Cornelis Pronk

Cornelis Pronk (10 December 1691 – 28 or 29 September 1759), also known as Cornelis Pronck, was a Dutch draughtsman, painter and porcelain designer. He is known particularly for his numerous drawings of cities, towns and buildings (so-called topographical drawings), as well as for his porcelain designs.

Work

For many years, Pronk toured the Dutch Republic in summer, usually on foot, to sketch views of cities, towns, and landscapes, as well as castles, stately homes and other buildings, documenting in detail when and where each sketch was made. Each of these field sketches would form the basis for one or several drawings, which he produced back in his studio. On his travels, he would occasionally cross the border into Germany, as he did in 1729 for instance, when he made drawings around Kleve and Cologne.

Together with his pupils Jan de Beijer (1703–c.1780) and Abraham de Haen (1707–1748), he produced over 700 drawings for Het verheerlykt Nederland ("The glorified Netherlands"), a multi-volume work published in 1745-1774 documenting all the provinces of the Dutch Republic. Many of his drawings were turned into engravings by other artists such as Hendrik Spilman and Simon Fokke. Pronk also contributing drawings to a 1760 atlas of the province of Zeeland, Een en twintig gezigten der stemmende steden van Zeeland en derzelver voorname gebouwen.

Pronk's drawing technique developed rapidly in the period 1727 to 1731. He began to use subtle lighting and shadow effects and also added numerous anecdotal details to his drawings. Thereby the drawings attained not only documentary but also artistic value.

His pupil and close friend Abraham de Haen wrote numerous poems in his honour. Pronk also dabbled in poetry himself.

Life and career

Pronk was the son of an Amsterdam wheat merchant who later opened an administration office. After working in his father's office for several years, Pronk (on the advice of the scholar and art connoisseur Lambert ten Kate) started to take lessons in drawing and painting from the painter Jan van Houten (1679–1713). In between 1712 and 1715, he also studied with the portrait painter Arnold Boonen (1669–1729).