Jan van Pee
Encyclopedia
Jan van Pee was a Dutch Golden Age
art dealer and genre painter.
. Justus van Pee had been trained as a painter but was too nearsighted for the work. As a private secretary he astonished everyone by being able to read letters in the dark better than anyone else, despite his near-sightedness. Though his father had earned a title, there was little inheritance left for Emanuel when he died, so Emanuel started an art dealership to make a living, and moved to Amsterdam, where Jan van Pee was born and where he starting working for his father at a young age making copies of small cabinet paintings ("Dozynwerk", or "works of a dozen"). When Jan came of age, he got married to Hendrika Matthysdr in 1657 and they had children, but he regretted that he never visited Antwerp to admire the paintings there. His wife would never allow him.
He was urged to make a trip by his acquaintance, a pupil of Evert van Aelst
called De Nys. Jan van Pee decided to go, but needed money for the trip. Since he was only allowed the key to the money safe if he went shopping, he told his wife to put the water to boil for a fish and that he was going to the fish market to buy one. He took ten ducats and a few clean shirts and he and De Nys promptly took the trekschuit
to Haarlem, where he wrote a letter to his wife that on his way to market he was offered work in Haarlem, but on arrival in Haarlem, his patron requested that he make the commission in the style of P.P. Rubens and requested him to go to Antwerp. Then he and De Nys travelled via Leiden and Rotterdam to Antwerp, where they went to all of the churches and monesteries to admire the work of Rubens, Jordaens, and Van Dijk. When they saw that one could sell paintings for ready cash on the Friday market, they bought paint, brushes and supplies and made two paintings. Pee hired a begger to sit for an allegorical painting of Saint Peter, while De Nys bought some dead birds to make a hunting still life. They both sold and financed their trip this way, Pee earning 16 ducats and De Nys 18 ducats. Van Pee again sent a letter to his wife requesting her to move the household to Antwerp, but she refused and claimed the art dealership was doing fine and she preferred to stay with her children in Amsterdam, where she had no need of him at all. Van Pee finally returned North after eight months time, and when he arrived in Amsterdam he first bought a fish at the market to take to his wife.
His son Theodor
was born in 1669 and also became a painter.
According to the RKD he was specialized as a copyist and worked for Gerrit van Uylenburgh
. He also made genre scenes of his own invention and was the teacher of his son Theodor van Pee, and the grandfather of the miniature painter Henriëtta van Pee
. From 1684 he is registered in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke with many pupils.
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...
art dealer and genre painter.
Biography
According to Houbraken he was the son of the Amsterdam art dealer Emanuel van Pee, a man with a title of lower nobility, whose father Justus van Pee of Brussels had been the private secretary of Margaret of ParmaMargaret of Parma
Margaret, Duchess of Parma , Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst...
. Justus van Pee had been trained as a painter but was too nearsighted for the work. As a private secretary he astonished everyone by being able to read letters in the dark better than anyone else, despite his near-sightedness. Though his father had earned a title, there was little inheritance left for Emanuel when he died, so Emanuel started an art dealership to make a living, and moved to Amsterdam, where Jan van Pee was born and where he starting working for his father at a young age making copies of small cabinet paintings ("Dozynwerk", or "works of a dozen"). When Jan came of age, he got married to Hendrika Matthysdr in 1657 and they had children, but he regretted that he never visited Antwerp to admire the paintings there. His wife would never allow him.
He was urged to make a trip by his acquaintance, a pupil of Evert van Aelst
Evert van Aelst
Evert van Aelst was a Dutch painter.Van Aelst was the uncle of Willem van Aelst. Both were famous for their still life paintings of game, fish, vases, etc. He was influenced by Pieter Claesz. According to Houbraken, he spent four years in France and seven in Italy...
called De Nys. Jan van Pee decided to go, but needed money for the trip. Since he was only allowed the key to the money safe if he went shopping, he told his wife to put the water to boil for a fish and that he was going to the fish market to buy one. He took ten ducats and a few clean shirts and he and De Nys promptly took the trekschuit
Trekschuit
Trekschuit, literal translation 'tugboat', is an old style of horse-drawn boat specific to the Netherlands where it was used for centuries as a means of passenger traffic between cities along trekvaarten, or tow-canals.-History:...
to Haarlem, where he wrote a letter to his wife that on his way to market he was offered work in Haarlem, but on arrival in Haarlem, his patron requested that he make the commission in the style of P.P. Rubens and requested him to go to Antwerp. Then he and De Nys travelled via Leiden and Rotterdam to Antwerp, where they went to all of the churches and monesteries to admire the work of Rubens, Jordaens, and Van Dijk. When they saw that one could sell paintings for ready cash on the Friday market, they bought paint, brushes and supplies and made two paintings. Pee hired a begger to sit for an allegorical painting of Saint Peter, while De Nys bought some dead birds to make a hunting still life. They both sold and financed their trip this way, Pee earning 16 ducats and De Nys 18 ducats. Van Pee again sent a letter to his wife requesting her to move the household to Antwerp, but she refused and claimed the art dealership was doing fine and she preferred to stay with her children in Amsterdam, where she had no need of him at all. Van Pee finally returned North after eight months time, and when he arrived in Amsterdam he first bought a fish at the market to take to his wife.
His son Theodor
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....
was born in 1669 and also became a painter.
According to the RKD he was specialized as a copyist and worked for Gerrit van Uylenburgh
Gerrit van Uylenburgh
Gerrit van Uylenburgh , or Gerrit Uylenburgh, was a Dutch Golden Age painter and art-dealer. He was the eldest son of Hendrick van Uylenburgh and took over the family art-dealing business after Hendrick's death and burial in the Westerkerk church in 1661...
. He also made genre scenes of his own invention and was the teacher of his son Theodor van Pee, and the grandfather of the miniature painter Henriëtta van Pee
Henriëtta van Pee
Henriëtta van Pee , was an 18th century painter from the Northern Netherlands.-Biography:According to the RKD she was the granddaughter of Jan van Pee and the daughter of Theodor van Pee. She married the painter Herman Wolters...
. From 1684 he is registered in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke with many pupils.