Johannes Lutma

Johannes Lutma (1584-1669), a native of Emden in Germany, worked as both silversmith and goldsmith. He was living in Paris around 1615 and settled in Amsterdam in 1621, where he married two years later. There he met and befriended Rembrandt, who made an etching of his portrait. Lutma is known especially for the choir screen he designed for Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk. Almost as characteristic of his oeuvre are the Baroque objects he made in his typical auricular style, often portraying imaginary animals. His son Johannes Lutma II also worked in precious metals and published a series of prints of ornamental designs by his father.