Aleida Wolfsen
Active in: The Netherlands
Alternate names: Aleida Wolffsen, Aleijda Wolffsen, Aleida Wolfson, Aleijda Wolfson
Biography
Aleida Wolfsen was a Dutch Golden Age painter who was born in the town of Zwolle to a powerful family. Her father, Hendrik Wolfsen (1615-84), was wealthy and held numerous prominent positions in Zwolle: town magistrate, councilor in the Council of Brabant, and secretary of the General Accounting Office. Her mother was Aleijda Verwers (1626-65), a merchant’s daughter from Zwolle. When Aleida Wolfsen was young, her family moved to the Hague where it seems likely Aleida became a pupil of Caspar Netscher (1639-84), who himself had been a pupil of Gerard ter Borch (1617-81).
Her production consisted primarily of portraits, executed between 1670 and 1691, but she also worked on landscapes. In addition to portraits of prosperous and well-connected women, she painted children with pets as well. It seems she never painted for the art market. Instead, these portraits were commissions that primarily drew from family connections as well as from the Stadtholder’s court and the States General.
In 1667, Aleida married Pieter Soury (1645-95). She had fifteen children, but only ten of them reached adulthood. After a short time in the Hague, Aleida Wolfsen and her family moved back to Zwolle where her husband became mayor in 1667. The turbulent political climate of the Franco-Dutch War forced the family to temporarily relocate to Amsterdam; they moved back Zwolle once the conflict had ended. It has been speculated that Wolfsen later taught painting to her younger cousins, including the well-known painter Aleida Greve (1670-1742). The house that Greve had converted into the Vrouwenhuis had been originally in Wolfsen’s possession. Aleida Wolfsen died in childbirth with her fifteenth pregnancy in 1692. She and the infant were buried in one coffin in the Grote Kerk in Zwolle.
Selected Works
Aleida Wolfsen, Portrait of Geertruid Dorothea van Goltstein, ca. 1680s. Oil on linen, 48.5 x 39.5 cm. Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, Arnhem
Aleida Wolfsen, Portrait of a Lady, ca. 1675. Oil on canvas, 51.5 x 37.5 cm. Private Collection
Aleida Wolfsen, Portrait of Johs. Battista Bartolotti, ca. 1680s. Oil on linen, 48.7 x 39.5 cm. Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, Arnhem
Circle
Daughter of
Hendrik Wolfsen (1615-84)
Daughter of
Aleijda Verwers (1626-65)
Student of
Caspar Netscher (1639–1684)
Cousin and teacher of
Aleida Greve (1670–1742)
Wife of
Pieter Soury (1645-95)
Bibliography
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A Checklist of painters c. 1200-1976 represented in the Witt Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, London. London: Mansell, 1978.
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