Caspar Netscher

Caspar Netscher was born in 1639 in a town located between Heidelberg in Germany and Prague in Bohemia. He was the son of Johann Netscher, an artist whose talents spanned both sculpture and painting. He became an orphan at the age of two. It was in Arnhem that Caspar was adopted by Arnold Tulleken, a physician. He chose the artistic path over a medical career.

His first drawing lessons were given by Hendrick Coster, a local artist. In 1654, he continued his training in Deventer, becoming a student of Gerard ter Borch, a renowned painter who would have a major influence on his artistic development. Netscher quickly distinguished himself as the best student of ter Borch, even becoming his assistant and model for several works.

In 1658, he embarked on a journey to Italy, making a stop in Bordeaux, where he married Margaretha Godijn in 1659. Arriving in The Hague in 1662, likely due to religious persecution, Netscher dedicated himself to portrait painting, a field in which he would excel. In October of that same year, he was admitted to the artists’ guild, thus affirming his place in the Dutch artistic community.

His success was swift. In 1668, he caught the attention of Cosimo III de’ Medici, who acquired four of his paintings. He also became the portraitist for King William III of England, which helped establish his reputation. His mastery of portraiture was widely recognized, as was his talent for rendering the textures of clothing, oriental rugs, and silks, making his works highly coveted by the aristocracy of his time.

Netscher is also famous for his genre scenes, where he often depicted women engaged in daily activities, paying meticulous attention to detail. Unfortunately, when he was at the peak of his career, he died prematurely on January 15, 1684, in The Hague.

Today, Caspar Netscher is celebrated as one of the great portraitists of the Dutch Golden Age. His artworks continue to amaze and can be found in numerous collections around the world, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Louvre, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.