Dirk van Hoogstraten

Dirk van Hoogstraten (1596–1640) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, and father of Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten.

Biography

Dirk's father Hans (1568–1605) emigrated to Dordrecht after Dirk was born. Dirk's family were Mennonite refugees. In the Spanish Netherlands Anabaptism was illegal since the siege of Antwerp in 1585.

He became apprenticed to a silversmith, and learned drawing and engraving, but according to Houbraken he wanted to learn the new German method of gold- and silver-plating, so he undertook a journey to Germany. There he met some Dutch painters and became more drawn to drawing and painting.

Paintings Very few works remain by Dirk van Hoogstraten. Houbraken claims he made a print from his own drawing called "Ecce Homo" that was quite good. Though little work remains that is attributed to him, he is known for prints, drawings and paintings, as well as some gold- and silver-smith work. Besides his sons Samuel and Jan, he was the teacher of the painters Nicolaes Couwenbergh and Ossewaert.