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Maerten van Heemskerck
Heemskerck, 1498-Haarlem, 1574
A painter, draughtsman and designer of prints, Heemskerck took his name from his native city. According to his biographer Van Mander, he was trained in Haarlem with Cornelis Willemsz., contuining his studies with Jan Lucasz. Following the return of Jan van Scorel from Italy, Heemskerck is documented in his studio between 1527 and 1530, where he imitated the style of Van Scorel who was three years his senior. So great was the influence of Van Scorel on Heemskerck at this time that it is difficult to attribute some of their oils. In the early 1530s the artist went to Italy where he is documented in 1532 in Rome. During his years in Italy he studied Raphael and Michelangelo's frescoes and made numerous drawings of sculptures, views of cities and classical ruins. Two fascinating notebooks with sketches from this trip are now in Berlin. He was profoundly impressed by the art of Michelangelo, whose influence is evident in the works he executed on his return to Holland. On his return journey to Haarlem he probably visited Mantua where he studied the decorative paintings by Guilio Romano in the Palazzo del Tè. In early 1537 he was back in Haarlem where he divided his time between painting and his responsibilities in the guild of Saint Luke, of which he was Dean in 1553 and 1554. Maerten van Heemskerck was a fine portrait painter and also produced history paintings. Among his best works is the portrait of Anna Codde of 1529 in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Saint Luke painting the Virgin of 1532 in the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, and his Self-portrait with the Colosseum in the Background in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
EISLER, C.: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Early Netherlandish Painting. London, 1989.
HARRISON, J. C. Jr: The Paintings of Maerten van Heemskerck. A Catalogue Raisonné. Ann Arbor, 1987.
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