Petrus Henricus Theodorus (Pierre) Tetar van Elven, (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, August 30, 1828 - Milan, May 1, 1908), was a Dutch painter and etcher from the 19th century with a preference for architecture, landscapes and Italian cityscapes (vedutas).

 

Life and work: Van Elven was a Dutch painter and etcher from the 19th century with a preference for architecture, landscapes and Italian cityscapes (vedutas). He also painted some genre paintings with the French High Society.

 

Pierre was the son of the painter Johannes Baptist Tetar van Elven (1805 - 1839) and Sophia Francisca Noël. Sophie Hendrik was his sister, born in Brussels in 1830, Joseph Edouard was his brother, born in Amsterdam in 1832. The architect Martinus Gerardus Tetar van Elven, one of the founders of Arti et Amicitiae. and the painter Paul Tetar van Elven were respectively his uncle and cousin. The Tetar van Elven family lived in a building in Spinhuissteeg (number 16).

 

He started his training in Amsterdam, but left for The Hague where he continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Art. Pierre left for Milan around 1853; in 1855 he lived in Rome. Between 1856 and 1863 he was in Turin, where he married Anna Maria Angela Felicita Fumao (1831-?) (or Annette Fumero) on May 13, 1856 and three daughters were born. He was appointed court painter to Victor Emmanuel II of Italy before 1861 and produced several paintings that supported the Risorgimento. In 1866 he left and perhaps traveled to Tunisia and Turkey with Tinco Lycklama à Nijeholt, whom he portrayed several times in Oriental clothing. In 1869 he lived in Paris. Around 1873 he moved back to Amsterdam and moved into a building at Plantage Muidergracht number 33. There he lived with his wife and children. In an unknown year he returned to Milan, where he died. His works hang in Milan, Genoa and Turin, but also in Haarlem.