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Biographical/Historical Information

Philips de Koninck (1619-1688), Dutch draftsman and painter, is best known today for his landscapes. Born to a wealthy Amsterdam goldsmith, he apprenticed in Rotterdam with his elder brother around 1637 and by 1641 returned to Amsterdam. There he may have been a pupil of Rembrandt van Rijn, and de Koninck’s early work shows Rembrandt’s influence. De Koninck was well-to-do; he owned a shipping company and an inn, and his wife owned a ferry service. By the early 1650s de Koninck was painting in his distinctive style creating, imaginary Dutch panoramas. He rarely depicted a recognizable location. His landscapes are flat, seen from a high viewpoint under an enormous sky, with a river or road winding towards the horizon and patterns of light and dark throughout. Their evocative power of space, light, and shadow is paramount. In the 1660s, de Koninck’s landscapes evolved into a combination of panoramas and park landscapes populated by pastoral types and elegant folk. After 1676 de Koninck, an esteemed member of Amsterdam’s middle class, probably stopped painting, though his reputation reached far beyond Dutch borders. Art dealers consulted him on the attributions of paintings. Nearly three hundred drawings and eight landscape etchings by de Koninck survive today.

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Citation

Koninck, Philips de: Three figure studies, one holding an incense burner, Leo Baeck Institute, 2005.94.