Joanna Koerten

Joanna Koerten, (married name Joanna Block) (17 November 1650 in Amsterdam – 28 December 1715 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch artist who excelled in painting, drawing, embroidery, glass etching, and wax modeling. She achieved fame as a silhouette cutter, the art of creating outline images from pieces of cut paper mounted on a contrasting background. She produced landscapes, seascapes, flowers, portraits, and religious scenes in this medium. Her clients included Peter the Great of Russia, Frederick Elector of Brandenburg, Johan de Witt and William III of England.

Biography She was the daughter of Jan Koerten (1622–1651), a Mennonite cloth merchant, and his wife Ytje Cardinaels, who was from a well-known and wealthy family in Amsterdam. (d. before October 25, 1691). Her father died when she was one year old. Her mother remarried Rosijn Zacharias in 1659, also a cloth merchant. Joanna only married in 1691 after her mother and stepfather had died, when she was 41 years old. Her husband was Adrian Block, who, just like her father and stepfather, was a cloth merchant. He was of Mennonite background.

She gained fame as an artist working out of her husband's shop at No. 137 Nieuwendijk Amsterdam, which served as a gallery of her work. It was a house museum dedicated to her work as well, named The Blok. Peter the Great honored her with a visit in 1697 in the company of Mayor Witsen. The Blok was frequented by many other artists, poets, and other royals such as Cosimo de Medici. According to Houbraken, she could carve scenes on glass with a diamond, embroider and weave silk creations, pouring wax creations, lace-making and watercolor painting. Koerten was nicknamed ‘Scissors Minerva’, in reference to Minerva, the Roman goddess of craft, wisdom, weaving and embroidery.

According to the RKD, she was known as a or papercut artist and draftsman. Joanna Koerten died on 28 December 1715 aged 65, and is buried in the Oudezijds Chapel, Amsterdam.

Works

Only fifteen of her works survive. The existence of others can be inferred from descriptions in old auction lists.