Caspar Netscher

Caspar (or Gaspar) Netscher (1639 – January 15, 1684) was a Dutch portrait and genre painter. He was a master in depicting oriental rugs, silk and brocade and introduced an international style to the Northern Netherlands.

According to Arnold Houbraken's 17th century biographical study of Dutch painters he was born in Heidelberg or Prague. His father Johann Netscher was a sculptor from Stuttgart. The elder Netscher married Elizabet Vetter, the daughter of a mayor in Heidelberg, against her father's wishes. He died in Poland when Caspar was two years of age. It has been suggested that Caspar may have been the son of a Rotterdam painter. When Heidelberg was attacked during the civil war, Caspar's mother fled with four children to an estate outside the city. When the castle was laid under siege, the people there suffered from hunger and Caspar's two older brothers died. Caspar's mother fled in the night, carrying the young Caspar in her arms and with her young daughter on foot, staying at almshouses for widows and orphans. They travelled in this way to Arnhem, where they finally found safe quarter. In Arnhem Caspar was adopted by a rich physician named A. Tullekens. At first he was destined for the profession of his patron, but owing to his great aptitude for painting he was placed under a local artist named Hendrick Coster, and though the acquaintance of Wynant Everwyn in 1654, who had family connections to Tullekens, he became a student of Ter Borch in Deventer. He was Ter Borch's most gifted pupil, probably worked as an assistant as well and he appears several times as a model on Ter Borch's paintings.

When he came of age, he first worked for the Dutch "keelbeulen" (Houbraken called art dealers "cutthroats") until he had enough money to make a grand tour. In 1658 he set out for Italy to complete his education, booking passage on a ship to Bordeaux with letters of introduction from Tullekens for his cousin Neny there. From Bordeaux he planned to proceed overland to Italy. However, while in Bordeaux he met the mathematician and fountain designer Godijn, and married his daughter Margaretha Godijn on 25 November 1659, which halted his progress to Rome. In Bordeaux he toiled hard to earn a livelihood by painting small cabinet pictures which are now highly valued on account of their exquisite finish. Fearing the persecutions of Protestants, after his son was born he moved back North to The Hague in 1662, and turned his attention to portrait-painting. In this branch of his art was more successful. In 1668 he joined the Schutterij and Cosimo III de' Medici, traveling through the Netherlands bought four paintings.

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