The period between 1588 and 1672 witnessed prosperity in Dutch art. Countless of the most famous Dutch painters, artists, and artworks masters’ paintings come from this period. That’s also the reason why people called it The Golden Age.
The Netherlands is so much more than Rembrandt and Van Gogh in the field of art. Today, we’ll show you ten of the most famous Dutch painters.
Jan Steen – Famous Dutch Painters
Jan Steen’s hometown is Leiden. People didn’t know which year he was born, 1625 or 1626. Steen passed in Leiden in 1679.
While studying at the University of Leiden, Steen took painting lessons from Nicolaus Knupfer, a German painter. Steen had traveled a lot and temporarily lived in Hague, Delft, Haarlem, and Warmond, before finally returning to Leiden.
He created all of his paintings in the Baroque style, adding humor and people to give the artworks as much life as possible. His paintings are well-known for frequently depicting scenes in a disorganized state.
One of his most prominent pieces is “Het Vrolijke Huisgezin”, which means “The Happy Family” in English. It portrays a chaotic family having fun. You can marvel at this artwork in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Pieter “Boer” Brueghel de Oude
Pieter Brueghel was born in Breugel or Breda between 1525 and 1530. And he died in Brussels in 1569. As a Brabant Renaissance painter, Pieter was the father of numerous other well-known “Bruegel” artists.
Like other artists of his time, Pieter preferred depicting settings with religious tones. Also, he’d like to use expressions, verbs, and imagery. He painted numerous pastoral scenes that featured townlet landscapes, harvests, and rural themes. Soon after his death, he became well-known for his artworks, particularly his prints.
Pieter’s 1559 piece “The Dutch Proverbs” remains famous today. It possesses approximately 125 Dutch expressions. You can admire the painting in Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie.
Jheronimus Bosch
Jheronimus Bosch was born around 1450 in Den Bosch. He died while staying in his hometown in 1516.
The Van Akens family is a well-known artistic family. As a result, it is not surprising that Jheronimus followed in his family’s footsteps and became a renowned painter.
Jheronimus was a detailed painter, and his paintings were often filled with countless features. And since his paintings frequently illustrated demon-like creatures and satirical images, he became renowned as den duvelmakere (the demon maker).
“De Tuin der Lusten” is one of his most famous works of all time.
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer was born in a Reformed family in Delft in 1632. But he then became a Roman Catholic so he could marry his love, Catharina Bolnes.
Along with Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Steen, Johannes is arguably one of the most famous Dutch painters of The Golden Age. He made about 45 art pieces in his entire life. Unfortunately, like many other painters of his generation, Johannes was underrated while alive.
One of the most famous Dutch masters paintings (artwork) “Meisje met de Parel” (Girl with a Pearl Earring) was created by Johannes sometime between 1665 and 1667. It’s now on display in The Mauritshuis in The Hague.
Albert Cuyp
Albert Cuyp was one of the greatest 17th-century painters. Like Jheronimus, Albert came from a renowned painting family. Soon, he rose to fame for his Dutch countryside landscapes.
One of his favored art pieces is the “Rivierlandschap met Ruiters” (River Landscape with Riders). The scene shows two horsemen resting their horses along a flowing river. Currently, this artwork is housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Gerard van Honthorst
Gerard was born in Utrecht in 1592 and died in 1656. He pursued the painter Caravaggio and was called a “Utrecht Caravaggist”. Antoon van Dyck’s artwork was another major source of influence for him.
Gerard once went to Italy to develop his skills in the famous art centers of Rome, Florence, and Venice.
One of the famous master paintings (artwork) of this Dutch artist is the 1625 “De Koppelaarster” (The Matchmaker) which is on display in the Central Museum in Utrecht.
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan was born in Amersfoort in 1872, and died in New York. Not only was he a painter, but Pieter also appeared as an art theorist. He was one of the pioneers in abstract art painting.
Pieter’s abstract and geometric work was famous and, hence, was a major source of inspiration for architects and designers.
Tableau 1, one of his most famous works, was painted in 1921 and is very unoriginally titled. Pieter created a dozen other tableaux and compositions that all look alike. He was among the first to make and sell abstract representations of color. And he will be remembered as a pioneer and “the father” of abstract art.
Jan Toorop
Jan Theodorus Toorop was a famous painter during the turn of the 20th century.
In his younger years, he had an impressionist style but used Pointillism frequently. In addition to painting, he created ceramics, advertising posters, and book bindings. People associate him with the Art Nouveau movement, even though he never used those phrases.
It’s better to look at “Broek in Waterland”, one of Jan’s famous works, from a distance. Up close, it’s just dotted, but it’s a lovely dusk waterscape from afar. This work is currently on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent was a Post-Impressionist, which was the art movement that followed Impressionism. In just ten years, he completed all of his later famous works. In 1890, he committed suicide after suffering from psychiatric illness.
Vincent, like his predecessors, was not recognized for his brilliance during his lifetime. Just before his death, he sold one painting, De Rode Wijngaard (The Red Vineyard), for 400 francs!
The thick brushstrokes distinguish Van Gogh’s style from that of the Post-Impressionists. It also lacks the ornate detail and precision of brushwork of previous centuries’ painters. He was a truly gifted soul, and no matter what you think of his work, it’s undeniable it has left a lasting impression on the art world.
Visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to see the “Aardappeleters”(Potato Eaters), an illustration of a painted depression made by him.
Rembrandt van Rijn
With over 300 masters paintings (artwork), 300 etchings, and approximately two thousand drawings, Rembrandt deserves to be honored among the most famous Dutch painters.
Rembrandt, like Gerard Honthorst, was influenced by the Caravaggists, which resulted in baroque touches in his work. Rembrandt’s use of light and his perfect use of sharp contrasts are truly amazing. To the viewer, his paintings are frequently “dramatic.”
“De Nachtwacht” (The Night Watch) is a massive canvas painting now on display at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. Interestingly, the painting depicts all of the people who contributed to the cost of this masterpiece, with their sizes varying according to how much they paid him.
Related Posts You Can Read:
Unusual Rijksmuseum Facts You Might Not Know
