Albert Eckhout

Who was Albert Eckhout?

Albert Eckhout was a Dutch portrait and still life painter. Eckhout, who was born in Groningen, was among the first European artists to paint scenes from the New World. In 1636 he traveled to Dutch Brazil, where he stayed until 1644, invited by count John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen. There, he painted portraits of the natives, slaves and mulattos of Brazil in the seventeenth century, besides numerous sketches of plants and animals.

Eckhout is also famous for his still-life paintings of Brazilian fruits and vegetables. The majority of his work is now stored at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. In art history, he is taken to be part of Baroque. Minor planet 11241 Eckhout is named for him.