Abraham Teerlink

Bio

Although born in the Netherlands Teerlink’s work is unmistakably French in style. With the occupation of his country by France and the establishment of the Batavian Republic and French ruled Kingdom of Holland, many younger Dutch artists went to France to study. Teerlink had studied first with two minor landscape painters, Versteegh and Kelderman before entering the studio of Arie Lamme, grandfather of Ary Scheffer. On arriving in France circa 1806 he joined David’s studio, a Mecca for many young artists ready to pay homage to the acknowledged genius of contemporary art. In 1807 Teerlink received a scholarship to study in Rome, leaving the following year where he remained for the rest of his life, a friend and host to many of the next generation of Dutch painters keen to experience the wonders of Italy. While his first teachers had sought to impress upon him the virtues of seventeenth century Dutch painting, his mature work shows that it was the influence of David and Valenciennes that made the greater impact. At the same time he proved ready to adopt a less formal approach than that of the older generation of French painters and in his Roman landscapes demonstrates a preference for naturalism over the classical ideal. While he remained a respected and popular teacher with Dutch art students in Rome, by the time he died at the age of seventy-nine his work was considered rétardataire.