Isaac Koedijck

Isaac Koedijck (* around 1617/18 probably in Amsterdam ; † before March 17, 1668 probably in Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter and merchant.

life and work

He was the son of Jan Koedijck and Magdalena Ysacksdr. Nothing is known about his training, but he seems to have been influenced by both Adriaen Brouwer and Gerard Dou . On May 18, 1641 he married Sophia de Solemne, the widow of Gideon Bouwens. Koedijck lived alternately in Leiden and Amsterdam for the next few years . He was facing significant financial difficulties. On August 4, 1651, the couple stayed in Batavia , where they were waiting for a ship passage to Agra . In the service of the East India Company he was supposed to serve as court painter to the Mughal Mughal Jahangir . During the trip this plan changed and Koedijck was informed upon his arrival in Surat that his services as a painter were no longer needed. Since he still suffered from a lack of money, he was employed by the company on September 17, 1652 as a merchant. As such, he served in Ahmadabad for the next four years before he was released. Around 1659 he was briefly in the service of the Batavian government as secretary before he was hired again by the company, this time as commander of the fleet. With this he returned home. On August 9, 1659, he set foot on Dutch soil again. He spent the rest of his life alternately in Haarlem and Amsterdam. He probably died in Amsterdam in 1668. His will was read on March 17th.

Selected Works

The foot operation

• Birmingham Museum of Art
  • Church interior. around 1650 (attributed)
• St. Petersburg, Hermitage
  • Interior with a man smoking and drinking wine. 1650
• Utrecht, Museum Catharijneconvent
  • Tobias with the fish and the angel. 1662
• Whereabouts unknown
  • The foot operation. around 1645–1650 (most recently Great Britain, private collection)
  • Jupiter and Cleopatra. around 1645 (last Great Britain, private collection)
  • The empty glass. 1648 (2005 in the London art trade, Richard Green)