DOOMER, Herman
(b. ca. 1595, Anrath, d. 1650, Amsterdam)

Biography

Dutch cabinetmaker of German origin who worked in Amsterdam. He was one of the first Amsterdam ebonists, a new group of cabinetmakers who specialised in making pieces of furniture in ebony, and more generally of items made or veneered with hard, tropical types of wood. Since this required very special skills, the ebony workers were recognised as a distinct group within the cabinetmakers' guild in 1626.

He was born in Anrath in Germany and moved to Amsterdam around 1613, where he soon prospered. He bought several houses in Amsterdam and assembled a significant collection of paintings. Rembrandt painted his portrait in 1640 (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), as well as the portrait of his wife Baartgen Martens. Their son, Lambert, worked as an apprentice in Rembrandt's studio.

Doomer not only made cabinets and mirror frames but also produced picture frames; his portrait by Rembrandt lead to speculation that he supplied Rembrandt with frames.



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