Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth II (1594 – c. 18 June 1644) was a Dutch painter and draughtsman known for his

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 ...

scenes, biblical subjects and occasional portraits.Wouter Crabeth (II)
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 ...

During a long-time residence in Italy his work was influenced by the style of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

and his followers, the so-called

Caravaggisti The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques"; singular: "Caravaggista") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. ...

.Wouter Crabeth II, ''Portrait of a Gentleman''
at Rafael Valls

Biography

Wouter Crabeth was born in Gouda in 1594, the son of the writer and politician Pieter Woutersz. Crabeth and Maria de Jonge. He was named after his grandfather

Wouter Crabeth I Wouter Pietersz Crabeth (1510–1590) was a Dutch Renaissance glass painter. He was employed by the Sint Janskerk (Gouda) during the Protestant Reformation, where he created six of the stained glass windows during the years 1555 to 1571. His win ...

, a renowned

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

artist. Crabeth probably trained with

Cornelis Ketel Cornelis or Cornelius Ketel (18 March 1548 – 8 August 1616) was a Dutch Mannerist painter, active in Elizabethan London from 1573 to 1581, and in Amsterdam till his death. Ketel, known essentially as a portrait-painter, was also a poet ...

, a native of Gouda who was a successful portrait painter in Amsterdam. It is possible that Crabeth was also a pupil of

Abraham Bloemaert Abraham Bloemaert (25 December 1566 – 27 January 1651) was a Dutch painter and printmaker who used etching and engraving. He initially worked in the style of the " Haarlem Mannerists", but by the beginning of the 17th-century altered his style ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. In 1613 Crabeth set out on a trip to Italy. Such a trip, usually tour, ending in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and/or

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 at the time deemed a necessary rite of passage for Dutch or Flemish artists seeking to complete their classical education, ever since

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

's ''

Schilder-boeck or is a book written by the Flemish writer and painter Karel van Mander first published in 1604 in Haarlem in the Dutch Republic, where van Mander resided. The book is written in 17th-century Dutch and its title is commonly translated into En ...

'' was published in 1604. He was in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1615. The next year he travelled to

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

in the company of Leonaert Bramer and possibly Jan Gerritsz. van Heemskerck. From there he continued to Italy, where he studied the local masterpieces and worked at various painting schools and workshops. In 1619, while in Rome, he founded with other painters such as Cornelius van Poelenburgh,

Bartholomeus Breenbergh Bartholomeus Breenbergh (before 13 November 1598 – after 3 October 1657) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of Italian and Italianate landscapes, in Rome (1619-1630) and Amsterdam (1630-1657). Biography Little is known of his early life. In his t ...

Wybrand de Geest Wybrand Simonsz. de Geest (16 August 1592 – ) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter from Friesland. Biography Wybrand de Geest was born and died at Leeuwarden. He learned painting from his father, Simon Juckesz, a stained glass worker. He ...

and

Leonard Bramer Leonaert Bramer, also Leendert or Leonard (24 December 1596 – before 10 February 1674 (date of burial)),Leonaert Bramer< ...

the so-called

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 ...

, an association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists working in Rome. It was customary for the Bentvueghels to adopt an appealing nickname, the so-called 'bent name'. Crabeth was given the bent name "''Almanack''" (''Almanac''). Crabeth appears in an anonymous drawing depicting some members of the Bentvueghels dated 1620 (

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from its two most important donors, Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. The museum is located a ...

in Rotterdam). In 1626, he returned to Gouda. His first commissions came from pastor Petrus Purmerent who asked him to paint two altarpieces for the clandestine Catholic Church of Saint John the Baptist (later called the

Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undiv ...

) and the ''Catharina Gasthuis'', a religious community. These two paintings are currently in the collections of respectively the :nl:Museum Gouda ( :nl:Museum Het Catharina Gasthuis) in Gouda and the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

of Amsterdam. The two works – ''The Assumption of the Virgin Mary'' and ''Doubting Thomas'' – show a strong Italian influence, and are stylistically close to

. Crabeth himself was probably not a Catholic, but a

Remonstrant The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ori ...

. In 1626, he became a member of the Gouda civil militia (called in Dutch ''schutterij''). Such civil militia was made up of volunteers who received military training in order to protect their town. In 1628, he married Adriana Gerritsdr Vroesen, daughter of the then mayor of Gouda. Later that year, his own father became mayor. He was named captain of the local civil militia in the same year. He retained this position until his death in 1644. In 1629 he participated as a captain of the militia in the

Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch also known as the siege of Bois-Le-DucMarkham pp. 435-38 was an action in 1629, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in which a Dutch and English army captured the city of 's-Hertogenbosch.Knigh ...

of 1629, an important military victory of the Dutch Republic. De ongelovige thomas

In 1631 and 1641, Crabeth received further commissions from pastor Petrus Purmerent for altarpieces for the

: the ''Adoration of the Magi'' and ''The Conversion of

William X, Duke of Aquitaine William X ( Occitan: ''Guillém X''; 1099 – 9 April 1137), called the Saint, was Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, and Count of Poitou (as William VIII) from 1126 to 1137. Early life William was the son of William IX by his second wif ...

Bernard de Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

'' (both in the Museum Gouda). In the latter painting Crabeth used pastor Purmerent's facial features to depict saint Bernard the Clairvaux.Wouter Crabeth, ''Petrus Purmerent as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux converting Duke William X of Aquitaine''
at the Gouda Museum In addition to altarpieces, Crabeth also painted genre scenes with card players, musicians and shepherds, which are very close in style to the works of Caravaggio and his followers. These paintings were mostly painted after his return to Gouda. Only a small number of these works remain. Wouter Crabeth's pupils include

Jan Ariens Duif Jan Ariens Duif (about 1617 in Gouda – 1649 in Gouda) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography He was taken to the Gouda orphanage at age nine, where his drawing talent was discovered and ten years later he painted the regents with himself n ...

Dirk de Vrije Dirk de Vrije (1620, Gouda – 1681, Gouda), was a Dutch Golden Age glass painter. Biography According to the RKD he was probably related to the glass painter Adriaan Gerritsz de Vrije, who was active in the Janskerk (Gouda).< ...

, Jan Govertsz Verbijl, Jan Verzijl and

Aert Van Waes Aert van Waes, or Aert de Waes ( in Gouda – ), was a Dutch Golden Age painter of the Baroque period. Biography He was a student of Wouter Crabeth II, Reinier van Persijn and David Teniers the Younger, and though he lived and worked in Gouda, ...

Partial list of works

* ''Adoration of the Magi'' (''Aanbidding der Koningen''), 1631 (Museum Gouda). * ''Amusement of the shepherds'' (''Herdersvermaak'') ( Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp). * ''The Assumption of the Virgin Mary'' (''Ten-Hemelopneming van Maria''), 1628 (Museum het Catharina Gasthuis, Gouda). * ''The Drinker'' (attributed; present location unknown, sold on 11 March 1999 by Marc-Arthur Kohn of Paris). * ''Music Making Company''. c. 1635, ( Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest).Wouter Crabeth (II), ''Music Making Company''
c. 1635, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest * ''The Conversion of

'' (''Bernardus van Clairvaux bekeert Willem van Aquitanië'', 1641 (Museum Gouda). * ''Couple playing the flute'' ( Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp). * ''The dying warrior'' (''Stervende krijgsman'') (private collection). * ''The card players'' ( Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw). * ''The card players'' (place of conservation unknown, sold at auction 17 January 1992 by Sotheby's in New York). * ''The officers of Gouda's four civil militia ensigns, led by Col. Herman Herbertsz.', 1644 (Museum het Catharina Gasthuis Gouda). * ''Entombment of Christ'', probably destroyed in 1945 (last seen in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, Berlin). * ''The Wedding at Cana'' (''De Bruiloft te Kana''), painted 1640 (Museum het Catharina Gasthuis Gouda). * ''Doubting Thomas'' (''Ongelovige Thomas''), around 1628 (

, Amsterdam – loaned to the Museum Gouda). * ''The Cardsharps'' ( Gemäldegalerie, Berlin).

References

Sources

* J. Schouten, ''Wie waren zij ? Een reeks van Goudse mannen en vrouwen die men niet mag vergeten'', Repro-Holland, Alphen aan den Rijn, 1980. * Xander Van Eck, ''Kunst, twist en devotie'', Eburon, Delft, 1994 * ''De Gilden in Gouda'', Museum Het Catharina Gasthuis Gouda - Waanders Zwolle, Gouda, 1996, *
I. Walvis, ''Beschrijving der stad Gouda door I.W.'', 2 dln., Gouda, 1713, éd. fac-similée 1972
* Rudie Van Leeuwen, « Portretten op een contrareformatorisch altaarstuk : Wouter Pietersz. Crabeths Ten Hemelopneming van Maria uit 1628 », in ''Desipientia : Zin & Waan'', année 14, nr. 2 (nov. 2007), p. 44-45. *

Benedict Nicolson Lionel Benedict Nicolson (6 August 1914 – 22 May 1978) was a British art historian and author. He was the author of ''The Painters of Ferrara'' (1950) and ''Hendrick Terbrugghen'' (1958). Biography Nicolson was born on 6 August 1914. ...

, Burlington Magazine, ''

Caravaggism The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques"; singular: "Caravaggista") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. ...

in Europe'', 1989.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabeth2, Wouter 1594 births 1644 deaths Dutch draughtsmen Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Artists from Gouda, South Holland Painters from South Holland Members of the Bentvueghels Caravaggisti Catholic painters