Thomas Wijck (also Thomas Wijk, or Thomas Wyck; 1616–1677) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

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 ...

of port views and

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

paintings.

Biography

Wijck was born into an artist family and received his training from his father. He journeyed to Italy, presumably by 1640, the year in which a ‘Tommaso fiammingo, pittore’ (Thomas the Fleming, painter) is documented as residing 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, ...

in the Via della Fontanella. Although this evidence of his residence in Rome around this time has been questioned, a number of his pictures depict scenes in and around Rome which would indicate a visit to the city at some point. He also resided in the environs of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, where he executed many sketches which he subsequently worked up into drawings of coast views.M. Bryan. Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, biographical and critical. v. II. London, George Bell and Sons, 1889. In 1642 Wijck returned to the northern Netherlands, where he became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke.Thomas Wijck
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History 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 ...

In 1660 he was appointed Dean of the Haarlem Guild. He went to England about the time of the Restoration and was much employed. He was followed there by his son and pupil Jan Wyck, who remained in Britain for the rest of his career and played an important role in the development of English sporting painting. Thomas Wyck was also the teacher of the Haarlem painter Jan van der Vaart, who later also immigrated to England. He died in Haarlem in August 1677.

Pieter Mulier II Cavalier Pietro Tempesta, or Pieter Mulier II (1637 – 29 June 1701) was a Dutch Golden Age painter active in Italy. Biography Muller was born in Haarlem. He learned to paint from his father, Pieter Mulier I and travelled to Italy, working ...

was a follower of his style.

Work

He excelled in Italianate paintings of shipping and seaports, populated with many figures, very frequently odd characters such as alchemists and misers. His style resembles that of the loose group of Dutch and Flemish genre painters working in Rome who are called the '

Bamboccianti The ''Bamboccianti'' were genre painters active in Rome from about 1625 until the end of the seventeenth century. Most were Dutch and Flemish artists who brought existing traditions of depicting peasant subjects from sixteenth-century Netherl ...

' and were influenced by the genre paintings of Pieter van Laar. He also painted fairs, public markets, and the interiors of chemists’ laboratories. Thomas Wijck's painting of an alchemist is said to have influenced

Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...

's similar picture. Both pictures contain similar vaulting, a confusion of objects and an assistant who is singled out by the light. Thomas Wijck painted a View of London before the fire, and another of the north bank of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, from

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, exhibiting the mansions of the nobility in the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

. He also painted the “

Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

” more than once.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijck, Thomas Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters 1616 births 1677 deaths People from Beverwijk Painters from Haarlem