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| Madonna with child and St. Anne, Dirk van Hoogstraten, 1630 |
Born in 1596, Dirk van Hoogstraten was from a family of Mennonite refugees from the Spanish Netherlands, who settled in Dordrecht in the western Netherlands. (The Netherlands was multiple countries at that time.)
Not much seems to be known about him. He apprenticed as a silversmith, but on a trip to learn more about German precious metal plating techniques he seems to have fallen in with some Dutch painters and became a painter instead.
Few of his works remain, and it seems his greatest claim to fame is being the father of Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten.
I stumbled across him when looking for a thumbnail picture or this past Sunday’s “Sunday Reading” post.
Note: Fine Art Tuesday was started by Eaton Rapids Joe in memory of Ol’ Remus, late proprietor of the Woodpile Report. If you’re a blogger and are so moved, please feel free to join us with your own Fine Art Tuesday post.
