Jacob van Campen

In thisDutch name, thesurname is van Campen, not Campen.

Jacob van Campen (2 February 1596 — 13 September 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect of theGolden Age.

Jacob van Campen
Jacob van Campen in his bookImages of the City Hall of Amsterdam in 30 engravings, 1665.
Born	(1596-02-02)2 February 1596 Haarlem,Holland,Dutch Republic
Died	13 September 1657(1657-09-13) (aged 61) Amersfoort,Utrecht,Dutch Republic
Occupation	Architect

Buildings	Mauritshuis Huis ten Bosch Royal Palace

Life

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He was born into a wealthy family atHaarlem and spent his youth in his hometown. Being of noble birth and with time on his hands, he took up painting mainly as a pastime. In 1614, he became a member of theGuild of Saint Luke (in Haarlem the architects and painters were both in the same guild, and many were both, such asPieter Saenredam andSalomon de Bray), and studied painting underFrans de Grebber — a number of Van Campen's oils survive. About 1616 to 1624 he is thought to have lived in Italy. On his return to the Netherlands, Van Campen turned to architecture, applying ideas borrowed fromAndrea Palladio,Vincenzo Scamozzi, and classical influences fromVitruvius. He was primarily responsible for introducing theclassical revival style intoDutch Baroque architecture, combining the native,Dutch brick style with the Vitruvian principles he had learnt to produce "Dutch Classicism", an internationally influential style.

Van Campen was friendly withConstantijn Huygens, and together they designed a new house for Huygens. Even after Van Campen's death, his work greatly influencedJohan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, the designer of the Kleefse gardens (the gardens ofCleve), and onFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. The latter owned a book by Van Campen regardless of the expense. The city hall and city palace ofPotsdam owe a debt to ideas by Van Campen.

Van Campen's first known building was the Coymans house built in 1625 inAmsterdam. In the 1630s, Van Campen andPieter Post designed theMauritshuis inThe Hague, a palace that is now home to a Royal Picture Gallery, and Van Campen alone designed the Netherlands' first theatre,Amsterdam'sStadsschouwburg. About 1645 Van Campen designed the Nieuwe Kerk in Haarlem, a church that influencedChristopher Wren. His best-known work is probably the large Town Hall of Amsterdam (begun 1648), now theRoyal Palace inDam Square.^[1]

Van Campen worked as an architect, a painter and a designer of decorative schemes, like that for the church organ inAlkmaar. His art also influenced sculpture. He was assisted in his work by Pieter Post,Daniël Stalpaert,Matthias Withoos,Philips Vingboons,Artus Quellinus,Tielman van Gameren andRombout Verhulst. During the building of the city hall, Van Campen lived in very expensive lodgings in the nearby Kalverstraat and he spent freely. In 1654 Van Campen (andWillem de Keyser left after an argument, probably in connection with the design of thebarrel vaults. Stalpaert won, but his completion of the project was reported to be less fine than Van Campen's designs.

After a long career, Van Campen died in 1657 in hisbuitenplaats (residence)Randenbroek nearAmersfoort, which he had inherited from his mother, and was buried there. He had expanded it himself and had it decorated byCaesar van Everdingen. Van Campen never married but had one son, Alexander Van Campen.

Designs

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Van Campen was selective in what projects he took on. His best known works are:

TheRoyal Palace, Amsterdam, former city hall. In 1647, his name is mentioned for the first time in connection with the design of the new city hall. It was to be a perfect building, perfect in its proportions and in the message it conveyed to the spectator. Its power lies in its strict and perfect proportions and extremely moderate decoration. Critics loathed the simple entrance - without stairs - on the ground floor.
He is suspected to have had a hand in the alteration of theRembrandthuis at the Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam (1627), and in the design of the castleDrakensteyn atBaarn
The Mauritshuis inThe Hague (1633).
the Theatre of Van Campen (1638), based on the example of Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, in Amsterdam.
thePaleis Noordeinde, a royal palace in The Hague (1640).

As well as houses and palaces, he also designed a number of churches, such as those atRenswoude and atHooge Zwaluwe, and the Nieuwe Kerk in Haarlem. Of that design,Pieter Saenredam made no fewer than three paintings and eight engravings. Furthermore, Van Campen designed gates and towers, e.g. for theWesterkerk andNieuwe Kerk, both in Amsterdam. His paintings and wall decorations (such as those atPaleis Huis ten Bosch), show some similarity with the work ofPaulus Bor, one of the founders of a group of painters calling themselves theBentvueghels.