Abraham Storck

The Four Days Battle, 1666

Abraham Storck (or Sturckenburch) (bapt. 17 April 1644 in Amsterdm – buried 8 April 1708), was a Dutch painter, who enjoyed a reputation for his marine paintings, topographical views and Italianate harbour scenes.[1]

Life

Storck was born and died in Amsterdam.[2] His father was the painter Jan Jansz. Sturck, who later changed his name to Sturckenburch. Sturck's three sons, who were all painters used the name Sturckenburch until c. 1688 after which they started calling themselves Storck or Sturck. Abraham trained with his father and joined the local Guild of Saint Luke.[2]

Storck initially worked in the family workshop. Later he set up his own workshop in Amsterdam producing naval and harbor scenes as well as landscape paintings. He traveled and worked in Germany.[1]

In 1694 he married Neeltje Pieters van Meyservelt.[3]

Work

Harbour scene

Storck's marine and river scenes were influenced by the two Willem van de Veldes (the elder and the younger), Ludolf Bakhuizen and by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten.[3]

Storck produced fantastical views of Mediterranean ports, which place merchant shipping amidst architectural ruins, depicted in the crystal-clear colours of Italian art of the period. This type of scene anticipated the popular 18th-century Italian capriccio. He probably never went to Italy himself. He depicted ships' rigging and technical details with considerable accuracy and his Dutch harbour and river views often include recreational and ceremonial aspects of shipping. He paid particular attention to the display of pleasure yachts and ceremonial gatherings of ships.[2]

Storck painted some winter scenes, which are inspired by the example of Jan Abramsz Beerstraten and his brother Anthonie.

Storck’s reputation during his life and thereafter has suffered from the ppularity of his compositions, which were often reprised by his large workshop. This led to the uneven quality of paintings attributed to Storck.

Storck was an outstanding draughtsman.[3]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Abraham Storck at the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Dutch)
  2. 1 2 3 Biography of A. Storck, National Maritime Museum Greenwich
  3. 1 2 3 Margarita Russell. "Storck (i)." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 5 Jan. 2016

External links


There is a seascape by this Minor Dutch Master in the Mykolas Zilinskas Art Museum in Kaunas,Lithuania("Ships in Bay")

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 12, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.