Esaias Boursse

Nothing is known about the education of Esaias Boursse, other than that he travelled to Italy in about 1650 to study the great Renaissance examples.

Boursse's financial position will not have been good, since in 1661 he sailed with the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, on the ship Amersfoort.

Boursse drew the inhabitants, landscapes and city views, which have been preserved in an album which can be found in the print room of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Boursse could not earn a living by painting alone and therefore had to look for an alternative source of income, like Jan Steen (who was also an innkeeper) and Johannes Vermeer (who was also an art dealer).

Works by Boursse to be found online are: His work is also part of the collections of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, the Frits Lugt-collection (Fondation Custodia) in Paris and the Johannesburg Art Gallery.