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Gerrit Lundens (1622 – 1686), was a Dutch painter known for his genre scenes, portraits and a single vanitas painting.Gerrit Lundens, ''An elegant couple amidst a festive company''
at Jean Moust He also made copies after prominent masters, including Rembrandt. He further operated an inn and was active as a wine merchant.Gerrit Lundens
at the
at the Amsterdam City Archives His father's family was originally from Antwerp and had moved to Middelburg and c. 1590 to Amsterdam. His aunt Anneke (or Annken) Lunden (born in Antwerp in 1571) married in 1620 Christoffel van Sichem the Younger, who was presumably her brother-in-law. He may have trained with the painter
at the
The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 2 (2020), pp. 146-155 He posted banns of marriage on 27 April 1643 with Agniet Mathijs (or Angeniet Mathijsen), a native of Antwerp. The couple married on 10 May 1643 in Sloterdijk, a village about 3 km northwest of the Amsterdam city centre. The couple had a number of children between 1646 and 1652. His daughter Anna married on 12 June 1677 in Amsterdam the ruby cutter Gillis Ouman. His daughter Ysabella posted banns on 13 November 1677 and married Theodorus van Rijn, a gemstone cutter. Through his marriage he was also a brother-in-law of the painter Paulus van Hillegaert (I). In 1667 Lundens became a 'poorter' (citizen) of Amsterdam. In addition to his activity as a painter, he also earned a living as an innkeeper and wine merchant. His wine trading business went bankrupt in 1671 a year before France invaded the Dutch Republic. His last dated painting was made in 1675. He may have stopped painting due to the economic downturn caused by the French invasion.Fred G. Meijer, ''Gerrit Lundens, Wedding Dance in a Tavern''
at Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts site
At the time of his death in 1686 he lived on the Singel near the Munt.
His genre scenes often represent peasants and persons from the lower as well as middle classes enjoying a good time at taverns. He painted about a dozen wedding parties. He further painted more unusual subjects, such as scenes with surgeons performing operations and views of the fire that destroyed the old town hall of Amsterdam on 7 July 1652 (one version in the 
He made copies after prominent masters including work of the Flemish genre painter
at the Rijksmuseum siteK.H. de Haas (1928) ''Een meetkundige reconstructie van het oorspronkelijke formaat van Rembrandts Nachtwacht'', p. 14 One significant difference with the original work is the more elevated position of the pikeman Walich Schellingwou, which was possibly to compensate for the omission of the cartouche with the names of the persons depicted. It has been suggested that about 10 of his works made around the time he is presumed to have copied ''The Night Watch'' were influenced by Rembrandt's composition. His composition ''The fairgoers'' (private collection, c. 1643-49) has even been described as plagiarism of ''The Night Watch'' in its organisation of the figures in a chaotic crowd to create the illusion of movement, the flanking of the central figures by dark sections and the various light effects used to highlight certain details.
Gerrit Lundens (1622 – 1686), was a Dutch painter known for his genre scenes, portraits and a single vanitas painting.Gerrit Lundens, ''An elegant couple amidst a festive company''at Jean Moust He also made copies after prominent masters, including Rembrandt. He further operated an inn and was active as a wine merchant.Gerrit Lundens
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
He was born in Amsterdam as the son of Berend (or Barend) Lunden, a laundry bleacher, and Catharyne (or Catharina) van Sichem, daughter of the engraver Christoffel van Sichem the Elder.Notice of marriage on 1 April 1651 of Barend Lunden and Marritje Stoffelsat the Amsterdam City Archives His father's family was originally from Antwerp and had moved to Middelburg and c. 1590 to Amsterdam. His aunt Anneke (or Annken) Lunden (born in Antwerp in 1571) married in 1620 Christoffel van Sichem the Younger, who was presumably her brother-in-law. He may have trained with the painter
Abraham van den Hecken the Younger
Abraham van den Hecken or Abraham van den Hecken the Younger (Antwerp, 1616 - between 1655 and 1669)Abraham van den ...
, his brother-in-law who had married his sister Catharina when he was 13 years old.Abraham van den Heckenat 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 ...
The stylistic similarities of his early works with those of van den Hecken seem to confirm this apprenticeship. He was first recorded as a painter in 1643.HARRIET STOOP-DE MEESTER, ''Gerrit Lundens, His Copy after The Night Watch and the Derivatives in His Oeuvre''The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, Vol. 68, No. 2 (2020), pp. 146-155 He posted banns of marriage on 27 April 1643 with Agniet Mathijs (or Angeniet Mathijsen), a native of Antwerp. The couple married on 10 May 1643 in Sloterdijk, a village about 3 km northwest of the Amsterdam city centre. The couple had a number of children between 1646 and 1652. His daughter Anna married on 12 June 1677 in Amsterdam the ruby cutter Gillis Ouman. His daughter Ysabella posted banns on 13 November 1677 and married Theodorus van Rijn, a gemstone cutter. Through his marriage he was also a brother-in-law of the painter Paulus van Hillegaert (I). In 1667 Lundens became a 'poorter' (citizen) of Amsterdam. In addition to his activity as a painter, he also earned a living as an innkeeper and wine merchant. His wine trading business went bankrupt in 1671 a year before France invaded the Dutch Republic. His last dated painting was made in 1675. He may have stopped painting due to the economic downturn caused by the French invasion.Fred G. Meijer, ''Gerrit Lundens, Wedding Dance in a Tavern''
at Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts site
At the time of his death in 1686 he lived on the Singel near the Munt.
Work
About 150 paintings and a few drawings have been attributed to Lundens. He is known for portraits, genre scenes, a vanitas still life and copies of old masters. He was influenced by his brother-in-law Abraham van den Hecken andJan Miense Molenaer
Jan Miense Molenaer (1610 – buried 19 September 1668) was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter whose style was a precursor to Jan Steen's work during Dutch Golden Age painting. He shared a studio with his wife, Judith Leyster, also a genre paint ...
, a pupil of Frans Hals.
His genre scenes often represent peasants and persons from the lower as well as middle classes enjoying a good time at taverns. He painted about a dozen wedding parties. He further painted more unusual subjects, such as scenes with surgeons performing operations and views of the fire that destroyed the old town hall of Amsterdam on 7 July 1652 (one version in the Amsterdam Museum
The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the Amstelhof on the ...
). He painted a view of the ''Fair at the Heiligwegpoort in Amsterdam'' (at the Amsterdam Museum
The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the Amstelhof on the ...
), which shows, amongst the festive fair, a fight of dogs (so-called 'berebijters' (bear biters') against a bear. Since Lundens did not vary the handling of his genre scenes substantially over time, it is difficult to date these works.
He painted family portraits, pendant portraits of couples and miniature portraits.
He made copies after prominent masters including work of the Flemish genre painter Adriaen Brouwer
Adriaen Brouwer ( – January 1638) was a Flemish painter active in Flanders and the Dutch Republic in the first half of the 17th century.The Night Watch
''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' (), is a 1642 painting ...
'', Rembrandt's famous painting which shows one of Amsterdam's Schutterijen (civic militia guards) led by its Captain Banning Cocq out of the gates of their Amsterdam militia headquarters (original on display at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museumplein, Museum Square in the stadsdeel, borough of Amsterdam-Zuid, Amsterdam South, ...
. It is believed that Captain Cocq commissioned Lunden to make the smaller replica, which is now in the collection of the National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...
. Lundens' copy painted only a few years after the original, shows Rembrandt's work before 1715 when it was cut down on three sides and lost a few figures.''Copy of The Night Watch'', Gerrit Lundens (attributed to), c. 1642 - c. 1655at the Rijksmuseum siteK.H. de Haas (1928) ''Een meetkundige reconstructie van het oorspronkelijke formaat van Rembrandts Nachtwacht'', p. 14 One significant difference with the original work is the more elevated position of the pikeman Walich Schellingwou, which was possibly to compensate for the omission of the cartouche with the names of the persons depicted. It has been suggested that about 10 of his works made around the time he is presumed to have copied ''The Night Watch'' were influenced by Rembrandt's composition. His composition ''The fairgoers'' (private collection, c. 1643-49) has even been described as plagiarism of ''The Night Watch'' in its organisation of the figures in a chaotic crowd to create the illusion of movement, the flanking of the central figures by dark sections and the various light effects used to highlight certain details.
References and notes
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lundens, Gerrit 1622 births 1686 deaths Dutch genre painters Dutch still life painters Art copyists Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Painters from Amsterdam