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 ( , ; ; ) 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 ...

, but established himself 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 ...

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 w ...

that year in the St. Adrian's cloveniers.Salomon de Bray
in 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 ...

He probably followed draftsmanship and painting lessons in the small academy started by

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander IKarel van Mander
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History ...

Hendrick 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 ...

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 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 B ...

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 ...

s and

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. 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 () 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 interested in dramas and l ...

called "De Wijngaertranken". One of his poems was set to music by his friend the composer Cornelis Padbrué. 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 hometown. Being of noble birth and with time on his han ...

in the decoration of

Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) 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 and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...

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

. De Bray became active as an architect and designer of

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

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 Pieter de Molijn (6 April 1595 in London – 23 March 1661 in Haarlem) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver of English birth and Flemish descent. He was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Austin Friars church in London. He was born to Pi ...

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

Cornelis Cornelisz 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. Biogr ...

, Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen, Floris van Dyck, 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. 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 municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

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 *Consistor ...

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 The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

(since rebuilt) that featured pilasters and a broad pediment. In

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

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, 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, designed by Salomon de Bray in 1630 File:JA Beerstraten - Bavokerk na uitbreiding Salomon de Bray 1659.jpg,

Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten or Johannes (Beerstrat or Bierstraten) (bapt. 1 March 1622 in Amsterdam – buried 1 July 1666) was a Dutch painter of marine art, particularly of events of the First Anglo-Dutch War and Dutch-Swedish War. Van Beerstrat ...

's view of the St. Bavochurch in 1659 soon after the new consistory (in the foreground) was completed by Salomon de Bray

Family of painters

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

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