Abraham Blooteling

Mezzotint, portrait of Constantijn Huijgens after Bernard Vaillant 1690. Work is in top condition. There is another copy in the National Portrait Gallery in London, and one in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Abraham Bloteling (also Blooteling) (Amsterdam, baptized December 2, 1640 - buried there on January 20, 1690 in the Nieuwezijds Chapel) was a Dutch draftsman, etcher and engraver. [1] Bloteling was born in Amsterdam in 1640 as the son of Abraham Bloteling van Delft and Geertruyt Jacobs van Oosterwijck from Delft. He was a student of the print artist Cornelis van Dalen with whom he lived and whose property he inherited in 1665. Van Dalen had appointed him sole heir by will in 1664. In the period between 1672 and 1678, Bloteling worked in England together with his brother-in-law Gerard Valck. He was invited by David Loggan to come to England where his work was much appreciated. He was also well known as an engraver in Holland. His prints became famous in which he used mezzotints. An art form that was also called black art. He made tools himself to perfect this art form. Much of Bloteling's work is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. These works include the portraits of various 17th century admirals, such as Johan Evertsen, Michiel de Ruyter and Witte de With. He was the teacher of artists such as Johannes van Munnickhuysen and Abraham Meindertsz. van der Wenne. Bloteling died unmarried in January 1690 at the age of 49 in a house on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. (wikipedia)