Amsterdam 1622 – Amsterdam 1666
A Winter Landscape with a Castle and Ice Skaters
Signed ‘J. Beerstraaten’ and dated ‘An 1661’ | On the wall of the Caslte
Oil on canvas
H. 93 cm. W. 129,7 cm.
PROVENANCE
In the collection of the Groeninx van Zoelen family since at least two hundred years
REFERENCE LITERATURE
Most, G. van der (2002). Jan Abrahamsz, Abraham, Anthonie Beerstraten. Kunstschilders uit de zeventiende eeuw. Noorden
Jager, A. (2016). Galey-schilders’ en ‘dosijnwerck’. De productie, distributie en consumptie van goedkope historiestukken in zeventiende-eeuws Amsterdam. Amsterdam:Universiteit Amsterdam
CATALOGUE NOTE
Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraaten was a Dutch painter of marine art and landscapes, particularly of events of the First Anglo-Dutch War and Dutch-Swedish War. There is some confusion about the several painters with the name Beerstraaten, also regarding the attribution of their work. Almost all sources and books of reference give different and often contradictory information. There are four landscape painters named Beerstraaten: Johannes, this Jan Abrahamsz., Abraham and Anthonie. According to Van der Most (2002) Jan Abrahamsz. was born in Amsterdam on February 1622 and baptized on 1 March 1622. He was active as a painter in his native city from 1639 onwards. He posted banns with Magdalena Bronckhorst, daughter of an ebony worker on 30 August 1642 . (Jager 2016, esp. p. , note 1). Between 1642 and 1662 he had eleven children (seven sons and four daughters). At his wife’s death (buried 25 May 1664) there were eight minor children left, of which there were only five left in 1665 at his second marriage. He first lived in the Elandstraat, but shortly after his marriage he moved to near the Haarlemmerpoort, where he hung a sign out ‘De schipbreuk‘ (The Shipwreck). In 1651 he bought for 3000 Gulden a house opposite the Nieuwe Doolhof on Rozengracht (from the painter Johannes Collaert), where he hung the same sign. At his death in the end of June of 1666 he had one major and four minor children left. His daughter Albertje from his second marriage was baptized 18 July. His widow died on 19 July. The five minor children were taken in by the orphanage. Only two boys from these became adults and married two sisters (Jager 2016)
Currently, The RKD records Johannes as the same person, and Abraham Beerstraaten is considered to be his oldest son. Anthonie Beerstraaten was related to this painter. The RKD has registered two paintings signed Anthonie van Beerstraten: one is a view of a southern seaport from 1664 (currently in Enkhuizen) and the other a view of a church in Aarlanderveen in the former city hall of Alphen aan den Rijn. Based on these two paintings Hofstede de Groot, an early Dutch art historian, classified paintings signed ‘A. Beerstraaten‘ as by Anthonie if they were a poorer grade than ones already attributed to Abraham.