BISSCHOP, Jan de - b. 1628 Amsterdam, d. 1671 Den Haag - WGA

BISSCHOP, Jan de

(b. 1628 Amsterdam, d. 1671 Den Haag)

Dutch draughtsman and etcher. He was a lawyer by profession and a skilled amateur draughtsman. At the Amsterdam Latin school his teacher was the humanist Hadrianus Junius (1511-75), under whose supervision he wrote a poem about the Atheneum Illustre and Collegium Auriacum in Breda, published by Johannes Blaeu in 1647. From 1648 to 1652 he read law at Leiden University. In 1653 he married Anna van Baerle, daughter of the famous professor and theologian Caspar van Baerle (1584-1648), and throughout his life he moved in prominent intellectual circles. One of his closest friends was Constantijn Huygens the younger, who was also an amateur draughtsman, with a very similar drawing style (especially in landscapes), and who was probably a member - with Jacob van der Does (1623-73) and Willem Doudijns (1630-97) - of the small drawing academy that de Bisschop founded in The Hague.

Although de Bisschop lived for a while in a house adjoining Claes Moeyaert’s in Amsterdam, it was probably Bartholomeus Breenbergh, also living in Amsterdam at the time, rather than Moeyaert who most influenced his style of drawing. De Bisschop made two large etchings after paintings by Breenbergh: Joseph Selling Corn to the People (1644; untraced) and the Martyrdom of St Lawrence (1647; Frankfurt am Main, Städelsches Kunstinstitut).

De Bisschop’s landscapes in brown ink wash imitated Breenbergh’s evocations of Italianate sunlight. Despite drawing numerous Italianate landscapes, De Bisschop probably never went to Italy; other artists’ works were his sources. Whether drawing with pen or brush, he used a warm golden-brown ink, later named “bisschops-inkt” after him.

In addition to landscapes, De Bisschop made figure studies and drawings after classical sculptures and famous paintings, primarily by Italian artists. His publications, which reproduced antique sculptures and Old Master drawings, were instrumental in disseminating the classical style in Holland. He also designed title pages for books, mostly by classical authors, and published his own compositions.

The Huis ter Nieuburch at Rijswijck, Seen from the South-Southwest

In 1630 the Dutch stadholder Frederick Hendrick bought the Huis ter Nieuburch at Rijswijck, a village between Delft and The Hague. The old country house was demolished and between 1630 and 1634 replaced by the summer palace, seen from the south-southwest in this small drawing.

The rapid sketching style and boldly contrasted light and shadow are typical of De BIsschop’s late work of about 1665-70.

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The Huis ter Nieuburch at Rijswijck, Seen from the Southwest

The rapid sketching style and boldly contrasted light and shadow are typical of De Bisschop’s late work of about 1665-70.

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The Medici Venus

The Medici Venus is a copy after a Greek original dating from the late classical era. This print was published in ‘Signorum Veterum Icones’, a volume containing one hundred etchings after sculptures from the antiquity by Jan de Bisschop. In the preface the author explained that the statues he had chosen were ‘the most perfect in art and the very best examples for students’.

The etching was executed after a drawing and therefore in reverse.

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The Oostpoort (East Gate) at Delft

This drawing is one of the many representations of the East Gate at Delft in Dutch art, especially in drawings. It is remarkable that almost all are done from the same vantage point. Despite the exceptional quality of the drawing, it is the work of an amateur draftsman: De Bisschop was one of many gentlemen of the seventeenth century who practiced art as a pastime rather than as a profession.

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The Schiedam Gate at Delft

By using deep brown washes that contrasts sharply with the colour of the paper, the amateur draftsman De Bisschop creates an impression of sunlight. This Italianate-like picture shows the influence of De Bisschop’s master, the Italianate painter Bartholomeus Breenbergh.

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