Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp

Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp painted in a loose, energetic style with strong light and dark contrasts. His biblical scenes, peasant interiors and beach pictures have a rough, sketchy handling and warm browns, and the dramatic lighting shows the influence of Rembrandt.

He was born in Dordrecht in 1612 into a family of painters and glass designers. He learned from his half-brother Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp and was the uncle of Aelbert Cuyp, the great landscape painter. He painted religious subjects, genre scenes, soldiers, beach views and landscapes, and died in Dordrecht in 1652.

The Adoration of the Shepherds and The Angel Opening Christ’s Tomb show his taste for a single strong burst of light in darkness. Compare his free brushwork with his nephew’s smoother finish.