Joachim Anthonisz Wtewael

Joachim Anthonisz Wtewael (also spelled Uytewael) (1566, Utrecht - Aug 1, 1638, Utrecht) was a notable Dutch painter and engraver. Wtewael began his career engraving glass with his father in their hometown of Utrecht. In 1586, he began six years of voyaging through France and Italy, specifically Padua, where he began to paint. Returning to Utrecht in 1592 at the age of twenty-five, Wtewael joined the saddlemakers’ guild as a painter and began producing paintings, drawings, engravings, and stained glass. One of the last Mannerist painters, Wtewael stuck to the tradition even as most painters adopted the naturalistic style. He became one of the leading Dutch exponents of Northern Mannerism. His highly distinctive, charmingly artificial style, which remained untouched by the naturalistic developments happening around him, was characterized by acidic colours and elegant figures in wilfully distorted poses. The best collection of his work, including a self-portrait (1601), is in the Centraal Museum, Utrecht.