Aert van Waes

The Life and Training of Aert van Waes

Born in Gouda in 1620, Aert van Waes grew up during the Dutch Golden Age. His early years were shaped by the study of form and line, developing the skills of a draftsman. He did not work in isolation, but rather through the guidance of established hands. He spent his formative time as a student under Wouter Crabeth II, Reinier van Persijn, and David Teniers the Younger.

The practice of etching became a specific part of his technical development. He learned this method from Reinier van Persijn, a skill that required a steady hand and a precise understanding of how ink meets metal. This training allowed him to move beyond simple drawing into the more controlled, etched marks that defined much of his output. His ability to capture detail through sketching and etching suggests a life spent observing the small movements of the world around him.

Social connections often dictated the path of an artist's development. Aert van Waes was a friend of Jan Govertsz Verbyl. The two men shared more than just professional interests; they accompanied one another on travels, moving through different landscapes together. This companionship likely influenced the perspectives he brought back to his home in Gouda, where he lived and worked as a painter of the Baroque period.

Travels and Professional Activity

While his life was centered in Gouda, his training took him far from the familiar streets of the Netherlands. He traveled through France and Italy, moving through these regions to refine his hand and complete his education. These travels allowed him to observe different light and forms before returning to his home base. His professional activity spanned from 1639 until 1664, a period during which he worked with a variety of tools and methods.

He did not limit himself to a single medium. His hands were as comfortable with a brush as they were with an etching needle or a pencil. He worked as a painter, a drawer, an etcher, a draughtsman, and a designer. This versatility suggests a man accustomed to the practical demands of a working studio, moving between the broad strokes of a painting and the fine, precise lines of an etching or a drawing on parchment.

Notable Works and Artistic Subjects

His hands often turned to the quiet, everyday figures found in the streets or the edges of a landscape. In works like Vagabond and Beggarwoman, both created around 1645, there is a focus on those living on the margins. He captured the weight of a basket on a head in his print of a standing fisherman woman, a piece dating from between 1620 and 1664. Even in a simple print from 1645, a woman with folded hands is presented with a stillness that suggests a moment of pause in a larger, unwritten scene.

The artist also explored the more conceptual through etching, looking closely at how the world is perceived. His series on the five senses includes etchings of Gehoor, Reuk, and Face, all produced between 1620 and 1664. These works show a preoccupation with the mechanics of sight, smell, and hearing. He also used the medium to look at the life of the creator himself, as seen in the etching The disappointed painter, which dates from between 1645 and 1705.