Famous Dutch Painters from Dordrecht, Ancient Capital of Holland

Part 13

30. Ary Johannes Lamme
31. Frans Lebret
32. Willem van Leen
33. Paulus Lesire
34. Jacobus Leveck

Dordrecht is not only known as the oldest city and ancient capital of Holland but also for the many famous painters who were born or lived in Dordrecht during the late Middle ages and later centuries.

The most famous painters from Dordrecht were :

Abraham Bloemaert, Ferdinand Bol, Abraham van Calreat, Albaert, Benjamin Gerritz and Jacob Gerritz CUYP, Pieter Fontijn, Aert de Gelder, Samuel van Hoogstraten, Arnold Houbraken, Willem de Klerk, Frans Lebret, Jacobus Leveck, Nicolaes Maes, Ary Scheffer, Aert and Martinus Schouman, Abraham van Strij, Jan Veth and many, many others.

On the next pages you can find many works from these famous painters who were responsible for many styles of paintings and they immortalized the daily life and landscapes in the 15th to 19th century. Most of their masterpieces are nowadays part of collections in museums all over the world and of which many can be seen in the local Dordrechts Museum.

Ary Johannes Lamme

Dordrecht 1812 - Berg en Dal 1900

Ary Johannes Lamme learned to paint from his father Arnoldus Lamme (1771-1856). In Paris he was taught by his nephews, the brothers Henry (1798-1862) and Ary Scheffer. Besides painting he would be known as art-seller. From 1852 to 1870 he was director of museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Lamme preferably painted subjects from history and genre pieces.

Ary Scheffer at work in the large studio Ary Johannes Lamme, 1851 Oil on canvas 60,1 x 73,4 cm Dordrechts museum   Ary Scheffer at work in the large studio in his house at 16 rue Chaptal, Paris

The small studio Lamme, Ary Johannes 1851 Oil on canvas and panell 60 x 73,5 cm Dordrechts museum   The small studio at the home of Ary Scheffer at 16 rue Chaptal in Paris. In 1850 and 1851 Ary Johannes Lamme immortalized small and large studio of his cousin Ary Scheffer in Paris. The paintings give a nice insight into living and work of a 19th-century painter. In the middle of the studio a girl - probably Scheffers daughter Cornelia - is playing piano. On the left wall hangs a painting of Augustine and Monica.

Paying the tithe Arie Johannes Lamme Oil on panel 71 x 92 cm Private collection

A sign of admiration Ary Johannes Lamme Oil on panel 58 x 41 cm Private collection

Reading the letter Ary Johannes Lamme Oil on panel 51.5 x 39.5 cm Private collection

Frans Lebret

Dordrecht 1820 - Dordrecht 1909

The Dordrecht painter Frans Lebret was a disciple of the romantic painter Willem de Klerk (1800-1876). Later he was director and chairman of the Drawing Society "Pictura in Dordrecht. He painted mainly landscapes and stable interiors with cattle. In his old age he drew from his head still scenes in the city of Dordrecht, which were long gone.

Tree by the water Frans Lebret, 1845 Black chalk, brush and colors 247 x 336 cm Dordrechts museum

Polder landscape with sheep Frans Lebret Oil on canvas 75,5 x 101 cm Dordrechts museum

Woodsy landscape with cattle Frans Lebret, 1846 paneel 69,8 x 90,1 cm Dordrechts museum

Stable with sheep Frans Lebret, 1889 Oil on canvas 150,5 x 201,4 cm Dordrechts museum

Lanschap with sheep at a fence Frans Lebret Oil on canvas 150 x 200 cm Dordrechts museum

Lanschap with sheep at a tree Frans Lebret Oil on canvas 150,5 x 200 cm Dordrechts museum

A shepherd and his flock in an Italianate landscape Frans Lebret, 1860 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm Private collection

The midday rest Frans Lebret Oil on panel 57 x 75 cm Private collection

The Bakery Frans Lebret Pencil, pen and brown ink, water-color, pencil framing lines 27,2 x 36,2 cm Private collection

Cattle resting by a pool Frans Lebret Oil on canvas 58.5 x 74.5 cm Private collection

Herdsmen with cattle in a landscape Frans Lebret Oil on Panel 70 x 90 cm Private collection

The watering stream Frans Lebret Oil on panel 32.4 x 43.5 cm Private collection

Sheep in a meadow Frans Lebret Oil on canvas 71 x 59.6 cm Private collection   Inscribed on the reverse 'The undersigned declared that/this picture has been painted/by himself to the order of Mr/Alb D Huywetter from Antwerpen/Dordrecht/(Holland)...Frans Lebret.

Out to pasture Frans Lebret Oil on canvas 68.5 x 57.2 cm Private collection

A groom tending a horse in a barn Frans Lebret Oil on canvas 76 x 100 cm Private collection

Cattle in a meadow Frans Lebret Oil on panel 34.5 x 41.5 cm Private collection

A walk on the estate Heizicht, Dubbeldam Frans Lebret, 1859 Oil on panel 41 x 111.5 cm Private collection

Willem van Leen

Dordrecht 1753 - Delfshaven 1825

Willem van Leen was christened on February 19, 1753, third child of Jan van Leen and Johanna Koeberg. His father was a painter and owned a jewelry and art store in the Augustinian Kamp, at the corner of the Nieuwstraat in Dordrecht. After training with his father Willem van Leen had lessons from other painters of Dordrecht. On his twentieth he left for Paris, where he was for three years learning painting of flower. Back in Dordrecht in 1776 he joined the national guard the Cloveniers.

Willem van Leen was one of a number of gifted Dutch artists who worked and studied in Paris in the late eighteenth century. There he was influenced by his friendship with the Dutch painter Gerard van Spaendonck, Flower Painter at the King of France, and Redoute's instructor. Despite the older artist's support and influence, van Leen's work exhibits a distinctive character. In Great Flower Painters , Peter Mitchell describes van Leen's oils on panel as his finest works, admirable for their delicate palate and remarkable "softness of touch."

The political unrest in Dordrecht between patriots and William VI of Orange decided Leen in 1788 to go back to Paris. The Grand Duchess of Russia, gave him the contract for the design of wall systems of white Chinese side for the Pavlovsk-palice in Leningrad. Despite the French Revolution in 1789 he remained in Paris to live and work. After his return in 1806 he settled in Delfshaven by his family where his mother lived. He remained unmarried and lived with three cousins who drove a wine-trade.

On November 29, 1811 Willem van Leen was appointed councilor in Defshaven which he remained until his death in 1825. In 1814, he founded a school of art called "Hierdoor verder" 'and mastered a number of students including Johan Hendrik Boshamer (1776-1862), Pieter Fontijn (1774-1839) and Gillis Smak Gregor (1770-1843).

Van Loan took his life in a modest way to participate in exhibitions. For example, in Dordrecht seven flower and fruit pieces of him were exposed. He worked in the tradition of the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, through not aim for renewal.

Van Leen's paintings are in the collections of the Dordrechts museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England and in private collections.

Vase with Flowers Willem Van Leen, 1806 Oil on canvas on panel 86,3 x 65,7 cm Dordrechts museum

Still Life with Flowers and Fruit Willem Van Leen, 1795 Oil on panel 104,7 x 79,6 cm  Dordrechts museum   For painting this still-life Van Leen, even as Abraham van Strij, used detailed drawings of individual flowers. The species used in this painting blooms at different times. The artist can actually never seen them blooming together.

Flowers in a vase on marble pedestal Willem Van Leen  Oil on canvas144 x 88 cm Dordrechts museum   After a learning period at different painters at Dordrecht van Leen stayed three years in Paris, where he focused on the painting of flowers. His many works in this genre by his contemporaries valued as a continuation of a beautiful 17th-century Dutch tradition. The emphasis is not on an underlying (vanitas) symbolism, but the artistic and decorative aspect.

Flower arrangement with bird-nest on stone plinth Willem Van Leen Aquarelle 22,2 x 18,5 cm Dordrechts museum

Still Life with Roses, Iris, a bird and a dragonfly Willem Van Leen, 1821 Oil on panel 13 3/8 x 10 1/4 inches Private collection   In this small and engaging composition, van Leen embellishes the classic botanical still-life composition with the addition of a small bird about to strike at a dragon-fly. Van Leen's Still-Life with Roses... is a fine and delicate painting by a "master" flower painter.

An elaborate still life of flowers in an urn, with a basket of fruit, all resting on a ledge (pair 2) Willem van Leen, 1803 Oil on canvas 193.7 x 115.6 cm Private collection

Still-life of fruit and flowers in baskets on marble socles, in a landscape setting (pair 2) Willem van Leen Oil on canvass 96 x 86 cm Private collection

Roses, chrysanthemums, anemonies and other flowers in a sculpted vase with a bird's nest on a stone ledge Willem van Leen, 1787 Oil on panel 51.5 x 41.3 cm Private collection

Flowers, fruit and dead game on a stone ledge with a sculpture of Mercury beyond Willem van Leen Oil on canvas 81.3 x 59.7 cm Private collection

A fine still life of flowers in a stone vase sculpted with amorini on a stone ledge including a peony, anemonies, old roses, auriculae, chrysanthemums, daisies, larkspur and acanthus leaves, two goldfinches in a bird's nest Willem van Leen Oval 9,3 cm, high, gilt-metal mount Private collection

Paulus Lesire

Dordrecht 1611 - Leiden 1654-1674

Paulus Lesire was the son of a glass and decorative painter from The Hague. Lesire is educated in Dordrecht to become painter, but later moved to The Hague. It is possible that he was a pupil of Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp. Lesire painted mostly portraits and historical scenes. Looking at the compositions and light he used we can see that Lesire was aware of the work of Rembrandt. Probably he has seen this work when he lived in Leiden.

The pennies of the poor widow Paulus Lesire Oil on panel 68,6 x 106,5 cm Dordrechts museum   Paul Lesire depicts on this painting the story of the widow who out of her poverty sacrificed two tokens (Marc 12:41-44).

The remorseful Peter Paulus Lesire, 1644 Oil on canvas and panel 74,7 x 66 cm Dordrechts museum

Portrait of a man Paulus Lesire, 1643 Oil on panel 74 x 59,8 cm Dordrechts museum   Lesire made of an unknown man a sober portrait in the style of Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp, most probalby his master. Cuyp was in the first half of the 17th century a famous portrait painter in Dordrecht. This man is probably Jacob de Witt, father of Johann de Witt.

Portrait of a mathematician Paulus Lesire Oil on panel 68.5 x 60.3 cm Private collection   He is seated three-quarter-length, in a black cloak, holding a stick and a piece of paper, a book of geometry beside him

The departure of Queen Henrietta Maria of England from Scheveningen in 1643 Paulus Lesire, 1644 Oil on Canvas 95.5 x 128.5 cm Private collection

Portrait of Willem Craeyvanger (1616-1659) and Portrait of Christine van de Wart Paulus Lesire, 1651 oil on canvas the first 96 x 69.5 cm the second 96.6 x 69.4 cm. a pair (2) Private collection   The man portrayed half-length, in a black costume with a white collar and cuffs. The woman portrayed half-length, in a black dress with a white collar and cuffs, leaning with her right hand on a red upholstered chair.

The Presentation of the Christ Child to Simeon Paulus Lesire Oil on canvas 101 x 146 cm Private collection

Jacobus Leveck

Dordrecht 1634 - Dordrecht 1675

Jacobus Leveck is one of the few who was for shore a pupil of Rembrandt (1606-1669). In 1655 he came back from Amsterdam to Dordrecht. With a legacy of his father in 1660 he was able to travel to France but he was quickly out of money and returned to Dordrecht.

The arts biographer and painter Arnold Houbraken wrote about Leveck that he was more fund to company then on work. Houbraken wrote that the painter was constantly sick and that he rarely painted. Leveck took care for his blind half brother Aernout, who died in January 1675. He himself died shortly thereafter.

 From Leveck are known some portraits and one painting of a bull. In his work he initially used a loose painting style with sharp contrasts of light, like Rembrandt. Later portraits shows a transition to more elegant, polished work.

Portrait of Adriaen Braets Jacobus Leveck, 1664 Oil on canvas 92,5 x 71,5 cm Dordrechts Museum   The portraits of Adriaen Braet and his wife Maria van der Graeff were painted in Leveck's late period, in a fashionable style. The paintings have both a warm coloring with beautiful gray and dark shades. Behind the couple is a landscape visible with a beautiful villa. In the 17th century this was a sign of wealth and social standing. Adriaen Braet was a merchant, captain of a militia squad and regent of the Arms Orphanage, Old Men and Women's House and the Leprosy-house. He and his wife belonged to the Society, the periphery of the regent position. A beautiful Country house was a luxury they could not really afford.

Portrait of Maria van der Graeff Jacobus Leveck, 1664 Oil on canvas 92 x 70,5 cm Dordrechts Museum   The portraits of Adriaen Braet and his wife Maria van der Graeff were painted in Leveck's late period, in a fashionable style. The paintings have both a warm coloring with beautiful gray and dark shades. Behind the couple is a landscape visible with a beautiful villa. In the 17th century this was a sign of wealth and social standing.

Portret van Mattheus Elliasz van den Broucke Jacobus Leveck, 1665 Oil on canvas 89 x 71,5 cm Dordrechts Museum   Jacobus Leveck painted this elegant portrait in 1665, after a trip to France. Van den Broucke was about 13 years old. Later, in 1711 and in 1716, he was mayor of Dordrecht, although his family did not belong to the local patricians. Matthew is depicted in a regal pose with his right arm resting on a balustrade. This type of portrait, after Italian examples was introduced in the Netherlands by Rembrandt (1606-1669).

Portrait of his mother Jacobus Leveck, 1650s Oil on canvas 91,5 x 71,5 cm Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels

Next : Famous painters from Dordrecht, Part 14