John Closterman (1660-1711) (also spelled Cloosterman, Klosterman), portrait-painter, born in Osnabruck, the son of an artist, who taught him the rudiments of design. In 1679 he went to Paris, accompanied by his countryman Tiburen, and there worked under Francois de Troy. In 1681 he came to England, and painted draperies for John Riley, at whose death, in 1691, Closterman finished several of his portraits. This recommended him to the Duke of Somerset, but he lost his favour on account of a dispute about a picture of Guercino, specially acquired for his grace, and which was afterwards purchased by Lord Halifax. In 1696 he was invited to the court of Spain, and executed the portraits of the king and queen; he also went to Italy twice, and made several acquisitions of works of art. On returning to England he obtained considerable employment, and married an Englishwoman. He buried his wife, Hannah, on 27 January 1702. According to Arnold Houbraken, he later took a mistress, who then ruined him by her extravagant habits, and ultimately left him in a state of dejection of body and mind that led to his ultimate decline. Jacob Campo Weyerman, who took much of his biographical material from Houbraken, states "Closterman had taken a beautiful mistress who, while he was away in the country, robbed him of his valuables and disappeared, actions which drove the painter into madness". He died in 1711, and was buried in Covent Garden churchyard.  Related Paintings of John Closterman :. | European city landscape, street landsacpe, construction, frontstore, building and architecture. 084 | White Tenement | The Turkish Bath (mk05) | Portrait of Freeman Cary | Diptych of Maarten Nieuwenhove |
Related Artists:
Master of The Castello Nativity
Florence ca 1450-ca 1475
Frans van Mieris
Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1635-1681
Albert von Keller
Albert von Keller (April 27, 1844 - July 14, 1920) was a German painter. He was born at Gais, in Switzerland; he studied at the Munich Academy under Lenbach and Ramberg, and must be counted among the leading colorists of the modern German school. Travels in Italy, France, England and Holland, and a prolonged sojourn in Paris, helped to develop his style. His scenes of society life, such as the famous "Dinner" (1890), are painted with thoroughly Parisian esprit, and his portraits are marked by the same elegant distinction. He was particularly successful in the rendering of rustling silk and satin dresses and draperies. His historical and imaginative works were as modern in spirit and as unacademical as his portraits. As of 1911, at the Munich Pinakothek was his painting "Jairi Töchterlein" (1886), while the Königsberg Museum contained his "Roman Bath", and the Liebieg collection in Reichenberg the "Audience with Louis XV", the first picture that drew attention to his talent. Among other important works he painted "Faustina in the Temple of Juno at Praeneste", "The Witches Sleep" (1888), "The Judgment of Paris", "The Happy Sister", "Temptation" (1892), "Autumn" (1893), "An Adventure" (1896), and "The Crucifixion".