Matthäus Terwesten (The Hague 1670 - 1757)

Matthäus Terwesten was born in The Hague to Hans Jacob Terwesten, a goldsmith from Augsburg; his mother Catharina came from Berlin. He was one of ten children, with three brothers and two sisters surviving to adulthood. His eldest brother, Augustinus, became a prominent painter, and Mattheus’s first teacher. Matthäus further received training from Willem Doudyns and Daniel Mijtens the Younger. When Augustinus moved to Berlin in 1690, Mattheus completed unfinished works and earned several commissions of his own. In 1695, Mattheus embarked on a European journey, studying at the Berlin Academy of Arts and later traveling through Leipzig, Augsburg, Florence, and Siena, before arriving in Rome. There, he joined the Bentvueghels, an association of Dutch and Flemish artists, adopting the nickname "Arend" (Eagle). During his time in Rome, he created an extensive album of drawings after antique models.

 

After further travels through Venice, Vienna, and Prague, Mattheus returned to The Hague in 1699. He worked on commissions from notable public figures and participated actively in the local drawing academy; later on he became its director. In 1710, he married Thedora van Rheenen, with whom he had five children, two of whom—Augustinus the Younger and Pieter—became painters. Terwesten taught several pupils, including Jan van Gool, as well as his two sons. Following his brother Augustinus’s death in 1711, Mattheus was appointed court painter to Frederick William I of Prussia in Berlin and professor at the Berlin Academy. Despite his role in Berlin, he continued to work in The Hague and received commissions well into his later years. At age 81, he was recorded decorating a courtroom, demonstrating his dedication to his craft. Mattheus Terwesten passed away in The Hague on June 11, 1757, after suffering two strokes.

 

Terwesten is known for his portraits as well as for mythological and allegorical subjects, as well as history pieces. As a decorative painter he painted chimney pieces, overdoors, wall hangings and ceilings for wealthy patrons. The present painting, depicting Time revealing Beauty to a Paintress, is very typical of the artist’s style. It compares very favorably to, for instance, Terwesten’s signed canvas of Truth writing History (sold Sotheby’s London, 3 July 1997, lot 264). In the present picture, Time, shown as a bearded and winged old man with a scythe, lifts up the drapery to reveal the Figure of Beauty, who is reclining on a daybed. The female painter sitting at her easel, with her brushes and palette at the ready, looks on attentively as all is revealed. Although he treated this particular scene only once, Terwesten painted several variations on the subject, such as Time Revealing Truth (sold Sotheby’s New York, 17 January 1992, lot 166).