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Salomon Koninck
Dutch, 1609 - 1656
He began his training in 1621 with David Colijns (c. 1582–after 1668), who gave him drawing lessons. He was then apprenticed to François Venant (brother-in-law of Pieter Lastman) and completed his training with Claes Cornelisz. Moeyaert. By 1632 Salomon was a member of the Amsterdam Guild of St Luke. His wife Abigail was the daughter of the painter Adriaen van Nieulandt. Some time around 1653 Bernart van Vollenhoven (1633–after 1691) was Salomon’s pupil.
By the mid-1630s Salomon had perfected his skills in the technique of ‘Fine’ painting. This is particularly noticeable in the rendering of fabrics and armour, for which he was much admired. For instance, Jan de Vos, in his poem ‘The Struggle between Death and Nature, or the Triumph of Painting’, named Salomon Koninck as one of the most important painters of the time. Koninck devoted special attention to costumes, many of which were unusual and Oriental. The painting of Daniel Explaining Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of the Four Kingdoms (mid-1630s; ex-Kedleston Hall, Derbys) demonstrates that Salomon was familiar with Rembrandt’s late Leiden and early Amsterdam work, and, in fact, Salomon’s entire oeuvre is strongly influenced by Rembrandt, although he never achieved Rembrandt’s quality, partly because he indulged too much in an approach in which all detail, no matter how minor, was rendered with the same meticulous care. He apparently continued to follow Rembrandt’s development with interest; Rembrandt’s work from the 1640s, with its spatial effects and strong use of chiaroscuro, was clearly of influence on paintings such as the Remorseful Judas (untraced; see Sumowski, 1983, p. 1655). However, Salomon’s paintings remain theatrical scenes that express no religious involvement (e.g. the Adoration of the Magi, The Hague, Mauritshuis). The Descent from the Cross (1635; Bad Tölz, Ulrich K. Holzermann priv. col., see Sumowski, 1983, p. 1671) is a transitional work, noticeably influenced by both Rembrandt and Rubens. The influence of Rubens becomes even more prominent in the painting Sophonisba Receiving the Cup of Poison (Los Angeles, CA, USC, Fisher Gal.). Apart from religious and historical scenes, Salomon Koninck also painted many scholars and church fathers reading or writing, men weighing their gold, counting their money or trimming quills. An important role in these images is played by accessories such as books, papers and money—all executed with minute precision. A painting such as the Old Man Weighing his Gold (1654; Rotterdam, Mus. Boymans–van Beuningen) displays the influence of Gerrit Dou.
Salomon Koninck’s drawings are clearly influenced by Rembrandt (e.g. Standing Woman, Paris, Fond. Custodia, Inst. Néer.) and Jan Lievens (e.g. Head of a Bearded Old Man, Berlin, Kupferstichkab.) and have often been attributed to these and other artists. There are also a few etchings by him, mostly heads of old men (e.g. Bust of a Man with Turban, Facing Left, 1638; Hollstein, no. 2).
Trudy van Zadelhoff. "Koninck." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T047308pg1 (accessed May 8, 2012).
Person TypeIndividual
Italian, c. 1610 - 1665
