Jan Pieter Swelinck, Dutch Composer and Organist
1624
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
plate: 22.7 × 14 cm (8 15/16 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.14.1158
Art Historical Context
This engraving by Jan Muller, created in1624, captures the likeness of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, the celebrated Dutch composer and organist whose innovations bridged the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Sweelinck served for decades as organist at Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk, where his improvisations and compositions for keyboard instruments influenced generations of musicians across northern Europe. Produced three years after the composer’s death, the print likely served as a commemorative tribute, preserving his image for admirers and students. Muller, a skilled Dutch engraver active during the Dutc...
About the Artist
Jan Muller · 1571–1628
**Jan Harmensz. Muller (1571–1628)** Born in Amsterdam in 1571, Jan Harmensz. Muller grew up immersed in the world of printmaking, as the son of the prominent engraver, publisher, and book printer Harmen Jansz. Muller. He studied under his father, mastering the engraving trade within the family business, The Gilded Compasses. Around 1589, Muller joined the workshop of Hendrick Goltzius in Haarlem...