Theodoor Wilkens

Theodoor Wilkens or Theodorus Wilkens (alias Goedewil) (1690, Amsterdam – 1748, Amsterdam), was an 18th-century painter and draughtsman from the Dutch Republic who specialised in landscapes.

Biography Nothing is known about his apprenticeship. He travelled to Rome in 1710 or 1711. According to the early biographer Arnold Houbraken he travelled to Italy and joined the Bentvueghels, an association of mainly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome, and adopted the nickname Goedewil (good intention).

Back in Amsterdam Wilkens used his Italian sketches to make new drawings. His Italian landscapes date from the period of 1715 to 1744.

His death date is uncertain, but his painting collection was auctioned in Amsterdam on 17 June 1748.

Works He specialised in depictions of landscapes and architecture. No paintings by his hand have been preserved so that his work is known only through his drawings. He worked in an Italianate style that seems influenced by the Dutch landscape painters Albert Meijeringh and Johannes Glauber who both worked in Italy. The drawings of Wilkens also resemble some works of Caspar van Wittel. Both artists were at the same time in Rome. The stylistic similarities between their work makes it likely that the two artists knew each other in Rome.