The Dutch artist Jan Weissenbruch (1822-1880) excelled both at graphic art and at painting. His chosen genre was architectural painting, mainly townscapes, and in this he stands in a rich tradition: like his famous Dutch 17th-century predecessors Gerrit Berckheyde, Pieter Saenredam and Jan van der Heyden, Weissenbruch established a niche for himself through an almost uncanny mastery of contrast that managed to suffuse his paintings with an adroit stillness and an extraordinary suggestion of sunlight that is essentially unrivalled in Dutch 19th-century art.
This is vintage Weissenbruch: the two ladies in our painting are arranged as miniature dolls in a scene intended to convey an almost otherworldly sense of harmony. In doing this, the artist departed from the style of so many of his colleagues, like Springer and Van Hove, whose townscapes were intended to be much more "ordinary" depictions of actual street scenes, with much wider vistas and clear reference to human activity.
Born in The Hague in 1822, Weissenbruch enrolled at the drawing academy in his home town at the age of 14, where he remained a student until 1840. From 1839 onwards, he participated in various exhibitions in Amsterdam and The Hague. His evident ability as a draughtsman led to his being able to show his work abroad, at international exhibitions in Brussels, Paris and London. It was in fact at the Brussels Salon in 1860 that Prince Albert bought two paintings by Weissenbruch as a present for Queen Victoria. They still today form part of the Royal Collection of HM King Charles III. Towards the end of his life, Weissenbruch developed agoraphobia, which inevitably restricted his working routine. Despite this affliction, however, he continued painting until his death in 1880.
Weissenbruch was a very methodical artist. He travelled throughout Holland in order to make drawings of quiet spots near rivers and towns. His paintings would normally be preceded by little sketches he made whilst in situ, although he would also occasionally base a painting on an etching he had done earlier. Before producing a finished painting, he would often create a study in oils, which he would also sign and sell. Unlike work made in the earlier part of his career, Weissenbruch seldom dated any of his later paintings. This means that a chronology of his oeuvre after about 1850 is difficult to establish.
All leading Dutch museums today own work by Jan Weissenbruch. His work can also be seen in international museums in, for example, Belgium, the Hermitage in St Petersburg and the Kunsthalle Hamburg. In 2016/17, a retrospective at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem provided an overview of Weissenbruch's impressive oeuvre, allowing a new generation of museum visitors to enjoy the beauty of this exceptional artist's work.
This is vintage Weissenbruch: the two ladies in our painting are arranged as miniature dolls in a scene intended to convey an almost otherworldly sense of harmony. In doing this, the artist departed from the style of so many of his colleagues, like Springer and Van Hove, whose townscapes were intended to be much more "ordinary" depictions of actual street scenes, with much wider vistas and clear reference to human activity.
Born in The Hague in 1822, Weissenbruch enrolled at the drawing academy in his home town at the age of 14, where he remained a student until 1840. From 1839 onwards, he participated in various exhibitions in Amsterdam and The Hague. His evident ability as a draughtsman led to his being able to show his work abroad, at international exhibitions in Brussels, Paris and London. It was in fact at the Brussels Salon in 1860 that Prince Albert bought two paintings by Weissenbruch as a present for Queen Victoria. They still today form part of the Royal Collection of HM King Charles III. Towards the end of his life, Weissenbruch developed agoraphobia, which inevitably restricted his working routine. Despite this affliction, however, he continued painting until his death in 1880.
Weissenbruch was a very methodical artist. He travelled throughout Holland in order to make drawings of quiet spots near rivers and towns. His paintings would normally be preceded by little sketches he made whilst in situ, although he would also occasionally base a painting on an etching he had done earlier. Before producing a finished painting, he would often create a study in oils, which he would also sign and sell. Unlike work made in the earlier part of his career, Weissenbruch seldom dated any of his later paintings. This means that a chronology of his oeuvre after about 1850 is difficult to establish.
All leading Dutch museums today own work by Jan Weissenbruch. His work can also be seen in international museums in, for example, Belgium, the Hermitage in St Petersburg and the Kunsthalle Hamburg. In 2016/17, a retrospective at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem provided an overview of Weissenbruch's impressive oeuvre, allowing a new generation of museum visitors to enjoy the beauty of this exceptional artist's work.
Two ladies at the Noorderkerkhof, 1860
Lower right: JAN WEISSENBRUCH f.
Oil on panel
13 x 10,5 cm
Provenance
Kunsthandel Pieter A. Scheen, The Hague;Private collection, Netherlands
Exhibitions
The Hague, Gemeente Musea 's Gravenhage, inv. no. 511 as "poort v.h. Noorderkerkhof", in 1860 (label on verso)Literature
Willem Laanstra, Jan Weissenbruch: 1822-1880. Schilder-Graficus, Amsterdam 1986, p. 58 as O/13-1
The Dutch artist Jan Weissenbruch (1822-1880) excelled both at graphic art and at painting. His chosen genre was architectural painting, mainly townscapes, and in this he stands in a rich tradition: like his famous Dutch 17th-century predecessors Gerrit Berckheyde, Pieter Saenredam and Jan van der Heyden, Weissenbruch established a niche for himself through an almost uncanny mastery of contrast that managed to suffuse his paintings with an adroit stillness and an extraordinary suggestion of sunlight that is essentially unrivalled in Dutch 19th-century art.
This is vintage Weissenbruch: the two ladies in our painting are arranged as miniature dolls in a scene intended to convey an almost otherworldly sense of harmony. In doing this, the artist departed from the style of so many of his colleagues, like Springer and Van Hove, whose townscapes were intended to be much more "ordinary" depictions of actual street scenes, with much wider vistas and clear reference to human activity.
Born in The Hague in 1822, Weissenbruch enrolled at the drawing academy in his home town at the age of 14, where he remained a student until 1840. From 1839 onwards, he participated in various exhibitions in Amsterdam and The Hague. His evident ability as a draughtsman led to his being able to show his work abroad, at international exhibitions in Brussels, Paris and London. It was in fact at the Brussels Salon in 1860 that Prince Albert bought two paintings by Weissenbruch as a present for Queen Victoria. They still today form part of the Royal Collection of HM King Charles III. Towards the end of his life, Weissenbruch developed agoraphobia, which inevitably restricted his working routine. Despite this affliction, however, he continued painting until his death in 1880.
Weissenbruch was a very methodical artist. He travelled throughout Holland in order to make drawings of quiet spots near rivers and towns. His paintings would normally be preceded by little sketches he made whilst in situ, although he would also occasionally base a painting on an etching he had done earlier. Before producing a finished painting, he would often create a study in oils, which he would also sign and sell. Unlike work made in the earlier part of his career, Weissenbruch seldom dated any of his later paintings. This means that a chronology of his oeuvre after about 1850 is difficult to establish.
All leading Dutch museums today own work by Jan Weissenbruch. His work can also be seen in international museums in, for example, Belgium, the Hermitage in St Petersburg and the Kunsthalle Hamburg. In 2016/17, a retrospective at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem provided an overview of Weissenbruch's impressive oeuvre, allowing a new generation of museum visitors to enjoy the beauty of this exceptional artist's work.
This is vintage Weissenbruch: the two ladies in our painting are arranged as miniature dolls in a scene intended to convey an almost otherworldly sense of harmony. In doing this, the artist departed from the style of so many of his colleagues, like Springer and Van Hove, whose townscapes were intended to be much more "ordinary" depictions of actual street scenes, with much wider vistas and clear reference to human activity.
Born in The Hague in 1822, Weissenbruch enrolled at the drawing academy in his home town at the age of 14, where he remained a student until 1840. From 1839 onwards, he participated in various exhibitions in Amsterdam and The Hague. His evident ability as a draughtsman led to his being able to show his work abroad, at international exhibitions in Brussels, Paris and London. It was in fact at the Brussels Salon in 1860 that Prince Albert bought two paintings by Weissenbruch as a present for Queen Victoria. They still today form part of the Royal Collection of HM King Charles III. Towards the end of his life, Weissenbruch developed agoraphobia, which inevitably restricted his working routine. Despite this affliction, however, he continued painting until his death in 1880.
Weissenbruch was a very methodical artist. He travelled throughout Holland in order to make drawings of quiet spots near rivers and towns. His paintings would normally be preceded by little sketches he made whilst in situ, although he would also occasionally base a painting on an etching he had done earlier. Before producing a finished painting, he would often create a study in oils, which he would also sign and sell. Unlike work made in the earlier part of his career, Weissenbruch seldom dated any of his later paintings. This means that a chronology of his oeuvre after about 1850 is difficult to establish.
All leading Dutch museums today own work by Jan Weissenbruch. His work can also be seen in international museums in, for example, Belgium, the Hermitage in St Petersburg and the Kunsthalle Hamburg. In 2016/17, a retrospective at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem provided an overview of Weissenbruch's impressive oeuvre, allowing a new generation of museum visitors to enjoy the beauty of this exceptional artist's work.
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