Jan Asselijn

Background

Asselijn was born at Dieppe from a French Huguenot family as Jean Asselin in 1610.

Education

He received instruction from Esaias van de Velde (1587–1630), and distinguished himself particularly in landscape and animal painting, though his historical works and battle pieces are also admired.

Career

He traveled in France and Italy, and modeled his style after Bamboccio (Pieter van Laer), also a member of the Bentvueghels. Asselijn had a withered hand and was small of stature, which gave him the nickname in France of petit Jean Hollandois, and which gave him the nickname Krabbetje (little claw) in the Bentvueghels.

He seems to have befriended Rembrandt. In the etching that Rembrandt made of him, Asselijn appears in some states to be standing before an easel. His hands are not shown. Frederick de Moucheron, another Italianate landscape painter, was his pupil.

He was one of the first Dutch painters who introduced a fresh and clear manner of painting landscapes in the style of Claude Lorraine, and his example was speedily followed by other artists. Asselijn's pictures were in high estimation at Amsterdam, and several of them are in the museums of that city. Twenty-four, painted in Italy, were engraved.

Achievements

• Jan Asselijn was a Dutch Golden Age painter whose most famous work is "The Threatened Swan".

Works

More photos

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  • The Threatened Swan by Jan Asselijn. Wall Decal - Peel & Stick, Removable (22" x 18")

    (Fall in love with your walls! This fine art wall decal wi...)

  • Herders with their Animals under an Arch of the Colosseum in Rome by Jan Asselijn. Wall Decal - Peel & Stick, Removable (24" x 23")

    (Fall in love with your walls! This fine art wall decal wi...)

  • The Tiber River With The Ponte Molle At Sunset by Jan Asselijn 30" x 24" Oil on Canvas Art Reproduction Painting
  • Wall Art Print entitled Jan Asselijn AN ITALIANATE LANDSCAPE WITH PEASANTS by Celestial Images | 14 x 11

    (e with pre-installed hanging hardware built into the fram...)

  • Wall Art Print entitled A Coastal Ruin In Italy, Jan Asselijn, 1640-1652 by Celestial Images | 16 x 18

    (e with a 365 day workmanship guarantee. Inks used are lat...)

  • Classic Art Poster - Cavalry Attack at Sunset, Jan Asselijn, 1646 13" x 19"
  • Classic Art Poster - Cavalry Attack at Sunset, Jan Asselijn, 1646 9" x 13"

Views

One of his paintings, The Threatened Swan, which portrays a swan aggressively defending its nest, became a symbol of Dutch national resistance, although it is unknown if Asselijn intended it to be southern

Membership

He traveled in France and Italy, and modeled his style after Bamboccio (Pieter van Laer), also a member of the Bentvueghels.

Connections

Nicolaes de Helt Stockade and Asselijn married two sisters in Lyons in 1645, both daughters of Houwaart Koorman of Antwerp. According to Houbraken, he heard this story from Abraham Genoels, who in turn heard it from Laurens Frank, an artist who was staying in the Koorman household with Artus Quellinus in Lyons at the time. Their marriages brought both Asselijn and Helt-Stockade back to the Netherlands after their travels.

References

• The Golden Age: Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century by Haak, Bob, Willems-Treeman, Elizabeth (1984) Hardcover
• Masters of Dutch Painting: The Detroit Institute of Arts
• The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Dutch Painting in the Seventeenth Century by J. M Nash (1972-05-03)