BERCKHEYDE, Gerrit Adriaensz. 1671-1672
Medium oil on panel
Dimensions Height: 42.5 cm (16.7 in). Width: 57.9 cm (22.8 in).
The Bend in the Herengracht Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1638-1698
Brother of Job Berckheyde. Gerrit specialized in a particular type of architectural subject, the TOWNSCAPE. His painted work shows a debt not only to Pieter Saenredam's conception of the building portrait but also to Saenredam's refined draughtsmanship and dispassionate attitude; these qualities mark Berckheyde as a classicist and akin to Vermeer. Berckheyde favoured views of monuments on large open squares, a choice that distinguishes him from the other great Dutch townscape painter, Jan van der Heyden, who preferred views along canals in which clarity was sacrificed for pictorial effect.
