About Dirck Dalens I
 

Dutch painter


Dordrecht circa 1600 – 1676 Zierikzee 
 

Landscape painter. It is thought that he was also active as a schoolteacher.
 

Dalens must first have been active in his native Dordrecht, before moving to The Hague, where he joined the Painters’ Guild in 1632. It is generally thought, seeing the stylistic similarities, that Dalens studied in The Hague under Moses van Uyttenbroeck (The Hague circa 1590/1600 – in or before 1647 The Hague). There is no written proof for this, neither in the archives of Dordrecht, nor in those of The Hague.

Another painter who was possibly a pupil of van Uyttenbroeck was Anthonie Jansz. van der Croos (probably born in Alkmaar 1606/07 – probably died in The Hague 1662/63). His early works do also remind of Dirck Dalens I.

 

In January 1627 Dalens had married a local girl in Dordrecht. His two sons and his grandson were all three his pupils:


- Willem (The Hague circa 1628 – 1675 Hamburg);


- Jan (Leiden 1637 – 1681 The Hague);


- Dirck II (Amsterdam 1657 – 1687 Amsterdam).


All three were landscape painters.

Dirck Dalens seems to have had a long career in The Hague with the exception of:


- one year spent in Leyden in 1636/37. In 1636 Dalens had received permission
from the Painters’ Guild to sell 80 paintings, providing that he would leave the town for two years. His father-in-law saw to it that he could return within one year.

- a few years spent in Rotterdam (1662) and Delft (1663).

In 1672, while participating at the valuation of some Italian paintings in The Hague, Dalens was referred to as having spent some years in Italy. There are no further written sources confirming this Italian stay. According to Marijke de Kinkelder from the RKD in The Hague our painter might have gone there after finishing his training as a painter, supposedly around the age of 18.

In 1676 Dalens “got into some trouble” in The Hague, fled from there to Zierikzee, where he was to pass away in the autumn of that very same year.