Hondius - Jacobus de Geyn Antwerp Pict et Sculpt p63

Jacob de Gheyn II (also Jacques de Gheyn II) ( – 29 March 1629) was a Dutch

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and engraver, whose work shows the transition from

Northern Mannerism Northern Mannerism is the form of Mannerism found in the visual arts north of the Alps in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Styles largely derived from Italian Mannerism were found in the Netherlands and elsewhere from around the mid-century, es ...

to Dutch realism over the course of his career.

Biography

De Gheyn was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

and received his first training from his father, Jacob de Gheyn I, a glass painter, engraver, and

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

. In 1585, he moved to

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, where he studied under

Hendrik Goltzius Hendrick Goltzius (, ; born Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter. He was the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, or Northern Mannerism, lauded for his s ...

for the next five years. He moved again, to

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, in the middle of the 1590s. His work attracted the attention of wealthy sponsors, and his first commission was for an engraving of the Siege of Geertruidenberg from

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Lordship of Frisia, Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became P ...

. This event, from 27 March to 24 June 1593, had been more of a demonstration of power by Prince Maurits, than an actual war, and had even attracted tourists. As a publicity stunt, the siege and its subsequent engraving were successful in propagating an image of Prince Maurits as an able general. Around 1600, de Gheyn abandoned engraving, and focused on painting and

etching 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 type ...

. Moving to The Hague in 1605, he was employed often by

Dutch royalty Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, designing a garden in the Buitenhof for Prince Maurice of Orange which featured the two first

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

es in the Netherlands. After Prince Maurice's death in 1625, de Gheyn worked for his brother,

Prince Frederick Henry Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...

. De Gheyn painted some of the earliest female

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and no ...

vanitas ''Vanitas'' is a genre of symbolizing the temporality, transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, and thus the vanity of ambition and all worldly desires. The paintings involved still life imagery of transitory i ...

, and floral

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

s in

Dutch art Dutch art describes the history of visual arts in the Netherlands, after the United Provinces separated from Flanders. Earlier painting in the area is covered in Early Netherlandish painting and Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting. Dutch Go ...

. He is credited with creating over 1,500 drawings, including

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

s and

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

illustrations. He produced 117 engravings for the military manual ''The Exercise of Armes'' while living in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. De Gheyn married Eva Stalpaert van der Wiele of

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

in 1595. His son,

Jacob de Gheyn III Jacob de Gheyn III, also known as Jacob III de Gheyn (1596–1641), was a Dutch Golden Age engraver, son of Jacob de Gheyn II, canon of Utrecht (city), and the subject of a 1632 oil painting by Rembrandt. The portrait is half of a pai ...

, was born in 1596, and grew to become an engraver in his own right, as well as the subject of a portrait by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

. De Gheyn died 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 ...

File:'Vase of Flowers with a Curtain', oil on panel painting by Jacques de Gheyn II, 1615.jpg, 'Vase of Flowers with a Curtain', 1615. File:Jacob de Gheyn - Wapenhandelinge 4.jpg, Engraving of

musketeer A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifl ...

from his ''Wapenhandelinge''"De Wapenhandelinghe van Roers, Musketten ende Spiesen", 1608 File:Jacob de Gheyn (II) Spanish battle stallion 1603.jpg, Spanish battle stallion 1603. Image:Vier studies van een zieke muis, RP-T-1880-A-98.jpg, Drawing in waterpaint by Jacques de Gheyn, ''Four times a mouse''

References

External links

Jacob de Gheyn II at ArtcylopediaWorks by Jacob de Gheyn II in the British MuseumVermeer and The Delft School
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has material on Jacob de Gheyn II * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gheyn, Jacob De, II Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch Golden Age printmakers 1560s births 1629 deaths Artists from Antwerp Glass engravers Dutch glass artists 16th-century Dutch engravers 17th-century Dutch engravers 16th-century Flemish engravers 17th-century Flemish engravers