Jan van Kessel
Illustration — The Amsterdam City Hall with the old Weigh House on the Dam (the weigh house was dismantled during the French occupation). Jan van Kessel (1641 or 1648 – 1680) was a Dutch Golden Age draftsman and landscape painter who made many cityscapes of Amsterdam. His work is often confused with the works of contemporary painters with the same name.
Also recorded as Jan van (1641-1680) Kessel · Jan Thomasz. van Kessel · Johan Kessel · Johan van Kessel
Jan van Kessel

Jan van Kessel · The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund · CC0
- Nationality
- Dutch Republic
- Occupation
- painter · draftsperson
- Known for
- View of a Forest · A Waterfall (Cascade) · The Heiligewegspoort in Amsterdam in Winter
- Languages
- Dutch
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Illustration — The Amsterdam City Hall with the old Weigh House on the Dam (the weigh house was dismantled during the French occupation). Jan van Kessel (1641 or 1648 – 1680) was a Dutch Golden Age draftsman and landscape painter who made many cityscapes of Amsterdam. His work is often confused with the works of contemporary painters with the same name.
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wikidata · Q2631423
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is Dutch. Places of work recorded in the authority are Amsterdam. Works named in the authority record are View of a Forest, A Waterfall (Cascade) and The Heiligewegspoort in Amsterdam in Winter. Work by Jan van Kessel is recorded in the collections of Nationalmuseum, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, M Leuven, Amsterdam Museum and Wallraf–Richartz Museum.
According to Houbraken he was born in Amsterdam in 1648 and made clever farm scenes that he first drew from life before making his oil paintings. Houbraken went on to mention that he was best known for his winter scenes and died in 1698. Houbraken couldn't discover whether he was related to the Jan van Kessel of Antwerp, who was mentioned in Cornelis de Bie's book Het Gulden Cabinet. According to the RKD he was the son of the framemaker Thomas Jacobsz van Kessel, and the pupil of the landscape painter Jacob van Ruisdael in Amsterdam. He is known for cityscapes, beach scenes, winter landscapes and architectural works. Many of his works are similar to those of van Ruisdael and have been taken as his, sometimes after faked signatures were added.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1641
Jan van Kessel born at Amsterdam.
1680
Jan van Kessel died at Amsterdam.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jan van Kessel Biography in De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (1718) by Arnold Houbraken, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature
- 2.Jan van Kessel (1641-1680) in the RKD
- 3.Slive, Seymour, Dutch Painting, 1600–1800, p. 205, Yale UP, 1995,
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The authorities additionally record the headings Jan van (1641-1680) Kessel, Jan Thomasz. Van Kessel, Johan Kessel, Johan van Kessel and Jan Van Kessel. His recorded language was Dutch.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
19,065 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Jan van HelmontArtist
- Jan van HoofArtist
- Jan van HuchtenburghArtist
- Jan van HuysumArtist
- Jan van Kessel the ElderArtist
- Jan van Kessel the YoungerArtist
- Jan van MierisArtist
- Jan van OsArtist
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