Nicolaes Berchem the elder
Dutch, 1620 - 1683
Painter, draughtsman, engraver. Mythological subjects, religious subjects, hunting scenes, figures, genre scenes, animals, landscapes with figures, winter landscapes, harbour scenes.
Claes Berchem was the son of the Dutch still-life painter Pieter Claesz. van Haarlem; he received his early artistic education from his father, who later enrolled him at the studio of the landscape artist Van Goyen. It was there that he received the surname of Berchem. Various biographers, notably Weyermann, recount that the name derived from the command 'Berghem!', which means 'Hide it!'. Others suggest that his family was originally from Berghem (Brabant) and emigrated to Holland as a result of religious persecution. On leaving Van Goyen's studio Berchem worked with Claes Moyaert, P. de Grebber, Jan Wils (whose daughter he later married) and J.-B. Weenix, who was his true master and inspired his taste for Italian landscapes. In 1642 Berchem became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St Luke, but in that year, acting on Weenix's advice, he travelled to Italy. He returned to Holland in 1645, living initially in Haarlem and then Amsterdam, first in 1670 and settling in the city in 1677. His works are often signed and dated. He usually signed himself: Berchem, although the signature Berighem appears on works he produced before 1660. His pupils included W. Romeijn, G. Le Fèbre, Claes Simonsz. Schout, Karel Du Jardin, J. von Huchtenburg, J. Glauber, J. van Huysum and Pieter de Hooch.
At the age of 20 Berchem painted a landscape with figures entitled Shepherd and Shepherdess Seated by a Cottage, which was obviously inspired by the Dutch countryside. In his early works, such as St Jerome (Würzburg) and Story of Laban (Munich), the artist shows the clear influence of his teacher Moyaert. The works that follow, with their reddish rocks, blueish backgrounds and terraced gardens, recall the time he spent in Italy. This period proved highly beneficial for Berchem from a compositional point of view and his paintings display the same exquisite arrangement as those by Poussin. In 1648 he painted a large-scale piece, Childhood of Jupiter, but he was primarily an artist who preferred smaller formats, working on panel or canvas; Berchem did not share the ambitious scale that was a feature of work by Hals and Rembrandt. His facility with landscapes soon led him to abandon painting from nature and he began to produce somewhat dull landscapes working in his studio. His work included hunting scenes, views of ports and shores and winter landscapes, but it was the pastoral scenes with shepherds and their flocks, often crossing a ford, that became the principal focus of his work. He showed great skill in depicting the effects of light and conveying the sun-bathed atmosphere so typical of his landscapes. His pastoral pieces, inspired by Virgil and the rustic works of P. van Laar, were highly regarded in France during the 17th century and influenced both Boucher and Oudry. In these mythical love scenes between shepherds and shepherdesses in Arcadian landscapes, a charming conventionality goes hand in hand with truthful observation of the daily life of peasants, of animals and the countryside bathed in a rich golden light. Berchem favoured a very warm and rich palette and was exceptional in the extreme delicacy with which he applied it. He collaborated with other artists including J. Verhagen, C. Poelenburg, M. Ruisdael, Jan Wils, Isaac Moucheron, Hobbéma and Everdingen and left a substantial number of paintings. He also produced some etchings. Most of his vast output of drawings were in pen and ink and wash and were primarily devoted to idyllic or mythological Italianate themes. He was a major influence on early 18th-century painters and his work was very fashionable at that period. The prices paid for his paintings are an indication of his success. Louis XVIII paid the dealer Le Brun 24,000 francs for Landscape with Tall Trees, now in the Louvre; in 1768 the Return of the Animals was sold for 8,500 francs at the Gaignat sale; and the burgomaster of Dordrecht purchased the famous Hunter's Halt, referred to by Descamps as Berchem's masterwork, for 800 florins.
"BERCHEM, Claes Pietersz., or Nicolaes." In Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/benezit/B00016825 (accessed May 3, 2012).
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