KUIJL, Gerard van

Dutch painter from Gorinchem, often confused with Gysbert van der Kuyl from Gouda. He was active from about 1625 until his death in 1673. Only a few dated works by him are known, dated between 1638 and 1665.

Van Kuijl is recorded for the first time in Utrecht in 1625 when he acted as a witness to the will of Sophia Coopmans, the wife of the painter Gerrit van Honthorst. From this it may be inferred that Van Kuijl and his fellow witness Alexander van Wevelinchoven were pupils of Honthorst. Both men subsequently travelled to Italy, where a Gerardo fiammingo or Gherardo pittore is recorded in 1629 living in Rome in the house of Giovanni del Campo (Jean Ducamps) on the Via Margutta. After the death of his friend that same year, Van Kuijl remained in Rome for a further two years, as a member of the community of Dutch artists known as the Bentveughels, where he acquired the nickname Stijbeugel or “Stirrup”. No paintings from this Italian period have survived.

By 1632 he had returned to his native town and soon after married. Between 1638 and 1642 he and his family lived briefly in Utrecht, but after this he is documented back in Gorinchem, where he stayed until his death in 1673.

He is known for religious and genre works in the style of Caravaggio.