Nikolaus Knüpfer

Nikolaus Knüpfer (1609 – 1655) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Nikolaus Knüpfer
Nicolaes Knupfer's self-portrait, engraved by Pieter de Jode II for Het Gulden Cabinet p 115
Born
Nicolaes

1609
Leipzig
Died1655 (aged 45–46)
Utrecht
Known forPainting
MovementBaroque

Biography

Knüpfer was trained in Leipzig, where according to Houbraken he was apprenticed to Emanuel Nysen.[1] He then moved to Magdeburg where he found work making brushes for artists. He stayed there until 1630, and then moved to Utrecht to work with Abraham Bloemaert. He lived with him for two years and then established his own studio in Utrecht, where in 1637 he became a visiting member of the Guild of St. Luke. He worked on the decorations of the castle Kronborg in Denmark, and painted figures in the landscapes of Jan Both and Jan Baptist Weenix. Knüpfer was a successful teacher, whose students were great painters after him, such as Jan Steen, Gabriel Metsu, Ary de Vois, and Pieter Crijnse Volmarijn.[2]

Work

Knüpfer painted small scale paintings with biblical, literary, and mythological themes, in addition to the popular genre works of his day. His figures are often in unusual poses, and painted with flowing lines with white accents.

  • Couple portrayed with children both alive and dead.
  • Hercules Obtaining the Girdle of Hyppolita
  • Sophonisba, by 1635

Master-pupil interpretations of the Book of Tobit
  • Knupfer's scene from the Book of Tobit where Tobias and Sarah pray while the Angel Gabriel drives away the demon.
  • Same scene several years later by his pupil Jan Steen, Museum Bredius.
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References
  1. (in Dutch) Nicolaes Knufter biography in De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (1718) by Arnold Houbraken, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature
  2. Nicolaes Knüpfer in the RKD
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