Salomon de Bray
Salomon de Bray ( Amsterdam * 1597, † May 11 1664 in Haarlem ) was a Dutch painter, draftsman, architect, urban planner and poet.
Solomon was the son of Simon de Bray, who came to the province of Holland Aelst in the Catholic southern Netherlands. Since 1617 till death he lived in Haarlem, where he learned the craft of painting with Hendrik Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem. He was versatile, painted historical scenes, portraits and landscapes, took part in the decoration of the royal residence Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. After 1640 he was influenced by Rembrandt.
Salomon de Bray was chairman of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. In 1631 he made a new statute of the guild, which was never ratified.
As an architect he worked in the development of the Town Hall and St. Anne's Church in Haarlem and the orphanage in Nijmegen.
In 1625 he married Anna Westerbaen, with whom he had ten children. Anna died in 1663 in Haarlem, probably during the plague epidemic.
In 1631 he published the book Architectura Moderna out, that was dedicated to the works of the architect Hendrick de Keyser, with many graphics and comments. In the treatise on architecture Bedenckingen over het uytleggen s vergrooten the city of Haarlem, published in 1661, he discussed his views on the future development of Haarlem. Salomon de Bray was also a collection of love poetry. He also designed silver objects.
During the plague epidemic in 1664, he lost two of his daughters and two sons, including Joseph. Three of his sons were also painters (Jan, Joseph de Bray, Dirck ), the most gifted was Jan de Bray.
Works
- Abraham's sacrifice - Stockholm
- Portrait of a Lady - Gent
- Orphan - The Hague
- Jael, Deborah and Barack - 1635, 87 × 72 cm, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht
- Triumphal procession with the musicians - 1649, 385 × 205 cm, Huis ten Bosch, The Hague
- Odysseus and Circe - 1650-1655, 11 × 92 cm, private collection
- Eliezer and Rebecca - 1660 90 × 156 cm, Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai