Eight landscapes. Plate 1: Two trees growing on a mound next to a pond.

Hermann Naiwincx (1623-unknown), was a Dutch Golden Age painter, etcher, draughtsman and tapestry trader, best known for his landscapes. Alternate names include: Hermann; Nauwinck, Naiwinx, Nouwynx and Nauwynck. He was active in Amsterdam from 1648-1650 and in Schoonhoven in 1651. Naiwinx’s success as an etcher is based on two series of landscape prints based on his own designs, which were published in Amsterdam by Clement de Jonghe, who also published prints by Naiwincx's far better-known older contermporary, Rembrandt. This print comes from the set known by the British Museum as the Eight Landscapes. These etchings all represent hilly wooded landscapes with a panoramic viewpoint and show the artist’s familiarity with the Italian tradition of landscape painting. Of the 16 landscape drawings now attributed to Naiwinx, most are executed in chalk and wash or pen and ink. His earliest work is thought to be a group of Dutch landscape scenes with farmhouses. Naiwinx’s paintings clearly demonstrate his eclecticism; he made use of motifs borrowed from other artists and made variations on them: he combines the Italianate tradition with the more overtly Dutch works of his better known contemporaries Jacob van Ruisdael and Jacob Salomonsz. van Ruysdael. After 1651 there is no trace of Naiwinx, and his supposed residency in Hamburg could well be based on his business trips there as a merchant. It is unknown whether he moved to Hamburg, or died there on one of his business trips.

Te Papa currently has currently has eight etchings by Naiwinx in its collection, which all depict Italianate landscapes. At the left of this etching a still pond reflects the trees at the water’s edge. To the edge of the pond, we see a large rock with two trees growing atop it. A road sweeps up the right-hand side of the etching. The set was presented to the Colonial Museum by Bishop Ditlev Monrad in 1869 and forms part of Te Papa's foundation art collection.

See: Wikipedia, ‘Hermann Naiwincx’. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Naiwincx

Dr Mark Stocker  Curator, Historical International Art   March 2019