The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Schalcken, Godfried

SCHALCKEN, shäl'kĕn, Godfried, Dutch artist: b. Dordrecht, 1643; d. The Hague, 16 Nov. 1706. He was the pupil of Samuel van Hoogstraten and Gerard Douw. He visited England where he painted portraits, especially one of William III. His best work is in genre, and here he approached though still remaining inferior to his master Douw. He was fond of representing scenes by candle light, though he was scarcely ever quite true in the color representation of such light. When he attempted portraits in full length, as the fashion of the time of Sir Godfrey Kneller demanded, his efforts were not successful, with the possible exception of the portrait of William III, now in the Amsterdam Museum, but he soon became sensible of his error, and again painted on a small scale. Some of his best works are at the museums of Vienna, Dresden, Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, The Hague, and at the Louvre.