Job Adriaenszoon
Berckheyde
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(27 January 1630, Haarlem - 10 June 1698, Amsterdam)
was a Dutch artist of the 17th century, active in Haarlem,
Amsterdam, and The Hague.
Job Berckheyde was
apprenticed on 2 November 1644 to Jacob Willemszoon de Wet, and his
master's influence is apparent in his first dated canvas, "Christ
Preaching to the Children" (1661), one of his few biblical scenes.
On 10 June 1653 he repaid a loan from the Haarlem Guild of Saint
Luke. Job was the elder brother and tutor of Gerrit Adriaenszoon
Berckheyde and during the 1650s (whether before or after Jan's
admission to the Guild in 10 March 1654 is unknown) the two brothers
made an extended trip along the Rhine to Germany, stopping off at
Cologne, Bonn, Mannheim and finally Heidelberg. The brothers are
said to have worked in Heidelberg for Charles I Louis, Elector
Palatine (with Job producing portraits and hunting scenes, and
receiving a gold chain from the Elector in reward) but were
ultimately unable to adapt to court life and so returned to Haarlem,
where they shared a house and perhaps a studio.
The Elector's gold
chain may be the one he wears in his early Self-portrait (1655), his
only documented work from the 1650s. Job is better known for his
later work, which consists mainly of interior views of Saint Bavo’s
church in Haarlem and simple genre scenes recalling those of his
Haarlem contemporaries Adriaen van Ostade and Jan Steen. Less
prolific than his brother, but more varied in his output, producing
bible and genre scenes as well as cityscapes. Confusion between
their works may have resulted from the similarity of their
signatures, where Job’s j resembles Gerrit’s g. Job also signed his
work with an H (for Hiob or Job) and with the monogram HB.
