Ludolf Bakhuizen

Ludolf Bakhuizen, often Backhuysen, (* December 28, 1630 or 1631 in Emden, † November 7, 1708 in Amsterdam) is considered as the most popular marine painters of Holland alongside Willem van de Velde (father and son).

Although he is primarily known as a marine painter, there is of him biblical subjects, portraits and landscapes, and in addition to ( 600 ) paintings and drawings and etchings have been preserved.

For the names there are various spellings. Backhuysen signed both as Bakhuizen as well as Backhuysen (where he mostly used monograms, LB, L back, L Bak. ) And wrote both his first name Ludolf and Ludolph. The father wrote at different times Backhusz or baking Husen, Bachhuss, Bachuis, Bachuizen, Backhuijsen, Bakhuizen.

Life

His parents were the court clerk and notary from 1631 in Emden Gerhard Back Husen and his wife Margaret Janssen. The father was formerly fled in Aurich and north as a clerk and from the ravages of the Thirty Years' War from Ostfriesland to the safety of Emden, where he received the rights of citizenship. In addition to the sons of Ludolf and John, there was born a daughter in 1628.

Bakhuizen grew up in Emden, which had its heyday in the 16th century and at that time already showed signs of decline. He went to Amsterdam in 1650 and joined as a Commission in the trading company Bartolotti one whose head Guillelmo Bartolotti was also born in Emden, but at the age of one year in 1603 moved to Amsterdam. They resided on the prestigious Herengracht in a still existing Renaissance town house. In addition to his work as a clerk, he was used because of its beautiful handwriting as a calligrapher and gave it lessons. As a painter and draftsman, he was self-taught his biographer Houbraken 's view. To learn the Malhandwerks he went from about 1651 at the Marine painters Allart van Everdingen ( 1621-1693 ) and Hendrik Jacobsz dubbels ( 1621-1707 ) in teaching. His first known pictures are from 1658. In his painting, he was also the time the most famous marine painter Willem van de Velde the Elder influenced (and probably also of its famous son van de Velde the Younger ). In 1663 he is recorded in the St. Lucas guild Amsterdam painter. After the departure of van de Velde to London 1672 Backhuysen took the position as the best-known marine painter of Amsterdam and the Netherlands. He painted his last pictures 1707. Backhuysen brought it to prestige and prosperity with its own house in the Herengracht near the Westerkerk. He died after a long and painful illness ( he suffered from bladder stones).

He devoted himself mainly of marine painting and swung it soon became a European celebrity on; his pictures were very popular until the 19th century. In addition to marine pictures he painted portraits ( including some self-portraits and portraits of family members ), little landscapes and biblical scenes and no still life. Hofstede de Groot lists 573 paintings. From him also grisailles are obtained.

According to the biographer Houbraken he gave Peter the Great at the residence as a ship's carpenter apprentice in Amsterdam in 1697 drawing lessons. In 1665 he was awarded the honorable task of the Council of the City of Amsterdam, the foreign minister of Louis XIV, Hugues de lionne ( Marquis de Berny ), an art collector, to paint a picture of Amsterdam ( navigation on the roads of Amsterdam, 1666, Louvre).

Meyers Lexicon wrote in the 1880s: while its smaller representations of the slightly turbulent and stormy sea by a careful observation of nature and by a fine, tasty, albeit featuring cool color, he loses himself on his extensive seascapes in a smooth and colorful decorative painting. His early works were later preferred. The best are in the Berlin Museum ( 1664 ), in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence ( 1669), at Belvedere in Vienna ( Austrian Gallery Belvedere) and in English private galleries. His etchings are very much appreciated.

In 1701 he published a series of ten etchings entitled Stroom en Zee gezichten, including the only foreign city is also a view of Emden.

Backhuysen was married four times. His first two wives ( married 1657 or 1660) died in infancy. In his third marriage, he was married to Alida Greffet since 1664, which had a silk shop. With her he had a daughter, Maria ( born 1665). With his last wife Anna de Hooghe (1645-1717), a merchant's daughter ( married 1680), he had three sons, of whom only Joannes ( 1683-1731 ) reached adulthood. He later was a wealthy merchant. There are still descendants in the Netherlands, among others, the professor of ecclesiastical and dogmatic history ( to 1966 ) at Leiden University Bakhuizen JN van den Brink.