Bartholomäus Bruyn (c. 1530 – between 1607 and 1610), usually called Barthel Bruyn the Younger to distinguish him from his father of the same name, was a German painter active in Cologne. He is noted mainly for his portraits.
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He was born in Cologne, where he trained in his father's workshop. From about 1547, he worked with his father and his older brother Arnt on a series of 57 scenes from the New Testament for the cloisters of Cologne's Karmelitenkloster.[1] His only signed painting, a diptych of Christ Carrying the Cross and Vanitas (1560, in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn), has served as a touchstone for scholars who have identified Bruyn the Younger's body of work by style.[1]
His portraits are similar in style to those of his father, but are slightly simpler.[2] The sitters are usually depicted half-length against a flat background; the face is the center of attention, but costume details are crisply described, and prominence is given to the hands. Bruyn typically worked within a limited palette of harmonious colors: black, white, gray, and browns, enlivened by limpid flesh tones.[1] His paintings are noted for their "effective contrasts of light and dark areas and exquisite rendering of surface textures".[2]
After his father died in 1555, Bruyn inherited the workshop and continued to serve the same clientele.[1] Like his father, he was active in the civic affairs of Cologne. He was elected to the Cologne City Council in 1567, 1580, and 1607.[1] His failing eyesight caused him to cease painting and close the shop around 1590.[1] He died in Cologne between 1607 and 1610.
Notes
editReferences
edit- Oxford Art Online: "Bartholomäus Bruyn (ii)"