JAN FRANS SOOLMAKER (Antwerp circa 1635 – Italy after 1665)
Shepherds with their Flocks in a Hilly Landscape
oil on panel
27 1/4 x 35 inches (69.2 x 88.8 cm)
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Pennsylvania
We are grateful to Marijke C. de Kinkelder for confirming the attribution of the work as that of Jan Frans Soolmaker. In a confirming email, Marijke C. de Kinkelder writes “Indeed a fine Soolmaker with all his typical features and showing very clearly the influence of Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem. A key-piece for the artist and in my opinion from the earlier days of his career”.
Soolmaker, a painter of Italianate pastoral landscapes, was a student of J. de Bruin, and possibly Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem (1620 – 1683). He was an exemplary painter of animals, and became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp in 1654. He was working in Amsterdam in 1665, prior to his departure to Italy. It is believed that he also visited Portugal and Spain.
Among the museums that Soolmaker’s paintings can be found in are: Amiens, Brussels, Budapest, Cologne, Darmstadt, Geneva, Dublin, The Hague, and Valenciennes.