Petrus van Schendel (1806-1870)

        I had to add this amazing painter of night scenes. I found him first as a landscape painter with the two night seascapes from the bottom of his page, but than I discovered his night scenes wich are amazing!
       Born at Terheyden North Brabant on April 21st, 1806, Petrus van Schendel studied at the Antwerp Academy under Mathieu-Ignace van Breen (1773-1839), a painter of historical subjects. He then worked in Amsterdam for two years before moving to Rotterdam in 1832 where he made himself a reputation as a portrait painter. He remained there until 1838. He resided in The Hague until his death in Brussels in 1870. Petrus van Schendel was a prolific artist, exhibiting regularly in Amsterdam, Antwerp and The Hague between 1827 and 1867. He also exhibited in Brussels and Ghent, and won a gold medal for "Market Scene by Moonlight" exhibited in Brussels in 1845 and again at the landmark 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester with a painting entitled "A Fish Market". He exhibited at the Royal Academy, London in 1855 and 1856. Van Schendel traveled extensively throughout Europe. He became famous for his depiction of the dramatic effects of light in darkness emanating from candles, lamps and torches as seen in this piece. Van Schendel became a member of the Royal Academy in Amsterdam in 1834, and a member of Arti Sacrum in Rotterdam. His works can be found in museums in: Amsterdam (The Hague and Rijksmuseum), Rotterdam (Museum Boymans van Beuringen) , Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Melbourne, Montreal, Nice and Stuttgart.