Jan de Baen (20 February 1633 – 1702) was a Dutch

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

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 ...

who lived during the

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 ...

. He was a pupil of the painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer 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 ...

from 1645 to 1648. He worked for

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 his Dutch exile, and from 1660 until his death he lived and worked 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 ...

. His portraits were popular in his day, and he painted the most distinguished people of his time.

Biography

Jan de Baen was born on 20 February 1633 in

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 ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. After his parents died, when he was a child, he lived with his uncle Hinderk Pyman (or Piemans) in

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

. Jan de Baen received his first painting lessons from his uncle, who was a painter himself. From 1645 to 1648 he lived in

, where he was the pupil of painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer. After completing his training, he worked for the exiled court of

, but upon the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

of 1660 did not follow his patron, but moved to

, where he worked as a

portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

for the rest of his life. The

Elector of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Prince-elector, Electors of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg during the time when Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the prima ...

asked him to work at his court in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, but he refused this invitation. He was the teacher of his son, the painter Jacobus de Baen, and the pupils Johann Friedrich Bodecker, Denys Godijn, Hendrik van Limborch, Nicolaes van Ravesteyn, Petro van Rijs, Jan van Sweel, and Johannes Vollevens. He died in 1702 around his 69th birthday, and was buried in The Hague on 8 March 1702. In his biographical sketch of Jan de Baen, Houbraken claims that he taught his son Jacobus to paint, who died at 27.

Works

His portraits were popular in his own day, and he painted the most distinguished people of his time. He painted

Cornelis de Witt Cornelis de Witt (15 June 1623 – 20 August 1672) was a Dutch States Navy officer and statesman. During the First Stadtholderless Period, De Witt was an influential member of the Dutch States Party, and was in opposition to the House of Oran ...

and his brother Johan de Witt both alive and

dead Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sho ...

. He portrayed the Grandduke of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, and King-stadtholder

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

. Besides portraits, he also painted cityscapes,

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

s, and

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre) is the painting of genre art, which depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity ca ...

s. The German ''

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon or was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the . Joseph Meyer (publisher), Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing hous ...

'' (1885–1892) states that his large reputation during his life was not justified by his "characterless, rigid, and unattractively coloured images". File:Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt.jpg, ''Portrait of Johan de Witt (1625-72), Grand Pensionary of Holland '' , copy after Jan de Baen File:Portrait of Johan Maurits (1604-1679), Count of Nassau-Siegen.jpg, ''Portrait of Johan Maurits (1604-1679), Count of Nassau-Siegen, Founder of the Mauritshuis'' File:Cornelis de Witt, door Jan de Baen.jpg, ''

'' File:François van Bredehoff.jpg, ''François van Bredehoff '' File:Anna van den Corput (1599-1645). Echtgenote van Jacob de Witt Rijksmuseum SK-A-4761.jpeg, ''Anna van den Corput'' (1599-1645)

Biography

Works

References

See also