Samuel van Hoogstraten Dordrecht 1627 – 1678

1
Samuel van Hoogstraten
Dordrecht 1627 – 1678
Painter and writer. After studies with his father, he was a pupil of Rembrandt in
Amsterdam during the first half of the 1640s. In the 1650s he travelled to
Germany and Italy, and spent several years in Vienna (1651-52, and 1652-54).
He then settled in Dordrecht, but was in London 1662-66 and in the Hague 166871. In his paintings he moved away from Rembrandt’s style towards greater
classicism. He published his theoretical work on painting, Inleyding tot de
Hooghe Schoole der Schilderkunst in 1678. In it he decribed Rembrandt’s studio
practice.
#1
Peter’s Vision of the Unclean Beasts
Red chalk, pen and brown ink, brown and grey wash, heightened with white.
Arched at the top, 250x158 mm
NM 1986/1863
Original framing line in brown ink.
Laid down.
2
Numbered at the bottom right 33, pen and black ink, and, on the mount, 1793
(Sparre) and 85 (struck out), pen and brown ink
Provenance: Crozat *C. G. Tessin (List 1739-42, p. 68v; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no.
85) *Kungl. Biblioteket (Cat. 1790, no. 1793) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: Schönbrunner & Meder, no. 968 (Eeckhout) *Kruse & Neumann
1920, no. II:26 *Kruse & Neumann 1921, no. II:26 *C. J. Muller-Hofstede,
Beiträge zur Geschichte der biblischen Historienbildes im 16. unt 17.
Jahrhunderts, Berlin 1925, p. 214 *W. R. Valentiner, "Rembrandt and Samuel
van Hoogstraten", Art in America, 1929 *Valentiner II, 1934, under no. 542 *J.
G. van Gelder, “Samuel Hoogstraten bij Rembrandt”, Kunsthistorische
mededelingen van het Rijksbureau voor kunsthistorisce documentatie, 3, 1948,
pp. 48f *Benesch 1954-57, under no. 1039 *Bernt 1957-58, 1957-58, under
no. 310 *W. Sumowski, Bemerkungen zu Otto Benesch Corpus der
Rembrandtzeichnungen, Bad Pyrmont 1961, p. 19, under no. 1039 * W.
Sumowski, Das Leben Jesu in Bildern. Handzeichnungen und Radierungen von
Rembrandt, Berlin 1963, p. 100 *S. Slive, Drawings of Rembrandt, New York
1965, II, under no. 440 *Statliche Graphische Sammlung, München, Rembrandt
und seine Kreis (exh.cat.), 1966-67, s.21, under no. 93 *Benesch 1973, V,
under no. 1039 *J.G. van Gelder, 1973, no. 34 *W. Wegner 1973, p. 91, under
no. 641, and p. 154, under no. 1096 *Sumowski, Drawings, 5, 1981, no. 1127x,
and pp. 2506 and 2554.
Exhibitions: Stockholm 1967, no. 290 *Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam, 1970-71, no.
96 *Stockholm, 1992, no. 181 *Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum,
Drawings by Rembrandt and his Pupils, 2010, no. 23.2.
The vision of St. Peter is told in the Acts 10:11-16 and 11:5-10. The apostle sees
the skies open and animals lowered in a sail-cloth. Already Kruse noted that the
composition is based on a drawing by Rembrandt in Munich.1 The animals and
the hovering angel holding a corner of the cloth are almost identical, but in a
sketch for his own version, also in Munich, Hoofstraten eliminates a figure on the
far left, also holding the cloth, as well as the spectator in the right background;
furthermore Peter is shown sleeping with his head on his arms instead of looking
up.2
In the finished drawing, Hoogstraten has changed the position of the sleeping
apostle, and clearly differentiated between his bed and an altar-like table in the
foreground; this feature has also been added in Rembrandt’s drawing in Munich,
but clearly by a different hand. There are also some pentimenti in the sail-cloth
and the angels position.
1
2
Wegner 1973, no. 1096.
Wegner 1973, no. 641; Sumowski, Drawings, 5, 1981, no. 1149x.
3
[Hoogstraten, copy after]
#2
Standing Male Model
Pen and brown ink, point of brush i grey, brown wash, heightened with white
(oxidized), 275x184 mm
NM 1988/1863
Several folds, the surface is worn, and the lower left corner torn off.
Laid down.
Numbered in the lower left corner 200,10 and 1663, and in the lower right corner
1795 (Sparre), pen and brown ink. Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Crozat (Mariette, no. ) *C. G. Tessin (List 1739-42, p. 68v; Cat.
1749, livre 15, no. 84) *Kongl. Biblioteket (Cat. 1790, no. 1795) *Kongl.
Museum (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: G. Upmark, Stockholmer Handzeichnungen, Stockholm 1889
(Rembrandt's school) *W. R. Valentiner, 1905, p. 61 (Rembrandt) *Hofstede de
Groot 1906, no.1610 (Rembrandt?) *Kruse & Neumann 1920, no. II:19 (school)
*Kruse & Neumann 1921, *Valentiner II, 1934, under no. 479 (copy after
Rembrandt) *Sumowski, Drawings, 5, 1981, under no. 1254x (copy).
4
Copy after a drawing by Hoogstraten formerly in the Koenigs collection,
Haarlem.3
3
Sumowski, Drawings, 5, 1981, no. 1254x