(bapt. 16 February 1630, Schipluiden - c. 1696, Vreeswijk), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Though he was born near Delft, there is no known relation between this painter and Johannes Vermeer. His father died when he was 10 and he was raised by his step-grandfather in Rotterdam. According to Houbraken he travelled to Italy with Lieve Verschuier and became friends with Willem Drost and Johann Carl Loth. He returned North in 1662, where he became member of the Utrecht Guild of St. Luke in 1663 and became deacon of the guild 1664-1666.Houbraken tells a curious story about Vermeer van Utrecht in his biography of Jan Davidsz de Heem. In this story, on his return from Italy, Vermeer marries a widow who owns a white lead factory. He is wealthy and has a carefree life until his wife dies and then his factory is burned by French soldiers. He manages to save a garland painting by De Heem that he once paid 2000 guilders for. This was an enormous sum of money, but Houbraken mentions that his grandfather had been a wealthy man, and until his factory was destroyed, Vermeer van Utrecht had been painting for pleasure, rather than professionally. The amount is meant as an indication of the fame and esteem of De Heem, rather than the wealth of Vermeer van Utrecht. Vermeer van Utrecht then applies to his benefactor, Frederick Nassau de Zuylestein, to give him a government post in return for this painting, which he offers to paint with the likeness of the young prince Willem III in the middle of the garland. The lord of Zuylestein was the governor of the young prince from 1659 to 1666, so this deal must have been done sometime between 1662 (Vermeer van Utrecht's return from Italy), and 1672 (the death of the lord of Zuylestein). Apparently, the deal is done, and several years pass, in which Vermeer van Utrecht did become an appointed member of the Utrecht regency (Vroedschap), but where he felt like a fifth wheel. In 1672 the Utrecht council takes pity on him, and gave him the post of Toll-collector and controller of the river lock at Vreeswijk, where he later remarried.  Related Paintings of Jan Vermeer van Utrecht :. | Hall | Portrat Paul III | The Prospector | Fischstilleben | Anointment of King Christian VIII |
Related Artists:
Felice Ficherelli
Italian painter , b. 1603, San Gimignano, d. 1660, Firenze Firenze,Italian painter. His most original works were easel pictures, for private collectors, often of cruel and violent subjects, which he interpreted with a morbid sensuality and ambiguous tenderness. He was brought to Florence when very young by the collector Conte Alberto Bardi (d 1632), who arranged for him to study with Jacopo da Empoli and to copy works by Andrea del Sarto. Ficherelli's clear compositions and luminous drapery, which remain evident throughout his career, reflect this training. In the early 1630s he was attracted by the delicate sfumato effects of Francesco Furini and developed a style close to that of Cecco Bravo; his works of this period include the Sacrifice of Isaac (Florence, priv. col., for illustration see Gregori, 1968, p. 26) and the Martyrdom of St Agatha (priv. col., see Cantelli, fig. 338). There followed in the late 1630s Tarquin and Lucretia, which is known in several versions (e.g. Rome, Accad. N. S Luca), the theatrical Julia Receiving the Bloodstained Garments of Pompey (Genoa, priv. col., see 1986 exh. cat., pl. 1.208), an Allegory of Patience (Florence, Bigongiari priv. col., see Gregori, 1974, fig. 23) and Antiochus and Stratonica (Auckland, C.A.G.).
Marie-Denise Villers
(1774 - August 19, 1821) was a French painter, who specialized in portraits. She was born Marie-Denise Lemoine in Paris. She came from an artistic family, and her sisters Marie-Victoire Lemoine and Marie-Élisabeth Gabiou were also accomplished artists. In 1794, Marie-Denise married an architecture student, Michel-Jean-Maximilien Villers. Villers was a student of the French painter Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson. She was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of the Year VII (1799). Villers' most famous painting, Young Woman Drawing,
George Hayward
1840-1870