Leiden Guild of St. Luke

The Leiden Guild of Saint Luke refers to three artist collectives in Leiden; the Leidsche St. Lucas Gilde dating from 1648, the newer Leidse Tekenacademie established in 1694, and the collective known as Ars Aemula Naturae (art competes with nature) established in 1799.

Leiden seems to have not had a specific guild for painters prior to March 10, 1648, when Gerard Dou and Abraham Lambertsz van den Tempel signed a charter and founded the Leidse Sint Lucasgilde with his colleagues Gabriel Metsu, Jan Steen, Joris van Schooten, David Bailly and Pieter de Ring.

After the change of governance that the siege of Leiden caused, Joris van Schooten issued his first proposal to the city council for a St. Luke Guild in 1609 and again in 1610.

[2] Guilds were disbanded during the French occupation, so the collective became a society and in 1799 the name changed to Ars Aemula Naturae, which still exists today.

The building is a rijksmonument and contains some rare paintings on the ceiling by one of the earliest guild members, Martin Zaagmolen.