Andries Both
Andries Both (1612/1613 - 23
March 1642), was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter, one of the
bamboccianti, and brother of Jan Dirksz Both.
Both was born in Utrecht, the son
of a glass painter, and studied under Abraham Bloemaert. According
to Joachim von Sandrart, Andries and his brother Jan cooperated on
the paintings, with Jan painting the landscapes and Andries the
figures, though this view has been revised in the 20th century.
Andries stayed in Rouen in 1633, and he traveled on to Rome, where
is documented from 1635 to 1641. He first shared a studio with a
fellow painter from Utrecht, Jan van Causteren. In 1638 his brother
joined him, living on the Via Vittoria in the parish of San Lorenzo
in Lucina and perhaps both joining the Accademia di San Luca and the
group of painters under the influence of Pieter van Laer called the
Bentvueghels. In 1641 the brothers traveled back to Holland, but
Andries met his death in Venice on the way, drowning in a canal as
he was returning from some festivities.
His work is noted for its humorous
and outrageous quality, mixed with objectivity and harsh reality,
depicting the seamier side of Italian life with broad strokes. The
style, known as Bambocciata, after the nickname of its originator,
Pieter van Laer, known as il bamboccio, "the toddler" because of his
physical deformities, depicted scenes of the low life, often
grotesque and shocking to the aristocracy, used to a more idealized
style of art.
