VAARDT, Jan van der

Dutch painter and engraver. He was a painter of portraits, landscapes and trompe-l’oeil paintings and a mezzotint artist who was active in England for most of his career.

He trained in his native Haarlem with Thomas Wijck. Van der Vaardt is documented from 1674 onwards in London where he worked in the workshop of another Dutch immigrant, Willem Wissing (c. 1656-1687), who was a pupil and former collaborator of the court portrait painter Sir Peter Lely. Van der Vaardt painted draperies and landscapes in the portraits of Wissing. After Wissing’s death in 1687, van der Vaardt continued his workshop.

In 1713 van der Vaardt sold off his collection and built a house in Covent Garden. He stopped painting and confined himself to the restoration of paintings because of his deteriorating eyesight. He died in London, a bachelor, and his nephew Arnold continued his restoration business.

Van der Vaardt was one of the earliest practitioners of mezzotint in England and produced many prints after portraits made by portrait artists like Sir Peter Lely, Willem Wissing. He was probably the teacher of the famous English mezzotint engraver John Smith (1652-1742).