Michiel van Musscher

Michiel van Musscher
Self portrait dated 1679.
Birth name	Michiel van Musscher
Born	1645 Rotterdam
Died	1705 (aged 59–60) Amsterdam
Nationality	Netherlands
Field	Painting
Movement	Baroque

Michiel van Musscher (1645–1705) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.

Biography

Portrait of Johannes van Waveren Hudde, burgemeester of Amsterdam and mathematician.

According to Houbraken, he showed a talent for drawing at a young age, and had many teachers, of which he kept a record. His first teacher was Martinus Saeghmolen in 1660 for two months, and in 1661, he took lessons from Abraham van den Tempel. In 1665 he took seven lessons with Gabriel Metsu, and in 1667 he spent three months in Haarlem to take lessons with Adriaen van Ostade. Though his entire education spanned several years, Houbraken was astonished that he became so skilled with so few hours of professional study, and concludes that he must have had a great natural talent that he practiced extensively on his own.

Houbraken wrote that he moved to Amsterdam to work for Jonas Witsen, a wealthy artlover who introduced him to all of his friends as a portrait painter.^[1] He married twice, first to Eva Visscher in 1678 in Buiksloot (Amsterdam), and the second time in 1693 to the widow Elise Klanes. His pupils were Ottmar Elliger and Dirk Valkenburg.^[2]

References

1. ^ (Dutch) Michiel van Musscher biography in De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (1718) by Arnold Houbraken, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature
2. ^ RKD entry on Musscher

Persondata
Name	Musscher, Michiel Van
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1645
Place of birth	Rotterdam
Date of death	1705
Place of death	Amsterdam