Jacob van der Ulft

1627 – 1689

Dutch painter and architect. He was the son of the mayor of Gorinchem, and he became the best glass painter of his century, who went to great trouble to reinvent the techniques of Dirk Crabeth and his brother Wouter. Gorinchem and the surrounding towns all had examples of his stained glass work. Despite this talent and becoming mayor of Gorinchem himself, Ulft would go down in history for his own contributions to art in the area of oil painting and engraving old ruins, showing each crack and cranny. He painted many Italianate landscapes with monuments and triumphal arches, but these were based on Italianate prints, because according to Houbraken he had never been to Italy. He was registered in Gorinchem during the years 1652-1683. In 1658 he is registered as making sketches of heraldic shields for the city of Gorinchem, and in 1659 he is mentioned in a notarised document as being a painter and an architect. In 1679 he fled to The Hague for a short period due to accusations of corruption, and in 1683 he left Gorinchem definitely for Noordwijk, where he later died.

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