Philip van Kouwenbergh was an early 18th century Amsterdam flower still life specialist who rarely signed his paintings; he signed them both “Kouwenbergh” and “Couwenbergh”.

 

 

Dutch painter

Amsterdam 1671 – 1729 Amsterdam

 

Rare painter of still lifes. 

He also painted a few woodland scenes with ruins, flowers and insects.

 

Son of the sculptor Frans van Couwenbergh. 

Philip spent his complete career in Amsterdam.

 

Philip van Kouwenbergh almost never signed his paintings in full; some are monogrammed ‘PK’ or PHK’. This painting is signed Couwenbergh, in 2023 we sold another painting signed Kouwenbergh. Some of his unsigned paintings must go hidden under erroneous attributions to for example the better-known Flemish still life painter Jan van Kessel (1626 – 1679).

 

Our painter’s father was Frans van Couwenbergh, with a C.

Our painter’s name is written today with a K, Philip van Kouwenbergh.

His son, who was a painter is Willem van Kouwenberg, with a K; he dropped the h at the end of his last name.

 

In 1988 Fred Meijer of the RKD, The Hague, published an article in Oud Holland, P. 318 – 321 about Philip van Kouwenbergh. 

 

Fred Meijer found no information about van Kouwenbergh’s artistic training, but seeing the similarities in style and composition he thinks he was very probably a pupil of Elias van den Broeck (1649/50 – 1708) circa 1690. Van den Broeck moved at an early age with his parents from Antwerp to Amsterdam, studied under Jan Davidsz. de Heem in Utrecht in 1669 and followed his master to Antwerp, where he became master in the Painter’s Guild in 1673. He returned to Amsterdam in 1685, where he remained for the rest of his life. 

 

 

Because it is a fully signed Late Baroque masterpiece by Philip van Kouwenbergh.