Abraham Johannes Ruytenschildt was active as an artist as well as a drawing teacher. He was a member of Teekengenootschap (gekleed model) onder de spreuk Zonder Wet of Spreuk (Drawing society (dressed model) by the adage Without Law or Saying.
During it's existence between 1808 and 1819 drawing society Zonder Wet of Spreuk (Withour Law or Saying) counted seventeen active members (among which were artist and dealers) of which Albertus Bondgeest (1786-1849) and Ruytenschildt were among the most prolific draughtsmen. The artists gathered mostly at the house of member Gerrit Jan Michaëlis (1775-1876) on monday evenings between the months of November and March.
Inspired by their seventeenth century predecessors Cornelis Bega (1631/21-1664), Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde (1638-1698) and Adriaen van de Velde (1636-1672), they sketched after living models who were always dressed and never served as nude models, though often depicted barefoot. The studies drawn at Zonder Wet of Spreuk show mostly serene poses dressed in rural fashion and were often literally pasted as staffage into landscape paintings by it's members.[1][2][3]
This large sheet with three studies of the same figure drawn from three different vantage points, shows a man of middle age wearing a fur cap. Contrary to the Amsterdam based drawing society Zonder Wet of Spreuk, the fur cap is known to be a typical tradition from the Dordrecht drawing Academy where the brothers Abraham (1753-1826) and Jacob van Strij (1756-1815) gave lessons.
[1]R.J. te Rijdt, Figuurstudies van het Amsterdamse particuliere tekengenootschap "Zonder Wet of Spreuk" (ca. 1808-1819). Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 38 (1990), p. 223-244.
[2]P. Knolle, 'De Amsterdamse stadstekenacademie, een 18de-eeuwse 'oefenschool' voor modeltekenaars', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 30 (1979), p. 1-41.
[3]R.J. te Rijdt, Nederlandse figuurstudies 1700-1850.
Rijksprentenkabinet Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, No. XXV 5 februari - 1 mei 1994.
