Nikolaus Knüpfer

Nikolaus Knüpfer
Nicolaes Knupfer's self-portrait, engraved by Pieter de Jode II for Het Gulden Cabinet p 115
Born	Nicolaes 1609 Leipzig
Died	1655 (aged 45–46) Utrecht
Known for	Painting
Movement	Baroque

Nikolaus Knüpfer (1609 – 1655) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Biography

Knüpfer was trained in Leipzig, where according to Houbraken he was apprenticed to Emanuel Nysen. He then moved to Magdeburg where he found work making brushes for artists. He stayed there until 1630, and then moved to Utrecht to work with Abraham Bloemaert. He lived with him for two years and then established his own studio in Utrecht, where in 1637 he became a visiting member of the Guild of St. Luke. He worked on the decorations of the castle Kronborg in Denemarken, and painted figures in the landscapes of Jan Both and Jan Baptist Weenix. Knüpfer was a successful teacher, whose students were great painters after him, such as Jan Steen, Gabriel Metsu, Ary de Vois, and Pieter Crijnse Volmarijn.

Work

Knüpfer painted small scale paintings with biblical, literary, and mythological themes, in addition to the popular genre works of his day. His figures are often in unusual poses, and painted with flowing lines with white accents.

• 
  Couple portrayed with children both alive and dead.
• 
  Hercules Obtaining the Girdle of Hyppolita
• 
  Sophonisba, by 1635

Master-pupil interpretations of the Book of Tobit

• 
  Knupfer's scene from the Book of Tobit where Tobias and Sarah pray while the Angel Gabriel drives away the demon.
• 
  Same scene several years later by his pupil Jan Steen, Museum Bredius.

References

• Cornelis De Bie, Het gulden cabinet van de edel vry schilderconst, Antwerpen 1662, p. 115-116 (engraved portrait p. 115, Knupfer pinx., Pieter de Jode II sculpt.)
• Filippo Baldinucci's Artists in biographies by Filippo Baldinucci, 1610–1670, p. 197 Google books