Aelbert Cuyp Biography

Aelbert Jacobsz Cuyp was one of the leading Dutch landscape painters, belonging to the most famous family of painters of the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. The Dutch equivalent of Claude Lorrain, Cuyp is particularly noted for his poetic use of light and atmosphere in his landscapes. In his initial paintings, the landscapes have occasional cattle and human figures but in his later works more expansive settings like the banks of the Mass and Wall near Dordrecht can be seen. Apart from landscapes, some of his paintings depict animals or historical pieces and some are portraits. All his paintings are submerged in a soft glow of light - something that gives them an ethereal essence and unique poetic sensibility. This experiment had its foundation in his observations of the optical effects of moist atmosphere. His painting style incorporated the broken-brush technique from Jan van Goyen and Italianete lighting from Jan Broth. Cuyp signed all his paintings, but dated very few of them. This makes it hard to create an authentic chronology of his works. Abraham van Calraet was an ardent follower of Aelbert Cuyp and mimicked his style in a number of landscapes to such an extent that it becomes difficult to distinguish their work. The problem becomes more pronounced as they had the same initials.