Jan de Baen
Jan de Baen (20 February 1633–1702) was a
Dutch portrait painter who lived during the Dutch Golden Age. He was
a pupil of the painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer in Amsterdam from 1645
to 1648. He worked for Charles II of England in his Dutch exile, and
from 1660 until his death he lived and worked in The Hague. His
portraits were popular in his day, and he painted the most
distinguished people of his time.
Jan de Baen was born on 20 February
1633 in Haarlem, Holland, Dutch Republic. After his parents died,
when he was a child, he lived with his uncle Hinderk Pyman (or
Piemans) in Emden. Jan de Baen received his first painting lessons
from his uncle, who was a painter himself. From 1645 to 1648 he
lived in Amsterdam, where he was the pupil of painter Jacob
Adriaensz Backer.
After completing his training, he
worked for the exiled court of Charles II of England, but upon the
English Restoration of 1660 did not follow his patron, but moved to
The Hague, where he worked as a portrait painter for the rest of his
life. The Elector of Brandenburg asked him to work at his court in
Berlin, but he refused this invitation. He was the teacher of
Jacobus de Baen (possibly his son), Johann Friedrich Bodecker, Denys
Godijn, Hendrik van Limborch, Nicolaes van Ravesteyn, Petro van
Rijs, Jan van Sweel, and Johannes Vollevens.
He died in 1702 around his 69th
birthday, and was buried in The Hague on 8 March 1702. In his
biographical sketch of Jan de Baen, Houbraken claims that he taught
his son Jacobus to paint, who unfortunately died at 27.
