Andries Beeckman

Little is known about this Dutch painter, but he seems to have been born in the town of Deventer in the first quarter of the 17th century. A legal document dated, 24th August 1651, relates to some court action involving the painter. It seems evident that shortly after he travelled to the Dutch East Indies. Here he must have executed numerous paintings representing fruits and flowers, together with animals. He must also have executed some landscapes. Other Dutch painters in the 17th century were to travel to these newly discovered lands, which had been established by the early Dutch traders. Here most of the trading was for exotic spices, colour dies and other commodities, and for young artists travelling to these far off lands the plethora of rare and exotic birds, animals, insects, fruits and vegetables must have proved overwhelming. The Rijksmusem in Amsterdam owns the signed view of The Castle of Batavia Seen from Kali Besar West of circa 1656 by Beeckman.

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