Wtewael Joachim – Dutch painter of the Mannerist and Baroque periods, although the definition of “Dutch” in relation to the painting of the Northern Netherlands before the separation of the seven United Provinces from the Spanish Netherlands in the 17th century remains controversial. Wtewael was born in 1566 in Utrecht in the family of an engraver. The surname of the Dutch artist in European countries at different times was also read as Wtewael, Wtejval, Wtivael. At the age of fifteen, Joachim Wtewael began his artistic career as a glass engraver under the guidance of his father in his hometown of Utrecht.

In 1586-1592, the artist traveled to France and Italy (Padua), where he studied the works of the great masters of the Renaissance. Wytewael belonged to the generation of mannerists, his works differ from the works of his Haarlem like-minded people, first of all, by their brighter and more colorful colors.

In the paintings of Joachim Wytewael, the main scene is usually pushed far into the depths of the composition, and the artist populates the entire foreground with secondary characters or a crowd of spectators, depicted in mannered, broken poses, the open red, blue and yellow colors of whose clothes create an elegant, festive spectacle.

In fact, the heyday of Utrecht painting in the 17th century is directly connected with the name of the artist Joachim Wytewael, whose style is marked by Italian influence, at the same time romantic-heroic (in paintings on historical themes) and quite realistic (in portraits).