Hendrik Voogd

Hendrik Voogd was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He was born on July 10th 1768 in Amsterdam. He studied painting and drawing at a local Academy and did an apprenticeship with Jurriaan Andriessen who was specialized in wallpaper painting. In 1788 he received financial help from Amsterdam art collector D. Versteegh and left for Rome to get more training in landscape painting.

Voogd stayed in Italy, apart from a short visit to the Netherlands in 1828. He was never married and had no children. In his wide vistas of stone pines, poignant groups of pine trees and rapid waterfalls, he conveyed the greatness of nature. In Italy Voogd befriended many famous landscape painters, like Nicolas-Didier Boguet, Johann Christian Reinhart and Johann Martin von Rohden.

One of his main influences was Claude Lorrain. Because of the similarities in style, he was nicknamed 'Dutch Claude Lorrain'. Despite these influences, Voogd still retained influences from his Dutch origin. Voogd painted with meticulous detail and barely perceptible strokes.

One of his rare letters home shows that he made numerous drawings of Rome and its surroundings in pencil and black chalk. Voogd's works from his early Roman years are mainly drawings in the typical late 18th century linear style, coloured with wax.


Although his paintings are reminiscent of 17th century Italian images, the atmosphere is closer to the romantic art of the 19th century. In Voogd's work, the light is cooler compared to his 17th-century predecessors who immersed their landscapes in the "golden sun". He experimented with unusual lighting effects and lush foliage. In 1806, cattle began to play a prominent role in his drawings and paintings.

Voogd died in 1839 in Rome in the Papal States. In his obituary we read that he was considered as an old-fashioned painter of little importance. In 1959 the discovery of 200 of his drawings in a castle in Holland revived the interest in his artworks.