
oil on panel
Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger
Portrait of Gabriël Vernatti
1650
oil on panel
Cultural Institute of the Netherlands, Amsterdam

Willem Jacobsz Delff (1580-1638) was the son-in-law of Michiel van Miereveld (1567-1641), the most prominent portrait painter of the early 17th century in the region of Delft.  Marrying into the family, Delff became part of the Miereveld workshop, mainly responsible for high-quality engraved copies of his father-in-law's portraits of dignitaries and celebrities.  Obviously, these prints could be disseminated to a broader European audience than might have access to the original paintings.  Delff predeceased the master, as did van Miereveld's two painter-sons, who had contributed to the family enterprise as well.  At van Miereveld's own death in 1641, Delff's son (and Miereveld's grandson), the twenty-two-year-old Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger (1619-1661) inherited the portrait-making business and went on, as seen above, creating images of the rich and powerful, maintaining the style set by his grandfather, though lacking the same lustre.