DIRK RAFELSZ

See also:

• DIRK RAFELSZ CAMPHUYSEN (1586—1627)

CAMPHUYSEN (1586—1627)  , Dutch painter, poet and theologian, was the son of a surgeon at Gorcum . As he manifested great artistic talent, his brother, in whose charge he was left on the death of his parents, placed him under the painter Govaerts . But at that time there was intense interest in theology; and Camphuysen, sharing in the prevailing enthusiasm, deserted the pursuit of art, to become first a private tutor and afterwards minister of Vleuten near Utrecht(1616) . As, however, he had embraced the doctrines of Arminius with fervour, he was deprived of this post and driven into exile (1619) . His chief solace was poetry; and he has left a translation of the Psalms, and a number of short pieces, remarkable for their freshness and depth of poetic feeling . He is also the author of several theological works of fair merit, among which is a Compendium Doctrinae Sociniorum; but his fame chiefly rests on his pictures, which, like his poems, are mostly small, but of great beauty; the colouring, though thin, is pure; the composition and pencilling are exquisite, and the perspective above criticism . The best of his works are his sunset and moonlight scenes and his views of the Rhine and other rivers . The close of his life was spent at Dokkum . His nephew Raphael (b . 1598) is by some considered to have been the author of several of the works ascribed to him; and his son Govaert (1624—1674); a follower or imitator of Paul Potter, is similarly credited .