Johannes (Jan) Symonsz van der Beeck (1589 – buried 17 February 1644) was a Dutch painter also known by his alias Johannes Torrentius. ("Torrentius" is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

equivalent of the surname van der Beeck, meaning "of the brook" or "of the river".) Despite his reputation as a

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 ...

master, few of Torrentius' paintings survive, as his works were ordered to be burned after he was accused of being a

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

adherent of

atheistic Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and Satanic beliefs. The tortured painter was thrown into prison as a convicted blasphemer until being permitted to leave the country as a political gesture for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, an admirer of van der Beeck.

Life and career

Johannes van der Beeck was born and died 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 ...

, where he married in 1612. Relations between himself and wife Neeltgen van Camp eventually soured and ended in a divorce. Van der Beeck was briefly thrown into jail for failing to pay

alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide ...

to his former wife in 1621."Johannes Torrentius" (1993). In Ger Luijten, Ariane van Suchtelen, Michael Hoyle (Eds.), ''Dawn of the Golden Age: Northern Netherlandish Art, 1580–1620''. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. p. 319. , . His

libertine A libertine is a person questioning and challenging most moral principles, such as responsibility or Human sexual activity, sexual restraints, and will often declare these traits as unnecessary, undesirable or evil. A libertine is especially som ...

ways and purported membership in the

order led to his 1627 arrest and torture as a religious non-conformist and an alleged blasphemer,

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and

Satanist Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

. The 25 January 1628 judgment from five noted advocates of

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 ...

pronounced him guilty of "blasphemy against God and avowed atheism, at the same time as leading a frightful and pernicious lifestyle".Wittemans, Frank (1996). ''A New and Authentic History of the Rosicrucians''. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing. pp. 54–55. . It was widely believed that the condemned Torrentius' influence had affected

Jeronimus Cornelisz Jeronimus Cornelisz (c. 1598 – 2 October 1629) was a Dutch apothecary and Dutch East India Company merchant who sailed aboard the merchant ship which foundered near the Australian mainland. Cornelisz then led one of the bloodiest mutinies i ...

, a trader of the Dutch East India Trading Company who led a bloody mutiny aboard the '' Batavia'', a ship of the Dutch East India Company, in 1629. According to the

RKD 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 ...

, Torrentius was tried in 1627, but according to Houbraken, who quoted

Theodorus Schrevelius Theodorus Schrevelius (25 July 1572 – 2 December 1649) was a Dutch Golden Age writer and poet. Biography He was born in Haarlem, and in 1591 went to study Greek and Latin at the University of Leiden. He became the assistant director of the ...

, he was tried and placed on the '' painbench'', and thereupon sentenced to 20 years in the ''Tuchthuis'' (the Haarlem house of detention), on 25 July 1630.Johan Torrentius biography
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by

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 ...

, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature Although he was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment, King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

– an admirer of the painter's works – intervened, and was able to secure his release after two years, hiring Torrentius as Court Painter. He stayed in England for 12 years, returning to Amsterdam in 1642. TorrentiusThibaultKB

Legacy

The painting ''Still life with Bridle'' inspired Polish poet and essayist

Zbigniew Herbert Zbigniew Herbert (; 29 October 1924 – 28 July 1998) was a Polish poet, essayist, drama writer and moralist. He is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers. While he was first published in the 1950s (a volume tit ...

to write an

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

on Torrentius and this picture entitled "Still life with Bridle" which also gave its title to his collection of essays on

Dutch Golden Age painting Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republi ...

(Wrocław, 1993). In the documentary ''Mysterious Masterpiece: Cold Case Torrentius'' (2016) by Maarten de Kroon in cooperation with Jeanne van der Horst, Torrentius's sole remaining painting ''Still life with Bridle'' is submitted to a close technical investigation. A series of experts (including Christopher Brown,

Walter Liedtke Walter Arthur Liedtke, Jr. (August 28, 1945 – February 3, 2015) was an American art historian, writer and Curator of Dutch and Flemish Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was known as one of the world's leading scholars of Dutch an ...

and

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...

) comment on the artist's technique and life story. The film details the technical research shedding new light on Torrentius's work.

References

External links

Torrentius at the Dutch Rijksmuseum

Torrentius in documentary film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beeck, Johannes van der 1589 births 1644 deaths Painters from Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch prisoners and detainees Dutch torture victims People convicted of blasphemy