18th C Dutch Old Master Drawing by Elias van Nijmegen: Semiramis Overdoor Design

View Similar Items

Jan Peeter Verdussen - La Campagne de Rome - Roman Countryside - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740ca

Jan Peeter Verdussen - La Bataille - The Battle - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740s

(Circle of) Willem Drost - 17th C Dutch Old Master Ink & Wash Painting Biblical Figures Rembrandt Pupil

Cornelis Schut - 1600’s Flemish Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Biblical Figures Group on paper

Hendrick V. Tavernier - View of the Kagermeer

French School - Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing St. Anne & The Virgin Mary with Cherubs

Biagio Pupini - The Abduction of the Sabine Women , a Renaissance drawing by Biagio Pupini

Carle Vernet (Antoine Charles Horace Vernet) - Pair of 18th Century watercolour drawings by Old Master Carle Vernet

Theodore Fort - Battle, Knights on Horses - China Ink and Watercolor by T. Fort - 1840s

Gaetano Dura - Woman - Original Ink Drawing and Watercolor by G. Dura - 19th Century

Jan Pieter Verdussen - Landscape - Pencil and Watercolor by Jan Pieter Verdussen - 1750

Michela De Vito - Costume of Napoli - Ink and Watercolor by Michela De Vito - 1830s

1 of 7

Elias van Nijmegen
18th C Dutch Old Master Drawing by Elias van Nijmegen: Semiramis Overdoor Design
circa 1730

About the Item

Elias van Nijmegen (Nijmegen 1667 – 1755 Rotterdam) Semiramis Receiving News of the Revolt of Babylon: Design for an Overdoor Pen and brown ink, watercolour, watermark Arms of Amsterdam, 211 x 183 mm (8.3 x 7.2 inch) Signed ‘E. v: Nijmegen’ Provenance Private collection, Germany ~ Elias was the son of the marble-painter Herbert van Nijmegen, who died when Elias was only twelve.[1] He was trained by his elder brothers in painting decorative schemes of flowers and ornamental vases for ceilings and other interior decorations. In 1689 Elias became a member of the Leiden Guild of St Luke, and in 1694 he executed decorative paintings for the Princess of Orange at the Stadtholderly court in Leeuwarden. He established his studio in Rotterdam and married Johanna Stierman there in 1701 and was Dean of the Guild of St Luke from 1702 to 1740. Their son Dionys van Nijmegen (1705–1798) was trained by his father and collaborated on decorative schemes with him, including ceilings and overdoors decorated for the palatial mansion of Gouda’s burgomaster Willem van Strijen on the Westhaven canal, which survive in situ. By an extraordinary survival, a large group of some 320 drawings and designs by the Van Nijmegen studio remained together, comprised of some 250 drawings and one sketchbook, and was purchased by the Rijksprentenkabinet of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in 1968.[2] It is the only ensemble of such designs from a single studio practice to have survived from this period. The drawings by Elias are almost invariably executed in pen and brown ink and embellished with coloured washes. His handling is highly recognisable, particularly quick and rather angular and nervous, though his finished painted were executed in a smooth manner. Only a small number of Elias’s drawings in the Rijksmuseum are signed, in lettering very comparable to the signature on our sheet. Our particularly impressive drawing can for instance be compared to the signed drawing of an allegory of History taught by Truth (see last fig.).[3] The semicircular lower edge of our drawing suggests this was a design for an overdoor painting, which was usually part of a larger painted scheme, with other paintings placed in carved mouldings above fireplaces and in ceilings. A typical example of a painted work by Elias van Nijmegen is the Antiochus and Stratonice in the Museum Rotterdam.[4] This scene has only recently been identified as Queen Semiramis receiving the news of the revolt of Babylon: of legendary beauty, Semiramis was one of the founders of the Assyrian empire of Niniveh. Interrupted at her toilette by the news of a revolt, the warrior-queen demonstrated her determination as a ruler by refusing to finish combing her hair until the rebels had been defeated by her armies. The subject was rarely depicted by Dutch artists – or at least few scenes are identified today. ~ 1. For the artist, see: J.W. Niemeijer, ‘De ateliernalatenschap van het Rotterdamse schildersgeslacht Van Nijmegen’, Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 17 (1969), pp. 59-111; The James A. de Rothschild bequest at Waddesdon Manor. Drawings for architecture, design and ornament, London 2006, pp. 683-86; P. Bakker, ‘Crisis? Welke crisis? Kanttekenigen bij het economisch verval van de schilderkunst in Leiden na 1660’, De zeventiende eeuw 27 (2011), pp. 232-69; p. 250; J. van Vught (red.), ‘Nijmeegse biografieën. Deel 3’, Jaarboek Numaga 60 (2013), pp. 11-151. 2. See Niemeijer, op. cit. 3. Pen and brown ink, coloured washes, 233 x 190 mm, inv. no. RP-T-1968-265. 4. Oil on canvas, 319 x 263 cm, Museum Rotterdam, inv. no. 11226.

Creator:
Elias van Nijmegen (1667 - 1755)
Creation Year:
circa 1730
Dimensions:
Height: 8.31 in (21.1 cm)Width: 7.21 in (18.3 cm)
Medium:
Ink,Watercolor
Movement & Style:
Old Masters
Period:
Early 18th Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Gouda, NL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU116014261942

18th C Dutch Old Master Drawing by Elias van Nijmegen: Semiramis Overdoor Design

View Similar Items

Elias van Nijmegen
18th C Dutch Old Master Drawing by Elias van Nijmegen: Semiramis Overdoor Design
circa 1730

About the Item

1740s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Jan Peeter Verdussen
La Campagne de Rome - Roman Countryside - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740ca, 1740ca

1740s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Jan Peeter Verdussen
La Bataille - The Battle - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740s, 1740s

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

17th C Dutch Old Master Ink & Wash Painting Biblical Figures Rembrandt Pupil, 1650's

Early 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

1600’s Flemish Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Biblical Figures Group on paper

Late 19th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Hendrick V. Tavernier
View of the Kagermeer, c. 1875

Late 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

French School
Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing St. Anne & The Virgin Mary with Cherubs

Recently Viewed

18th C Dutch Old Master Drawing by Elias van Nijmegen: Semiramis Overdoor Design

View Similar Items

Elias van Nijmegen18th C Dutch Old Master Drawing by Elias van Nijmegen: Semiramis Overdoor Designcirca 1730

About the Item

1740s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Jan Peeter VerdussenLa Campagne de Rome - Roman Countryside - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740ca, 1740ca

1740s Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Jan Peeter VerdussenLa Bataille - The Battle - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740s, 1740s

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

17th C Dutch Old Master Ink & Wash Painting Biblical Figures Rembrandt Pupil, 1650's

Early 17th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

1600’s Flemish Old Master Ink Wash Drawing Biblical Figures Group on paper

Late 19th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Hendrick V. TavernierView of the Kagermeer, c. 1875

Late 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

French SchoolItalian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing St. Anne & The Virgin Mary with Cherubs

Recently Viewed

Elias van Nijmegen
18th C Dutch Old Master Drawing by Elias van Nijmegen: Semiramis Overdoor Design
circa 1730

Jan Peeter Verdussen
La Campagne de Rome - Roman Countryside - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740ca, 1740ca

Jan Peeter Verdussen
La Bataille - The Battle - Drawing by J. P. Verdussen - 1740s, 1740s

Hendrick V. Tavernier
View of the Kagermeer, c. 1875

French School
Italian Old Master Ink & Wash Drawing St. Anne & The Virgin Mary with Cherubs