Joachim Anthonisz Wtewael, August 1566 – August 1, 1638, was a Dutch painter, draftsman, and engraver associated with Northern Mannerism. He was born and spent most of his life in Utrecht. After training in glassmaking and engraving under his father and Josua de Beer, he traveled to Italy and France in the late 1580s while in the service of the Bishop of Saint-Malo. There he encountered the work of the Fontainebleau School and the international Mannerist style, influences that remained central to his art throughout his career.

Wtewael became one of the leading Dutch Mannerist painters of the generation before the rise of naturalism in the Dutch Republic. He is known for religious subjects, mythological scenes, allegories, portraits, and cabinet paintings executed on copper as well as larger works on canvas. His paintings are characterized by complex compositions, vivid color, and elongated figures. Although active during the lifetimes of artists such as Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt van Rijn, he retained a highly personal Mannerist style rather than adopting newer Baroque conventions.

In addition to his artistic career, Wtewael was a successful flax merchant and a prominent citizen of Utrecht, serving on the city council. His sons Peter and Jan Wtewael also became painters, though neither achieved his reputation. Today his works are held in major collections including the Louvre Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mauritshuis, Centraal Museum, Museo Nacional del Prado, and Rijksmuseum.

Self-Portrait, 1601
Oil on canvas, 3.9 x 2.9 in
Centraal Museum, Utrecht

The Great Flood, 1595
Oil on canvas, 58.2 x 72.6 in
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg

Cephalus and Procris/The Death of Procris, 1595–1600

Oil on canvas, 51.1 x 38.8 in

Saint Louis Art Museum

 

The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, 1600
Oil on canvas, 66.6 x 49.3 in
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri

Lot and His Daughters, c 1600
Oil on canvas, 66.8 x 49.8 in
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles

Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, 1601
Oil on copper, 8.1 x 6.1 in
Mauritshuis, The Hague

Portrait of Christina Wtewael van Halen, 1601
Oil on canvas, 3.90 x 2.98 in
Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands

The Golden Age, 1605
Oil on copper, 8.9 x 12 in
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Battle between the Gods and the Giants, c 1608
Oil on copper, 6.1 x 8 in
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

Perseus and Andromeda, 1611
Oil on canvas, 70.8 x 59 in
Louvre Museum, Paris

The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis, 1612
Oil on copper, 16.7 x 20.6 in
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

The Kitchen Maid, c 1620–1625
Oil on canvas, 40.6 x 28.4 in
Centraal Museum, Utrecht

The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1625
Oil on panel, 24.4 x 39 in
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Venus in the Forge of Vulcan, c 1600–1610
Pen and brown ink with wash, 13.3 x 9.2 in
Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis

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