Dominicus van der Smissen

Dominicus van der Smissen, or Van der Schmissen (28 April 1704, in Altona – 6 January 1760, in Altona) was a German painter, known primarily for portraits.

Self-portrait (1739/40)
An Allegory of Autumn

Life and work

He was born to a family of merchants who were originally from Brabant. As Mennonites, they fled religious persecution to live in Schleswig-Holstein, which was then part of Denmark. They eventually settled in Altona where his father, Hinrich van der Smissen, founded one of the city's largest trading houses.

He was a student of Balthasar Denner. In 1730, he married Denner's sister, Catharina (1693–1778). His father-in-law, Jakob Denner, was a Mennonite preacher.[1] Their son, Jakob (1735–1813), also became a painter and later worked as a drawing professor in Altona.[2]

Very little else is known about his life; except that worked as an itinerant portrait painter. Around 1738, he was living in Altona and, the following two years, was a court painter in Braunschweig. During the remainder of the 1740s, he was in Dresden and Amsterdam. The 1750s found him in London. When he fell ill with gout, he returned to Altona in hopes of being cured; but his condition worsened until he became paralyzed and soon died.[3]

As a Freemason, he was a member of several lodges, notably Minerva zu den drei Palmen in Leipzig, of which he became a member in 1747.[4]

Most of his works were in private collections. A large number were in Hamburg. Many of them can no longer be located.[5]

References
  1. Ute Haysessen: Denner, Jacob. in: Biographisches Lexikon für Schleswig-Holstein und Lübeck. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982. Vol.6, ISBN 3-529-02646-8, pg.76.
  2. Georg Kaspar Nagler (1846), "Smissen, Jakob van der", Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon oder Nachrichten von dem Leben und den Werken der Maler, Bildhauer (in German), München: E. A. Fleischmann, vol. 16: Schoute–Sole, p. 497 (Google Books)
  3. Der neue Rump. Lexikon der bildenden Künstler Hamburgs, Altonas und der näheren Umgebung., revised edition of the Lexicon by Ernst Rump (1912). Wachholtz, Neumünster 2005, ISBN 3-529-02792-8 pg.418.
  4. Nachweis der Freimaurerei (PDF)
  5. Alfred Lichtwark: Das Bildnis in Hamburg,Vol.I. Hamburg, 1898, pp.144–146 (Dominicus van der Smissen is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive).

Further reading
  • "Smissen, Dominicus van der". In: Hans Vollmer (Ed.): Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Vol.31: Siemering–Stephens. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1937, pg.165.
  • Hamburgisches Künstler-Lexikon. Vol.1: Die bildenden Künstler., Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 1854, pg.234, (Online).
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