Augustinus Terwesten or Augustinus Terwesten the Elder (4 May 1649 – 21 January 1711) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, printmaker and art educator. He specialized in portraits, architectural and historical themes. He was known in his time for his decorative paintings in luxurious residences many of which have since disappeared. He left a great many preparatory drawings. He was a co-founder of The Hague Drawing Academy. He worked for a long time in Berlin where he was

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the Soldier King (), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel. Born in Berlin, he was raised by the Hugu ...

and one of the cofounders of the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

.Augustinus Terwesten
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

Early years in the Hague

Terwesten was born in The Hague of parents of German origin. His father, Hans Jacob Terwesten or Zurwesten, was originally from

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

while his mother Catharina came from Berlin. They had married in The Hague in 1648, where Hans Jacob worked as a goldsmith. The marriage produced ten children, of whom three sons and two daughters survived. Augustinus was the oldest son. Ezaias, the middle son of the family, also worked temporarily in his father's workshop and settled later in Rome as a flower and fruit painter. The youngest brother Mattheus later followed in Augustinus footsteps and often worked together with him on commissions.Michael Lausberg, ‘’Prunkschlösser: Schloss Charlottenburg’’
Augustin Terwesten the Elder - Young woman with flower garland

Augustin Terwesten the Elder - Young woman with flower garland

In his father's workshop Augustinus learned the art of engraving, goldsmithing and wax modelling. This was followed by two years of apprenticeship with the history painter

Nicolaes Willingh Nicolaes Willingh (1640, The Hague – 1678, Berlin), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to Arnold Houbraken, Houbraken he was the teacher of Robbert Duval and Augustinus Terwesten.Willem Doudyns for two years before setting off on a Grand Tour through Germany to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1672, where he spent three years.Augustinus Terwesten Biography
in:

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch people, Dutch Painting, painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadt ...

, ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718

Grand Tour to Rome and the Bentvueghels

In Rome he became a member of the painters' circle known as the

Bentvueghels The Bentvueghels (Dutch for "Birds of a Feather") were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome from about 1620 to 1720. They are also known as the Schildersbent ("painters' clique"). Activities The members, which incl ...

, where he earned the nickname "Patrysvogel", or partridge, after the story of

Perdix ''Perdix'' is a genus of Galliformes, Galliform gamebirds known collectively as the 'true partridges'. These birds are unrelated to the subtropical species that have been named after the partridge due to similar size and Morphology (biology), m ...

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

. He went back to the Hague via France and England, and was gone for a total of 6 years. In 1678, he set up a workshop in the Hague specialized in wall and ceiling decorations. 1682–1683 he helped to set up the Drawing Academy in the Hague set up by the "''

Confrerie Pictura The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague (the Netherlands) by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there. History The guild of St. Luke in the Hague existed a ...

''".

German professor

In 1692 he became court painter to the son of his former royal patron,

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...

, in Berlin, and talked him into sponsoring an

Akademie der Künste The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...

. After overseeing the building of this academy which was completed in 1697, he became professor there and lived there until his death in 1711. He taught both of his brothers

Elias Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated tradit ...

and Mattheus Terwesten, but also the painters Frans Beeldemaker, Nikolaus Bruno Belau, Andries Bertoen, Jacobus Bisschop, Nicolaes Hooft, and Cornelis Michiarus. He is remembered today for his historical allegories and portraits. Three of his paintings, including 'Hera, Queen of the Heavens', are on display in the Crush Room at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Terwesten, Augustinus 1649 births 1711 deaths 18th-century Dutch painters 18th-century Dutch male artists 17th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters Members of the Bentvueghels Painters from The Hague Dutch draughtsmen