Stein 87

Author: DeAgostini Publishing Company (UK)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features: "The Leiden Finely-Painted School" is a term used in the art world to refer to painters active in Leiden between 1630 and 1760, whose styles were largely similar. Like their painting significance, Leiden painters excelled at delicate depiction. Although other Dutch cities also had painters who depicted with extreme precision, Leiden painters were particularly renowned for their glossy, finely textured brushwork. Da (Dirck van Baburen) taught many students, among whom the most outstanding were the close friends of Steen, Mieris and Sohaken. Sohaken mainly worked in Dordrecht, while Mieris spent most of his life in Leiden and was recognized as the painter who best inherited Da's artistic tradition (Da once praised Mieris as "the crown prince among my students"). Mieris was a member of the "Leiden Finely-Painted School," and his sons Jan and William, as well as William's son Friso, followed in his footsteps. Compared to their predecessors, the successors tended to use brighter tones. After Friso's death, Da's tradition of the finely-painted school effectively ended. However, after the 19th century, there were still Leiden painters who continued to imitate Da's painting style.