Collection: Nicolaes Berchem

Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1620–1683) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, draftsman, and engraver. Born in Haarlem, he died in Amsterdam. He belonged to the second generation of Dutch Italianate landscape painters.

Berchem specialized in pastoral landscapes, often populated with mythological or biblical figures, allegories, and genre scenes. His Italianate style featured idealized rural settings with hills, mountains, cliffs, and trees, frequently depicted in a golden dawn. He also contributed human and animal figures, known as staffage, to works by other artists.

These Dutch Italianate painters either traveled to Italy or aspired to, collecting sketchbooks filled with classical ruins and pastoral imagery. Berchem's extensive output included numerous paintings, etchings, and drawings, which were widely collected.