Velde, Adriaan Van Der

Velde, Adriaan van der an eminent Dutch painter, was born at Amsterdam in 1639. He early discovered a talent for drawing pictures, and was placed under the instruction of John Wynants. He learned from this master to sketch from nature, and practiced it all his life. He executed several works for the Roman church at Amsterdam, the subjects of which were taken from the life and passion of Christ. The chief of these is the Descent from the Cross. His pictures are held in high estimation; and are to be found only in the finest collections. One, a Mountainous Landscape, in which Jacob, his family, and his servants appear conducting their flocks and herds, was sold in 1765 for $630, and in 1811 for $4600; Van der Velde died at Amsterdam in 1672. See Spooner, Biog. Hist. of the Fine Arts, s.v.