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b.1628 The Hague, The Netherlands, d. 1697 The Hague, The Netherlands
Constantijn Huygens the Younger was the son of statesman and poet Constantijn Huygens the Elder and brother of physician Christiaen Huygens, who invented the wave theory of light. After going to Leiden to study in 1644, Huygens succeeded his father as secretary to stadtholder Frederick Henry, traveling throughout Europe and keeping the first of many diaries.
After Frederick Henry's death, the Netherlands had no stadtholder for twelve years, leaving Huygens unemployed. Huygens had studied drawing as a youth and now applied himself to making portraits and figure studies. Beginning in 1664, he created large landscapes with watercolor washes.
In 1672 Huygens became secretary to William III, captain-general of the Dutch armed forces. He accompanied the stadtholder on campaigns in the North and South Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, and England, where William was crowned king in 1688.
Until about 1680, Huygens sketched at every opportunity, almost always in pen and brown ink, creating pictures to accompany his diary text. Most are small-scale renderings of spots he visited, often with a high viewpoint showing a panoramic view. Huygens's style resembles that of his friend, lawyer and amateur draftsman Jan de Bisschop.
