Aert van der Neer

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Werff, Adriaen van der (b Kralingen, nr. Rotterdam, 21 Jan. 1659; d Rotterdam, 12 Nov. 1722). Dutch painter of religious and mythological scenes and portraits, active mainly in Rotterdam. He combined the precise finish of the Leiden tradition (learned from his master Eglon van der Neer) with the classical standards of the French Académie Royale (see academy) and became the most famous Dutch painter of his day, winning international success and earning an enormous fortune. Houbraken, writing in 1721, considered him the greatest of all Dutch painters and this was the prevailing critical opinion throughout the 18th century. His reputation crumbled in the 19th century, when he was thought to have betrayed the Dutch naturalistic tradition, and he is now considered an extremely accomplished but rather sentimental and repetitive minor master. Van der Werff also worked as an architect in Rotterdam, designing elegant house façades. His brother Pieter van der Werff (1661–1722) was his principal pupil and assistant, imitating his style closely and making many copies of his work.

Werff, Adriaen van der (1659–1722). Dutch painter of religious and mythological scenes and portraits, active mainly in Rotterdam. He combined the precise finish of the Leiden tradition (learned from his master Eglon van der Neer) with the classical standards of the French Académie Royale and became the most famous Dutch painter of his day, winning international success and earning an enormous fortune. Houbraken, writing in 1718, considered him the greatest of all Dutch painters and this was the prevailing critical opinion throughout the 18th century. His reputation crumbled in the 19th century, when he was thought to have betrayed the Dutch naturalistic tradition, and he is now considered an extremely accomplished but rather sentimental and repetitive minor master. Van der Werff also worked as an architect in Rotterdam, designing elegant house façades. His brother, Pieter van der Werff (1661–1722), was his principal pupil and assistant, imitating his style closely and making many copies of his work.

Neer, Aert van der (or Aernout van der Neer) (b Amsterdam, ?1604; d Amsterdam, 9 Nov. 1677). Dutch landscape painter, active in Amsterdam. He had two specialities: moonlit scenes, of which he is the acknowledged master among Dutch painters; and winter landscapes with skaters, as an exponent of which he is in the first rank. In both types he displayed his mastery of light effects and subtle modulations of colour. He was a prolific painter and his work was much copied and imitated, but he had difficulty earning a living as an artist. In 1658 he opened a wine shop in Amsterdam, but this venture was a failure and in 1662 he became bankrupt. Two of his sons were artists. Eglon (b Amsterdam, c.1634; d Düsseldorf, 3 May 1703) is best known for genre pieces done in the style of Terborch and Metsu. He was conspicuously more successful than his father and from 1690 worked as court painter in Düsseldorf. The few works that can be attributed to Jan (c.1638–65) show that he was an imitator of his father.

Aert van der Neer , c.1603–77, Dutch landscape painter. Working mostly in Amsterdam, he excelled in painting unusual light effects, such as moonlight, sunsets, conflagrations, and glimmering light on snow and ice. His winter landscapes are among the best in Dutch art. He is well represented in many European galleries. The Metropolitan Museum has his Sunset, The Farrier, and Landscape. His son and pupil, Eglon Hendrik van der Neer, 1634–1703, was a genre, landscape, and portrait painter. He was court painter to the elector palatine in Düsseldorf. He excelled in painting luxurious interiors, hunting scenes, and mythological or biblical subjects in Dutch settings. His Esther and Ahasuerus (Uffizi) is characteristic of his work.