Identity:

Jan van Huysum was a painter of flowers, still-life and landscape.

Life:

Van Huysum is remembered as an intricate painter of flower pieces in a long established Dutch tradition and perhaps the last major exponent of the genre. His arcadian landscapes were by contrast influenced by Dutch Italianate painters (notably Gerrit van Honthorst and Hendrick ter Brugghen) working in Rome in the early seventeenth century. As far as is known, Van Huysum lived and worked in Amsterdam throughout his life.

Bibliography:

Bénézit, E., Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, 8 vols, Paris, 1956-61; Haberland, Irene, 'Jan van Huysum,' The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, http://www.groveart.com (accessed June 2004).