Jonas Suyderhoef1613 - 1686
Born: 1613, Haarlem, Netherlands
Died: 1686, Haarlem, Netherlands
Jonas Suyderhoef was an eminent seventeenth century Dutch engraver. Considering his renown, it is surprising how little is known about his life. Spending the entirety of his career in Haarlem, he produced 138 engravings. The earliest is dated 1641 while the last is marked 1669. It is assumed that he studied and apprenticed under painter and engraver Pieter Soutman, as the two artists collaborated often. While most of Suyderhoef's oeuvre consists of portraits based on the Dutch masters, Rubens, Hals, Van Dyke, and others, he also produced some mythological scenes. He utilized a refined and delicate engraving technique, which allowed him to achieve varied gradations of half-tones in his work. In 1677, he entered the Haarlem Guild and served as the organization's dean in 1678.
The National Museum of Wildlife Art owns one of Suyderhoef's mythological scenes, Satyr Family Playing with Leopards, after Pieter Bodding van Laer. The engraving contains a poetic Latin passage at the bottom alluding to the idea that mythological creatures can interact with animals in a peaceful manner, but the intrusion of man causes the animals to become cruel and predatory.