David Beck (painter)

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Louis De Geer the Elder , portrayed by David Beck, painting in the National Museum of Sweden
Portrait of the Swedish Queen Christina

David Beck (born May 25, 1621 in Delft , † December 20, 1656 in The Hague ) was a Dutch portrait painter . The later court painter Christinas of Sweden is assigned to the Dutch Golden Age .

Life

Beck, the son of a Delft teacher, was named after his famous uncle, a poet who lived in Arnhem . He learned painting first from the portrait painter Phillip Brown , who was active in the Netherlands, and towards the end of 1640 also as a pupil and assistant to Anthony van Dyck in London. Beck was considered a good draftsman, which is said to have moved the English King Charles I to say that Beck could probably also draw while riding the post. Karl commissioned Beck to teach his sons, including the later King Charles II and his brothers Jacob and Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester in drawing. After the outbreak of the English civil war , as a result of which his sponsor Karl was executed, Beck left England and then initially entered the service of the French King Louis XIII. He later worked for the Danish court; Christina of Sweden appointed him her first chamberlain and court painter in 1647 . On her behalf, he visited the courts of Germany, Denmark, England, France and Italy, where he made portraits of the local princes and other personalities for Christina of Sweden. In exchange he gave those portrayed one of the portraits of the Queen, some of which he carried with him. During Christina's stay in Paris in 1656, Beck, contrary to her wishes, left for family visits to Holland, where he settled in The Hague. There he died suddenly in 1656, it is believed that poisoning was the cause. Few artists received similar support from a princely house. His skill in painting is described as extraordinary.

literature

Web links

Commons : David Beck  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Arnold Houbraken : De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen , 1718, biography online at the Digital Dutch Literature Library ( Digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse letteren (dbnl)), viewed May 28, 2010
  2. ↑ Faith Paulette Dreher, "David Teniers II Again, The Art Bulletin , vol. 59 (March 1977), pp. 108-110 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Beck, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch portrait painter
DATE OF BIRTH May 25, 1621
PLACE OF BIRTH Delft
DATE OF DEATH December 20, 1656
Place of death The hague