Lentorama 2022: It Happened on Easter

Day 19: Arnold Houbraken is born

Arnold Houbraken was born in the Netherlands on March 28, 1660. He was sent to learn threadtwisting (not sure if that's for art or the actual manufacture of thread), but was also taught engraving. He would later study painting, and would move to Amsterdam after he was married to pursue art as a career.

But what he was best known for was writing, or at least the writing of one particular work, The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters. Published in three volumes (the last coming out after he died), this work is perhaps the greatest source of biographical information on 17th century Dutch painters. It is in some cases the only source for images of painters, as Houbraken included several engraved portraits. As comprehensive as the work is, it did miss some painters whose esteem would grow over time, most notably Jan Vermeer, who gets one mention in passing throughout the entire work. 

The book is included in the Digital Library of Dutch Literature's Basic Library of 1000 works from the middle ages to today that are seen as foundational for Dutch culture.