Style of Adriaen van der Werff (Dutch, 1659–1722)
Detail; Sarah leads Hagar to Abraham, c. 1718
Oil on wood
29 x 32 cm. (11.4 x 12.6 in.)
Private collection
At the age of ten he started to take lessons, two years later moving in with Eglon van der Neer, specializing in clothes and draperie. At the age of seventeen he founded his own studio in Rotterdam where he later became the head of the guild of Saint Luc.
Adriaen van der Werff was an accomplished Dutch painter of portraits:
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
Johann Wilhelm (1658-1716), c. 1700
Oil on canvas
Height: 76 cm (29.9 in); Width: 54 cm (21.2 in)
Schleißheim State Gallery, Munich, Germany
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine, c. 1700
Oil on canvas
Height: 76.2 cm (30 in); Width: 53 cm (20.8 in)
Schleißheim State Gallery, Munich, Germany
This is the companion-piece of the portrait of the sitter's husband, Johann Wilhelm, elector palatine of Pfalz, above.
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (11 August 1667 – 18 February 1743) was a Tuscan noblewoman who was the last lineal descendant of the main branch of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medici's large art collection, including the contents of the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Medicean villas, which she inherited upon her brother Gian Gastone's death in 1737, and her Palatine treasures to the Tuscan state, on the condition that no part of it could be removed from "the Capital of the grand ducal State....[and from] the succession of His Serene Grand Duke." More on Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
In 1696, he was paid a visit by Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine and his wife, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. The couple ordered two paintings to be sent to Cosimo III of Tuscany, Anna Maria Luisa's father, in Florence. Cosimo III then ordered a portrate of himself!
Jan Frans van Douven (1656–1727)
Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany, circa 1700
Oil on canvas
76 x 60 cm
Private collection
Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was the sixth Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimo's 53-year-long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of ultra-reactionary laws which regulated prostitution and banned May celebrations. His reign also witnessed Tuscany's deterioration to previously unknown economic lows. He was succeeded by his elder surviving son, Gian Gastone, when he died, in 1723. More on Cosimo III de' Medici
During the next years Van der Werff traveled regularly between Düsseldorf and his home town. In 1703, he became the official court painter and a knight, when his former teacher and predecessor Van der Neer died.
Adriaen van der Werff was also an accomplished painter of devotional scenes:
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
Adam and Eve, c. 1711
Oil on panel
Height: 45 cm (17.7 in); Width: 35.5 cm (13.9 in)
Louvre Museum
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman and the ancestors of all humans. The story of Adam and Eve is central to the belief that YHWH created human beings to live in a paradise on earth, although they fell away from that state and formed the present world full of suffering and injustice. It provides the basis for the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. It also provides much of the scriptural basis for the doctrines of the fall of man and original Sin, important beliefs in Christianity, although not generally shared by Judaism or Islam. More on Adam and Eve
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
Sarah presenting Hagar to Abraham, c. 1699
Oil on canvas
Height: 76.3 cm (30 in); Width: 61 cm (24 in)
Schleißheim State Gallery, Bavaria
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
The Banishment of Hagar, circa 1696-1697
Oil on canvas
Height: 87.5 cm (34.4 in); Width: 69.5 cm (27.3 in)
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
Hagar is a biblical person in the Book of Genesis Chapter 16. She was an Egyptian handmaid of Sarah, who gave her to Abraham "to wife" to bear a child. The product of the union was Abraham's firstborn, Ishmael, the progenitor of the Ishmaelites.
After Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and the tension between the women returned. At a celebration after Isaac was weaned, Sarah found the teenage Ishmael mocking her son, and demanded that Abraham send Hagar and her son away. She declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac's inheritance. Abraham was greatly distressed but God told Abraham to do as his wife commanded because God's promise would be carried out through both Isaac and Ishmael.
The name Hagar originates from the Book of Genesis, and is only alluded to in the Qur'an. She is considered Abraham's second wife in the Islamic faith and acknowledged in all Abrahamic faiths. In mainstream Christianity, she is considered a concubine to Abraham. More on Hagar
Style of Adriaen van der Werff (Dutch, 1659–1722)
Sarah leads Hagar to Abraham, c. 1718
Oil on wood
29 x 32 cm. (11.4 x 12.6 in.)
Private collection
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
The Entombment, c. 1703
The National Museum in Wroclaw
The burial of Jesus refers to the burial of the body of Jesus after crucifixion, described in the New Testament. According to the canonical gospel accounts, he was placed in a tomb by a man named Joseph of Arimathea. In art, it is often called the Entombment of Christ. More on The Entombment
Adriaen van der Werff was also an accomplished painter of mythological scenes:
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
And his brother Pieter van der Werff (1665–1722)
Two women dancing in front of a shepherd playing the pipe, c. 1718
Alternative title: Nymphs dancing
Oil on panel
Height: 58.5 cm (23 in); Width: 44 cm (17.3 in)
Louvre museum
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
The Judgement of Paris, c. 1716
O on panel Oil
Height: 633 mm (24.92 in); Width: 457 mm (17.99 in)
Dulwich Picture Gallery, Dulwich, South London
The composition presents Paris, who is partly covered with a blue drapery, is seated to the right of the picture, on the fore-ground, his crook and stick lying by him. Mercury, who comes to bring him the golden apple, with the three Graces, is standing behind him, whilst Juno, whose head is bound with a circle of gold, and her shoulders covered with a lilac drapery, takes the lead as the first goddess, and is standing near Paris. Minerva is on the left, with a helmet on her head, her arms bound with gold bracelets, and is partly covered with a drapery also of lilac colour. Venus is between them, having no other ornaments than her long fair hair; a little Cupid, at whose side hangs a quiver, is near his mother, wearing her blue drapery, and at her feet, are her two doves. Venus holds out her hand to Paris, to receive the apple. More on this painting
Follower of Adriaen van der Werff
VERTUMNUS AND POMONA
Oil on canvas
73 by 66 cm.; 28 3/4 by 26 in
Private collection
Pomona, the beautiful wood nymph cared nothing for the woods but cared only for her fruit filled gardens and orchards. Pomona fenced her garden so the rude young men couldn't trample her plants and vines. She kept her orchards closed because she wanted to rid of the men who were attracted to her good looks. Even dancing satyrs were attracted to her. Vertumnus, the young, handsome god of changing seasons and patron of fruits, decided to try to win over Pomona. He came to her in various disguises, which included, a reaper, an apple picker, a fisher, a solider, and more. Even with the disguises, she still never paid him the slightest bit of attention. One day Vertumnus tried a disguise as an old women. Pomona allowed him to enter her garden and he pretended to be interested in her fruit. He told her he was more exquisite than her crops. After saying that, he kissed her. Vertumnus kept trying to sway her by telling her a story of a young women who rejected a boy who loved her; in despair, the boy killed hung himself, and Venus punished the girl by turning her to stone. It didn't work, of course. He then realized the disguise didn't work and tore it off. To his surprise, she fell in love with his beauty and they worked in her garden together. More on Vertumnus and Pomona
Circle of Adriaen van der Werff (Dutch, 1659–1722)
Venus and Cupid in Vulcan's Forge
Oil on Canvas
70.5 x 59 cm. (27.8 x 23.2 in.)
Private collection
Vulcan came to be considered as the manufacturer of art, arms, iron, jewelry, and armor for various gods and heroes, including the lightning bolts of Jupiter. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and the husband of Maia and Aphrodite (Venus). His forge was believed to be situated underneath Mount Etna in Sicily.
Circle of Adriaen van der Werff (Dutch, 1659–1722)Title:
Dionysus and Ariadne
Oil on panel
43 x 34 cm. (16.9 x 13.4 in.)
Private collection
Ariadne, in Greek mythology, daughter of Pasiphae and the Cretan king Minos. She fell in love with the Athenian hero Theseus and, with a thread or glittering jewels, helped him escape the Labyrinth after he slew the Minotaur, a beast half bull and half man that Minos kept in the Labyrinth. Here the legends diverge: she was abandoned by Theseus and hanged herself; or, Theseus carried her to Naxos and left her there to die, and she was rescued by and married the god Dionysus. More on Ariadne
Adriaen van der Werff was also an accomplished painter of erotics cenes:
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
Amorous couple in a park, c. 1689
Oil on oak wood
Height: 58.5 cm (23 in); Width: 47.5 cm (18.7 in)
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722)
A Couple Making Love in a Park Spied on by Children, c. 1694
Oil on panel
Height: 37 cm (14.5 in); Width: 30 cm (11.8 in)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Van der Werff, with a perfect technique, was paid extremely well by the Elector for his biblical or classical (erotic) paintings. In 1705, he painted a portrait of Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1716, he lost his job when the Elector died because the treasury was empty.
Van der Werff became one of the most lauded Dutch painters of his day, gaining a European reputation and an enormous fortune. Arnold Houbraken, writing in 1718, considered him the greatest of the Dutch painters and this was the prevailing critical opinion throughout the 18th century: however, his reputation suffered in the 19th century, when he was alleged to have betrayed the Dutch naturalistic tradition. In the Victorian Age people could not appreciate his art, so most of his work went into the cellars of the Alte Pinakothek.
Van der Werff also practiced as an architect in Rotterdam, where he designed a few houses. More on Adriaen van der Werff
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