17th-18th Century Dutch

Painter of landscapes and seascapes; watercolourist and printmaker.

A Dutch painter active in England, he was admitted to the London Company of Painters-Stainers in 1677.

Also known as J. G. der Aeltera or Griffier the Elder, he learned landscape painting and printmaking under Roelant Roghman (h. 1620-1686). His exact date of birth is not known, but in 1700 he was registered in the Leiden painting academy as being 48 years old. In 1695, a trip to Holland by boat ended in shipwreck and he lost a large part of his works. However, this did not prevent him from travelling to London again on several occasions.

He produced countless views of the Rhineland and of the English countryside. Also noteworthy are his series of plates and drawings of birds.