Herman van Swanevelt (1603 – 1655) was a Dutch painter and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

from the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

era.

Life

Herman was born in

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

to a family of thriving artisans whose ancestors included the famous painter

Lucas van Leyden Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very ac ...

. The identity of Swanevelt’s teacher remains a mystery. A new hypothesis suggests that he was a pupil of Willem Buytewech. He painted his first signed and dated works in 1623 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1629 he moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he painted many landscapes, and introduced a new type of idyllic landscape with sunlit 'contrejours' reflecting the times of day. Swanevelt became a member of 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 ...

; his alias was " heremiet", while he preferred to work alone. Created and developed by

Paul Bril Paul Bril (1554 – 7 October 1626) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and printmaker principally known for his Landscape art, landscapes.Nicola Courtright. "Paul Bril." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. ...

and Cornelis van Poelenburch from 1600 onward, the genre of the “Italianate landscape” entered its classical phase in the 1630s with the advent of Swanevelt and his friends and contemporaries

Pieter van Laer Pieter Bodding van Laer (christened 14 December 1599, in Haarlem – 1641 or later) was a Dutch Painting, painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He was active in Rome for over a decade and was known for Genre works, genre scenes, animal paintings a ...

and

Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in I ...

. His paintings became very popular and the

Barberini The House of Barberini is a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in the 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban pal ...

family, Pope

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

and the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

offered him commissions, like in the monastery of

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

. Along with Lorrain and others, he also painted landscapes for

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

's new

Buen Retiro Palace Buen Retiro Palace (Spanish: ''Palacio del Buen Retiro'') in Madrid was a large palace complex designed by the architect (c. 1590–1660) and built on the orders of Philip IV of Spain as a secondary residence and place of recreation (hence its ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. In 1641 he returned to Paris, where he remained except for occasional visits to his birthplace

. He became a member of the

Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

in 1651. He assisted in the decoration of the Hôtel Lambert and made numerous drawings and etchings. His patrons in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

were

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

and King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. Swanevelt lived in Rue du Temple when he died.

Art

During the beginning of the 1630s his development runs parallel to Claude's, and in some ways even anticipates it. During the thirties Swanevelt refined his idyllic landscape style. Swanevelt was an important link between the first generation of Dutch italianate painters, such as Cornelis van Poelenburch and Bartholomeus Breenbergh, and those of the second generation who imitated his monumental compositions and his treatment of southern sunlight. In the last decade of his life when Swanevelt made a few trips to Woerden, he also painted Dutch scenery, but with the typical southern sunlight.

Works

For a long time the only murals attributed to Swanevelt were the two lunettes in the sacristy of

Santa Maria sopra Minerva Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major Church (building), churches of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominicans) in Rome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was b ...

, of which only one survived. Art historian Susan Russell proposed that a frieze with seven scenes from the life of the Old Testament's Joseph in the east wing of Palazzo Pamphilj in

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

was also painted by him. One of Swanevelt's etchings, "The Birth of Adonis," (1654) resides in the Utah Museum of Fine Art's permanent collection.

Gallery

File:Van Swanevelt, Herman - The Arch of Constantine, Rome - Google Art Project.jpg, The

Arch of Constantine The Arch of Constantine () is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312 ...

, Rome File:Van Swanevelt, Herman - Italian Landscape with Bridge - Google Art Project.jpg, An Italian Landscape with a Bridge File:SwaneveltCampoVaccinoForumFitz2.jpg, The Campo Vaccino File:Herman van Swanevelt - Huntsman at Rest - WGA21992.jpg, A Huntsman at Rest File:Van Swanevelt, Herman - An Italian Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, An Italian Landscape

Notes

External links

*
Works at WGA

The Rijksmuseum on Swanevelt with examples of etchings

Website from the Getty Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanevelt, Herman Van Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters 1603 births 1655 deaths People from Woerden Dutch printmakers Members of the Bentvueghels Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture