Abraham van Westerveld

Abraham van Westerveld (, 1620/1621 — 30 April 1692, Rotterdam) or Abraham Evertsz. van Westerveld was a Dutch Golden Age painter, architectural artist, and calligrapher. He spent most of his career in the Dutch Republic, and was also employed as court artist of Lithuanian hetman Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655) for a time in the 1650s. Westerveld is known in Ukraine for creating a series of sketches of architectural objects in Kyiv (then Kiev or Kijów) during this period, including the Golden Gate, Kyiv, Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv, and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. In the Netherlands, Westerveld is famous for his painting of Dutch lieutenant admiral Cornelis Tromp in Roman Costume in the Rijksmuseum, amongst other works.

Biography View of Kyiv from the Northeast (1651). View of Podil (Lower City). In the centre: the Dominican Church of St. Nicholas (with a Gothic roof). Abraham was born in Rotterdam in either 1620 or 1621 as the son of a certain Evert, and probably baptised as a Remonstrant. The artist's first work dates back to 1647, which marked the beginning of his creative career. On 19 March 1645, he married Ariaantje Jans in Rotterdam. On 21 May 1647, he married for the second time to Annetje Pieters Coelentroever. From then until about 1650, he worked in Rotterdam, after which he moved to Lithuania. Possibly, he relocated as early as 1649, Westerveld's creative legacy mainly consists of genre and historical scenes, landscapes, portraits and architecture, usually painted in oils. These include landscapes of Kyiv and Ukrainian historical themes. There is a suggestion that engraver Willem Hondius used a drawing of Westerveld as a basis for his famous portrait of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, which served as the primary source for most portraits of the commander.

When Westerveld returned to the Dutch Republic, he created several new works, many of which are listed on an inventory he submitted to the Orphan Chamber on 27 November 1666, following the death of his second wife, Annetje Pieters Coelentroever. His "wares" include portraits of numerous admirals, thirty paintings of the five kings, large and small portraits of his father and mother, as well as portraits of his son, two landscapes, two waterscapes, a kitchen interior, and more.

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