Ludolf de Jongh

1616 – 1679

Dutch painter, who studied with Delft portraitist Cornelis Saftleven in Rotterdam and a Caravaggesque painter in Utrecht, then from 1635, he studied for seven years in France. His known earliest paintings were executed in Rotterdam around 1642 and were portraits and genre subjects. By the late 1640s, his genre subjects and hunting scenes show the influence of the Utrecht Caravaggisti, especially Jacob Duck. He was probably Rotterdam's leading painter during the 1650's and kept in style with the developments in Dutch painting. Demonstrating his interest in Dutch painting's latest innovations, his portraiture became more expressive and his space more clearly defined, and he grew more concerned with light. This work greatly influenced the young Pieter de Hooch. He gradually stopped painting after 1660 when he became involved with law enforcement in Rotterdam. Unlike most Dutch painters of the 1600s, who were specialists, Ludolf de Jongh painted portraits, genre paintings, landscapes, and historical subjects. As a result of this wide variety of subject matter, his works have frequently been attributed to others. Moreover, he signed few paintings, and his style often changed in response to new developments in Dutch painting.

View all works →