(b Dordrecht, 28 Mar. 1660; d Amsterdam, 14 Oct. 1719). Dutch painter and writer on art. His paintings are now forgotten, but he is important for his large biographical work De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (The Great Theatre of Netherlandish Men and Women Painters, 3 vols., 1718–21). This was intended as a sequel to van Mander's Schilder-boeck of 1604 and is the most important sourcebook on 17th-century Dutch art. Arnold's son Jacobus (1698–1780) was a leading portrait engraver. His work includes engraved plates after his father's designs for the Groote schouburgh.