Philippe Wouverman Biography
Philips Wouwerman (Haarlem, 24 May 1619 – Haarlem, 19 May 1668) was a Dutch painter and draftsman of the Golden Age. He belonged to a family of artists: both his father, Pouwels Joostenz., and his younger brothers Jan and Pieter were painters. He was a pupil of Frans Hals and probably also of his father, who died in 1642 and whose works are not known. According to Cornelis de Bie, in addition to studying with Frans Hals, Philips took lessons from the painter of equestrian subjects Pieter Verbeck, which would explain his remarkable aptitude for representing horses in various shapes and contexts. In 1640 he returned to Haarlem and on 4 September of the same year he joined the local Guild of Saint Luke. In the following years his presence in this city is mentioned several times: in the years 1641-1642 as having the pupil Koort Witholt, in 1645 as commissioner of the guild, in 1666 as having new pupils. Wouwerman continued to paint until his death: his last known and dated work is from 1668. From 1638 to 1639 he lived in Hamburg, where he married the Catholic Annetje Pietersdr. van Broeckhof from Haarlem and where he worked at Evert Decker's atelier. His first dated work dates back to 1639, entitled Military Camp, of a lower quality level than his subsequent works. During his lifetime he probably enjoyed a certain amount of wealth since his daughter Ludovica married in 1672 with a dowry of 20,000 florins.
