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| Not quite botanical; let's just say "botanical adjacent"...! |
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Albertus Jonas Brandt (22 November 1787, Amsterdam – 12 February 1821, Amsterdam), Dutch still-life painter. He was the son of a book printer and seller, and while working in his father's shop, he became a pupil of painter Jan Evert Morel, best known for his flower studies. After Morel's death in 1808, he spent two years with another painter known for his floral work, Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os. But when van Os moved to France in 1810, Brandt continued his studies by himself, copying the work of the earlier floral painter Jan van Huysum. In 1814 and 1816 he won prizes in the academy Felix Meritis and soon became quite well known for his work which featured, variously, flowers, fruit, or dead game. He died of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-three. His collection of drawings, paintings, and tools was auctioned off eight months after his death.
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| Portrait of the artist by Jacob Ernst Marcus and Hendrik Willem Caspari, 1816. |
Usually when an artist dies tragically young, his works are not famous enough to survive. Who saved Brandt's collection of drawings and paintings, and protected them until a successful auction?
ReplyDeleteThat would be interesting to know!
DeleteI wish I could paint like that!
ReplyDeletesomehow the painting of the leaf is the most beautiful of them all - the sign of a true artist!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I totally agree! The truth is that there were only really about three of these images that originally captured my attention - that first gorgeous leaf being my favorite - and I just had to gather a bunch of his other studies in order to fill out a post! : )
DeleteThe Dutch touch with such attention to detail. I wonder if Brandt knew of the art works of John Audubon, and if Brandt influenced the art works of Charles Darwin, as all three appreciated nature.
ReplyDelete-Rj