Dirk Rafelsz Camphuysen Biography | Poet

CAMPHUYSEN, DIRK RAFELSZ (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.