Jan Albertsz Rotius

Jan Albertsz. Rotius, Allegorical family portrait as Spes, Fides and Caritas (Hope, Faith and Charity), Kingston Ontario, Agnes Etherington Art Centre.

Jan Albertsz. Rotius (20 October 1624 – 1 November 1666 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter, and father (and teacher) of the flower painter Jacob Rotius.

Biography

Breakfast, National Museum in Warsaw.

Rotius was born in Medemblik, North Holland. He was baptized ‘Albert Jansz. Rootgies’, but he later Latinized his name to Rotius, which was garbled by Houbraken into Roodseus, possibly because in his marriage document he is listed as Rootseijus. According to Houbraken, he heard that his portraits were as good as Bartholomeus van der Helst, but he noted that he had been unable to make this judgement with his own eyes and doubted the veracity of this statement himself. He said that his schuttersstukken were well known, being painted in Hoorn in 1651, '52, and '55, when he was aged 40. This would place his birthdate from between 1612 and 1615, which would fit with his statement that he had been a pupil of Pieter Lastman,^[1] who died in 1633. If he was born in 1624, then he was only 9 years old when Lastman died, which didn't give him much time to learn from him.

According to the Hoorn archives, he married Maartje Ambrosiusdr in 1643.^[2] In the same year he became a member of the Alkmaar Guild of St. Luke.^[3] In his testament dated October 16, 1666, he left all of his prints and drawings to his son Jacob Rotius or Rootius (1644–1682). He died in Hoorn a few days later, aged 42, and was buried in the Grote Kerk in Hoorn. Of his seven children, only three lived to adulthood. Houbraken claimed that Jacob was a pupil of Jan Davidsz. de Heem and was quite successful as a flower painter,^[4] but died of "melancholy" at the age of 50.

Civic guard portraits

First Hoorn schutterstuk by Rotius, 1649

Rotius's schutterstukken were painted quite soon after similar paintings in Amsterdam were completed by van der Helst and Govert Flink. Comparative study shows he was influenced by these paintings, and perhaps was encouraged to achieve similar effects by his patrons. Hoorn competed with Amsterdam at that time as a seaport.

External links

• Portraits in the Westfries museum, Hoorn (Type "Rotius".)
• Recently auctioned works
• Rotius in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
• Works and literature at PubHist

References

1. Jan Albertsz. Roodtseus biography in De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (1718) by Arnold Houbraken, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature
2. Trouwboecken der Noorder- en Oosterkerk (Hoorn)
3. Jan Aelbertsz. Rotius in the RKD
4. Christies lot: Grapes, Corn, Flowers by Jacob Rootius

• B.J.A. Renckens, ‘De Hoornse portretschilder Jan Albertsz. Rotius’, in: Nederlandsch Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 2 (1948–1949), pp. 167–232.
• B.J.A. Renckens, ‘Enkele notities bij het portret van David Pietersz. de Vries’, in: Oud Holland 76 (1961), pp. 113–114.
• Jan Campo Weyerman, De leevensbeschryvingen der Nederlandsche Konst-schilders en Konst-schilderessen, edited by E. Boucquet, H. Scheurleer, F. Boucquet en J. de Jongh, Volume 2, The Hague, 1729, pp. 123–124.
• H.F. Wijnman, ‘De Stillevenschilder Jacob Rotius, in: Oud Holland XLVII (1930), pp. 60–67.
• Adriaan van der Willigen en Fred G. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-life Painters Working in Oils, 1525-1725, Leiden 2003.