|
Vorsterman [Vorstermanns, Vosterman], Jan [Johannes]
(b Bommel, c. 1643; d Bommel, after 1685). Dutch painter. He was the son of a portrait painter and was apprenticed in Utrecht to Herman Saftleven (II), whose work he imitated and occasionally even surpassed in quality. Vorsterman himself was master to Jan Soukens ( fl 1678–1725). After his training, Vorsterman led a spendthrift life in Paris. He returned to Utrecht, but in 1672, when the French occupied the city, he fled to Nijmegen and is known to have bought works of art in various Dutch cities for the French commander François Gaston, Marquis de Béthune (1638–93). Vorsterman went to England before 1678, the date when his View of Althorp (Althorp House, Northants) was seen by John Evelyn. Vorsterman stayed at the court of Charles II, for whom he executed an overmantel painting for Whitehall Palace (destr.) and a View of Stirling Castle with figures by Jan Wyck. Probably the two artists went to Scotland together to paint this picture. Vorsterman asked £200 for his overmantel painting, in anticipation of which he incurred so many debts that he was imprisoned; he begged the King in vain to set him free. Eventually he was released through the help of friends who lent him money. He was taken to Constantinople (now Istanbul) by Sir William Soames, envoy of James II, c. 1685, in order to draw antiquities. Soames died on the way. It is possible that Vorsterman rejoined the Marquis de Béthune in Poland. Besides those works mentioned, his oeuvre, which is well executed and was much appreciated by his contemporaries, includes various mountain and river landscapes.
|
|
There are more than 45,000 articles in The Grove Dictionary of Art.
To access the rest of this article, including the bibliography, subscribe to
www.groveart.com.
To find out more about this subject, click on a related article below and
subscribe to www.groveart.com
|
