as a painter of portraits and humorous subjects in London and also in Norwich, where he resided for several years. In 1763 he became a member of the Free Society of Artists in London. His practice was ruined by his vulgar habits. He died at Moorfields on 20 Aug. 1783. There are some mezzotint engravings by various members of the family.
[Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, ed. Wornum; Vertue's manuscripts (Brit. Mus. Addit. MSS. 23076, &c.); Chaloner Smith's British Mezzotinto Portraits; Bryan's Dict. of Painters, ed. Graves.]
VAN DER VAART, JAN (1647–1721), painter and mezzotint-engraver, was born at Haarlem in Holland in 1647, and was a pupil of Thomas Wyck. He came to London in 1674, and first attracted notice as a painter of landscapes (in which he specially excelled), small portraits, and especially still life. Subsequently he was employed by Willem Wissing [q. v.], the portrait-painter, then in fashion at court, to paint the draperies and landscapes in his portraits. Their names appear conjointly as painters on several engravings from portraits by them. Van der Vaart was one of the first artists to practise the art of mezzotint engraving, and is said to have instructed the great engraver, John Smith (1652?–1742) [q. v.], in that art. He was employed by Richard Tompson [q. v.], whose name appears as the publisher of many mezzotint engravings bearing Van der Vaart's name or without it, and also by Edward Cooper, a portrait of whom by Van der Vaart was engraved in mezzotint by P. Pelham. After Wissing's death Van der Vaart continued to paint portraits. Among his sitters were Queen Mary and the Princess Anne. From short sight, however, he abandoned portrait-painting, and in 1713, after selling off all his pictures, he settled in a house in Covent Garden, where he practised chiefly for the remainder of his life as a restorer of pictures, an art in which he attained great skill. He died a bachelor in his house at Covent Garden in 1721, and was buried in St. Paul's Church. He drew his own portrait twice, at the ages of thirty and sixty. A nephew, John Arnold, lived with him for thirty or forty years, and assisted him in his practice.
[Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, ed. Wornum; Vertue's manuscripts (Brit. Mus. Addit. MSS. 23076, &c.); Chaloner Smith's British Mezzotinto Portraits.]
VAN DE VELDE, WILLEM (1610–1693), painter, born at Leyden in 1610, was in boyhood a sailor, but before he was twenty he had already won a certain reputation as a painter of marine subjects. These he executed sometimes in bistre, heightened with white, sometimes in oil, in black and white. His skill won him the patronage of the Dutch states, who put at his disposal a small vessel, in which he could follow the fleets, and even come to very close quarters, during the numerous actions with the English. In 1675 he received an invitation to the English court, in which he performed the same offices as for the states of the Netherlands. He seems to have never left this country again. He was buried in St. James's Church, Piccadilly, where his tombstone bears the following inscription: ‘Mr. William van de Velde, senior, late painter of sea-fights to their Majesties King Charles II and King James II, died in 1693.’ Many of his ‘draughts’ seem to have been carried out in oil by his son, Willem van de Velde the younger [q. v.], but a certain number of effective but rather coarsely painted ‘marines’ are probably by himself. Of such are the twelve sea-battles at Hampton Court Palace and a large picture of ‘Fleets at Sea’ in the National Gallery of Ireland.
[Bryan's Dictionary; Walpole's Anecdotes; Nagler.]
VAN DE VELDE, WILLEM, the younger (1633–1707), painter, born at Amsterdam in 1633, was the pupil of his father, Willem Van de Velde (1610–1693) [q. v.], but seems to have learnt the technique of oil painting from Simon de Vlieger. His occupation during a large part of his life was probably the painting of oil pictures from his father's drawings. He most likely accompanied Willem senior to England in 1675, but there is no record of his presence there earlier than 1677. About 1686 he paid a short visit to Amsterdam. Both father and son were granted a pension of 100l. per annum by Charles II, the former ‘for taking and making draughts of sea fights,’ the latter ‘for putting the said draughts into colours.’ Van de Velde the younger made an enormous number of drawings. It is said that between 1778 and 1780 more than eight thousand were sold by auction. His pictures also are very numerous. Three hundred and twenty-nine are described in Smith's ‘Catalogue Raisonné,’ the great majority being in English private collections. Most of the great galleries are rich in his works, the Louvre being an exception. The National Gallery possesses fourteen examples, most of them very good. Many of his larger pictures represent actions between the English and Dutch fleets, and were painted presumably during his partnership with his father. On these
