Hendrik Voogd

Italian Landscape with Umbrella Pines by Hendrik Voogd, Rijksmuseum, 1807

Hendrik Voogd, (Amsterdam, 10 July 1768 - Rome, 4 September 1839) was a Dutch painter and printmaker, who was active in Italy.

Early years

Beginning in 1783 in Amsterdam Voogd studied at a local Academy and then later apprenticed under the wallpaper painter Jurriaen Andriessen. The financial aid of the Amsterdam art collector D. Versteegh (1751-1822) enabled him to depart in 1788 for Rome to obtain further training in landscape painting.

Italy

It is apparent, from one of his infrequent letters home, that Voogd made numerous drawings of Rome and its surroundings, including Tivoli, Lazio, Lake Albano, Castel Gandolfo, and Lake Nemi. Some of these drawings, executed mostly in pencil and black chalk, consist of motifs taken directly from nature, such as trees and rocks; others portray views. While in Italy, Voogd befriended many famous landscape painters, such as Nicolas-Didier Boguet, Johann Christian Reinhart and Johann Martin von Rohden.

Style

Voogd's works from his first Roman years are primarily drawings with colored wash in the typical late 18th-century linear style. One of his major influences was Claude Lorrain. Due to the similarities in style he was nicknamed the 'Dutch Claude Lorrain'. However, in spite of these influences Voogd still retained influences from his Dutch heritage. He experimented with unusual lighting effects and luxuriant foliage, and from 1806 onwards Italian cattle began to feature prominently in his drawings and paintings. Some of his works can be found at the Rijksmuseum.