HOOGHE, Romeyn de

Dutch etcher, painter and caricaturist. He is best known for his political caricatures of Louis XIV of France and for his prints glorifying William III, Stadholder of the Netherlands and King of England. During his career, de Hooghe produced over 3500 prints. He also illustrated books, and his illustrations can be found in some of the most important texts of his period.

In 1668 de Hooghe was in Paris, where he produced some book illustrations, but he returned to Amsterdam, where from 1670 to 1691 he illustrated the annual newsheet Hollandsche Mercurius. Early in 1687 he was living in Haarlem following a dispute with the Amsterdam Church Council. In 1687-8 he was a Commissioner of Justice in Haarlem, and in 1688 he built a house and a drawing school. He also made a large map of the city of Haarlem.

De Hooghe is an important representative of the late Dutch BaroqueGLOSSARYThe period in art history from about 1600 to about 1750. In this sense the term covers a wide range of styles and artists. In painting and sculpture there were three main forms of Baroque: (1) sumptuous display, a style associated with the Catholic Counter Reformation and the absolutist courts of Europe (Bernini, Rubens); (2) dramatic realism (Caravaggio); and (3) everyday realism, a development seen in particular in Holland (Rembrandt, Vermeer). In architecture, there was an emphasis on expressiveness and grandeur, achieved through scale, the dramatic use of light and shadow, and increasingly elaborate decoration. In a more limited sense the term Baroque often refers to the first of these categories. The development of the Baroque reflects the period's religious tensions (Catholic versus Protestant); a new and more expansive world view based on science and exploration; and the growth of absolutist monarchies.. His style is characterized by strong contrasts of lights and darks and an expressive composition. In his prints he combined contemporary personalities with allegorical figures. His prints are numerous, but few of his drawings survive and his paintings are rarer still. He created popular topical and satirical prints, but also drew pornographic illustrations as well as designing the gardens of Het Loo palace. With his extensive oeuvreGLOSSARYThe complete body of works created by an artist. he offers us an insight into the final decades of the Dutch Golden Age.