De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen - Houbraken, Arnold 1660-1719 (The Hague Swart Boucquet Gaillard, 1753)
The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters and Paintresses, or 'De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen' is a series of artist biographies with engraved portraits written by the 18th-century painter Arnold Houbraken. It was published in three volumes as a sequel to Karel van Mander's own list of biographies known as the Schilder-boeck. The first volume appeared in 1718, and was followed by the second volume in 1719, the year Houbraken died. The third and last volume was published posthumously by Houbraken's wife and children in 1721. This work is considered to be a very important source of information on 17th-century artists of the Netherlands. The Schouburg is listed as one of the 1000 most important works in the Canon of Dutch Literature from the Middle Ages to today.
Houbraken kept to a system of importance where capitals meant very important, and lower case were honorable mentions. Though the capitalized names were meant for the index, the index of the first volume was far from complete at the time of publication. The second edition of all three books, from 1756, contains an improved index.
Translated, the title of the book is Theatre of Painters and Paintresses, indicating that Houbraken wrote about women painters, or schilderessen. However, the list of women he included in the book is really quite short. Though he included short biographies of very many painters who were closely related to women painters, the only paintresses he included by name were: Artemisia Gentileschi, Anna Francisca de Bruijns, Mayken Verhulst, Anna Maria van Schurman, Margaretha van Godewijk, Maria de Grebber (sister of Pieter de Grebber), Maria Potter, Alida Withoos, Catharina Oostfries (from a glaspainting family, married glasspainter Claes van der Meulen), Maria van Oosterwijck, Geertgen Wyntges (who he mentions as being the servant of Maria van Oosterwijck), Anna Katrina, Catharina Rozee (1632–82), Adriana Spilberg (daughter of Johannes Spilberg), Rachel Ruysch, the three sisters Anna Maria van Thielen, Françoise Katharina van Thielen, and Maria Theresa van Thielen, Marie Duchatel, Diana Glauber, Maria Sybilla Merian, Margaretha Wulfraet, and Johanna Koerten Blok. Of these, he included illustrations of only three women: Schurman, Merian, and Koerten-Blok. Houbraken also mentioned two women poets; Gesina Brit and Catharina Questiers.
extended by Johan van Gool in 1750, see H2-036
Originally published in 1718
Ex libris Dr. A. Bechtolt, Munchen 1947 (manuscript)
Keywords: 18th Century (1701-1800); Fine art; Biography; History; Netherlands