Bartholomeus Appelman - River landscape with shepherds and herdsmen and the Apuan Alps in the background

Bartholomeus Appelman, sometimes erroneously referred to as Barend Appelman, nickname Hector (1628/29 in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

– 1686 in The Hague) was a Dutch painter and draughtsman. After training in his native country, he travelled to Italy where he continued his studies. He is known for his Italianate landscapes.Bartholomeus Appelman
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 ...

Life

Not much is known about the early life of the artist. He was born in The Hague in 1628 or 1629. It is not recorded with whom he trained. The earliest documented reference to the artist dates to 1656. On 10 July of that year the painter Petrus Vignois addressed a petition to the

Hof van Holland The Hof van Holland, Zeeland en West-Friesland (; usually shortened to Hof van Holland in the literature, and translated in English literature as "(High) Court of Holland") was the High Court of the provinces of Holland, West Friesland and Zeeland ...

(Court of Holland, at that time the highest judicial authority in the Dutch Republic) from the jail in The Hague where he was locked up. In his petition Vignois recounts the events that had led to his arrest. On the evening of 25 August 1647 he and his fellow painters Bartholomeus Appelman,

Hans de Jode Hans de Jode or Jan de Jode (The Hague, 1630 – Vienna, after 1662) was a Dutch painter known for his marine paintings, harbour scenes and Italianate landscapes. He left his native Holland at an early age and worked in Venice and Vienna. In ...

and Carel Codde were strolling through The Hague when two men started following and harassing them. Despite the painters' entreaties for them to back off, they were forced to draw their swords. In the ensuing scuffle de Jode injured one of the men so badly that he died immediately. De Jode fled The Hague the same night. The three other painters including Appelman stayed in The Hague until each of them set off on their study trip to Italy. The bailiff only started his proceedings against the foursome in 1653. Codde who was the only one who had come back to The Hague could quickly prove his innocence and was let go. The three others residing abroad were not even aware that proceedings had been commenced against them. Vignois was locked up upon his return from Italy in 1656. Appelman was then still residing in Italy.Abraham Bredius (ed.), ''Künstler-Inventare. Urkunden zur Geschichte der holländischen Kunst des XVIten, XVIIten und XVIIIten Jahrhunderts''
vol. 7, The Hague 1921, pp. 2-6 Bartholomeus Appelman - View of a Mediterranean port

Bartholomeus Appelman - View of a Mediterranean port

He likely arrived around 1650 in Italy. In 1657 he is mentioned in Rome together with Philips le Petit and Willem Doudijns. In Rome he joined 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 ...

, an association of mainly Dutch and

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

artists working in Rome. His nickname in the Bentveughels was 'Hector'. He also spent time in Tivoli where he produced a landscape drawing (

Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from its two most important donors, Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. The museum is located a ...

, Rotterdam). After his return from Italy he seems to have led a wandering existence as a mercenary. He is mentioned as a friend of the painter

Jan de Baen Jan de Baen (20 February 1633 – 1702) was a Dutch portrait painter who lived during the Dutch Golden Age. He was a pupil of the painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer in Amsterdam from 1645 to 1648. He worked for Charles II of England in his Dutch ex ...

and as somebody, who 'for weeks had the habit of putting his feet under another man's table.' In 1671 he is recorded in Amsterdam on the occasion of his renting of a room with a widow. He is further recorded in connection with a disturbance of the peace. He is mentioned in Rotterdam. He finally moved back to The Hague in 1676, where in the same year he became a master in the local

guild of Saint Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was iden ...

. In 1677 and 1681 he was a dean of the guild. He died in 1686.

Work

He was a landscape painter who created landscapes in the Italianising style which was then popular in his country. He made paintings and drawings of landscapes and views of Rome. In

Soestdijk Palace Soestdijk Palace ( ) is a palace formerly belonging to the Dutch royal family. It consists of a central block and two wings. Although named after the village of Soestdijk, which is largely in the municipality of Soest, Soestdijk Palace is just ...

, the residence of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

, he decorated a large room with landscapes, which were widely admired in his time.Barend Appelman 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 He collaborated with other painters. He painted the landscape backgrounds in portraits of

. He also made collaborative works with painters such as

Johannes Lingelbach Johannes (or Johann) Lingelbach (1622– 3 November 1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, associated with the second generation of Bambocciate, a group of Genre works, genre painters working in Rome from 1625–1700. Biography Lingelbach wa ...

Adriaen van de Velde Adriaen van de Velde (bapt. 30 November 1636, in Amsterdam – bur. 21 January 1672, in Amsterdam), was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and print artist. His favorite subjects were landscapes with animals and genre scenes.Philips Wouwerman Philips Wouwerman (also Wouwermans) (24 May 1619 (baptized) – 19 May 1668) was a Dutch painter of hunting, landscape and battle scenes. He became prolific during the Dutch Golden Age and joined the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. Life and work P ...

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appelman, Barend 1620s births 1686 deaths Members of the Bentvueghels Painters from The Hague Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters