Enoch Seeman (older)

Enoch Seeman (born 1661 in Gdansk, date of death unknown) - Polish painter of portrait of Dutch origin. His father was a descendant of the Flemish Mennonites, the painter Issac Seeman (1640-1730), the creator of etching and copper engraving. Enoch surpassed his father's painting skills, studied painting at his brother Isaac's studio in Elblag, and then went on artistic journeys. In 1680 he returned to Elblag, where he was admitted to the congregation of Mennonites. In 1683 he settled in Gdansk, on 5 December of the same year he married Susanna Ordonn, with whom he had seven children. After presenting his paintings, he was freed for the artist's pain and was allowed to make portraits outside the guild and to give drawing lessons and painting. Between 1683 and 1698 he was a city painter and fell in conflict with Georg Hansen, who was an elder of the church. He accused Enoch Seeman of painting portraits as a city painter (landscapes). Seeman dismissed the accusations by pointing out that many landscaping artists also create signage without permission, which does not raise any suspicion. The case was not resolved initially, and Enoch Seeman continued to paint both city views and portraits. It was not until 1697, when the publication of the publication "Offenbahrung und Bestraffung des Gergen Hansens Thorheit", that the senior congregation had forbidden the practice of portrait painting and the censorship of his paintings. At the protest of Enoch, Seeman abandoned the role of urban painter and went to Warsaw, where he served at the royal court of Augustus II. In 1704 he went to London with his son Enoch, his fate is unknown. Bibliography

wiki