Bartholomeus van Bassen
Encyclopedia
Bartholomeus Corneliszoon van Bassen (1590–1652) was a Dutch Golden Age
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...

 painter and architect.

Biography

Van Bassen was born in Antwerp. Little is known of his early life, but according to the RKD he became a member of the Delft Guild of St. Luke in 1613. In 1622 he moved to the Hague, where he became a member of the The Hague Guild of St. Luke
Confrerie Pictura
The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague, by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there.-History:The guild of St...

 two years later and where he became dean in 1627 and headman in 1636 and 1640. He is known for his architectural works, sometimes with staffage
Staffage
In painting, staffage, pronounced "staffarge" as in French, are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape, that are not the primary subject matter of the work. Before the adoption of the word into the visual arts in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,...

 by the painters Anthonie Palamedesz, Esaias van de Velde
Esaias van de Velde
Esaias van de Velde was a Dutch landscape painter.-Biography:Born in Amsterdam, where his Flemish father Hans had fled as a Protestant in 1585, he probably studied under his father and Gillis van Coninxloo, a landscape painter from Antwerp and a follower of Pieter Brueghel the Elder...

, and Jan Martszen de Jonge
Jan Martszen de Jonge
Jan Martszen de Jonge , was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter.-Biography:According to the RKD he was the son of the Haarlem painter Jacobus Martens , the nephew and pupil of Esaias van de Velde, and the teacher of Jan Asselijn. He lived in Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Delft, painting portraits and...

.

In 1638 he became city architect of the Hague. He worked on the summer palace Huis Honselaarsdijk
Huis Honselaarsdijk
Huis Honselaarsdijk was a palace in Honselersdijk, Holland, Dutch Republic. The palace was designed by the Dutch architects Bartholomeus van Bassen, Jacob van Campen and Pieter Post, and was built in the first half of the 17th century as a buitenplaats for stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of...

 for Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry, or Frederik Hendrik in Dutch , was the sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel from 1625 to 1647.-Early life:...

 (torn down after being used as a military hospital during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

), the restoration of the City Hall
Old City Hall (The Hague)
The Old City Hall in The Hague is a Renaissance style building on the Groenmarkt near the Grote Kerk. It is the former seat of the city's government, and still today the place where residents hold their civic wedding ceremonies, and where the Royal family register their family births...

, and from 1649 onwards he was involved with building the Nieuwe Kerk
Nieuwe Kerk (The Hague)
The Nieuwe Kerk is a church in The Hague, located across from the modern city hall on the Spui. It was built in 1649 after the Great Church had become too small. Construction was completed in 1656.-History:...

.

Van Bassen was also involved in a number of nationwide architectural projects. His most important building was "Het Koningshuis", the summer palace of Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....

. Called "King of Bohemia" for one winter, he is remembered in the Netherlands as the "Winterkoning" for this reason. His summer palace was in the town of Rhenen
Rhenen
Rhenen is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands.The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, Remmerden, Elst and Laareind. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, namely on the southernmost part of the chain of hills known as the Utrecht Hill Ridge ,...

, near Utrecht, and it was built to Bassen's design in 1629-1631. This palace, like Honselaarsdijk, was also used as a military hospital during the War of 1812 and was torn down soon after.

He kept a workshop and took on pupils, most notably Gerard Houckgeest
Gerard Houckgeest
Gerard Houckgeest was a Dutch Golden Age painter of architectural scenes and church interiors.-Biography:...

 and Jan van der Vucht. He died in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

.

External links

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