John Closterman

John Closterman (also spelled Cloosterman, Klosterman; 1660 – 24 May 1711 (buried)), was a portrait-painter. Born in Osnabrück in the Holy Roman Empire (now in Lower Saxony), he was the son of an artist who taught him the rudiments of design.

Career

In 1679 Closterman went to Paris, accompanied by his countryman Tiburen, and there worked under François de Troy. In 1681 he came to England and painted draperies for John Riley, at whose death, in 1691, Closterman finished several of his portraits. This recommended him to the Duke of Somerset, but he lost the Duke's favour on account of a dispute about a picture of Guercino, specially acquired for Somerset, which was afterwards purchased by Lord Halifax. In 1696 Closterman was invited to the court of Spain, where he executed the portraits of the king and queen; he also went to Italy twice, making several purchases of works of art. On returning to England he obtained much work and married an Englishwoman, Hannah, but she died and was buried on 27 January 1702. According to Arnold Houbraken, Closterman later took a mistress who ruined him by her extravagant habits and ultimately left him in a state of dejection of body and mind that led to his ultimate decline.Jacob Campo Weyerman, who took much of his biographical material from Houbraken, states "Closterman had taken a beautiful mistress who, while he was away in the country, robbed him of his valuables and disappeared, actions which drove the painter into madness".