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Pre-Rembrandtists.
Term given to a group of history painters active in Amsterdam in the early 17th century. Though considered the forerunners of Rembrandt, some of them actually worked at the same time as the famous artist. Their most important representatives were Pieter Lastman (Rembrandt’s teacher), Claes Moeyaert, the brothers Jan Pynas and Jacob Pynas, Jan Tengnagel and François Venant (1591/2–1636). Their significance was first recognized in the 1930s, but scholars have only recently agreed that this group exerted an immense influence on Rembrandt and his pupils. Their works show a homogeneous and distinctive style, although each member of the group developed a personal style by which he could be distinguished from the rest. Lastman and Moeyaert were the most productive; fewer paintings and drawings by Jan and Jacob Pynas have survived, and still fewer by Tengnagel and Venant. All are mentioned in a panegyric of 1618 on Amsterdam by Theodoor Rodenburgh, but their importance and influence on history painting in the 17th century were very varied. Although Moeyaert was the first to secure a place in the cultural life of Amsterdam, from the standpoint of art history, Lastman was by far the most significant Pre-Rembrandtist.
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