Willem Pietersz. Buytewech

Willem Buytewech (1591/92-1624

The life of the painter, draughtsman and etcher Willem Pietersz. Buytewech was short: he died at the age of 33. Buytewech was born in Rotterdam, but it was in Haarlem that his artistic talents were able to flourish. In the early seventeenth century he was one of a group of young Haarlem artists. Together with Hercules Segers and Esaias van de Velde he joined Haarlem's St Luke's guildPainters' guildGuilds were associations of people with a common aim or profession. Guilds of painters first appeared in the Netherlands in the 13th century. They were named after their patron saint: St Luke. Craftsmen had to be members of the guild to practice their trade. They were expected to adhere to certain requirements relating to quality and price, but the guilds also had funds to protect their members against hardship, economic or social. An extensive system of apprenticeship was maintained by the guilds. Only a fully-trained master could become a member of a guild. House painters and fine-art painters alike belonged to the St Luke's guild. In the 17th century, however, the artists became increasingly hostile towards the craftsmen, or 'coarse painters'. in 1612. Contemporaries called Buytewech 'Geestige Willem' (Spirited Willem). Buytewech was one of the first Dutch painters to use a group of people carousing as a subject for a painting.