Esaias Boursse was a Dutch painter

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...

. His paintings were mainly genre works.

Biography

He was born in 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...

, the youngest son of immigrants from Wallonia. His parents, Jacques Boursse and Anna des Forest, married in 1618 in 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...

. We know nothing more about the education of Esaias Boursse, other than the fact that he travelled to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 in about 1650 to study the great Renaissance examples. No reminders of those examples is to be found in his work. In the past art historians have tried to place him among Rembrandt's pupils. There is no objective evidence at all to prove this though. Maybe this opinion has been inspired by the fact that the painters were neighbours in the Sint Antoniebreestraat in Amsterdam (nowadays called Jodenbreestraat

Jodenbreestraat

The Jodenbreestraat is a street in the centre of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The street runs from the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates to the Mr. Visserplein traffic circle...

, still housing the Rembrandt House Museum

Rembrandt House Museum

The Rembrandt House Museum is a house in Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where Rembrandt lived and painted for a number of years. It is now a museum...

).

Boursse's financial position will not have been good, since in 1661 he sailed with the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, on the ship Amersfoort. It travelled to Ceylon (nowadays called Sri Lanka). Boursse drew the inhabitants, landscapes and city views, which have been preserved in an album which can be found in the print room of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. In 1663, the painter was back in Amsterdam.

In 1672, Boursse sailed with Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie again. On November 16 he died at sea, on board the ship Rhenen

The life of Esaias Boursse is the story of a painter who could not earn a living by painting alone and therefore had to look for an alternative source of income. The fact that he was no exception is proven by the life stories of for example Jan Steen

Jan Steen

Jan Havickszoon Steen was a Dutch genre painter of the 17th century . Psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour are marks of his trade.-Life:...

 (who was also an innkeeper) and Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer

Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...

 (who was also an art dealer). A major difference though, is the fact that Steen and Vermeer had to feed and house a (large) family. Boursse seems to have remained unmarried and childless. Financially, Boursse's career was a success. He remains one of the highest paid artists in living memory.

Work

Boursse's work mainly deals with family life. Women spinning or sewing and families around a fireplace are examples of what to expect. Stylistically, his work is reminiscent of Pieter de Hooch

Pieter de Hooch

Pieter de Hooch was a genre painter during the Dutch Golden Age. He was a contemporary of Dutch Master Jan Vermeer, with whom his work shared themes and style.-Biography:...

, Quiringh van Brekelenkam and Cornelis de Man

Cornelis de Man

Cornelis de Man was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:Kornelis was not satisfied with life in Delft. He wanted to travel beyond the port of Dordrecht and that is what he did, spending a year in Paris as soon as he came of age and had enough talent to pay his way with his painting skills...

. About 28 paintings remain of his work, mostly in private collections. Works by Boursse to be found online are:

• Rijksmuseum Amsterdam: "Interior with a woman sewing" (1661) http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/zoeken/asset.jsp?id=SK-A-767&lang=en
• Wallace Collection London: "Interior with a woman cooking" (1653) http://www.wallacecollection.org/newsite/public/templates/tmpl_artwork.php?artworkid=463&openmenu=1_27_0

Good examples 'in real life' (not online though) are also to be found in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the main art museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The museum began in 1847 with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans . Much of the museum's original collection was destroyed in a disastrous 1864 fire...

 in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen

Aachen

Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, the Frits Lugt-collection (Fondation Custodia) in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and the Johannesburg Art Gallery

Johannesburg Art Gallery

The Johannesburg Art Gallery is an art gallery located in Joubert Park, in the central business district of Johannesburg, South Africa. The building was designed by Edward Lutyens and consists of 15 exhibition halls and sculpture gardens...

.