Philips Wouwerman

Dutch Golden Age painter Philips Wouwerman (1619-1668) became the most accomplished 17th-century Dutch painter of horses, treating subjects from cavalry battles to elegant hunting parties with unmatched skill. Born in Haarlem, he trained with his father and possibly Frans Hals before briefly fleeing to Hamburg in 1638 to marry a Catholic girl against his Protestant family's wishes. Returning to Haarlem in 1640, he joined the painters' guild and developed a remarkably versatile practice encompassing battle scenes, hunts, peasant festivities, and landscapes with travelers.

Wouwerman's masterpieces from 1650-1660 beautifully combine imaginary southern landscapes with Dutch atmosphere, populated by horses of all breeds shown in dynamic motion. Art historian Frederik Duparc calls him "undoubtedly the most accomplished and successful 17th-century Dutch painter of horses." His pictures commanded high prices during his lifetime and were even more sought after in the 18th century, when European collectors built vast holdings. The Hermitage in St. Petersburg and Dresden's Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister preserve extensive collections from princely acquisitions. However, the realistic standards that emerged in the mid-19th century diminished his reputation, as critics judged the very qualities that once made him popular as too refined and picturesque. A 2009 retrospective traveling from Kassel to the Mauritshuis helped revive scholarly interest. Works also hang at the Louvre, the Rijksmuseum, and the Museo del Prado.