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Portrait of Bartholomew Breenbergh, RP-P-1907-742-by Rijksmuseum-

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Bartholomeus Breenbergh

Bartolomeus Breenbergh, often known as Het Fret, was born on November 13, 1598, and died on October 5, 1657.

His childhood is largely unknown. Arnold Houbraken included him in the first volume of his three-volume Schouburg and urged readers to contact him with any updates on Breenbergh’s biography.

Breenbergh was born in Deventer, Netherlands, but moved away with the rest of his family after the death of his father in 1607, most likely to Hoorn, according to the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD).

Although he might have been established in Amsterdam earlier, Breenbergh was first listed as a painter on an archive record in 1619.

Breenbergh joined the group of Dutch and Flemish artists known as the Bentvueghels in Rome around 1620 when he earned the moniker “het fret” (the ferret).

Jan de Bisschop, who was a student of his from the 1640s to the 1648s, is the only one of his students who is listed as being enrolled. Here are 10 interesting facts about Bartholomeus Breenbergh.

1. Little is known about his early life

Portrait of Bartholomeus Breenbergh, RP-T-1886-A-557-by Rijksmuseum-

He was born at Deventer, where the family had relocated after Jan’s passing in around 1607. Although the location of Bartolomeus’s school is unknown, Amsterdam is the most likely candidate.

According to his own admission that he had known Paul Bril there for a solid seven years by the year 1620, he had moved to Rome.

Although the year of his return to Amsterdam is unrecorded, it is possible that 1629 marks the start of a lengthy and continuous sequence of dated oils.

Aged paintings show he found less time because he married the daughter of a cloth merchant in Amsterdam in 1633. In fact, in 1653, he even declared himself to be a trader.

2. He was featured by Arnold Houbraken in his three-volume Schouburg b00k

Arnold Houbraken3-by Jacob Houbraken-

Arnold Houbraken included him in the first volume of his three-volume Schouburg and urged readers to contact him with any updates on Breenbergh’s biography.

 Based on the information he previously possessed namely, “the birth of Poelenburg in 1586 and the death of Breenberg in 1660”, he knew it to be false that Breenberg was born in Utrecht and had trained Cornelis van Poelenburgh.

Houbraken never got the material he asked for, but in his second book, he included Breenbergh in a list of 59 capable painters who lived at the same time as Abraham Bloemaert and Paulus Potter. 

3. His first registration as a painter on an archive document dates from 1619

Arch of Constantine in Rome (Bartholomeus Breenbergh) – National Museum – 216194-by Bartholomeus Breenbergh-

Breenbergh may have been established in Amsterdam earlier, as his first registration as a painter on an archive document dates from 1619. He left for Rome that same year.

He shared a home and studio with the Flemish painter Frans van de Kasteele there, and landscape painter Paul Bril, another local Flemish, had a significant impact on him.

But starting in 1623, the considerably older Cornelis van Poelenburgh’s Italian landscapes captured his attention. In fact, it can be challenging to distinguish between Breenbergh and van Poelenburgh’s paintings.

Also having an impact on him was Nicolaes Moeyaert.

4. He fell under the influence of Cornelis van Poelenburgh’s landscape paintings of Italy

An Italianate Landscape with Ruins and an Artist Sketching-by Bartholomeus Breenbergh-

Breenbergh returned to Amsterdam, where the prae-Rembrandtists’ landscape paintings Pieter Lastman in particular, as well as young artists like Jacob Pynas and Claes Moeyaert, had already begun to make their mark.

Unsurprisingly, he was drawn in, and over time, historical figuration began to take center stage in his Italian landscape paintings.

In fact, it might be challenging to distinguish between Breenbergh and van Poelenburgh’s works at times

5. It was his years in Italy that had the greatest impact on his career

Although Bartholomeus Breenbergh likely began as an apprentice in Amsterdam, it was his time in Italy that had the greatest impact.

Around the age of twenty, Breenbergh relocated to Rome, where he shared a home with Flemish landscape painter Paul Brill and was influenced by German expatriate Adam Elsheimer’s personal, profoundly poetic landscapes.

Breenbergh was a member of the first wave of Dutch Italianates, painters who visited Italy in the 1620s and were moved by the country’s atmosphere and light.

6. His works grew grander and more complex as he started to include biblical and mythological themes

Bartholomeus Breenbergh 003-by Bartholomeus Breenbergh-

Breenbergh’s compositions grew bigger and more complex in the 1630s as he started including biblical and mythological motifs.

He frequently depicted images from the Old Testament, but he hid the actual pictures deep within his landscapes. His emotive figure styles show similarities to Pieter Lastman’s.

He began painting narrative scenes in 1645 and later added portraits to his repertoire of genres.

7. Bartholomeus and Rembrandt were intrigued by one another’s artistic accomplishments

It is unlikely that Rembrandt will come to mind when perusing Bartholomeus Breenbergh’s body of work.

The two painters, who from the early 1630s onwards were both establishing their careers in Amsterdam, were highly accomplished and ambitious painters.

Regardless of how different their works may be, it is conceivable that they were intrigued by each other’s accomplishments.

They both liked writing about biblical issues for their histories and were huge fans of Pieter Lastman’s works.

When painting their interpretations of The Preaching of John the Baptist, these two incredibly gifted and aspirational young artists were impressed with one another’s artwork.

8. He was an investor

After an earlier monograph on the drawings, M. Roethlisberger (Berlin 1981) released a superb monograph with an oeuvre catalog, the Breenbergh oeuvre, with a nucleus of about 120 pieces in oils, is now much better defined than Poelenburch’s.

Even if Roethlisberger’s studies were quite helpful, it will never be easy for these two famous painters to distinguish the unmarked oils they created during their Italian years because they are both heavily indebted to P. Bril.

9. He had less time to paint after marriage

Breenbergh got married in 1633 to the daughter of a textile merchant and was paid 60 pounds annually by King Charles I of Britain’s court.

Dated paintings indicate that as the years passed, he painted less and less.

In fact, in 1653, he even declared himself to be a trader. In the ten years leading up to his passing, he resided on Amsterdam’s increasingly trendy canals.

10. He had an impact on various painters

Jan de Bisschop, who studied under him from the 1640s to 1648, is the only one of his students who had a registration.

Jan Linsen, Scipione Compagno, Laurens Barata, Charles Cornelisz de Hooch, Pieter Anthonisz van Groenewegen Francois van Knibbergen, and Catharina van Knibberge were among the painters who were influenced by him.

Breenbergh earned the moniker “Het Fret” (The Ferret) for being one of the founding members of the Schildersbent, an organization of northern artists who resided in Rome.