Adam Silo
Encyclopedia
Adam Silo was a Dutch
painter who specialized in maritime scenes — particularly naval ships, but also trading and whaling
vessels. He also wrote books on art and gave drawing lessons to Russian Tsar Peter the Great
.
Paintings by Silo can be found at the Amsterdams Historisch Museum
in Amsterdam, the Maritiem Museum Rotterdam, the Hermitage
in Saint Petersburg, the National Maritime Museum
in London and the Kunsthistorisches Museum
in Vienna, among others. The Hermitage, for instance, has a 1730s work by Silo showing fleet maneuvres in the Zuiderzee during Peter the Great's visit to Amsterdam. The Amsterdams Historisch Museum has the only dated painting by Silo, showing a fleet of whalers off Amsterdam: Het IJ met een vloot walvisvaarders gezien vanaf het bolwerk Blauwhoofd (1729).
Silo was born on Christmas Day, 1674, and baptized on the 30th. At the age of 21, when he married, he was making gold thread and also worked as a ship's carpenter. He later worked, until the age of 30, as a master ship's builder and sea captain. Around 1694, he became a pupil of the artist Theodor van Pee
(circa 1668-1746) and learned to paint.
In 1697, he gave instruction in the drawing of ships to Peter the Great, who was visiting Amsterdam at the time. Notes made by the tsar during these lessons have survived. Peter the Great also purchased some of Silo's paintings.
The multitalented Silo produced not only paintings but also prints and drawings, which also exclusively depicted maritime scenes. Over 20 etchings by Silo are known. He also experimented with the mezzotint
technique. In his later years, he worked as an instrument builder, making musical instruments, binoculars, magnifying glasses, and telescopes, among others. He also produced wax models.
Silo wrote a number of books, including Afteekeningen van verscheidene soorten en charters van schepen en andere vaartuigen ("Drawings of various types of ships and other vessels", 1757).
He lived to over 80 years of age, and was buried on 8 October 1760 at the Leidse Kerkhof cemetery in Amsterdam.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
painter who specialized in maritime scenes — particularly naval ships, but also trading and whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
vessels. He also wrote books on art and gave drawing lessons to Russian Tsar Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
.
Paintings by Silo can be found at the Amsterdams Historisch Museum
Amsterdams Historisch Museum
The Amsterdam Museum, until 2011 called the Amsterdams Historisch Museum, is a museum about the history of Amsterdam. Since 1975, it is located in the old city orphanage between Kalverstraat and Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal.-History:...
in Amsterdam, the Maritiem Museum Rotterdam, the Hermitage
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
in Saint Petersburg, the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
in London and the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
in Vienna, among others. The Hermitage, for instance, has a 1730s work by Silo showing fleet maneuvres in the Zuiderzee during Peter the Great's visit to Amsterdam. The Amsterdams Historisch Museum has the only dated painting by Silo, showing a fleet of whalers off Amsterdam: Het IJ met een vloot walvisvaarders gezien vanaf het bolwerk Blauwhoofd (1729).
Silo was born on Christmas Day, 1674, and baptized on the 30th. At the age of 21, when he married, he was making gold thread and also worked as a ship's carpenter. He later worked, until the age of 30, as a master ship's builder and sea captain. Around 1694, he became a pupil of the artist Theodor van Pee
Theodor van Pee
Theodorus van Pee , was an 18th century painter from the Northern Netherlands.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was the son of the Amsterdam painter Jan van Pee who moved to Antwerp and left his family behind....
(circa 1668-1746) and learned to paint.
In 1697, he gave instruction in the drawing of ships to Peter the Great, who was visiting Amsterdam at the time. Notes made by the tsar during these lessons have survived. Peter the Great also purchased some of Silo's paintings.
The multitalented Silo produced not only paintings but also prints and drawings, which also exclusively depicted maritime scenes. Over 20 etchings by Silo are known. He also experimented with the mezzotint
Mezzotint
Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple...
technique. In his later years, he worked as an instrument builder, making musical instruments, binoculars, magnifying glasses, and telescopes, among others. He also produced wax models.
Silo wrote a number of books, including Afteekeningen van verscheidene soorten en charters van schepen en andere vaartuigen ("Drawings of various types of ships and other vessels", 1757).
He lived to over 80 years of age, and was buried on 8 October 1760 at the Leidse Kerkhof cemetery in Amsterdam.
Sources
- Artnet / Grove Dictionary of Art
- Kollenburg Antiquairs (Dutch)
- Jan Wagenaar, Amsterdam in zyne opkomst, aanwas, geschiedenissen, voorregten, koophandel, gebouwen, kerkenstaat, schoolen, schutterye, gilden en regeeringe (1767), deel 11, pp. 435–436 (Dutch)
- Hendrick Collot d'Escury van Heinenoord, Holland's roem in kunsten en wetenschappen (1826), deel 3, p. 29 (Dutch)
- Jacobus Kok, Vaderlandsch woordenboek (1792), deel 27-28, p. 83 (Dutch)