Jan Hackaert Explained

Jan Hackaert
Birth Date:1 February 1628
Birth Place:Amsterdam, Netherlands
Death Place:Amsterdam
Nationality:Dutch
Field:Landscape painting

Jan Hackaert (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˈjɑn ˈɦɑkaːrt/; 1628–1685) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Biography

He travelled in Germany and Switzerland, and painted and sketched mostly landscapes.[1] He would sketch miners at work in the mountains, and on more than one occasion this caused him trouble because the workers couldn't understand what he was doing. They felt he was either a spy or hexing them and made a complaint.[2] Because Italianate landscapes were so fashionable, his Lake Zurich was mistaken for an Italian lake for years.

He painted the landscape backgrounds for other painters, such as Nicolas Berchem[3] and Adriaen van de Velde.[4]

Notes and References

  1. https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/35078 Jan Hackaert in RKD
  2. Jan Hakkert biography in De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (1718) by Arnold Houbraken, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature
  3. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-hackaert-and-nicolaes-berchem-a-stag-hunt-in-a-forest Jan Hackaert at the National Gallery
  4. http://www.museumbredius.nl/schilders/hackaert_nl.htm Jan Hackaert at museum Bredius.