Gerrit van Uylenburgh (c. 1625 – 1679), also known as Gerrit Uylenburgh, was a

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

painter and art-dealer. He was the eldest son of Hendrick van Uylenburgh and took over the family art-dealing business after Hendrick's death and burial in the

Westerkerk The Westerkerk (; ) is a Calvinism, Reformed church within Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Dutch Protestant Calvinism in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It lies in the most western part of the Grachtengordel (Amsterdam), Grachtengordel nei ...

church in 1661. This business, then in a house on Lauriergracht, formerly owned by Govaert Flinck, played a key role in the art world of the

Life

According to biographer

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 ...

, van Uylenburgh began as a landscape painter and painted rooms in the house of a wealthy man in Amsterdam. He soon saw he could earn more money dealing in art than in painting himself.Gerard Uilenburg biography
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by

, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature Like his father he took young promising painters into his service, such as Hendrick Fromantiou, Jurriaen Ovens and Gerard de Lairesse. He expanded the business internationally and sold many Italian masters and classical sculptures alongside Dutch art. The English painter

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...

and king John II Casimir of Poland both had Gerrit as their agent. In 1660 he advised the

Cornelis Cornelis is a Dutch language, Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius (name), Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees (given name), Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) an ...

and his younger brother, Andries de Graeff, one of the heads of the

States-General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated i ...

on their lavish Dutch Gift to

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

. In 1671 he organised the auction of Gerrit Reynst's collection and offered thirteen paintings and some sculptures from among those which had not sold at the auction to Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. However, on Fromantiou's advice, Frederick accused them of being counterfeits and sent them back. Van Uylenburg then organized a counter-assessment, asking a total of 35 painters to pronounce on their authenticity, including Jan Lievens, Melchior de Hondecoeter, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout,

Barend Graat Barend Graat (21 September 1628, Amsterdam – 4 November 1709, Amsterdam),Barend Graat
in the RKD was a Dutc ...

and

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

. Van Uylenburgh hit financial problems in 1675, as a result of the war with France, falling art prices, and possibly due to the damage to his reputation from the Brandenburg affair. His business went bankrupt and Gerrit moved to London, where Lely exerted his influence at court and secured him the post of Surveyor of the King’s Pictures. He died in 1679. In 2006 the Rembrandt House Museum presented an exhibition about Hendrick and Gerrit. The exhibition was also shown at the

Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, south London. It opened to the public in 1817 and was designed by the Regency architect Sir John Soane. His design was recognized for its innovative and influential method of illumination f ...

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

* Dudok van Heel, S.A.C. (1982) HET ‘SCHILDERHUIS’ VAN GOVERT FLINCK EN DE KUNSTHANDEL VAN UYLENBURGH AAN DE LAURIERGRACHT TE AMSTERDAM. In: Amstelodamum Jrb 74, pp. 77–8.

External links

Rembrandthuis

Review of the exhibition (Telegraph)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uylenburgh, Gerrit 1620s births 1679 deaths Dutch art dealers Painters from Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Surveyors of the King's Pictures