Jan Blommendael
Dutch Republic · Baroque
The story
In 1676 a young sculptor in The Hague carved a marble bust of William III, prince of Orange, then in his mid-twenties and leading the Dutch Republic in its war against France. The sculptor was Jan Blommendael, and William, who later became king of England, remained one of his most important patrons.
Blommendael was born around 1650, in The Hague or possibly Breda, and probably trained with Rombout Verhulst, the leading sculptor in the Dutch Republic at the time. In 1675 he joined Pictura, the Hague confraternity of painters and sculptors, and in 1699 he became its head. Besides portraits he carved tombs, among them one in the Sint-Laurenskerk in Rotterdam for the rear admiral Johan van Brakel, and in 1692 a relief for the arsenal in Delft.
When William died unexpectedly in 1702, Blommendael left The Hague for Amsterdam. He died there a few years later. The sources disagree on the year, giving dates from 1702 to 1707.
