Fish Study
JAN BRANDES (DUTCH, 1743-1808)
From Arader Galleries Drawings & Watercolors, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
AbeBooks Seller since 05 January 2021
From Arader Galleries Drawings & Watercolors, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
AbeBooks Seller since 05 January 2021
About this Item
JAN BRANDES (DUTCH, 1743-1808) Fish Study 10 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches Inscribed upper center: 12 May 1787 Inscribed left-center: 13 May 1787 Inscribed lower right: 14 May 1787 Waare Groote The Dutch Age of Enlightenment spirit is embodied in the figure of Jan Brandes, a Lutheran minister who was employed by the Dutch East India Company (VOC). In Jonathan Israel's 1995 publication, he described The Dutch Republic Enlightenment as "a shift to toleration, secularization, classification of knowledge, and popularization." Protestantism, mainly that worshiped by the Lutheran Church, abhorred idolaterism. This was reflected in the secularization of the arts and, thus, the popularization of landscape and still life painting. Jan Brandes was a product of this philosophy and created a valuable collection of drawings of the VOC's settlements in Java, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Brandes was born in Bodegraven in Gelderland (in what is now the Netherlands) in 1743, as one of four children of Jan Conrad Brandes, keeper of a boarding school, and Maria Hoogeveen. He attended Latin school at Breda and continued his studies in Lutheran theology at Leiden in 1763. Two years later, he moved to Greifswald, in the Swedish Pommerania, to complete his education. After returning to the Low Countries in 1767, Brandes quickly received a parish minister position to the Lutheran congregation in Doetinchem. Here, he remained for eight years until moving to Batavia (now Jakarta, Java) upon the recommendation of Amsterdam's Lutheran church council, where he became a reverend in the Dutch East India Company (VOC) until 1785. Brandes remained in Java for six years and then ministered to VOC communities in Sri Lanka and South Africa before returning home in 1787. As strongholds of the Dutch East India Company, both had thriving Dutch communities in Colombo and Cape Town, which required a minister's services. However, Brandes's talents extended beyond that of a preacher to drawing, and he produced a valuable and insightful collection of studies of both areas. His curiosity was such that he recorded everything he saw and described Javanese, Singalese, and African social culture. His study was genuinely exemplary and remained a testament to the Dutch Enlightenment. In later life, Jan Brandes settled in Sweden, becoming a wealthy burgher, but continued his passion for recording his surroundings. The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam now holds many of the Brandes watercolors, and thus this represents a rare opportunity to acquire works by this particular artist. Loca: 6.3B.D17. Seller Inventory # AP00029
Bibliographic Details
Title: Fish Study
Publication Date: 1787
Binding: No Binding
Condition: Fine
Store Description
All invetory is offered subject to prior sale and to price adjustments.
For International orders: We will contact you with an exact shipping charge based on the size and weight of the item as well as the individual destination per our shipping company estimates.
Payment Methods
accepted by seller