| Jacob van Campen was trained as a painter by Frans de Grebber in Haarlem. After his apprenticeship, Van Campen spent a long time in Italy (1615-1621), after which he devoted himself mainly to architecture. The Mauritshuis is the first building in which he rigorously applied classicist principles. Later, however, he became famous as the architect of the Amsterdam Town Hall (now the Royal Palace in Dam Square).
There are not many paintings by Van Campen. The Mauritshuis owns two: the Portrait of Constantijn Huygens and Suzanna van Baerle and Mercury, Argus and Io. Van Campen’s reputation as a painter is based mainly on his decorations in the Oranjezaal (Orange Hall) in the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague.
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