Jan Wyck (c.1640 - 1700)

Jan Wyck, the son of artist Thomas Wyck (c.1616-1677), was born in Haarlem, and built a career for himself in England from c.1674.

He became known for his varied military scenes, and painted numerous portraits of King William III on horseback, as well as battle scenes and skirmishes including the Battle of the Boyne and the Siege of Namur. The popularity of these scenes led to them being widely copied and reproduced as engravings. He was patronised by members of the nobility, painting portraits of the Duke of Monmouth, King Charles II’s eldest son, and Gilbert Coventry, the 4th Earl of Coventry, amongst others. 

Wyck also made his name with hunting scenes, topographical and classical landscapes, and portraits of both people and animals. Along with artists such as Rubens and Snyder he is credited with bringing the Dutch equestrian portrait to Britain.

He is included in Horace Walpole’s ‘Anecdotes of painting in England: with some account of the principle artists’, where he is referred to as John Van Wyck, and described as:

 “an excellent painter of battles and huntings; his small figures, and his horses particularly, have a spirit and neatness scarce inferior to Wouvermans; the colouring of his landscapes is warm and cheerful. Sometimes he painted large pieces, as of the Battle of the Boyne, the Siege of Namur etc., but the smaller his pieces the greater his merit.”

Wyck died at Mortlake, Surrey on 26 October 1700.