Wouverman, PHILIP

Wouverman, PHILIP, a Dutch painter of battle and hunting pieces, was born in May 1619 at Haarlem. From his father, Paul Wouverman, a historical painter, he inherited a taste for art. He studied first with his father, and afterwards with John Wynants. He passed his entire life at Haarlem in the assiduous practice of his art, and died 19th May 1668. Though his pictures are now highly valued, he is said to have had little immediate success, and to have lived in poverty, pretty much in the hands of the picture-dealers. His pictures are, for the most part, landscapes of small size, with figures profusely introduced, commonly in energetic action. His cavalry skirmishes, with a white horse generally in the foreground, are greatly admired for their spirit and vigour. He had two brothers, also painters, PETER (1623-82) and JAN (1629-66), who executed subjects somewhat similar, and whose works have not unfrequently been attributed to him; but, though both artists of considerable merit, they are plainly much inferior to Philip.