Ferdinand Bol

Ferdinand Bol was considered one of the most important artists in Amsterdam in the 17th century. He was a pupil of Rembrandt and achieved great prestige and prosperity through a large number of prestigious commissions. The Dutch painter focused on portraits as well as biblical and historical scenes. Ferdinand Bol was born in Dordrecht in 1616 as the son of the barber and surgeon Balthasar Bol. He learned the basics of painting under Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp and AAbraham Bloemaertin Utrecht, the center of Dutch Baroque painting. The young Bol was drawn to Amsterdam, where he was a pupil of Rembrandt van Rijn. Together with Rembrandt he worked in the workshop of the patron and art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh. His apprenticeship with Rembrandt left a lasting impression on the artist. Because of the similarity of his style with Rembrandt's works, there was always confusion among experts. Thus, 17 etchings by Bol are so much in the style of Rembrandt that they were attributed to Rembrandt for a long time. Bol later developed his own style.

Bol's creative period falls within the Golden Age of Dutch art. During the cultural and economic heyday, which lasted about one hundred years, about 700 painters worked in the Netherlands. They produced around 70,000 paintings a year. The wealthy citizens were great patrons of art and culture. Typical characteristics of his late works are the elegant brushwork and an intense colourfulness. His light style is probably also due to his acquaintance with the works of BBartholomeus van der Helst. The artist certainly adapted his painting style to contemporary tastes in order to please a growing audience. He was soon considered one of Amsterdam's most sought-after painters. Bol created several paintings for the Amsterdam City Hall. Many of the city's powerful commissioned Bol because his distinguished painting style made the people he depicted appear in a particularly good light. His history scenes had the predominantly desired magnificence of the time.

In 1653 Bol married Lysbeth Dell, the daughter of an important regent family in Amsterdam. Through her, Bol had good relations with the Admiralty and received several lucrative commissions from there. After the death of his first wife, Bol married the wealthy Anna van Arckel in 1669. With her he lived at Keizersgracht 672 in Amsterdam. Today the house houses the Museum Van Loon. After his second marriage, Bol created only a few paintings. Many of Bol's original works are in the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, the National Gallery in London, the Art Gallery in Tambow, the Louvre in Paris and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. Paintings by Bol are very rarely offered on the art market. Most of his works are in private and public collections. Ferdinand Bol died in Amsterdam on 24 August 1680.