Cornelis Bisschop(Dordrecht 1630 – 1674 Dordrecht)

How to cite
Libby, Alexandra. “Cornelis Bisschop” (2017). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 2nd ed. Edited by Arthur
K. Wheelock Jr. New York, 2017–20. https://theleidencollection.com/artists/cornelis-bisschop/ (archived June2020).
A PDF of every version of this biography is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive ismanaged by a permanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrativeoccurs.

A native of Dordrecht, Cornelis Bisschop was born to an affluent family in February 1630. His father, JacobDionysz Bisschop (d. 1648), was a tailor and proprietor of a well-known Dordrecht inn on the Wijnstraat, DePauw (“The Peacock”).[1] His mother, Anneke van Beveren (d. 1667), came from Utrecht.[2] According toArnold Houbraken, Bisschop studied with Ferdinand Bol (1616–80), a close associate and former pupilof Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69). Bol, also from Dordrecht, was living in Amsterdam by the late 1630s, and itis presumed that Bisschop entered his studio in Amsterdam sometime in the late 1640s. During his time there,
Bisschop likely also met two other Dordrecht artists who had formerly worked with Rembrandt, Samuel van
Hoogstraten (1627–78) and Nicolaes Maes (1634–93).[3] Bisschop returned to Dordrecht by 26 October 1653,
the day he married Geertruyt Botland (d. 1653), also from Dordrecht.[4] The couple’s first child was born lessthan six months later, and their family would ultimately grow to include eleven children by 1674, the time of
Bisschop’s early death at the age of forty-four.
Bisschop’s oeuvre consists of religious and mythological paintings, portraits, genre scenes, and trompe
l’oeil images. During the 1650s and 1660s his paintings reflected the influence of Rembrandt and artists in hiscircle both in their subject matter and style, which is characterized by a warm palette and rich light effects.[5]During the 1660s Bisschop shifted his focus to trompe l’oeil illusionism, perhaps through the inspiration of Van
Hoogstraten. Both artists produced chantourné pictures (images cut in the shape of the persons or objects
they represent), and numerous anecdotes exist describing how these illusionistic images fooled unsuspecting
houseguests. According to Houbraken, visitors to Bisschop’s home were even known to offer tips to one ofhis dummy boards.[6]Bisschop enjoyed success over the course of his career, and he executed works for both local and© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Cornelis Bisschop
Page 2 of 4international collectors. Among his most important Dordrecht commissions was his thirteen-figure portrait of
the regents of the Holy Sacrament Hospital, which he completed in 1671. His work was also sought out by theFrench diplomat Bathasar de Monconys (1611–65), who purchased one of his paintings for the collection ofLouis XIV (1638–1715) in 1663.[7] Almost certainly because of his abilities in creating trompe l’oeil images,
Bisschop was invited by King Charles V (1680–1729) of Denmark to become a court painter in Copenhagen in
1674.[8] The artist died before he could travel to Denmark.

- Alexandra Libby, 2017

© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Cornelis Bisschop
Page 3 of 4Endnotes

1. Clotilde Brière-Misme, “Un petit maître hollandais, Cornelis Bisschop (1630–1674),” Oud
Holland 65 (1950): 24.
2. Arnold Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen(Amsterdam, 1718–21; rev. ed., The Hague, 1753; reprint, Amsterdam, 1980), 2: 220; Forbiographies of Bisschop, see also Walter Liedtke, “Cornelis Bisschop,” in Dutch Paintings in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 2006), 1: 35–36; David De Witt, The Bader
Collection: Dutch and Flemish Paintings (Kingston, 2014), 62.
3. Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler. Vol. 3, B. Keil – J. Ovens (Landau,1983), 1961; Walter Liedtke, “Cornelis Bisschop,” in Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art (New York, 2006), 1: 35.
4. Clotilde Brière-Misme, “Un petit maître hollandais, Cornelis Bisschop (1630–1674),” Oud
Holland 65 (1950): 27.
5. Walter Liedtke, “Cornelis Bisschop,” in Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art(New York, 2006), 1: 35.
6. Arnold Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen(Amsterdam, 1718–21; rev. ed., The Hague, 1753; reprint, Amsterdam, 1980), 2: 220.
7. Bathasar de Monconys, Iournal des voyages de monsieur de Monconys (Lyon, 1665), 128.
8. Arnold Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen(Amsterdam, 1718–21; rev. ed., The Hague, 1753; reprint, Amsterdam, 1980), 2: 222.

Literature
De Monconys, Bathasar. Iournal des voyages de monsieur de Monconys. Lyon, 1665, 128.
Houbraken,Arnold.

DegrooteschouburghderNederlantschekonstschilders

enschilderessen. Amsterdam, 1718–21; revised edition published in The Hague, 1753; reprinted
in Amsterdam, 1980, 2: 220.
Brière-Misme, Clotilde. “Un petit maître hollandais, Cornelis Bisschop (1630–1674).” Oud
Holland 65 (1950): 227–40.
Sumowski, Werner. Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler. Vol. 3, B. Keil – J. Ovens (Landau,1983), 1961.
Liedtke, Walter. “Cornelis Bisschop.” In Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
New York, 2006, 1: 35–36.
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Cornelis Bisschop
Page 4 of 4DeWitt, David. The Bader Collection: Dutch and Flemish Paintings. Kingston, 2014, 62.

© 2020 The Leiden Collection