Alida Withoos
Encyclopedia
Alida Withoos was a Dutch botanical artist and painter
. She was the daughter of the painter Matthias Withoos
.
. With three brothers Johannes, Pieter
, Frans, and her sister Maria
, she was trained by her father in painting still life
s and botanical illustrations. Because of the invasion of Utrecht by the French, the family moved to Hoorn
in 1672. In 1701, Alida married the Fijnschilder
Andries Cornelisz van Dalen, a typical example of relations between artistic and painterly families in seventeenth and eighteenth century Holland.
A training in painting was expensive and not often given to daughters, but - within the family - talented daughters could be trained to work with in the studio of their father, uncle, brother or spouse, often under his name. Unlike her husband, brothers and sister, Alida acquired a certain reputation painting under her own name, principally due to her botanical images. In Hoorn a number of the Withoos children were active as artists of flowers, birds, butterflies and insects. In inventories, such images were regularly called 'Withoosjes'.
Alida was - with her brother Pieter - one of the many artists who painted plants on the country house place Vijverhof in the service of Agnes Block
. She painted in 1687 (at Agnes Block's) the first pineapple
bred in Europe, though these images have unfortunately not survived. Thirteen water colours that Alida made in 1694 for the coloured Moninckx Atlas, along with 425 images of plants in the Hortus Botanicus
(where plants brought back in the ships of the Dutch East India Company
were grown in neat rows as at Block's house), have survived. The Library of Wageningen University
own a book of drawings bought by the collector Simon Schijnvoet that includes 7 by Alida Withoos, perhaps made for Block. These give a good idea of the high quality of her work.
She died in Westkerk, Amsterdam
.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. She was the daughter of the painter Matthias Withoos
Matthias Withoos
Matthias Withoos , also known as Calzetta Bianca and Calzetti, was a Dutch painter of still lifes and city scenes, best-known for the details of insects, reptiles and undergrowth in the foreground of his pictures.-Biography:...
.
Life
Alida Withoos was born in AmersfoortAmersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
. With three brothers Johannes, Pieter
Pieter Withoos
Pieter Withoos , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:Withoos was born in Amersfoort. According to Houbraken he was the second son of Mathias Withoos, brother to the painters Johannes, Frans and Alida Withoos...
, Frans, and her sister Maria
Maria Withoos
Maria Withoos , was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the daughter of Mathias Withoos and sister of the painters Alida and Pieter.-Biography:...
, she was trained by her father in painting still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
s and botanical illustrations. Because of the invasion of Utrecht by the French, the family moved to Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
in 1672. In 1701, Alida married the Fijnschilder
Fijnschilder
The Fijnschilders , also called the Leiden Fijnschilders , were Dutch Golden Age painters who, from about 1630 to 1710, strove to create as natural a reproduction of reality as possible in their meticulously executed, often small-scale works.Although in the seventeenth century, as in modern Dutch,...
Andries Cornelisz van Dalen, a typical example of relations between artistic and painterly families in seventeenth and eighteenth century Holland.
A training in painting was expensive and not often given to daughters, but - within the family - talented daughters could be trained to work with in the studio of their father, uncle, brother or spouse, often under his name. Unlike her husband, brothers and sister, Alida acquired a certain reputation painting under her own name, principally due to her botanical images. In Hoorn a number of the Withoos children were active as artists of flowers, birds, butterflies and insects. In inventories, such images were regularly called 'Withoosjes'.
Alida was - with her brother Pieter - one of the many artists who painted plants on the country house place Vijverhof in the service of Agnes Block
Agnes Block
Agnes, or Agneta Block was a Dutch Mennonite art collector and horticulturalist. She is most remembered as the compiler of an album of flower and insect paintings.-Life:...
. She painted in 1687 (at Agnes Block's) the first pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
bred in Europe, though these images have unfortunately not survived. Thirteen water colours that Alida made in 1694 for the coloured Moninckx Atlas, along with 425 images of plants in the Hortus Botanicus
Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam)
Hortus Botanicus is a botanical garden in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. One of the oldest in the world, it is one of Amsterdam's major tourist attractions.- History:...
(where plants brought back in the ships of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
were grown in neat rows as at Block's house), have survived. The Library of Wageningen University
Wageningen University
Wageningen University and Research Centre is a Dutch public university in Wageningen, The Netherlands. It consists of Wageningen University, the Van Hall-Larenstein School of Higher Professional Education, and the former agricultural research institutes of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture...
own a book of drawings bought by the collector Simon Schijnvoet that includes 7 by Alida Withoos, perhaps made for Block. These give a good idea of the high quality of her work.
She died in Westkerk, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.