Salomon de Bray (1597 – 11 May 1664) was a

Dutch Golden Age painter 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 ...

and architect.

Biography

De Bray was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, but established himself in Haarlem before 1617, where he is registered as being a member of the

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces ...

that year in the St. Adrian's cloveniers.Salomon de Bray
in the RKD He probably followed draftsmanship and painting lessons in the small academy started by

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remember ...

Hendrick Goltzius Hendrick Goltzius, or Hendrik, (; ; 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 h ...

and

Cornelis van Haarlem Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem (1562 – 11 November 1638) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and draughtsman, one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in the Netherlands, and an important forerunner of Frans Hals as a portraitist. Biograph ...

, and where he married in 1625. He is registered as a pupil of Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem, but he probably started his training in Amsterdam with Jan Pynas,

Nicolaes Moeyaert Claes Corneliszoon Moeyaert or Nicolaes Moyaert or Mooyaert (1592–1655) was an authoritative Catholic Dutch painter. He followed Rembrandt in his use of red chalk. Moeyart was born in Durgerdam. As a young man he is thought to have tr ...

and

Pieter Lastman Pieter Lastman (1583–1633) was a Dutch painter. Lastman is considered important because of his work as a painter of history pieces and because his pupils included Rembrandt and Jan Lievens. In his paintings Lastman paid careful attention to ...

. He painted

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 Bible ...

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

s and

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

s. As a Catholic he probably also made altar pieces for the Haarlem underground Catholic churches known as ''mission stations'', or ''staties''. He was a poet and member of the

Chamber of rhetoric Chambers of rhetoric ( nl, rederijkerskamers) were dramatic societies in the Low Countries. Their members were called Rederijkers (singular Rederijker), from the French word 'rhétoricien', and during the 15th and 16th centuries were mainly inte ...

called "De Wijngaertranken". One of his poems was set to music by his friend the composer

Cornelis Padbrué Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

. This is probably how he met his wife Anna, the sister of the painter Jan and the poet Jacob Westerbaen, who were also members of De Wijngaertrancken. They married in 1625.

Failed charter of the Guild of St. Luke

St Lukasgilde Haarlem hierarchy 1631 - transcribed by CJ Gonnet in 1877

In 1630 he became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. He cooperated with fellow guild member and Catholic architect-artist

Jacob van Campen Jacob van Campen (2 February 1596 - 13 September 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age. Life He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and with time on his hand ...

in the decoration of

Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch ( nl, Paleis Huis ten Bosch, ; English: "House in the Woods") is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague an ...

in The Hague. His works draw on the spirit of the Dutch classicism beginning at that time, and are comparable with those of his Catholic colleague

Pieter de Grebber Pieter Fransz de Grebber (c.1600–1652/3Between September 24, 1652, and January 29, 1653) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Life De Grebber was born in Haarlem, the oldest son of Frans Pietersz de Grebber (1573–1643), a painter and emb ...

. De Bray became active as an architect and designer of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

work, and became headman of the Guild of St. Luke. He prepared a new charter for the guild (that was never ratified) in 1631, that was signed by Pieter de Molijn,

Outgert Ariss Akersloot Outgert Arisz Akersloot (1576–1649), was a Dutch Golden Age silversmith. Biography He was a member of the Haarlem regency from 1618 to 1649.

Willem Claesz Heda Willem Claesz. Heda (December 14, 1593/1594c. 1680/1682) was a Dutch Golden Age artist from the city of Haarlem devoted exclusively to the painting of still life. He is known for his innovation of the late breakfast genre of still life painting ...

, Cornelis Cornelisz,

Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen (c. 1576 – 29 December 1633) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Van Wieringen was born and died in Haarlem. He was the son of a Haarlem captain, and drew, painted and etched with his friends Hendric ...

Floris van Dyck Floris van Dyck, also called Floris van Dijck or Floris Claesz. van Dyck (c.1575 – before 26 April 1651) was a Dutch Golden Age still life painter. Biography van Dyck lived in Haarlem for most of his life, but he was born in Delft. He was a c ...

, and Isaak Halinck, respected members of the guild. This charter met with a lot of opposition from the Haarlem council, and was probably rejected for its efforts to promote painting above other guild pursuits such as engraving, woodcarving, tapestry-making, smithwork and pottery. In 1632 he made efforts to retrieve the St. Lucas guild relic that had been stored in the guild altar of the

St. Bavochurch The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square ( Grote Markt) in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Another Haarlem church called the Cathedral of Saint Bavo now serves ...

. It had been given to a representative of the Catholic church for safekeeping and De Bray felt it should be brought back to Haarlem, but the relic was never found.

Work as an architect

As an architect, he was involved in the construction or expansion of Haarlem's

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

in 1630, the new

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of the Bavokerk, the Zijlpoort, and St. Annakerk (Church of St. Anne). Outside of Haarlem, he designed a new entrance in 1629 for the Huis te Warmond (since rebuilt) that featured pilasters and a broad pediment. In

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

he made a design for the city orphanage. He was also a town planner for the city council of Haarlem. He designed an ambitious plan to expand the city on the North side with three canals (the "Brouwers gracht", the "Staten gracht", and the "Linde gracht") that was partially implemented in the decades after his death with the Nieuwe Gracht and what is today the Parklaan. In 1631 Salomon de Bray wrote "Architectura Moderna" which provided a biography and descriptions of buildings built by

Hendrick de Keyser Hendrick de Keyser (15 May 1565 – 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor, merchant in Belgium bluestone, and architect who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism changing into Baroque. Most of his works appeared in Ams ...

and

Cornelis Danckerts de Ry Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

, two of the key Dutch architects of the period.Architectura Moderna
in the DBNL File:Salomon de Bray- Architectura Moderna 1631.gif, Titlepage Architectura Moderna, 1631 File:Stadhuis Haarlem bordes met roepstoel ontworpen door Salomon de Bray 1630.jpg, Door and balcony of the

Haarlem City Hall The City Hall in Haarlem is the seat of the city's government. It was built in the 14th century replacing the Count's castle. History Around 1100 a wooden building was constructed on the location of the current ''Gravenzaal'' of the City Hall. ...

, designed by Salomon de Bray in 1630 File:JA Beerstraten - Bavokerk na uitbreiding Salomon de Bray 1659.jpg, Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten's view of the

in 1659 soon after the new consistory (in the foreground) was completed by Salomon de Bray

Family of painters

Jan de Bray - The de Bray Family (The Banquet of Antony and Cleopatra) - WGA03122

Salomon de Bray was the father of ten children, of whom three ( Dirck de Bray, Jan de Bray, and Joseph de Bray) became notable artists. He probably died of the plague that hit Haarlem in 1664, as he and his children Jacob, Josef, Juliana and Margaretha all died in April and May of that year. His wife had already died the previous year. He was buried in the Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem.

Gallery

File:Judit con la cabeza de Holofernes (Salomon de Bray).jpg, Judith with the head of Holofernes File:Salomon de Bray - Jeune femme.JPG, Young woman File:Study of a young woman in profile, by Salomon de Bray (1597-1664).jpg, Study of a young woman in profile (Salomon de Bray, 1636)

References

External links

Works and literature
on PubHist

on

Artnet Artnet.com is an art market website. It is operated by Artnet Worldwide Corporation, which has headquarters in New York City, in the United States, and is owned by Artnet AG, a German publicly traded company based in Berlin that is listed on ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Salomon De Dutch Golden Age architects Dutch Golden Age painters 1597 births 1664 deaths Artist authors History painters Dutch male painters Dutch male poets Painters from Haarlem Artists from Haarlem Writers from Amsterdam 17th-century Dutch writers 17th-century male writers 17th-century Dutch architects