Biography

Koninck was the main exponent of panoramic landscapes in 17th-century Holland, although in his own day he was better known for his domestic scenes and portraits. About 70 of his landscapes survive; they display the influence of Rembrandt. Koninck was born in Amsterdam and trained by his elder brother, Jacob, in Rotterdam. He probably became a pupil of Rembrandt on his return to Amsterdam, where he lived from 1653 onwards. He was also influenced by Hercules Segers, who had experimented with panoramic views in Amsterdam in the 1620s. The chronology of Koninck's work and the nature of its relationship with the landscapes of his contemporaries, notably those of Jacob van Ruisdael, are unclear.