Samuel van HOOGSTRATEN
Dordrecht 1627 - Dordrecht 1678
Biography
Initially a pupil of his father Dirck in Dordrecht, Samuel van Hoogstraten entered the studio of Rembrandt in Amsterdam in 1641. Working alongside artists such as Carel Fabritius and Abraham Furnerius, Van Hoogstraten remained in Rembrandt’s workshop until 1648, when he returned to Dordrecht. His first dated independent paintings were executed in 1644, while his earliest known drawing dates from two years later. After leaving Rembrandt’s studio, Van Hoogstraten he began a series of travels throughout Europe, spending time in Germany and Vienna, where between 1651 and 1656 he worked at the Imperial court. Arriving in Rome, he joined the Schildersbent, the association of Dutch artists in the city, earning the nickname ‘Batavian.’ Between 1662 and 1667 Van Hoogstraten was employed at the court of King Charles II in London, and following this worked in The Hague, where he is recorded as a member of the local artist’s guild, the Confrerie Pictura, between 1668 and 1671. He painted biblical subjects, portraits and genre scenes, as well as etchings and numerous drawings. The final years of Van Hoogstraten’s career were spent in his native Dordrecht, where he wrote a treatise on painting, published shortly before his death in 1678. Among his pupils were Arent de Gelder, Arnold Houbraken and, possibly, Willem Drost.
