BERCKHEYDE, Gerrit Adriaensz.
Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1638-1698
Brother of Job Berckheyde. Gerrit specialized in a particular type of architectural subject, the TOWNSCAPE. His painted work shows a debt not only to Pieter Saenredam's conception of the building portrait but also to Saenredam's refined draughtsmanship and dispassionate attitude; these qualities mark Berckheyde as a classicist and akin to Vermeer. Berckheyde favoured views of monuments on large open squares, a choice that distinguishes him from the other great Dutch townscape painter, Jan van der Heyden, who preferred views along canals in which clarity was sacrificed for pictorial effect.
ID: 5155 Amsterdam, the Nieuwezijds near the Bloemmarkt 1670-75
Oil on canvas, 45 x 61 cm
Historisch Museum, Amsterdam
