Pieter Hofman - A military encampment on the Campus Martius before the Ponte Molle with Mount Soracte beyond

Pieter Hofman (c. 1642 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 ...

– 1692 in

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, ...

) was a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

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 ...

painter. After training in Antwerp, he spent the rest of his career in Turkey and Italy where he painted cavalry battles and scenes from military life.Pieter Hofman
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History

Life

He was probably born around 1642 in Antwerp from a German family. He was an apprentice in 1656/57 when he was presumably around 14 or 15 years old. His master was the battle painter

Nicolaas van Eyck Nicolaas van Eyck or Nicolaes van Eyck (1617–1679) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter active in Antwerp in the middle of the 17th century. He is known for his equestrian and battle scenes, landscapes and portraits. He also painted a few ci ...

.Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius (ed.), ''De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde''
Volume 2, Antwerp, Julius de Koninck, 1871, p. 280 He traveled in the company of fellow Antwerp painter Jan van Essen to Turkey where he resided in the period 1665–1669. He left for Rome around 1674–1675. In 1675 he is recorded in Rome where he was a pupil or worked in the workshop of the

Franc-comtois Frainc-Comtou () is a Romance language of the ''langues d'oïl'' language family spoken in the Franche-Comté region of France and in the Canton of Jura and Bernese Jura in Switzerland. History Jean Priorat's ''Li abrejance de l'ordre de chevale ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

battle painter

Jacques Courtois Jacques Courtois () or Giacomo Cortese, called il Borgognone or le Bourguignon (12 ?December 162114 November 1676) was a County of Burgundy, Franche-Comtois–Italy, Italian Painting, painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He was mainly active in Ro ...

according to Italian art historian

Luigi Lanzi Luigi Antonio Lanzi (13 June 1732 – 31 March 1810) was an Italian Jesuit priest, known for his writings as an art historian and archaeologist. When he died he was buried in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence by the side of Michelan ...

.Pieter Hofman, ''A military encampment on the Campus Martius before the Ponte Molle, Mount Soracte beyond ''
at Christie's He married Margarita Gambari in Rome on 12 September 1682. In 1688 their son was baptized in the

San Lorenzo in Lucina The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina ( or simply ; ) is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome, Italy. The basilica is located in Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina in the Rione Colonna, about two blocks ...

church, with the flower painter Carel de Vogelaer acting as godfather. The family lived in Via della Croce and between 1674 and 1692 in Via Babuino. Pieter Hofman - A cavalier trying to kill a standard bearer during a Battle

Pieter Hofman - A cavalier trying to kill a standard bearer during a Battle

In Rome he joined the association of mainly Flemish and Dutch painters called 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 ...

' (shortened as the 'bent'). The Bentvueghels admitted new members in a ceremony in which they were given a nickname, the so-called 'bent name'. Hofman got the bent name "Janitzer" (

Janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

, a member of the elite

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

units that formed the

household troops The Household Division forms a part of the British Army's London District and is made up of five regiments of foot guards and two Household Cavalry regiments. The division is responsible for performing public duties and state ceremonies in Londo ...

of the

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

). This bent name likely referenced his stay in Turkey and his specialisation as a battle painter.Pieter Hofman Biography
in:

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 ...

, ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718 He died in Rome in February 1692.

Work

He is known for battle scenes and works with cavalry in battle in the style of

. In particular, he specialized in painting battle scenes between Turks and Christians. He also painted scenes of military life such as military encampments.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hofman, Pieter 1640s births 1692 deaths Flemish Baroque painters Flemish war artists Painters from Antwerp Members of the Bentvueghels