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Title: The Standard Galleries - Holland
Author: Esther Singleton
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THE STANDARD GALLERIES
HOLLAND
[Illustration: JAN VERMEER
View of Delft]
THE STANDARD GALLERIES
HOLLAND
BY
ESTHER SINGLETON
_Author of "Dutch and Flemish Furniture," "Great Pictures
Described by Great Writers," etc., etc._
WITH FORTY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS
[Illustration: A. C. McClurg & Co Logo]
CHICAGO
A. C. MCCLURG & CO.
1908
COPYRIGHT
A. C. MCCLURG & CO.
1908
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England
_All rights reserved_
Published October 10, 1908
THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.
_Preface_
When a tourist who, having mapped out his itinerary in accordance with
the time at his disposal for a European trip, arrives at a city for
seeing which he has allowed two or three days at the utmost, the first
question he puts to a fellow traveller, the hotel clerk, or his Baedeker
is, "What must I see?"
First, there is the city itself: its streets, bridges, canals, parks,
and drives. Then there are famous churches, city halls, and other
ancient buildings, including city gates and castles in the immediate
neighborhood. Perhaps there is a palace, and most certainly one or more
museums of art and antiquities. The tourist gazes his fill on
architecture, stone and wood carving, exterior and interior; but above
all he feels that he must make the best use of his opportunities of
seeing the pictures, the fame of which has spread into all civilized
countries. His time is short. He is therefore grateful for a guide that
will direct him to the beauties and celebrities of the famous local
picture-gallery, and point out to him the qualities of the paintings as
well as tell him something of the art of the masters and of the school
to which they belong. It is important first for him to know what he
should see, and secondly what he should see in it beyond the bare facts
he can gather from the catalogue.
On returning home with a few photographs of the canvases that have
struck his fancy, he is also pleased to renew his acquaintance with the
gallery in the pages of a modest work that does not go too deeply into
art questions beyond the grasp of the ordinary layman. Such a guide and
companion this book aims to be; it leads the tourist rapidly through the
most important picture-galleries of Holland, and points out the pictures
that all the world talks about; and gives some account of the Dutch
masters, their qualities and characteristics as exemplified in their
works, there and elsewhere. It does not pretend to be exhaustive, and
confines itself almost exclusively to the consideration of the examples
of native schools.
On going through a gallery the visitor, in accordance with his
individual tastes, will frequently be halted by a picture whose fame has
not reached him, but whose beauty appeals to him quite as much as the
celebrities with which he is familiar from numberless reproductions,
such as Potter's Bull, Rembrandt's Night Watch, or Snyder's Boar Hunt.
The traveller is tempted to linger over the little pictures of the
Little Masters, the charming interiors, marines, landscapes, and still
life of the galaxy of painters of the seventeenth century. It is for
this reason, therefore, that for illustrating the following pages I have
selected many of the less familiar examples of the art of that period.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was a sound art critic as well as a great
painter--an unusual combination of qualities--described with fine
appreciation the pleasure derived from the contemplation of the works of
the Dutch school. He says:
"The most considerable of the Dutch school are Rembrandt, Teniers, Jan
Steen, Ostade, Brouwer, Gerard Dow, Mieris, Metsu, and Terburg,--these
excel in small conversations. For landscapes and cattle, Wouvermans,
P. Potter, Berchem, and Ruysdael; and for buildings, Venderheyden. For
sea-views, W. Vandervelde, jun., and Backhuysen. For dead game, Weenix
and Hondekoeter. For flowers, De Heem, Vanhuysum, Rachael Roos, and
Brueghel. These make the bulk of the Dutch school.
"I consider those painters as belonging to this school, who painted
only small conversations, landscapes, etc. Though some of these were
born in Flanders, their works are principally found in Holland--and to
separate them from the Flemish school, which generally painted figures
large as life, it appears to me more reasonable to class them with the
Dutch painters, and to distinguish those two schools rather by their
style and manner, than by the place where the artist happened to be
born.
"Rembrandt may be considered as belonging to both or either, as he
painted both large and small pictures.
"A clearness and brilliancy of coloring may be learned by examining
the flower-pieces of De Heem, Huysum, and Mignon; and a short time
employed in painting flowers would make no improper part of a
painter's study. Rubens's pictures strongly remind one of a nosegay of
flowers, where all the colors are bright, clear, and transparent.
"A market woman with a hare in her hand, a man blowing a trumpet, or a
boy blowing bubbles, a view of the inside or outside of a church, are
the subjects of some of their most valuable pictures; but there is
still entertainment, even in such pictures--however uninteresting
their subjects, there is some pleasure in the contemplation of the
imitation. But to a painter they afford likewise instruction in his
profession; here he may learn the art of coloring and composition, a
skilful management of light and shade, and indeed all the mechanical
parts of the art, as well as in any other school whatever.
"The same skill which is practised by Rubens and Titian in their large
works, is here exhibited, though on a smaller scale. Painters should
go to the Dutch school to learn the art of painting as they would go
to a grammar school to learn languages. They must go to Italy to learn
the higher branches of knowledge."
In attempting to be of some service to the art lover who has no leisure
for extended and independent study, I have by no means relied entirely
upon my own impressions and observation.
In describing the pictures, I have drawn largely on the writings of the
best English, French, German, and Dutch art critics and
historians,--Crowe, Reynolds, Blanc, Burger, Havard, Fromentin, Michel,
Mainz, Wurtz, Bode, Bredius, and many others.
When so many authorities disagree with one another in the spelling of
the names of the Dutch artists, I have endeavored to avoid all criticism
by adopting the spelling used in the official catalogues of The Hague,
Amsterdam, and Rotterdam galleries; and in a few instances these are not
agreed.
For valuable aid in compiling this work, my thanks are due to Mr. Arthur
Shadwell Martin.
E. S.
NEW YORK, August 1, 1908.
_Galleries Included_
PAGE
THE HAGUE GALLERY 1
THE RIJKS MUSEUM 109
THE STEDELIJK MUSEUM 193
THE TOWN HALL, HAARLEM 211
THE BOIJMANS MUSEUM, ROTTERDAM 217
_Illustrations_
THE HAGUE GALLERY
PAGE
Vermeer, View of Delft _Frontispiece_
Paul Potter, _Vache qui se mire_ 10
Rembrandt, Portrait of Himself as Officer 14
Rembrandt, Homer 16
F. Bol, Admiral de Ruyter 24
Moeyaert, The Visit of Antiochus to the Augur 32
Ruisdael, Distant View of Haarlem 40
A. van de Velde, A Dutch Roadstead 48
P. Wouwermans, The Hay Wain 50
P. Wouwermans, The Arrival at the Inn 52
Dou, The Good Housekeeper 60
Ostade, The Fiddler 66
Ter Borch, The Despatch 70
Metsu, The Amateur Musicians 74
Rubens, Helena Fourment 100
THE RIJKS MUSEUM
Moreelse, The Little Princess 118
Mierevelt, Prince Maurits of Nassau 120
Van der Helst, Company of Captain R. Bicker 126
Hobbema, The Water Mill 130
Hackaert, Avenue of Ash-trees 132
Maes, The Spinner 136
Cuijp, Fight between a Turkey and a Cock 140
Cuijp, Shepherds with their Flocks 142
Jan van Goyen, View of Dordrecht 144
W. van de Velde, The Ij, or Y, at Amsterdam 150
F. Snyders, Dead Game and Vegetables 152
M. d'Hondecoeter, The Floating Feather 154
Asselijn, The Swan 156
A. de Vois, Lady and Parrot 164
F. van Mieris, The Grocer's Shop 172
P. de Hooch, The Country House 176
Jan Steen, The Parrot Cage 178
Jan Steen, The Happy Family 180
Jan Steen, Eve of St. Nicholas 182
THE STEDELIJK MUSEUM, THE TOWN HALL, HAARLEM AND THE BOIJMANS MUSEUM
Mauve, Sheep on the Dunes 196
Israëls, Fisherman's Children 198
Roelofs, Marshy Landscape 200
A. Neuhuys, By the Cradle 202
Mesdag, Sunrise on the Dutch Coast 204
Israëls, Old Jewish Peddler 206
J. Maris, Two Windmills 208
Frans Hals, Reunion of the Arquebusiers of St. Andrew. 214
Bisschop, Winter in Friesland 226
Mauve, Cows in a Shady Nook 236
Klinkenberg, View of the Vijver at The Hague 246
Jongkind, View of Overschie in Moonlight 256
The Standard Galleries
of Holland
THE HAGUE GALLERY
THE OLD MAURITSHUIS
Not far from the Binnenhof, on the Vijver, where the principal historic
buildings of The Hague are grouped, stands the Mauritshuis, now the home
of one of the most famous collections of paintings in Europe. Originally
it was the palace of Prince John Maurice of Nassau, Governor of Brazil,
who, on his return to his fatherland in the year 1644, found it
completed and took up his residence there.
This splendor-loving prince had had this building erected to please his
own tastes by the court architect of The Hague, Pieter Post, after the
plans of Jacob van Campen, the designer of the Dam Palace in Amsterdam
and other buildings; and for the decoration of the interior he had sent
rare and costly woods from Brazil. Everything was heavily gilded and
painted; and, in particular, a very artistic staircase attracted
universal admiration. Brazilian landscapes painted by Frans Post, richly
carved chimney-pieces, and exotic objects of every kind adorned the
halls; but, alas! in 1704 all this magnificence was destroyed by a fire,
and only the walls of the palace remain.
=The Restored Building made into an Art Gallery.=--The exterior of the
building was restored just as it was originally; but the interior was
finished in a much simpler style that does not in the least suggest the
splendor of the past.
It was not until the year 1820 that the Mauritshuis was devoted by royal
decree to its present use,--the sheltering of the royal picture
collection, which was at that time combined with the Cabinet of
Rarities, now in the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam.
=History of the Collection.=--The collection has an interesting history
as a whole; and the majority of the pictures have their own special
history. The nucleus of the gallery formed the collection of the last
Stadtholder of the Netherlands, William V. of Orange.
The Princes of Orange were art-collectors as early as the beginning of
the sixteenth century. Although we do not know much regarding the art
tastes of Prince Maurice of Orange, who died in 1625, yet we learn from
a document that he employed Esais van de Velde as a court painter. On
the other hand, we do know that his brother, Prince Frederick Hendrik,
was a collector of fine taste and a Mæcenas. He employed a great number
of important artists, among whom were Rembrandt, Honthorst, Dirck
Bleker, Cornelis Vroom, Christiaen Couwenberch, Cornelisz Jacobsz Delff,
Thomas Willeborts, Moses van Uyttenbrouck, Jacob Backer, Gonzales
Coques, Frans Pietersz de Grebber, Dirck Dalens, Gerrit van Santen,
Adriaen Hanneman, Nicholaes de Helt Stocade, and Dirck van der Lisse.
Besides works by these artists, he acquired in Antwerp pictures by
Rubens, Paulus de Vos, Adriaen van Utrecht, and others. To the Jesuit
Father Soghers he even gave a golden palette made in The Hague by the
goldsmith Hans Coenraet Brechtel. No wonder that his widow, Princess
Amalia of Solms, following the ideas of her dead husband, employed
Jordaens, Van Thulden, De Grebber, Casar van Everdingen, Honthorst,
Lievens, Solomon de Bray, Pieter Soutman, and Cornelis Brisé to decorate
the House in the Wood.
At her death in 1675, she left a collection of two hundred and fifty
pieces, which were divided among her four daughters. Some of these
pictures are now in Dessau and Moscow, and others in Prussian castles.
William III., who gained the English throne, had a fine picture-gallery,
of which the portrait-painter, Robert Duval was the director. The
greater part of this collection was sold in Amsterdam in 1713; but a few
of these pictures are still in The Hague Gallery. The latter, however,
owes its importance and distinction to the collection of William V.
=The Collection of William V. of Orange.=--This prince purchased his
treasures at the best auctions of the day, such as the Lomier, De la
Court, Braamcamp, and Slingerlandt collections. A German painter,
Tethardt Philip Christian Haag, was made the director of this gallery,
which was established in the Buitenhof. When the French entered The
Hague in 1795 these pictures were carried to Paris by the troops and
placed in the Louvre. When Napoleon's lucky star set, the French had the
grace to return the pictures that they had carried away as spoils from
various countries; and on November 20, 1815, the one hundred and ten
pictures belonging to the prince's collection were returned to The Hague
amid the ringing of bells, firing of cannon, and rejoicing of the
people. Although a certain number remained in France, the chief gems
were restored undamaged.
=Growth of The Hague Gallery.=--In 1817 the gallery contained only one
hundred and twenty-three pictures. Gradually others were purchased; for
example, in 1829, King William I. bought Rembrandt's Anatomy for 3200
gulden. Very few purchases were made from 1831 to 1874; but during the
reign of the art-loving William III. the gallery was greatly augmented
by both purchase and gift. The growth of the collection is principally
the result of the great generosity of the Baron Victor de Stuers, who in
1874 issued an admirable catalogue (revised ed., 1895).
=The Cabinet Pieces.=--The nucleus of this collection, originally a
"princely cabinet," consists of the cabinet pieces. Therefore we find
here pictures (that were highly valued in their day) by Poelenburgh,
Dou, Van Mieris, De Vois, Schalcken, Netscher, Van der Werff, P. van
Dyck, Ostade, Jan Steen, Ter Borch, and Metsu. There were also four
Rembrandts, two De Keijsers, three Potters, the beautiful Moro, and
examples by Adriaen and Willem van de Velde. The modern additions,
generally speaking, do not equal in interest the original collection.
The most important are two portraits by Hals; a triptych, by Jacob
Cornelisz van Ootsanen, a bequest; an Aert de Gelder, a gift,
unfortunately much restored and spoilt by Houbraken; a signed still
life, by Jan van Huysum; a portrait by Bol; a broad and spirited Begeyn;
a Dusart; a strong, dark, and somewhat sunken view of The Hague by Jacob
van Ruisdael; a beautiful Van Goyen; a head by Vermeer of Delft; a
landscape by G. du Bois; a wonderful flower-piece by Abraham van
Beyeren; several still-life pictures; and some portraits, among the
latter Moreelse's portrait of himself.
=Sir Joshua Reynolds's Visit to the Gallery.=--Sir Joshua Reynolds left
an account of his visit to the Prince of Orange's Gallery in 1781; and
among the pictures that he especially admired are those that critics
unite in extolling to-day. He calls attention to the Wouwermans, two Van
de Veldes, the portraits of Rubens's two wives, Rembrandt's Portrait of
a Young Man, a Conversation by Ter Borch (The Despatch it is now
called), Van Dijck's Portrait of Simons the Painter, Teniers's Kitchen,
two Ostades, a landscape by Rubens, Paul Potter's _Vache qui se mire_,
the Inside of a Delft Church, by Hoogest (Houckgeest), Fruit, by De
Heem, "done with the utmost perfection"; a Woman with a Candle, by
Gerard Dow; a Woman writing, looking up and speaking to Another Woman,
by Metsu; a picture of Dutch Gallantry by Mieris,--"a man pinching the
ear of a dog which lies on his mistress's lap"; a Boy blowing Bubbles,
also by Mieris, and The Flight into Egypt, by Van der Werff,--"one of
his best."
=The Vijver Lake.=--But while we have been talking of the past history
of the Mauritshuis and its treasures, we have failed to notice the
Vijver, a pretty lake bordered with trees and dotted with islands, the
haunt of swans and other waterfowl--descendants, perhaps, of
Hondecoeter's and Weenix's models--that float upon its glassy surface,
and cut through those quiet reflections of the long line of picturesque
buildings, including the Mauritshuis. The long quay on the other side is
the favorite and fashionable promenade of The Hague. We must note the
Vijver, because it has been an attractive subject for Dutch painters of
all periods; and the traveller will frequently see representations of
it. One of the most recent is Klinkenberg's View of the Vijver at The
Hague, which was presented to Boijman's Museum in 1876, by the Rotterdam
Society for Promoting Art. The Mauritshuis is represented on the right.
And now, having looked at this building from across the Vijver, we will
pass to the entrance.
=Paucity of Foreign Pictures in Dutch Galleries.=--The Dutch galleries
differ from many other great European galleries, such as the National
Gallery, the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the big German galleries, by
being devoted almost exclusively to works of the Dutch and Flemish
masters. Pictures of foreign schools are insignificant in number and of
very slight importance. The foreign pictures in the Mauritshuis can be
dismissed in a few words.
=Italian Pictures in the Mauritshuis.=--The Italian pictures include:
Holy Family, by Fra Bartolommeo; Holy Family, by P. Berettini; Christ
Blessing, by P. Bordone; Adoration of Magi, by C. Caliari; Virgin and
Child, and Birth of Virgin, by L. Cambiaso; Temptation of Adam and
Eve, by C. Cignani; Virgin, Child, and Saints, by M. Fogolino;
Massacre of Innocents, by L. Mazzolini; Holy Family, by F. Santafede;
Madonna, by G. B. Sassoferrato; Annunciation, by F. Solimena; Holy
Family, and two Portraits, by Titian; Venus, Mistress of the World, by
A. Turchi; an Italian Landscape, by F. Zuccherelli; Cupid (poor copy),
by Guido Reni; Venus and Cupid (copy), by Raphael; two Male Portraits,
by Piero de Cosimo; Female Portrait, by G. Palma; Female Portrait, by
A. Allori; Landscape, by F. Lauri; two Landscapes with Pilgrims, Monks
in a Grotto and Capuchins in a Grotto, by A. Magnasco; two Ruins, by
L. Carlevaris; and Prometheus and Sisyphus, by L. Giordano.
Of unknown Italian artists of the sixteenth century, the subjects are:
God the Father and Holy Spirit, Landscape with Mary Magdalen,
Landscape with St. Paul and the Hermit, Death of Abel, Venus, Dalilah,
St. John the Evangelist, Ecce Homo, Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, and
The Musicians.
=Other Foreign Pictures in the Mauritshuis.=--France is represented only
by a portrait by J. A. Aved, A Group of Merchants by S. Bourdon, and two
ideal landscapes by C. Vernet. The Spanish school is represented by a
portrait by Velasquez, a Virgin and Child by Murillo, a Magdalen by M.
Cereso, and a landscape and a portrait by unknown artists. The German
artists are scarcely more numerous. There are two portraits by Holbein
and three others of his school, three portraits by B. Beham, an Italian
landscape by J. H. Roos, three portraits by J. F. A. Tischbein, and four
Biblical and one mythological pictures by H. Rottenhamer. The subjects
of these are: The Meeting of David and Abigail, St. Philip Baptizing the
Eunuch, The Rest in Egypt, Christ Delivering Souls from Purgatory, and
The Fall of Phaeton. The meagre list of foreign works also includes two
portraits by the Danish artist, J. G. Ziesenis.
=Strength and Weakness of the Gallery.=--The strength of The Hague
Gallery lies mainly in its portraits, either single or in groups. Of
these there are considerably more than a hundred; of _genre_ pictures
there are about seventy, and of landscape more than sixty. There are
nearly fifty Biblical and religious subjects, and more than thirty taken
from pagan mythology. The Gallery is weak in historical pictures, of
which there are only seventeen. Only seven canvases represent the great
marine painters; and the pictures of birds, flowers and fruits, and
still life are comparatively few.
The student naturally turns first to the great pictures that have a
world-wide reputation. The two most famous are undoubtedly Paul
Potter's Bull and Rembrandt's Lesson in Anatomy.
=Paul Potter's Bull.=--The picture represents an enormous black and
white bull standing on a hillock beneath two trees. Beneath the trees
lie a cow, a sheep, and a lamb, and behind the trunks stand a ram and a
shepherd. An immense meadow, on which cattle are grazing, stretches away
to the dim horizon, where the buildings of a town are barely visible. In
the broad expanse of sky a bird soars with outspread wings. The bull is
proud and defiant, with silky hide and loose dewlap, and stands with
firmly planted feet. His eye is savage. This picture has been the
subject of much criticism: the figures of the man, the sheep, and the
lamb have been condemned by most critics, while the ram's horns have
been called "a splendid piece of sculpture," and the head of the cow
"the gem of the whole work." The face of the cow is marvellous. The
eyes, and the wet and dripping nose and mouth, rivet the spectator's
gaze. He fancies he smells the grass-laden breath of the animal, and
sees her jaw begin to move as she chews the cud. "No painter ever
concentrated so much life and truthful expression in the face of a
ruminant," remarks a critic. Strange, then, that the fawn-colored body
and crumpled leg are hard and wooden.
The Bull was painted in 1647, when Paul Potter was but twenty-two years
of age, and was living in Amsterdam and Haarlem. The picture was
purchased in 1749 for 630 florins, and in 1795 was carried by the French
to Paris and placed in the Louvre, where it was ranked as the fourth
most valuable painting,--the others being Raphael's Transfiguration,
Domenichino's Communion of St. Jerome, and Titian's Martyrdom of St.
Peter. The Dutch government offered 60,000 florins to Napoleon for its
restoration.
=The Mirrored Cow.=--A more beautiful picture, and greatly preferred by
most critics to the Bull, is the Mirrored Cow, known generally by the
French title, _La Vache qui se mire_. This was painted in 1648, and
represents a beautiful landscape on a hot summer day. The meadows are
flooded with sunshine; a limpid pool on the border of a forest is shown
in the foreground, where cows, goats, and sheep are lying or standing
under the shade of the trees. Two cows and a sheep stand in the water
and are reflected there; one cow is drinking, and the other has her back
to the spectator and is idly standing in the mud. Boys and men are
swimming or playing on the banks, and two have evidently finished their
bath. On the right is a farmhouse with some cows. One of these an old
woman is milking, and a man stands by with his arm over the cow's back.
In the middle distance a coach and six horses with lackeys is seen, and
in the background the spires and towers of Rijswick are basking in the
sunlight. The castle of Binkhorst is visible, and Delft lies on the
horizon.
[Illustration: PAUL POTTER
La Vache qui se mire]
=Criticism of these two Pictures.=--Burger very wittily said that _La
Vache qui se mire_ was a _chef d'oeuvre_, and not a _hors d'oeuvre_,
like the Bull. And Sir Joshua Reynolds noted: "Cattle finely painted by
Potter, remarkable for the strong reflection of one of them in the
water: dated 1648." "How bright, how sunny is this landscape!" exclaims
Dr. Bredius. "How splendidly are all these animals drawn and modelled!
The whole composition is beautiful and full of charm." It is painted in
the small size which Potter usually preferred, and is one of his
greatest creations.
=Other Pictures by Potter, his Father, and Van der Helst.=--The third
picture by Potter, painted four years later, is also ranked among his
best works. Like the two others it represents cattle in a meadow.
A portrait of Paul Potter by Van der Helst, painted shortly before his
death (January 27, 1654), hangs near his masterpieces. It is the only
work by which Van der Helst is represented in The Hague Gallery.
A picture by Paul Potter's father, Pieter Symonsz Potter, Shepherds with
their Troops, signed and dated 1638, is owned by the Mauritshuis, but a
better work is his Straw-Cutter in the Rijks.
=Rembrandt.=--The Hague Gallery is particularly rich in works by
Rembrandt (1606-69). The Rijks Museum is the place to study the great
productions of his middle and last periods; but The Hague Gallery is
strong in works of his first period, owning no less than five painted
during the first ten years of his career.
=The Anatomy Lesson.=--First, let us look at the most important work of
Rembrandt in this gallery, The Anatomy Lesson by Dr. Tulp (1632), which
made Rembrandt the most sought-after painter of his time.
Rembrandt was barely settled in Amsterdam and had painted only a few
pictures there when the famous Amsterdam surgeon, Dr. Nicholaes Tulp,
gave him the order to represent him with his students at an operation
for the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons, to be hung on the walls of their
dissecting room with other works of a similar nature, such as the great
anatomy pictures by Aert Pietersz (1603), by Thomas de Keijser (1618),
by Claes Elias (1625), two by Mierevelt (1617), and one by Vosmaer.
Rembrandt's work overshadowed them all. There is a resemblance to
Vosmaer's picture and also to that of De Keijser too striking to be
accidental; but Rembrandt's work shows the master's genius in the style,
the arrangement of the figures, and the illumination. Bode says:
"Instead of an accidental arrangement of single persons, a masterly
rounded-out composition has been created, in the happiest way, and at
the most important moment, when at a point in the lecture to the
learned anatomists the interest is concentrated on the body. The
circumstances and the way it is painted deprive the picture of all
disgust. In contrast with his predecessors, Rembrandt has painted his
doctors, not as if they were having their photographs taken and gazing
at the spectator, but in the most natural way--some looking at the
body and some at the lecturing Dr. Tulp, Tulp himself quiet, and
explaining his subject with the greatest authority. The body is
painted in a masterly manner and the portraits are beyond all praise."
=Physicians portrayed in the Anatomy Lesson.=--On a paper held by
Hartman Harmansz, the names of the physicians are inscribed: his own;
Matthijs Kalkoen, who is leaning forward; Jakob de Wit, almost in
profile, with extended neck, looking with extreme attention, with his
collar almost touching the head of the corpse; below him, Jakob Blok,
with fixed glance and furrowed brow; above Blok, Frans van Loenen, the
only one present not a Master of the Guild; and, finally, lower down in
the foreground, Adriaan Slabbraan, with his back turned to the
spectator, but his head in profile; and Jakob Koolveld, entirely in
profile, the last on the left. All are bareheaded, robed in black with
plated ruffs, with the exception of Harmansz, who wears an old-fashioned
ruff.
This work remained in the Surgeons' Hall in Amsterdam until 1828, when
King William I. bought it for 32,000 florins.
Sir Joshua Reynolds saw it in Amsterdam in 1781, and thus described it:
"To avoid making it an object disagreeable to look at, the figure is
but just cut at the wrist. There are seven other portraits colored
like nature itself, fresh and highly finished. One of the figures
behind has a paper in his hand, on which are written the names of the
rest; Rembrandt has also added his own name with the date, 1672. The
dead body is perfectly well drawn (a little foreshortened), and seems
to have been just washed. Nothing can be more truly the color of dead
flesh. The legs and feet, which are nearest the eye, are in shadow;
the principal light, which is on the body, is by that means preserved
of a compact form. All these figures are dressed in black.
"Above stairs is another Rembrandt of the same kind of subject;
Professor Deeman[1] standing by a dead body, which is so much
foreshortened that the hands and the feet almost touch each other; the
dead man lies on his back with his feet toward the spectator. There
is something sublime in the character of the head, which reminds one
of Michael Angelo; the whole is finely painted, the coloring much like
Titian."
=Rembrandt's first Important Work.=--Critics are uncertain as to whether
the Presentation in the Temple, also called Simeon in the Temple, was
painted in Leyden or in Amsterdam, to which city Rembrandt removed in
1631, the date of this picture; but all agree that it is his first
important work, far exceeding in certainty of composition and treatment
the Simeon of 1628, Peter's Denial of 1628, and the Good Samaritan of
1631.
In the centre of a temple whose roof is supported by gigantic columns,
the Virgin and St. Joseph make their offering and present the newborn
child, who is in the arms of Simeon, to the Lord. They gaze tenderly at
the infant. In front of the group stands the High Priest in a long
violet robe, holding up his hands in ecstasy. The light is focussed on
the faces of Mary, Simeon, and Jesus, and falls on the High Priest's
back and hand. Behind the Virgin, who is dressed in light blue, are two
rabbis; and in the background in the nave are several groups almost
imperceptible in the shadows; and to the right in the chiaroscuro are a
number of persons ascending and descending a flight of steps, at the top
of which stands a priest. In the foreground on the right two old men are
sitting on a bench, the arm of which bears the monogram "R. H.," and the
date 1631. It is supposed that Rembrandt's sister was the model for
Mary. Emile Michel says:
"The simple garb of the Virgin and St. Joseph and the squalor of the
two beggars beside them emphasize the splendor of the High Priest and
of Simeon, whose heavy cymar seems to be woven of gems and gold. The
execution is a miracle of subtlety and skill. Note how supreme a
colorist has been at work on the High Priest's cope! With what science
is the violet carried through the lights and shadows, and with what
truth are the tones observed and rendered, with what scrupulous care
is the general harmony preserved in spite of the marvellous treatment
of detail!"
Of this picture, so particularly remarkable for its artistic treatment
and composition, Bode exclaims:
"How appropriately are the groups in the halls of the high fantastic
vaults distributed! How masterly is the chief group in the middle
distance! How complete in drawing and action is every single figure,
though so minute! How powerfully is the light sprinkled over the chief
figures before it slowly melts away into the mystic darkness of the
broad nave whereby that peculiar mood of reverence--the holy calm of
the place--results as the most happy effect of handling."
=Lights and Coloring of the Picture.=--Notwithstanding their smallness,
the figures are most completely and expressively treated, so that in the
half-lights the background shimmers here and there. The coloring equals
that of the other pictures of this period; in the lights, greenish brown
tones come to the aid of the local colors--blue, violet, and, very
seldom, yellow (next to gray and brown, which are used only in a very
modest way).
William de Poorter made a striking copy of this picture, which hangs in
the Dresden Gallery.
=Susanna.=--The chief beauty of Susanna, which bears the signature "R.
f. 1637," lies in the brilliant, warm coloring which bestows a rich
effect on the somewhat ugly form of the crouching heroine. Bode, like
Burger before him, thinks that he recognizes in the little head the
likeness of Rembrandt's wife, Saskia. The flesh is wonderfully painted,
the figure lifts itself splendidly out from the dark but transparent
background. Moreover, the modelling of the body leaves nothing to be
desired.
Susanna is represented as about to step into the bath and is alarmed by
the presence of the two Elders, one of whom is seen lurking in the
shrubbery. Burger notes:
"Placed by the side of the School of Anatomy and the Simeon, the
merits of this work are too often overlooked. Yet Susanna, strongly
relieved against a dark background, is one of the most interesting
female figures ever painted by Rembrandt, being remarkably faithful to
nature, though not of classic beauty."
Of this picture Sir Joshua Reynolds remarks, and many will agree with
him:
"It appears very extraordinary that Rembrandt should have taken so
much pains and have made at last so very ugly and ill-favored a
figure; but his attention was principally directed to the coloring and
effect, in which it must be acknowledged he has attained the highest
degree of excellence."
=Portraits of Rembrandt and Others.=--The portraits are of Rembrandt,
aged about twenty-two, painted about 1629; one of his mother, about
1628; one of a young woman, painted about 1635, supposed to be Saskia
van Ulenborgh, whom Rembrandt married in 1634; a portrait of Rembrandt
as an officer, about 1635, and one of an old man's head, supposed to be
that of his brother Adriaen Harmensz van Rijn (1597-8-1654), painted in
1650.
The portrait of himself is one of Rembrandt's earliest known pictures
and was painted in Leyden between 1628 and 1629. It belongs to similar
works that are now in Cassel, Gotha, Nuremberg, and in the possession of
Count Esterhazy at Nordkirchen, etc., but is the most beautiful because
of its perfect condition. Rembrandt, aged twenty-two or twenty-three, is
dressed in a somewhat fanciful costume and wears a steel cuirass. The
artistic way in which the light falls and the management of the
chiaroscuro foretells what was destined to be Rembrandt's peculiarity of
manner, which Sir Joshua Reynolds has so happily described as "of
admitting but little light and giving to that little a wonderful
brilliancy." Bode says: "Although the brush work is broad, the finish is
strong. It stands out above all others of this period; we feel already
in this youthful work the paw of the lion."
[Illustration: REMBRANDT
Portrait of Himself as Officer]
=Rembrandt's Portraits of Himself.=--The artist was not handsome; indeed
he selected himself so often for a model only for the sake of making a
study of light and shade, etc., and because he had not always any other
casual model than himself at hand. As keen as the glance of his eyes is
the painting of this picture,--sharp, broad, but not so heavily
_impasto_ as is the case a few years later.
At this period he painted many portraits of himself. The Wallace
Collection in London alone possesses two of the master's self-studies,
as does also the Berlin Picture-Gallery, all of which are contemporary
with this picture. The date of this portrait is about 1634, when the
artist was twenty-eight. It is familiar to every one. Sir Joshua
Reynolds described it as "a portrait of a young man by Rembrandt,
dressed in a black cap and feathers, the upper part of the face
overshadowed; for coloring and force nothing can exceed it."
Homer reciting his Poems (1663) represents an old man in yellow robe.
Part of the picture has suffered by having been cut.
[Illustration: REMBRANDT
Homer]
=Van Ravesteyn (1572-1657).=--J. A. van Ravesteyn was in The Hague what
Rembrandt was in Amsterdam, Hals in Haarlem, Mierevelt in Delft,
Moreelse in Utrecht, and Cuijp in Dordrecht. We have to thank him for
the beautiful Shooting Meetings in The Hague Gemeente Museum, and we
also have to thank him for a series of fine portraits full of character
of officers in the Mauritshuis. Although he had a dangerous rival in
Mierevelt, who was employed principally by the Court of the Prince of
Orange, yet Ravesteyn was the official painter of The Hague. When the
marksmen wanted to have their portraits painted, or when the magistracy
wanted to be immortalized, it was Ravesteyn's brush that had to
undertake the work. He was not very highly paid, in common with all
other Dutch artists of that period.
=Van Ravesteyn's Masterpiece.=--His great masterpiece, the splendid
shooting picture of 1618, the most important one that had been painted
up to that time in Holland, brought him only 500 gulden; but in freeing
him from all guard duties and from beer and wine taxes, the rulers of
The Hague showed that they wanted to honor their artist.
=Portraits by Van Ravesteyn.=--The portraits of this magnificent
portrait-painter are noble in conception and full of life and
character; and in his first period were brilliant in color. Indeed, the
flesh tones of his first period are even too red in his male portraits.
Yet the pictures which he painted before 1625-30 are stronger and more
full of spirit than the later pictures, which are cooler and flatter in
the tones and softer in the painting. There is a series of twenty-three
portraits of officers who are unknown.
=Pot's Schützenstück.=--It was not until 1886 that the great
Schützenstück, a Civic Guard picture in the Haarlem Museum, which had
always been so greatly admired by critics, was discovered to be the
long-lost picture painted by Pot (1585-1657) in 1630, which had been
falsely attributed to Van der Helst. At the date when he painted the
picture Pot was so famous that the historiographer, Ampzingh, had rhymed
two years earlier, 1628, "then shall also Hendrik Pot rightfully wear
his crown. We wonder what his busy hand is creating to-day." He calls
the Allegory of the Death of William I., the great Prince of Orange,
painted by Pot in 1620, and now unfortunately lost, "a very fine and
artistically painted picture." We have no means of following his
development, because his pictures are rare, and seldom dated. The Hague
picture shows us a young gallant in bright green costume in the gay
company of three sirens and an old woman whose calling is unmistakable.
The young woman on his right is in violet; the one on the left, in pink;
and the third, in yellow and blue. All this is in a strongly pronounced
local color. The drawing is careful and good. This is far superior in
all respects to a similar picture in the Berlin Gallery. The background
of this picture is a fine gray. The details are convincingly and
beautifully painted. The painting of the high lights reminds us of the
Hals School. The picture was probably painted about 1630, and takes a
commanding place among the contemporary pictures of this style. It was
bought for 1300 gulden. A similar picture hangs in the National
Gallery.
=Two Portraits by Frans Hals.=--"The Government was happily inspired,"
writes Mr. Bredius, "in 1881, when it bought for The Hague Gallery two
portraits by the great Frans Hals [1580-1666], who had not been
represented up till that time. Yet there were and still are
dissatisfied people who maintain that the authorities ought to have
tried to acquire a still better example of the art of the master,
these pictures of his being too trifling and not worthy of the
collection," etc. But people forgot that such an opportunity does not
often occur, and then that the price is often so high that the slim
purse of The Hague Gallery makes a purchase not to be thought of.
"The smaller and more beautiful of the pair, the male portrait, is
quite capable of giving us a good idea of the virtuosity of the
portrait-painting of Hals. How fine, how self-assertive, is the
attitude of this twenty-nine-year-old patrician Haarlemite! How
sympathetically the costume is painted! How well are the head and
hands modelled and drawn! The portraits were painted in the year
1625."
The portraits here described are of Jacob Olycan and his wife, Aletta
Hanemans.
=Bode's Opinion of Hals's Pictures.=--In his celebrated study of Hals of
this period, Bode says:
"About the year 1625 the master had advanced to a style of impression
and way of handling that in general remained stationary for about ten
years. A gay, delightful humor laughs out at us from all these
pictures: from the rich, full local colors, the clear blonde tones,
playful easy handling, which quickly, in a few minutes with a few
scattered strokes and sweeps of the brush and palette knife blade,
brings the personality of the subject upon the canvas, and soon the
conception is rendered to the smallest detail in lovely, delicate
completeness."
=Characteristics of Thomas de Keijser's Work.=--Of all important
painters who flourished in Amsterdam when Rembrandt settled there at the
end of 1631, Thomas de Keijser (1596-1667) was by far the greatest. His
portraits, particularly those of small dimensions, take high rank among
those which the Dutch school in its glory produced. His work is
distinguished by a masterly technique, a splendid characterization in
portraiture, a powerful but brilliant selection of color, and a broad,
heavy brush.
=Description of a Portrait painted by him.=--These qualities are found
in the Portrait of a Man of Distinction, signed and dated 1631. The man,
nearly life size, is seated before a table covered with a reddish
Oriental carpet, and with his left hand is turning over the leaves of a
book that rests upon a desk. He is not looking at the book, however, but
at the spectator. His hair is gray and quite short, he wears a
moustache, his eyes are full of fire, and his face is expressive. He has
on a large black hat, and a white collar spreads out over his black silk
doublet; his stockings are black silk, and his shoes are ornamented with
rosettes. The right hand, which is superb, rests on his hip. The floor
is paved with black and gray tiles and in the sober background, which
serves to bring out the face, a library is indicated on the left.
=Group of Four Burgomasters.=--The portrait is painted on oak, as is
also that of the Amsterdam Burgomasters Deliberating with Regard to the
Visit of Marie de Médici to that city. This very small picture, in which
the figures are only eight and a half inches high, was painted by De
Keijser in 1638, when the widow of the French King Henri IV. visited
Amsterdam.
"It is no small glory," says Blanc, "for De Keijser to have painted a
picture which in value of execution may be placed between the Peace of
Münster and the Syndics by Rembrandt."
=Description of the Figures.=--Here we find four burgomasters sitting
around a table covered with a green cloth in an austere hall, whose gray
walls are broken by niches containing statues. These four old
men--Abraham Boom, Petrus Hasselaer, Albert Coenraet Burgh, and Antonie
Oetgens van Waveren--are dressed in black and wear black felt hats
unadorned with plumes. Their grave deliberations regarding the
entertainment of the royal guest are interrupted by the entrance of the
lawyer, Cornelis van Davelaer, who, hat in hand, salutes them with the
greatest respect, as he announces the arrival of Marie de Médici.
=Blanc's Opinion of the Picture.=--Blanc, who greatly admires this
picture, calls attention to the fact that no useless piece of furniture
or accessory of any kind disturbs the solemnity of this little scene,
which, on account of the simple manner in which it is conceived, is
great, notwithstanding its size. He says:
"With the exception of Rembrandt, I do not know of a single Dutch
painter, not even Van der Helst (who painted such great canvases), who
would not have belittled his picture, either by elegance of touch and
finish, or by the richness of the costumes and arms, or by the effect
of a carpet variegated with a thousand shades. I imagine that Gerard
Ter Borch, in spite of his habitual dignity, would have found some
pretext for introducing into his composition a beautiful sword with a
baudrick, a crossbow, or a chandelier; that Metsu would certainly have
found some excuse for placing a richly chiselled silver _aiguière_ or
a golden goblet on the table; and I am sure that through the door by
which the lawyer, Davelaer, enters, Pieter de Hooch would have let you
see the antechamber of the Council, with its high chairs covered with
Utrecht velvet, or a winding stairway, or a distant door opening into
a garden or street. The attention would then have been somewhat
distracted by the very striking accessories, or by the optical charm
of the chiaroscuro. Here we find nothing of the kind; not a single
concession to conventional treatment. By the gravity of their
attitude, we see that these four citizens, chosen by a free people who
sit here with covered heads, express in themselves the majesty of the
United Provinces, and they consider themselves of equal rank with the
Queen of France, whose arrival is being announced; you feel at once
that they bring a plebeian pride to their magnificent reception of
that princess who was, like them, originally from a republic of
merchants. All the costumes being black,--that beautiful, warm,
transparent, silky black peculiar to Velasquez and Anthonis Moro,--you
only notice in this picture the hands and the heads. The heads have an
expression that will remain engraven in the mind forever, for the
painter has accented them so deeply, and brought into contrast both
physical and moral features. Notwithstanding their individuality, they
all have a certain grandeur. The peculiar trait of this master,
however, is the neutral background, the exquisite sobriety of the tone
of the wall, recalling the beautiful gray of the great Spanish
painter; and from this stand out the black of the doublets and the
white collars."
Blanc also calls attention to the splendid painting of the faces: the
eyes sunken by age, the wrinkles of the skin, and the withered cheeks.
Bredius writes:
"What character has the artist put into these heads! We feel at once
that it must have been this kind of men who conducted Amsterdam to
greatness and fame. What worth and dignity in the way they hold
themselves! What self-confidence in the proud glance!"
=Other Portraits in the Mauritshuis.=--Of other notable portraits in the
Mauritshuis there are three by Moreelse (one of himself); six by
Honthorst, including one of a child gathering fruit, originally in the
Castle of Honsholredijk; nine by Mierevelt (chiefly of various Princes
of Orange); three by Ravesteyn, one a group; two by Moro, one of a
goldsmith, the other supposed to be Prince William I. in his youth;
three by Netscher; Ter Borch's of himself; two by Frans van Mieris; one
by Cuijp, and other examples by Rubens and Van Dijck.
=Ferdinand Bol's Pay for Portraits.=--Of Rembrandt's numerous pupils,
one of the most eminent in portraiture was Ferdinand Bol (1616-80),
whose earliest signed work is dated 1642. In his earliest period he
devoted himself chiefly to large pictures of Biblical subjects; but,
like many other artists, he very soon found that there was a great deal
more money to be made in portraiture. At that time, when photography was
unknown, it was only natural that everybody who could afford it had his
picture painted. From the burgomaster to the ordinary tailor or
skipper--all wanted to have pictures of themselves and their families
hanging on their own walls; and the purchaser could indulge himself in
this natural vanity at comparatively small cost, for the demand
naturally increased the supply; and there were only too many painters
who were glad enough to serve their patrons. As the artists became
famous their prices naturally increased; and some received higher pay
than others who to-day have a greater reputation. Rembrandt probably
received as much as anybody else for a time; but at the end of his life
there was a greater demand for portraits by others, such as Maes, who
were more pliant to the changing mode. Rembrandt received 500 gulden
each for his famous portraits, whilst others were content with 150, 100,
and even 30 or 40 gulden. Caspar Netscher, for instance, received only
from 50 to 70 gulden for his elegantly finished pictures. The usual
custom was for an artist to paint portraits for a living, meanwhile
working and developing himself along the lines of his special genius.
Thus we find several of the Little Masters practically relinquishing
portraiture as soon as they had made a big reputation in _genre_, or
other fields.
=Bol's Work in Portraiture.=--Bol was a portrait-painter exclusively; he
married first in 1653, and a second time in 1669. Probably both wives
belonged to rich and important families, for Bol was kept busy his whole
life long and became wealthy, dying in 1680 in his beautiful house with
its fine grounds and stables.
With him, as with so many other successful painters, his last pictures
were not his best. In his earlier portraits he represents his sitters in
beautiful chiaroscuro. The painting is broad and spirited; the color
strong and brilliant. He painted so much in Rembrandt's style at first
that many of Bol's pictures have been taken for those of his master; and
later, when Bol's reputation had faded, unscrupulous dealers did not
hesitate to change his signature on the canvases for that of Rembrandt.
A celebrated instance of this practice is the so-called Portrait of
Flinck and his Wife in Munich, which by many connoisseurs was long
admired as Rembrandt's work; but, by Hauser's skill, the false Rembrandt
signature was obliterated and the real one of Bol brought to light.
=Bol's Portrait of De Ruyter's Son.=--The Mauritshuis owns one of the
best portraits by Bol, painted in his later period, that of the handsome
twenty-year-old son of the great Admiral de Ruyter. This son, Engel de
Ruyter, was born in 1649 and died in 1683. Bol painted him in the year
1669, as may be seen by the date on the picture. It is only quite
recently that the pendant, a portrait of the great Admiral de Ruyter,
has come to be regarded as a copy after Bol. The charming little marine
in the picture is undoubtedly by the hand of Willem van de Velde the
younger, and adds greatly to the interest of the painting because it is
of itself a fine picture of that great master. In many of his later
portraits, Bol is somewhat dull in his color and painted them too
rapidly, besides giving to his flesh too strong a red-rose tint; but
that cannot be said of him in this case, where he has done his very
best. In particular, he has handled the rich costume with affectionate
and masterful touch.
[Illustration: F. BOL
Admiral de Ruyter]
=Description of the Sitter.=--The genial countenance, which displays
none of the real martial type of his celebrated father, rises finely out
of the red drapery. The bearing is elegant, though perhaps there is a
little too much pose in it. The portrait is particularly interesting,
because the sitter had a career of great promise which was cut short all
too soon. Nine years after the portrait was painted, the youth had
already risen to the rank of Vice-Admiral and had been created a Spanish
count, having also refused the title of duke; but before he had attained
thirty-four years of age, he died, not a hero's death like his father,
as he had desired, but in his own luxurious dwelling in Amsterdam.
However, he had already while very young fought valiantly beside his
father in the Battle of Solebay.
=A Picture by Salomon Koninck.=--Another pupil of Rembrandt whom we
shall see in the Rijks is G. van den Eeckhout. A picture formerly
attributed to him, the Adoration of the Magi, is now known to be by
Salomon Koninck (1618-88). One of the Magi in a red cloak is kneeling
before the Infant Jesus and another on the right wears a golden mantle.
The color is vigorous and the work shows the knowledge of chiaroscuro
for which Rembrandt's school was so famous.
=Two Pictures by Nicholas Maes.=--Nicholas Maes (1632-93) is represented
in the Mauritshuis by only two pictures,--one of them of questionable
origin, moreover; and therefore the student must go to Amsterdam for
varied examples of his work. The portrait here is that of the Grand
Pensionary, Jakob Cats, an original replica of which hangs in the
Budapesth gallery. Diana and Her Nymphs shows some of the qualities to
be expected of one who worked in Rembrandt's studio for eighteen years;
but it is now sometimes attributed to Vermeer of Delft. The signature,
"N. M. 1650," is said to be false.
=Maes's Work as a Portrait-Painter.=--Maes was a pupil of Rembrandt and
became a very successful portrait-painter by copying the master's style.
He soon became rich by his talents, his wit, his polished manners, and
by flattering his sitters. He charged high prices for his pictures; and
he deserved his great reputation. The chiaroscuro of his paintings is
very vigorous. If the shadows are not heavily massed as with Rembrandt,
they are at least strongly accented; and, as the half-tones are very
summary, the passage from light to dark is very brusque, and by this
means the painter attains a powerful effect and strong relief.
=His Visit to Jordaens at Antwerp.=--Having become rich, and getting
tired of everlastingly painting the rich burghers of Amsterdam and their
wives, Maes thought he would like to go to see the works of the great
artists of Antwerp, who at that time were so much talked about
throughout Europe. Having been initiated into the high freemasonry of
art by Rembrandt, he was cordially received by the Antwerp painters and
soon recognized by them as a brother. Among others, he went to visit
Jordaens and was shown into a room filled with pictures, which he
examined while awaiting the appearance of the latter, who was watching
his visitor through the keyhole. When he entered, Jordaens said: "I see
plainly that you are a great connoisseur, or perhaps an able painter,
for the best pictures in my gallery detained you longer than the
others."
Maes simply replied, "I am a portrait-painter."
"In that case," replied Jordaens, "I sincerely pity you. So you also are
one of those martyrs of painting who so richly deserve our
commiseration!"
In fact, Maes's weariness at having to put up with the whims of human
vanity probably had much to do with his turning to _genre_, by which he
is now best known and for which he is most highly prized.
=Maes's Pictures of Familiar Scenes.=--The average art-lover, however,
cares little for the portraiture of Maes, but prizes him as a painter of
familiar scenes, like Pieter de Hooch. Although less varied and less
supple, but not less robust than the latter, Maes was his equal in the
power of his effects. The triviality of the subject which he often
selects is relieved by the charm of an astonishingly vigorous and
spirited execution. Burger says:
"On passing through a kitchen, perhaps, you see an old woman scraping
carrots, having various kitchen utensils about her. If you have seen
this humble interior in one of Maes's pictures, it will be impossible
for you not to halt and spend some time in looking at it. The painting
of Nicholas Maes is one of those that become encrusted in the memory.
The light gleams in it, the canvas glows, the subject stands out, the
eye runs over it, and if the figures were of natural size one would go
forward to meet them, so strong is the impression, so solid is the
tone, so palpable, and modelled in relief are the forms.
"In his little familiar scenes, Maes is not always insignificant or
vulgar in his choice of subject. Most often, indeed, his composition
is ingenious, witty, and piquant. In the first place, it is set in the
most picturesque corner of the room; the painter likes to take up his
position in a place whence he can see at once the house from top to
bottom,--both the stairs descending to the cellar and those mounting
to the first floor. Then the figures he brings into the scene usually
have some malicious trick to play, some secret conversation to
overhear, some theft to discover, or some infidelity to discover."
=Samuel van Hoogstraaten.=--It is singular how few pictures are known by
Rembrandt's remarkable pupil, Samuel van Hoogstraaten (1625-78), a
versatile painter of landscapes, portraits, marines, architecture,
fruits, flowers, and, more particularly, interiors, in which he followed
Pieter de Hooch. In his Lady in a Vestibule he has demonstrated his
knowledge of perspective, of which he was very proud. The chief feature
of the picture, however, is the beautiful chiaroscuro, for which he has
to thank Rembrandt's teaching. The lady is walking in a portico of very
fine architecture, and reading. With one hand she is holding up her
straw-colored dress. This figure is only two feet high, while the
spaniel that accompanies her is life size!
=Effects of Rembrandt's Teaching on his Pupils.=--Thirty of Rembrandt's
pupils made great names for themselves by copying that great master in
one or other of his manners. Some made a system of what with him was
merely a mood or caprice. Not being able to follow him in the expression
of the human soul, they made a specialty, some of portraiture, some of
costume, some of chiaroscuro, some of _genre_, and some of landscape.
=Philip Koninck's Landscapes.=--Philip Koninck (1619-88) is almost the
only pupil of Rembrandt who painted landscapes almost exclusively, and
he listened to the teachings of his master with great docility. His
principle was to regard nature from a little distance, so as to grasp
the masses, rather than to enter into details. The Mauritshuis possesses
a beautiful and characteristic specimen of his genius. In composition
and treatment, it reminds us of Rembrandt's Landscape of the Three
Trees.[2] Blanc says:
"Among the Dutch landscape painters perhaps there is not one, unless
it is Van der Hagen, who would have dared to paint this monotonous
plain, all the lines of which are horizontal, all the clumps and rows
of trees of the same height, and in which the only objects in the
foreground are a cottage half hidden among trees, and, a little
farther on, a low sandy hill which does not rise beyond the level of
the middle distance. The vast stretch of country is traversed by so
many courses of water that it almost looks as if it were threatened
with an inundation. The meadows are on a level with the sea; the
distant villages look like flotillas at anchor, and the houses seem to
be floating on the canals. The painter has placed his point of view so
high that neither the sails of the windmills, nor the points of the
belfries, nor the tops of the highest trees stand out against the sky.
The picture is cut in half by the almost straight line of a horizon
which gradually recedes until lost to view, and the towns we perceive
in the distance, the rows of trees, the hamlets, and rivers all run
parallel with this horizon. That is to say, that Philip Koninck (and
this picture resembles all the others of his we know) is conceived
entirely at variance with the ideas that are generally held regarding
the picturesque."
Gilpin says:
"'The greatest enemies of the picturesque are the symmetry of the
forms, the resemblance and parallelism of the lines, the polish of the
surfaces, and the uniformity of the colors.'
"Very well! Here is a landscape by Koninck that fulfils all the
conditions of the non-picturesque; and which, nevertheless, produces a
certain impression of grandeur and sadness, solely by means of the
canvas being furrowed into infinite depths, the gradations of the
perspective being extremely well observed, and the uniformity of the
ground being happily contrasted with a sky full of movement, a fine
disorder of clouds which the breeze slowly drives before it as a
shepherd does his flock."
=Dutch Painters who imitated Italians.=--Rembrandt, although he arose at
a time when the influence of Italian art was supreme, never went to
Rome; nevertheless, he owed a great deal to the studies of those artists
who had been there. The Hague Gallery contains several pictures of this
period; and these are sufficient to give us a very good idea of the
qualities of Dutch art just before Rembrandt, in 1629, set up for
himself in Amsterdam at the age of twenty-one.
=Hendrik Goltzius.=--An influential founder of a large school of
painters who modelled themselves on the great Italians was Hendrik
Goltzius (1558-1616). He started for Rome in 1590, and indulged to the
full his intense admiration for Michelangelo, which led him to surpass
that master in the extravagance of his designs. The works by his own
hand he most valued were his eccentric imitations of the designs of
Michelangelo. His portraits show exquisite finish, and are fine studies
of character. The beauty and freedom of his execution make amends for
his extravagance. In the Mauritshuis are three pictures painted shortly
before he died--Mercury, Hercules, and Minerva.
=His Academy at Haarlem.=--On his return from Italy Mander, who was a
great friend of Goltzius, induced him to open an academy at Haarlem, in
combination with Mander and Cornelisz, and with the assistance of his
old pupils, Matham, Müller, Sanraedam, and De Gheyn, as professors. As
might be expected, Italian taste predominated in this academy, not
solely on account of the personal preference of the founders, but
because the Italian style had been popularized in the Low Countries by
Lambert Lombard, and his pupils, Hubert Golz, Lambert Zutman, Dominic
Lampson, William Key, and Frans Floris (1518-70). Of these the most
famous was Floris, who also studied in Italy, and himself founded a
large school. The Hague possesses in Venus and Adonis a charming example
of his style.
=The Italian Style followed by Cornelisz.=--Cornelis Cornelisz
(1562-1638) had never been to Italy, but his education and environment
had given him Italian tendencies. We learn that even after he had
attained proficiency he never dispensed with the model; nevertheless, he
was neither a slavish imitator of nature, nor altogether a painter of
style. He has two large pictures in The Hague Gallery that were painted
about the time he joined Goltzius in the Haarlem academy. These are the
Massacre of the Innocents (1591) and the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis
(1593). The dominating idea of the artist in the Massacre of the
Innocents, which covers a canvas 8-3/4 by 8-1/4 feet, is the wish to
appear a great master of drawing by curves and modeling that exaggerate
the relief of the muscles. There are more than two hundred figures which
are almost all entirely nude. The executioners, and the infants in
particular, show an attempt at noble form which rises above nothing more
than affectation. There is an obvious striving after the genius of
Michelangelo which, in the Dutch master, is merely pretentious imitation
of what would be facile and superb in the great Florentine. There is not
a single attitude nor a movement that is not _contrasted_; for instance,
if the left arm is behind, the right leg is in front. In fact, the study
of nature is completely subordinated to academic conventions. The color
is far more natural than the drawing. The artist has been extremely
successful in rendering the flesh tints of life as well as of death, and
he has varied the _nuances_ in accordance with sex and age, giving very
faithfully the tenderness and freshness of the flesh tints of infancy,
and the softness of the female form, the stronger tones of the
executioners in action, and even the cadaverous hue of the bloodless
corpses. As for the expressions of the faces, they are vulgar though
energetic.
=His Love of painting the Nude.=--The love of Cornelisz for compositions
thronged with nude figures in the most varied attitudes wherein he could
exhibit all the resources of his learning and study of the works of
Michelangelo is again shown in the large canvas, measuring 8 by 14 feet,
entitled Banquet of the Gods of Olympus, or Marriage of Peleus and
Thetis.
=Gilles Coignet.=--Cornelisz had received his tastes and instruction
principally from Gilles Coignet (1540-99), who set out for Italy with
another painter named Stello in 1555 and worked principally at Terni,
between Loretto and Rome, for five years. He painted historical and
mythological subjects of easel size, but was more successful in
landscapes, and more particularly in candle-light subjects and
moonlight. He took up his abode in Amsterdam in 1586. His influence on
the Haarlem school was pronounced.
=Elsheimer's Excellence in Chiaroscuro.=--The Mauritshuis possesses two
Italian Landscapes by Adam Elsheimer (Elshaimer or Elzheimer)
(1574-1620), a German painter, whom the Italians call Adam Tedesco, who
possessed great influence over his contemporaries, particularly the
elder Teniers and Rembrandt, who followed out the same characteristics
of chiaroscuro. Elsheimer delighted in the effects of moonlight and
evening dusk; also in torchlight, conflagrations, and every other kind
of artificial light,--all of which he represented with greater
excellence than had ever been done before him. Visiting Italy, he became
charmed with the country and settled in Rome, where his little pictures,
usually painted on copper with microscopic and beautifully finished
figures, had great success. Elsheimer was visited by all the artists of
his country, including Poelemburg, who saw him in 1617. He was almost as
great in chiaroscuro as Rembrandt; and his immense reputation did not
diminish until after the eighteenth century.
=Cornelis van Poelemburg.=--A picture of Women Bathing, by Cornelis van
Poelemburg (1586-1667), is a fine example of his style. He studied first
under Bloemaert, but during a protracted visit to Italy he fell under
the influence of Elsheimer; and on his return to his own country he
became quite the rage as a painter of classic landscape. In Rome he had
been fascinated by Raphael's pictures, and studied him with affectionate
admiration. Poelemburg possessed a happy and tranquil nature.
=His Attractive Landscapes.=--"The little pictures that his
imagination painted breathe a quiet happiness, and are imprinted with
a suave poesy. They nearly always represent a countryside adorned with
ancient ruins and frequented by demi-nude nymphs. His landscapes,
enveloped in vapor which, while decreasing the dryness of the
outlines and crudity of the tones, would soften the aspect of the most
rugged spots, serve as a background for the whiteness of the goddesses
who dance with fauns or repose in the shade of some abandoned
monument. Sometimes, as though the vale that they dwell in were
reserved for the gods, Poelemburg's nymphs do not fear to remove their
light vesture and bathe in some open pool where only the painter may
see them. But, most frequently, it is in the neighborhood of a grotto,
at the foot of rocks perpetually washed by a spring of fresh water,
that one likes to surprise them, nude, trembling, their bodies
rendered whiter by the transparent veil of the atmosphere, playing
with the water they are disturbing, swimming after one another and
half-hidden by the current of their chaste fountains."
=Dutch Artists who migrated to Rome.=--Bartholomeus Breenborch
(1599-1659) was another member of that band of artists who at the
beginning of the seventeenth century deserted the banks of the Meuse for
those of the Tiber, and exchanged the land that was to produce Rembrandt
for the country of Raphael's birth. A few Dutch artists successfully
resisted the lures of the Eternal City; but the majority of painters of
that period followed the example of Elsheimer, Poelemburg, Karel
Dujardin, Herman Swanevelt, Andreas and Jan Both, and others, and formed
a little Dutch colony among the Seven Hills.
=Breenborch compared with Poelemburg.=--Breenborch devoted himself to
history and landscape alternately. His historical subjects were chiefly
Biblical and mythological. He was fond of painting classical landscapes
with ruins; and the only artist who could excel him in painting charming
little figures in a landscape was Van de Velde. The chief characteristic
of Poelemburg, with whom Breenborch is so often compared, is grace. The
only picture of this artist in The Hague Gallery, Mercury appearing to
the Nymph Hersé, resembles Poelemburg both in subject and treatment.
=Van der Ulft's Architectural Paintings.=--Van der Ulft (1627-90),
another artist of this school, was originally a painter on glass.
Later, he turned to historical compositions of small dimensions; but his
real talent lay in the representation of architectural monuments, and
scenes inside city walls. It is strange that he never visited Italy, but
formed himself by the study of the works of returning Roman art pilgrims
and of engravings. His perspective is exact; his ancient ruins,
triumphal arches, and statues are correctly placed in his pictures, and
his architectural backgrounds, abounding in strong and golden grays,
form an excellent frame for the little figures that animate his spirited
paintings. He delighted to paint Roman processions. The Hague picture
shows an army on the march in a landscape adorned with architectural
remains.
=Nicolas Moeyaert's Best Points.=--A follower of Elsheimer, who later
became a disciple of Rembrandt, was Nicolas Moeyaert (1630-?), who
settled in Amsterdam in 1624 and joined the Painters' Guild in 1630. In
some of his pictures he imitated Rembrandt very closely. He excelled in
portraits, animals, landscapes, and historical and Biblical scenes. The
Hague Gallery contains three: Mercury appearing to the Nymph Hersé;
Triumph of Silenus, and a Biblical scene, also called the Visit of
Antiochus to the Augur.
=Description of one of his Pictures.=--Antiochus, about to engage in a
war, is consulting the augur. In the centre stands the king dressed in a
long blue robe, with a white girdle and a purple cloak lined with fur;
also a furred bonnet. He is talking to an old man, the augur, who has a
long white beard. He is wrapped in a yellow cloak, is barefooted, and he
is writing in a book. By him are some animals, including a dog and some
rabbits, and on the right of Antiochus are two goats and a sheep. On a
rock on the left is a group of ten persons; and in the centre of the
picture between the two high rocks stand a tower and a temple. For
pupils Moeyaert had Berchem, Van der Does, Salomon Koninck, and J. B.
Weenix.
[Illustration: MOEYAERT
The Visit of Antiochus to the Augur]
=Pieters and Lastman.=--Gerrit Pieters, the best pupil of C. Cornelisz,
also went to Rome. He painted assemblies, _genre_, and small portraits;
his success prevented him from devoting himself to historical painting,
which he preferred. A pupil of his was Pieter Lastman (1583-1633), who
also made a long sojourn in Italy under Elsheimer's influence. He groped
about in different styles for a long time, devoting himself principally
to Biblical subjects. He learned a good deal about light effects from
Elsheimer; on his return he imparted what he knew to Rembrandt, who
studied with him for a short time. Later, when his brilliant pupil grew
famous, Lastman humbly followed his lead. Jan Lievens (1607-74), was
another of his pupils. A picture by him, painted in 1622, when Rembrandt
was still only fourteen years old, and therefore could not have
influenced him, is in the Mauritshuis. It is called The Resurrection of
Lazarus.
An artist who accompanied Lastman to Italy in 1605 was named Jan Pinas
(f. 1608-21). He painted portraits, landscapes, and historical subjects.
=Herman Swanevelt's Study of Nature.=--Herman Swanevelt (Herman of
Italy) (1600-55) was a pupil and imitator of Claude Lorraine in Rome,
whither he went in 1624, and where his excessive application to study
gained for him the name of "the Hermit" from the band of Dutch and
German artists established in that city. Unlike Claude, with whom he
used to walk in the environs of Rome, and who never sketched from
nature, Swanevelt always had his pencil in his hand, taking note of all
that he saw, studying the oaks and large plants, and copying the
buildings, campaniles, and vine-wreathed arcades and ruins. He left
nothing to his imagination. While Claude's landscapes speak of the
Golden Age, Swanevelt's are actual reproductions of the country as he
saw it. His buildings are not imaginary villas, temples, and palaces,
but are the Roman ruins and the façades and cloisters that he knew. In
his arrangement and composition he resembled Claude; and, like him,
often placed in the corner of his picture wooded mountains or large
trees, and sometimes even placed them in the very centre to make a
striking contrast to the very light background.
Naturally rude and savage, Swanevelt contributed some of his character
to his work. He liked bold mountains clothed with dark forests, deep
ravines, solitary places, and torrents bounding from the rocks; and he
understood how to mingle the heroic style with rural beauty.
Two Italian landscapes, one dated 1650, the other formerly attributed to
Claude Lorraine, hang in the Mauritshuis.
=J. van Swanenburch.=--Rembrandt spent three years in the studio of J.
van Swanenburch (d. 1638), who had finished his studies at Rome, and
worked in Naples for a long time, returning to Holland in 1617.
=Bloemaert, Founder of the School of Utrecht.=--Abraham Bloemaert
(1564-1651) constitutes in many respects the link of transition with the
succeeding epoch; for however his frequent mannerisms and gaudy coloring
betray the tasteless period in which he was born, his later pictures
show a power, taste, and broader touch. He painted a great number of
religious and mythological subjects, portraits, landscapes, and animals.
By reason of his talent and his long life (ninety-two years), he
exercised great influence over the School of Utrecht, and may be
regarded as its founder.
=Some of his Pupils.=--Among his principal pupils may be mentioned: J.
and A. Both, the Honthorsts, J. B. Weenix, Knupfer, Cornelis van
Poelemburg, and the father of Albert Cuijp. Two pictures painted in the
prime of his life are in The Hague Gallery; they deserve attention if
only for their size and the number of figures they contain. The subjects
are: Hippomenes receiving the Prize (signed and dated 1626), and the
Marriage of Peleus (signed and dated 1628). The latter was carried off
by the French, but returned after 1815.
=Description of the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis.=--"It is composed
of fourteen large figures, half nude, representing the gods of Olympus
celebrating the marriage of Thetis. Seated at table and distinguished
by their divine attributes, the gods appear to be troubled at the
sight of Discord, who descends from above, borne on a cloud, and
throws down among them the golden apple destined for the most
beautiful. In the foreground, with her back turned to the spectator,
is shown the figure of Venus, who displays unveiled her divine
shoulders, her voluptuous neck, and her incomparably beautiful body,
which will carry off the prize, and which has no need of the girdle of
beauty to render the goddess beloved. Elsewhere than in The Hague
Gallery this mythological painting would perhaps not excite more
remark than any other picture, but there, in the midst of a family,
_bourgeoise_, and Protestant school, which avoids the nude and ignores
academic conventions and style, a picture of this kind cannot fail
strongly to attract attention. Abraham Bloemaert, like the famous
Cornelis of Haarlem, has the air of an Italian who has gone astray in
these northern regions. These noble contours and learned lines, this
modelling of the flesh pursued with a certain pedanticism by the
former, and with grace and facility by the latter, and finally these
more or less violent foreshortenings,--those, for instance, offered by
this picture in the figures of Discord and the Loves who scatter
flowers or suspend from trees the curtain that decorates the place of
banqueting,--all this is at variance with the jollity and naturalism
of the Dutch; all this betrays the influence of a foreign style, an
influence that reigned in Holland in the sixteenth century,
disappeared at the arrival of Rembrandt, and did not return till the
appearance of Gérard de Lairesse, more than a century later."[3]
=Others who painted in the Italian Style.=--Nicholas (or Claes) Berchem
(1620-83), Karel Dujardin (1622-78), and Jan (or Johannes) Both
(1610-52), painted in the Italian style. Berchem was a pupil of his
father, Pieter Claes, and of J. B. Weenix, Moeyaert, Pieter de Grebber,
and probably Jan van Goyen. Karel Dujardin was a pupil of Berchem. All
three travelled in Italy; and all three are represented in The Hague
Gallery. Berchem has an Italian Landscape and Figures; an Italian
Landscape or Pastoral (dated 1648), with life-sized figures.
=Berchem's Picture of a Boar-Hunt.=--A Wild Boar Hunt, of the year 1659,
shows that he could successfully treat an animated scene. Crowe says:
"It is a model of precision combined with elegance of execution;
though at the same time that blue dark tone which, to the eye of a
connoisseur, so much detracts from the value of his later works,
already partially appears. This is more seen in a landscape dated 1661
in the same museum, though otherwise belonging to his more attractive
works. But here also the conventional and monotonous treatment of his
cattle begins to be visible.... But the most striking example of the
master's deterioration is afforded us by one of his latest works, the
Cavalry Engagement, in The Hague Museum, which is a very type of crude
and discordant effect and hardness of detail."
His fourth picture is An Italian Quay, dated 1661.
=Pictures by Dujardin, Jan Both, and Others.=--Karel Dujardin, famous
for his animals, portraits, and landscapes, can be well studied in a
fine Italian landscape, called A Cascade in Italy, rich and warm in tone
and dated 1673.
Johannes Both has two Italian landscapes, one of which glows with
sunshine and is remarkable for breadth and delicacy.
Other pictures showing this Italian influence are The Ambuscade and an
Italian landscape by Moucheron, with figures by J. Lingelbach; the
Terrestrial Paradise by Jan Brueghel the Elder; and The Torrent, by Adam
Pynacker.
=Adam Pynacker and Jan Both compared.=--Pynacker, though inferior to Jan
Both in his Italian landscapes, surpasses him in variety. His tone is
cooler than Both's, and he excels in painting early morning scenes. In
addition to pastoral scenes, he loves rocky heights, mountain ranges,
Italian harbors, bold bridges, and waterfalls.
Pynacker enlivened his landscapes with human figures and cattle, both of
which he was able to draw and paint extremely well.
=Albert Cuijp's Portrait of Sieur de Roovere.=--The famous Albert Cuijp
(1620-91) belongs to this group, being a pupil of his father, Jacob
Gerritsz Cuijp, who was a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert.
There is but one Cuijp in the Mauritshuis, Portrait of Sieur de Roovere
directing the salmon fishery near Dordrecht, which need not detain us
long, for we shall find more interesting examples of this master in the
Rijks. Burger calls this A View in the Environs of Dordrecht, and says
it is "a beautiful painting, but perhaps a little brusque." A gentleman
wearing a black hat with red plumes and mounted on a bay horse, is seen
on the left, to whom a fisherman in heavy boots is offering fish. On the
right lies a spaniel. In the middle distance are some fishermen, a black
horse, the other side of a canal, and a house. The two principal figures
are about a foot high.
=The Beginning of the School of Dutch Landscape.=--Jan Hackaert
(1629-99) forms a connecting link between those painters who represent
Northern and those who represent Southern scenery. He travelled when
young into Germany and Switzerland. The Hague has a good example of an
Italian landscape with figures by Lingelbach; but better examples of his
work are in the Rijks. This brings us to the beginning of the great
school of Dutch landscape, when the painters began to take an interest
in the scenery of their own country. Two great names are Jan van Goyen
(1596-1666) and Jan Wijnants (1600-77), important not only because of
their own productions, but because they were the first painters of Dutch
landscape, and each had followers and pupils who attained great fame.
Jan van Goyen was a pupil of Esais van de Velde and the master of
Salomon Ruisdael, who produced Jacob Ruisdael, who in turn produced
Hobbema. Another famous pupil was Simon de Vlieger, who was also a
follower of Willem van de Velde.
=Jan Wijnants and his Followers.=--Around Wijnants cluster Adriaen van
de Velde, Wouwermans, Lingelbach, Barent Gael, Schellinkx, and Helt
Stockade.
=Characteristics of Van Goyen's Works.=--Jan van Goyen was fortunate in
being the son of an amateur of painting, who encouraged his talent.
After studying with various artists of no special reputation, he
travelled in France and on his return studied with Esais van de Velde.
He is always simple in painting and manner. Ordinarily he selects
tranquil river scenes on which merchant ships or fishing-boats are
quietly sailing. You often see hamlets on piles, and, very frequently,
the steeple of a church, standing out in picturesque contrast to the
horizon line. Sometimes a ruined tower forms the chief motive of his
composition.
=His Marines and Watery Landscapes.=--One of the principal
characteristics of Van Goyen's marines and landscapes is their
peacefulness, calmness, and slight touch of sadness. It is not the
sadness inspired by Ruisdael's groves, but a gentle melancholy feeling
that touches the imagination and induces dreams. The sun never appears
in Van Goyen's pictures. Humid clouds veil his skies, which in their
light portions have the silvery tones of Teniers. His beach or shore is
generally enveloped in a grayish mist, and in the moving clouds you feel
the breath of wind and fancy you hear it sigh. His long flat surface, so
dull and solitary, is animated only by a fishing-boat or a shallop.
Holland, because of its water-ways, is a silent country and the
impression of silence and peace is marvellously reproduced in Van
Goyen's pictures. He never allows a brilliant tone to disturb the
uniformity and harmony of his watery landscapes; but behind the clouds
that float across the sky you divine the far-away sun, like a light
behind a curtain. The famous View of the City of Dordrecht, by the
latter, signed and dated 1634, is a splendid example of his qualities
and style.
=His Illustrious Pupils.=--After his marriage, Van Goyen established
himself in Leyden, his native town, where he opened a school, to which
flocked painters who afterward became illustrious. Among them was Jan
Steen, who married Van Goyen's daughter Marguerite.
Only one of Esais van de Velde's (1590-1630) pictures--A Dinner in the
Open Air, painted in 1614, hangs in this gallery, so that one cannot
learn here how much Jan van Goyen owed to his master.
Hermann Saftleven (1606-81), a pupil of Jan van Goyen, painted, as a
rule, views of the Rhine and Moselle with small boats and figures. He
was a good portrait-painter and was successful with animals. His
Landscape with Cattle is a charming example of his work.
To Salomon Ruisdael, who so greatly resembles Jan van Goyen with his
pictures of canals, bordered with houses and trees, river banks, etc.,
we shall return when visiting the Rijks; for the Mauritshuis possesses
no picture of this artist. He taught his more famous brother.
=The Greatest of the Dutch Landscape-Painters.=--"Jacob Ruisdael
(1628-82) is beyond all dispute the greatest of the Dutch
landscape-painters. In the works of no other do we find that feeling
for the poetry of Northern nature and perfection united in the same
degree. With admirable drawing he combined a knowledge of chiaroscuro
in its most multifarious aspects, a coloring powerful and warm, and a
mastery of the brush, which, while never too smooth in surface, ranges
from the tenderest and most minute touch to the broadest, freest, and
most marrowy execution. The prevailing tone of his coloring is a full,
decided green. Unfortunately, however, many of his pictures have, in
the course of years, acquired a heavy brown tone, and thus forfeited
their highest charm. Many also were originally painted in a grayish
but clear tone."
=His Favorite Subjects.=--"He generally presents us with the flat and
homely scenery of his native country under the conditions of repose;
while the usually heavy clouded sky, which tells either of a shower
just past or one impending, and dark sheets of water overshadowed by
trees, impart a melancholy character to his pictures. Especially does
he delight in representing a wide expanse of land or water. If the
former, the scene is frequently taken from some elevation in the
surrounding country, commanding a view of his native city, Haarlem,
which is seen breaking the line of the horizon with its spires.
"Taken altogether, his wide expanses of sky, earth, or sea, with
their tender gradations of aërial perspective, diversified here and
there by alternations of sunshine and shadow, may be said to attract
us as much by the deep pathos as well as picturesqueness of their
character. On the other hand, we often find the great master taking
pleasure in the representation of hilly and even mountainous
districts, with foaming waterfalls, in which he has won some of his
greatest triumphs; or he gives us a bare pile of rock, with a dark
lake at its base; but these latter subjects, which embody the feeling
of the most elevated melancholy, occur very rarely. In his drawing of
men and animals he was weak, and occasionally obtained the assistance
of other masters, especially of A. van de Velde and Berchem."
=Difference between his Earlier and Later Works.=--"As he seldom dated
his pictures, and early attained his full development, we find a
difficulty in determining the order in which they were painted. His
earlier works, however, may be identified by the extraordinary
minuteness with which all objects--trees, plants, and every diversity
in the soil--are represented; by a decision of form bordering on
hardness, and by less freedom of handling and delicacy of aërial
perspective."[4]
=Reynolds's Estimate of him as a Landscape-Painter.=--Four very fine
examples of Jacob van Ruisdael are owned by the Mauritshuis: a Cascade,
a Strand, View of Haarlem, and View of the Vijver at The Hague.
After a study of these beautiful works, Sir Joshua Reynolds's estimate
of the painter will not seem excessive: "The landscapes of Ruisdael," he
says, "have not only great force, but have a freshness which is seen in
scarce any other painter."
=His Character seen in his Paintings.=--Ruisdael is considered by many
critics the greatest of the Dutch landscape-painters. His execution is
always masterly, and his works always express a poetic sentiment.
Ruisdael delights in portraying sombre forests, rushing cascades, trees
bent by the wind, gathering storm-clouds, and all the dark mysteries of
the woodlands. His misfortunes probably had much to do with increasing
his natural melancholy, to the great gain of his artistic development.
As a rule, the paintings of his mature period have greatly blackened
because he loved to paint sombre backgrounds, and always used a very
dark green for his foliage and other verdure. His earlier works have
remained brighter in tint; for at the beginning of his career he painted
the dunes and meadows, woods and roads near Haarlem, bathed in light
from sunny skies half veiled with clouds.
[Illustration: RUISDAEL
Distant View of Haarlem]
=His Picture of Haarlem.=--The View of Haarlem, taken from the dunes of
Overveen, shows a bird's-eye view of an immense stretch of country. In
the foreground is shown a level meadow on which strips of white linen
are being bleached; and on the left are the houses of the washerwomen.
Beyond, a vast stretch of country almost destitute of trees or
dwellings, reaches to the horizon line, where the town of Haarlem, with
its bell-tower, is discerned.
"All these miles of country," exclaims Burger, "are represented on a
little canvas only one foot eight inches high!"
This picture is regarded as one of the gems of The Hague Gallery.
The Cascade is noted for its warm lighting and careful execution; and
the beautiful Beach at Scheveningen for its heavy gathering clouds and
dim and broken light upon the water and shipping.
=Ruisdael's Sea Pieces.=--Ruisdael's sea-pieces are few; and, unlike
Willem van de Velde, he never represents the ocean in repose; his sea is
always stormy and sometimes raging, and the sky is full of heavy, angry
clouds. The waves are always fluid and full of motion.
=Some of his Notable Works.=--The Mauritshuis has the rare luck to
possess three pictures by Ruisdael, which are splendidly preserved, and
each of which exemplifies a separate style of the master. A fourth one,
bought more recently, is also exceedingly interesting in its way,
because it gives a view of the Vijverberg in The Hague; but the rest of
this picture is of such dubious art, and the color so sunken, that it
cannot hold its own beside the others in the collection. The Strand and
the View of Haarlem belong to the artist's middle period (between 1660
and 1670) as well as the Cascade. Bredius says:
"The still, heavy impasto and the clearness of the color make me think
it is one of the first waterfalls that Ruisdael painted. We never, or
hardly ever, find pictures of the painter's earliest period (covering
the years 1646 to 1655) in the Dutch galleries.
"A fine, strong, cleverly painted little picture of Ruisdael's,
painted in 1653, was sent to the Amsterdam Gallery with the Dupper
Collection. Another very clear, lovely, and beautifully worked study
of the Dunes, with a Grove, similar to the picture in the Louvre, is
owned by Madame van Vollenhoven in Amsterdam. A somewhat dark but
strong and spirited study, the Hut in the Dunes, also of his early
period, was lately acquired by the Haarlem Gallery, which hitherto had
owned nothing of Ruisdael's. These early pictures, of which, for
instance, the Leipzig Exhibition in the Autumn of 1889 was able to
show very important examples (the figures are often supplied by
Berchem), are very highly esteemed by connoisseurs."
=Love of Nature seen in his Earlier Works.=--"In these works we see
the youthful painter turning exclusively to Nature: a clump of bushes
on a dune; a glimpse of the 'Haarlemer Hout'; a grove of trees on the
shore, he paints exactly as he saw them. But how he saw them! In these
early pictures his color is brighter, his manner of painting thicker
and stronger than in his later works. Instead of the beautiful clouds
for which Ruisdael was so famous, we often see the sky still painted
in a more antique manner, with striped clouds in the style of his
uncle Salomon.
=His Growth toward Composition.=--"Gradually his subjects become more
'composed,' but in the best sense of the word. Only occasionally does
he wander away, as, for instance, in the Dresden Jewish Cemetery,
which lay in the neighborhood of Amsterdam, but which he set in a
fanciful landscape unknown to himself. He had quite another intention
in the picture before us: the View of Haarlem from Overveen, with its
bleaching-green in the foreground. Above it a beautifully clouded sky
with the floating clouds casting their shadows here and there over the
broad landscape. Amsterdam owns a similar picture; the Berlin Gallery
another; the Ritter de Steurs in Maestricht, a fourth; and there are
still others in private collections in England and Paris. Each of
these pictures has a new excellence,--Nature glorified through an
artistic eye and immortalized with the practised hand of an artist.
What mastery there is in the representation of the broad, broad
space!"
=His Carefulness of Detail.=--"Nevertheless Ruisdael does not neglect
the detail of his landscapes. We need only notice in him the
tree-characteristics--how carefully he handles every kind of foliage
in accordance with the forms of its leaves and branches; but with him
the whole is never subordinated to the details. When he paints the
sea--he does not paint it often--he does it better and more
artistically than any other painter. What a mighty effect his great
marine in Berlin produces! The real air from the sea seems to blow
upon us. Views of the seashore by him are even rarer. The Hague
picture shows us a beautiful view of a sea and sky happily illuminated
without the dark, melancholy tone which so often dwells in his works,
and which we would consider as a reflection of his own sad moods. Who
can it be that painted the fine figures in this picture? Perhaps it
was Eglon van der Neer."
=Vermeer's View of Delft.=--Vermeer of Delft (1632-75) was a pupil of
Karel Fabricius (whom we shall meet in the Rijks), who was a pupil of
Rembrandt. One of the most important and beautiful pictures in The Hague
Gallery is Vermeer's View of Delft. On an appreciative eye and receptive
mood it leaves a tenacious impression which will never be forgotten.
Until about thirty years ago, Vermeer of Delft was hardly thought of,
although in his own day his pictures were highly prized and sought
after, and later his work received great praise from Sir Joshua
Reynolds. It was the French critic Burger (Thoré), who rehabilitated
this great artist.
Bredius exclaims:
"How this picture shines out from the others around it like a stream
of light out of dark clouds!
"All the light which the artist saw fall upon his town, he has
succeeded in concentrating at once in this picture, the broad,
masterful, sure painting, the luminous colors, the clear sky which
arches over the town, all excite our highest admiration."
A drawing said to be a sketch for this picture is in the Stadel
Institute of Frankfort. The picture which brought 200 florins in 1698
was sold for 2,900 gulden at the Stinstra sale in 1822. (See
Frontispiece.)
=A Painter of Light and Sun.=--The beautiful picture of Diana and her
Nymphs, which was bought as a Maes in Paris in 1876 for 4,725 gulden, is
now attributed by some people to this master, and by others to Vermeer
of Utrecht.
Lemke says:
"Vermeer was a painter of the light and sun school; and this was his
chief study--to catch and hold fast the moment. What Frans Hals did
for physiognomy, grasping the flying moment in an incomparable manner
with winks, smiles, leers, gesticulations, etc., and fixing it in
paint, that Vermeer, as a landscape-painter, delighted to do for the
sunshine. He shows its rays streaming into a room or the play of light
and shadow when the light with the moving air falls through heavy
foliage against a bright house and paints it with rays of light and
shade. Unlike the moment of Rembrandt and Ruisdael, which is fixed for
all eternity, with Vermeer the moment vibrates in the light. The
shadows lose their sharp outlines, and the fine brush-work suggests
the living change and play of the light. Rembrandt paints light in
darkness and lets it glow in the dark, or streaming into it, or in a
broad flood of brilliance; but Vermeer prefers to set darkness or
twilight against the light. For interiors, Vermeer has another palette
and mode of painting than for the outdoor pictures. When he selects
the moment for this, where the scene consists of trees, houses, water,
etc., it would seem that the artist wanted to make us blink, as if we
were looking at the sun."
=Vermeer's Portrait of a Girl.=--Vermeer did not confine himself to
landscape. In 1903, The Hague Gallery acquired by bequest a remarkable
portrait by this master, the portrait of a girl wearing a buff coat, a
blue and cream turban, and magnificent pearl earrings, on which are
"concentrated," says the enthusiastic Frank Rinder,
"those dreams of gray, which are Vermeer's. Although in this portrait,
with its liquid spots of light, we at once apprehend the presence of
Vermeer, with his nostalgia for the interpretation of a beauty
visioned inwardly rather than seen with the eye, the picture passed
through the auction rooms at The Hague in 1878, fetching only 230
florins. It was bequeathed in 1903 to the Mauritshuis by M. des
Tombes."
"In his laying on of paint he was distinguished," says Frank Rinder,
"even among his technically well-equipped contemporaries; by virtue of
his isolated vision, he is of all the Little Dutchmen the one inimitable
weaver of spells."
=Jan Wijnants's Love for the Dunes.=--Jan Wijnants (1615-80) has two
pictures in the Mauritshuis, Clearing in the Forest (1659) and Road
through the Dunes (1675). Wijnants, the Haarlemite, loved his dunes, and
when he lived for years in Amsterdam (probably he died there), he
painted them even more frequently,--every little hill, with its sandy
rises and with little stunted trees, and those roads marked with deep
wagon-ruts, almost always bright and illumined with warm sunshine. How
had he observed them? How did he always know how to discover the
paintable spot? Frankly, his fancy sometimes made the hills somewhat
higher than we really find them at Haarlem; indeed, sometimes, he
created landscapes with so poetic a flight, or we might say he sometimes
composed them to such an extent that in truth we might seek them in vain
in Holland; as, for instance, the great pictures in the Munich museum.
We are, therefore, forced to conclude that he had seen Claude Lorraine's
pictures, and wanted to paint somewhat in the same spirit. In Haarlem he
was painted by Wouwermans, and as a fine little cavalier.
=His Pictures enlivened by other Artists.=--When he settled down in
Amsterdam in 1660, the always ready Adriaen van de Velde often assisted
him by enlivening his landscapes with charming little figures. He had no
idea that at present a Wijnants would be so much more highly valued on
account of his little figures than it would be without them. Lingelbach
undertook this work later, straining after Van de Velde but not
reaching him. In his early pictures, Wijnants is somewhat labored; but
by and by he acquires that sureness of painting which must have become
ever easier to him because he almost always painted the same subjects
and the same style of landscape. In his last pictures he was quite broad
and decorative in style, but less convincing. One picture with fine
little figures by Lingelbach bears the date 1675. In his Clearing in the
Forest (1659) he has depicted his favorite subjects: the old oaks
mutilated by the storm and partly stripped of their bark; the fallen
trunk of a tree and large, handsome plants, whose leaves pour raindrops
over the blades of grass that have pushed their way up between them. Van
de Velde has added to this lovely landscape a distant farm, cattle
walking along the road, and a pond crossed by a rustic bridge. "With
such simple objects," exclaims Blanc, "Wijnants and his pupil have
produced a masterpiece, expressing a poetry that few could perhaps
explain, but which every well-organized man can feel."
=Neglect of Dutch Scenery by Dutch Artists.=--Wijnants, like Van Goyen,
is not only an excellent painter but chief of a school. Until their time
the artists of the Netherlands hunted for scenery outside of their
country; for instance, Memling and Saftleven chose the borders of the
Rhine; others, like Savery, liked to wander in the Tyrol; others, like
Paul Bril, visited the Alps; others, like Everdingen, went to Norway to
get inspiration from pine forests and foaming cascades; and Asselijn,
Berghem, Jan Both, Moucheron, and Pynacker sought the sunny clime of
classic Italy. Into the "Italian landscapes," which they either brought
home or finished from memory when they returned, they frequently
introduced among the classic ruins and sunlit verdure the cattle and
peasants of their own country.
=Wijnants the Leader of a new School.=--Wijnants was one of the first to
take pleasure in his own country. In the environs of Haarlem, his native
town, he saw much that would make pictures of charm; so, while other
painters were roaming in foreign lands, he took walks in the
neighboring meadows and followed the paths that led to the dunes,
noticing everything on the way,--the tufts of grass, the shrubs, the
moss-covered stones, the trees, the roads, the hillocks, the flowers,
and taking note of the reflections of light on the bark of the trees,
the lichens growing on the stump of a tree, the common bugloss, burdock,
and thistle, and the swarming insects. Wijnants was the first to show
that poetry was to be found in the lonely walk that led to the sea.
=His Influence on other Artists.=--Nature seems to have been his chief
master; but he soon became the master of others. Adriaen van de Velde,
for instance, feeling his vocation for landscape, entered his studio in
Haarlem. It is said that one day his wife said to him, "Wijnants, this
child is your pupil to-day, but one day he will be your master." Instead
of being jealous, the painter never ceased to boast of his pupil's
talent, and even allowed him to contribute the figures in many of his
landscapes,--for Wijnants could paint only earth, trees, and sky. A
great number of the figures in Wijnants's pictures, therefore, are the
work of Adriaen van de Velde, who always introduces them modestly and in
such a way that they render the landscape even more attractive. Philips
Wouwermans and Lingelbach also were employed by Wijnants to add figures
to his pictures, and a few times Adriaen van Ostade aided him, also
Gael, Schellinkx (who painted the dunes very well himself), Jan
Wouwermans, Nicholas de Helt Stockade, the painter of battles, and
Wyntranck, the clever painter of farmyard animals.
=Dutch Landscape-Painters who followed Wijnants.=--Wijnants was, as has
been said, one of the creators of the Dutch landscape, one of the first
to imitate Nature in her humbler expression, finding beauty in common
things. After him came such landscape-artists as Philips Wouwermans,
Adriaen van de Velde, Daniel Schellinkx, Isaac Ostade, Karel Dujardin,
Paul Potter, and in some respects the great Ruisdael.
=Van de Velde's Favorite Subjects.=--Adriaen van de Velde (1635-72) was
a painter of animals, figures, interiors (rarely religious and
historical subjects). He is worthily represented in The Hague Gallery by
two pictures: a Dutch Roadstead and a Landscape with Cattle. Van de
Velde is also responsible for the figures in the pictures of Van der
Hagen (No. 47), Van der Heyde (No. 53), and Wijnants (No. 212), in this
gallery. Bode says:
=Impressionism and Naturalism.=--"Adriaen van de Velde is one of the
few artists by whom landscape and figures composed in a masterly
manner are both felt and thought out harmoniously. He stands so close
to our modern impression as does scarcely another of his day, being so
simple in his motives and going so straight to nature, that he knows
how to reveal the intimate connection between the outside world and
our own feeling. A real painter of moods, he excels in awakening in us
dark and gloomy feelings; his shadowy forest-glimpses on summer days,
with herdsmen reclining beside their panting cattle in obvious rest.
His bright mornings with the hunting-parties called together to the
halloo, with the gentlemen and nobles promenading on the walks near
their equipages, ring fresh and gay in the heart of the spectator; in
his homelike evening-feeling with the sound of the returning cattle,
he affects us with the feeling of happy departure and well-earned
rest."
[Illustration: A. VAN DE VELDE
A Dutch Roadstead]
=His Helpfulness to other Artists.=--The strong feeling in the figures,
and, particularly, the lifelike color of the landscape, is so individual
that almost all the landscape-painters of his home--Amsterdam--made use
of his assistance in peopling their landscapes,--Wijnants, Ruisdael,
Hobbema, Hackaert, F. R. de Moucheron, Ph. de Koninck, Verboom, and,
above all, Jan van der Heyde, have made excessive use of his services
and ability. Even with these artists, who were so foreign to each other
in style, the figures that he introduced are so fine that the force of
the landscape in both feeling and artistic effect is strengthened in the
highest degree; indeed, many of these pictures have attained a higher
fame solely through these contributions by the hand of Adriaen van de
Velde.
=His Skill as a Colorist.=--"The paintings of this artist have an
additional attraction in their rich and harmonious coloring, the
fineness of the tone, and the peculiar tender manipulation of the
pigments, which have such a soothing artistic effect.
"Some pictures painted in his last years have suffered by the sinking
in and change of color (notably the increase of blue in the green
leafage), by which some of their effect has been lost. The Landscape
with Cattle has not sunk in; but it has, nevertheless, lost some of
its original color in the green of the trees. The idyllic landscape
with its joyous, bright sunlight and its peaceful animal life, is a
good specimen of this style of Van de Velde's work. The picture is
signed 'A. V. Velde, 1663.'"[5]
=His Sea Pieces.=--The second picture of this artist in this gallery, A
Dutch Strand (1665) with numerous figures, is more important. Two
similar views of the seashore by him are at Cassel and in the Six
collection; and all these examples show that great and simple
representation of the sea, in which he is also remarkable for his fine
poetic feeling, equalling that in similar works by his brother Willem.
=Wouwermans's Delight in painting Horses.=--Philips Wouwermans's
(1619-68) half century of life was industriously spent in producing
about eight hundred pictures. Although his preference for the
representation of the horse is evident in almost all his works, there is
great variety in the treatment. Wouwermans is at the same time a
striking landscape-painter. In many of his pictures the landscape is
astonishingly often foreign and sometimes even Italian in subject, and
the figures are merely lay-figures. The Country Riding-School plainly
exhibits the artist's delight in horses. How beautifully painted are the
grays on the right! He draws a brown horse so often that it must have
been in particular favor. Some of his pictures must certainly have cost
the painter a great deal of time, especially when numerous figures occur
in them; as, for instance, in his horse-fairs and battle pictures.
=The Fruits of his Great Industry.=--It would appear that Wouwermans was
well paid, for he was able to give his daughter, who married the
flower-painter, De Fromantiou, a handsome dower,--Houbraken says 20,000
gulden! He was buried with pomp in Haarlem, on May 23, 1668, having
bequeathed to his widow, who was destined not to survive him two years,
a very good estate; and to us such a treasury of his art that we can
enjoy it all over the world, in almost every important public and
private collection.
=The Variety and Abundance of his Works.=--Whether he shows us the horse
wildly rearing in the battle or quietly watering at the river, or being
trained by an expert hand, or returning home to a well-cared-for stall
after a long ride, we always admire again the rich variety of the
master, who, an eminent horseman of knowledge and enthusiasm, never
wearies us as such. Many of his pictures are a true reproduction of the
farm life, or of the warfare of his day; and, on that account, have,
moreover, a historical value. Dresden alone possesses sixty-two, and St.
Petersburg fifty, of his pictures. The Hague Gallery has to be content
with nine. These are a Battle; the Hunt with Falcon; Arrival and
Departure from an Inn; A Country House; The Hay-Wagon; the Hunters'
Halt, a charming example of his earliest period; A Landscape with
Horses; and a Camp. In all these the horse plays an important part.
=Description of The Hay-Wagon.=--The Hay-Wagon is a popular work
representing a large canal and a large hay-wagon drawn by two horses,
and a man on horseback with a woman behind him on a pillion; farther
away are seen men loading boats with the hay. In the foreground on the
right are a woman with a little boy, a chariot drawn by a horse which is
led by a peasant.
[Illustration: P. WOUWERMANS
The Hay Wain]
=The Arrival at an Inn.=--The beautiful Arrival at an Inn represents an
inn and a barn. On the one side a coach is arriving, and on the left a
mounted lady and cavalier. Others are getting booted and spurred and
saddling mettlesome steeds prefatory for departure. In the left
foreground, a dwarf, a charlatan, and a monkey, eating a simple meal,
regardless of the bustle around them, give a touch of the life of the
travelling mountebank. A handsome castle closes the view on the left.
[Illustration: P. WOUWERMANS
The Arrival at the Inn]
=Crowe's Appreciation of Wouwermans.=--"Wouwermans's authentic works
are distinguished by great spirit and animation, and are infinitely
varied and full of incident, though dealing recurrently with cavalry
battle pieces, military encampments, scenes of cavalcades, and hunting
and hawking parties. He is equally excellent in his vivacious
treatment of figures, in his skilful animal painting, and in his
admirable and appropriate introduction of landscape backgrounds. Three
different styles have been observed as characteristic of the various
periods of his art. His earlier works are marked by the prevalence of
a foxy brown coloring, and by a tendency to an angular form in the
draughtsmanship; the productions of his middle period have greater
purity and brilliancy, and his latest and greatest pictures possess
more of force and breadth, and are full of a delicate silvery gray
tone."[6]
=Reynolds on Wouwermans's Three Different Manners.=--On his visit to the
Royal Collection in 1781, Sir Joshua Reynolds was greatly impressed with
the pictures of this artist, and said:
"Here are many of the best works of Wouwermans whose pictures are well
worthy the attention and close examination of a painter. One of the
most remarkable of them is known by the name of The Hay-Cart; another,
in which there is a coach and horses, is equally excellent. There are
three pictures hanging close together in his three different manners:
his middle manner is by much the best; the first and last have not
that liquid softness which characterizes his best works. Besides his
great skill in coloring, his horses are correctly drawn, very
spirited, of a beautiful form, and always in unison with their ground.
Upon the whole, he is one of the few painters whose excellence in his
way is such as leaves nothing to be wished for."
Johannes Lingelbach (1623-74), a native of Frankfort-on-the-Main,
settled in Amsterdam on his return from Italy. He was frequently
employed by Wijnants to insert figures and animals in his landscapes. He
was a successful imitator of Wouwermans.
=Crowe's Estimate of Lingelbach's Powers.=--"Lingelbach's coloring, as
was almost always the case with Wijnants's, and also with Wouwermans's
in his latest manner, is characterized by a cool and often delicate
silvery tone, which with him sometimes degenerates into coldness and
want of harmony. In his flesh, especially, a cold red tone often
prevails, added to which, neither in clearness nor impasto, does he
equal the above-named masters. He ranks, however, high for skill in
composition, good drawing, careful execution, to which is sometimes
added a happy vein of humor. He may be studied under all his different
aspects in the galleries of the Louvre, The Hague, and Amsterdam. Of
the four pictures by him in the gallery of The Hague, the Italian
Seaport, dated 1670, is remarkable for a power and warmth quite
unusual in this painter."[7]
=Examples showing the Variety of Lingelbach's Style.=--The variety of
his style is well exhibited in The Hague Gallery by four pictures of
different dates. These are the Italian Seaport, with large figures,
signed and dated 1670; the Departure of Charles II. from Scheveningen
for England in 1660, a very rich, luminous, and fine work; a small
Cavalry March, in which the little figures are beautifully executed and
are thoroughly original; and a Landscape with a Hay-Wagon, much in the
manner of Philips Wouwermans.
=Weakness of the Mauritshuis in Marines.=--The Mauritshuis is weak in
marines: two by Willem van de Velde; three by Backhuysen, two by Abraham
Storck, a view of the Amstel at Amsterdam by Torenburg (1737-86), a few
Italian Seaports, and a few Beaches at Scheveningen painted by the
landscape artists are all that the gallery owns.
=Excellence of W. van de Velde's Marines.=--Willem van de Velde
(1633-1707) stands very high in the ranks of the marine painters of the
seventeenth century. In the last years of that century we have artists
like Simon de Vlieger, Jan van de Capelle, Hendrik Dubbels, and Abraham
van Beyerex (in his rare marines); but Van de Velde is a master in his
sphere, especially when he represents the calm sea under bright
sunlight.
In his View on the Y we obtain enjoyment from the fine aërial
perspective, the correct drawing of the ships, and the numerous little
figures. The accuracy of the detail does not detract from the wonderful
composition, the play of the sunlight on sail and water, and the
beautiful sky, lightly flecked with clouds. Probably, the gaily
decorated ship on the left is the yacht of the Princes of Orange; the
boat which is being rowed away from it is bringing important visitors to
shore, while the trumpeter on the ship loudly announces their departure.
Although not of the very first rank, this picture belongs to the best
work of the master's middle period.
The other picture, of exactly the same size, is also identical in
subject and treatment. Both are small. The other picture owned in the
Mauritshuis is the Capture of the Royal Prince (June 18, 1666).
=His Greatness as a Marine Painter.=--"There is no question that
Willem van de Velde the younger is the greatest marine painter of the
whole Dutch school. His untiring study of nature of which his numerous
sepia drawings are the best evidence, his perfect knowledge of lineal
and aërial perspective and the incomparable technical process which he
inherited from his school,--all these qualifications enabled him to
represent the great element under every form, whether that of the
raging storm, the gentlest crisping wind, or of the profoundest calm,
with the utmost truth of form and color. Nor are his skies, with their
transparent ether and light and airy clouds, less entitled to
admiration than his seas; the surface of which he diversified, with
the purest feeling for the picturesque, by various vessels, near and
distant, which are drawn with a knowledge that extends to every rope.
Finally his various lightnings create the most charming effect of
light and shade. With this combination of qualities, so calculated to
please a seafaring nation, it is no wonder that he should have become
the most popular painter with the Dutch and English."[8]
=The Fulness of his Knowledge of the Sea and Ships.=--Both England and
Holland, the two greatest sea nations, agree that Willem van de Velde
was the greatest marine painter up to his time. In fact, no one had so
well observed the motion of the waters, their breaking, or their repose;
and no one knew so well the habits of sailors, the rigging of boats,
their behavior and their variety. He knew how to make them picturesque,
whether isolated between the sky and the water in the most beautiful
lines, or in cleverly foreshortening them while they gently rock on the
waves singly, or in picturesque groups. Nobody has better understood the
profound calm of the ocean, or better expressed the emotion produced by
an infinite horizon.
=The Van de Velde Family.=--The family was talented. Willem the Elder,
born at Leyden in 1611, was a magnificent draughtsman, and taught his
sons, Willem and Adriaen, drawing. Willem, however, became a pupil of
Simon de Vlieger, and the pictures that he sent to his father, then in
the service of the English king, astonished the Court. James II. sent
for the young man and offered him a pension. In England he frequently
colored his father's drawings; and on the Thames from Greenwich to
London he had a great opportunity for the study of shipping.
=The Simplicity of W. van de Velde's Pictures.=--With very simple
details, Willem van de Velde produces marvellous effects. He paints the
ocean from the shore to the distant horizon; and this straight line is
in beautiful contrast to the rounded clouds, while the severity of the
tall masts is relieved by the curves of the puffing sails. Sometimes a
group of fishermen on the beach or the end of a wharf of piles is seen
in the foreground; but he more frequently begins his picture in the
middle distance and gives the foreground up to waves slightly agitated
or with a buoy tossing in the rising tide, in such a way as to suggest
that the picture was painted not from the shore but from a vessel at
anchor.
=W. van de Velde compared with other Painters.=--Sir Joshua Reynolds
said: "Another Raphael might be born; but there could never be a second
Willem van de Velde"; and Havard calls him "not only the greatest marine
painter of the Dutch school, but also one of the greatest in the whole
world." Blanc draws the following distinction between Van de Velde and
Backhuysen: "Backhuysen makes us fear the sea, whilst Van de Velde makes
us love it."
=Backhuysen, a Painter of Ships and Shipping.=--Backhuysen (1631-1708)
probably owed his darker moods to his master Allart van Everdingen, who
was a pupil of Pieter Molijn (1600-54), whose works are now so rare, and
who was also one of the founders of Dutch landscape-painting. Backhuysen
was a painter of ships and shipping, as well as of the sea, and had a
practical knowledge of nautical matters.
=Examples showing his Style.=--Three pictures in The Hague Gallery
afford good examples for study of his style. One, Entrance to a Dutch
Port, dated 1693, shows an agitated sea, very remarkable for the happy
distribution of sunlight and shadows of clouds upon the water, and broad
yet delicate treatment; another is a View of the Wharf Belonging to the
Dutch East India Company, and is dated 1696; and the third has for its
subject The Landing of William III. of England in the Oranje Polder in
1692.
=Imitators of Backhuysen.=--Pictures by Jan van de Capelle and Jan
Dubbels often pass for Backhuysen's; and another imitator is Abraham
Storck, who is greatly inferior in elegance of touch. Good examples of
Storck's style--a Marine and a Shore--hang in The Hague Gallery. Storck
was much influenced by Lingelbach. The latter was also quite successful
with his harbors and quays, with their shipping and human figures.
=Simon de Vlieger as a Painter of the Ocean.=--A greater painter,
however, is Simon de Vlieger (1601-59), who is supposed to have studied
under Jan van Goyen, and painted landscapes in the style of that master;
he is famous for his marines. He frequently painted sea pieces which
included the coast. He was the first to represent the ocean in its
varying moods. His execution is free and soft, and his aërial
perspective very fine. Like the majority of the Dutch painters he loved
to paint Scheveningen. His Beach at Scheveningen, signed and dated 1643,
is a fine example of his work.
=The Diversity of his Subjects.=--"De Vlieger often paints birds of
the farmyard, which, both in truth and delicacy, are equal to anything
produced either by Hondecoeter or Flamen. His horses, hares, and sheep
may certainly pair with those of Van der Hecke, Jouckeer, or Jean
Leducq; his pigs are observed differently from those of Karel
Dujardin, but perhaps they are more true to nature because he has not
put any malice or irony into his representation of them. The diversity
of his subjects, the talent he displays in grouping figures and
animals in an extensive landscape, or in a boat passing along a canal,
or on the beach of Scheveningen where, in The Hague picture, we see
them huddling together as if the ocean had just cast them ashore with
its shells and fishes; the art of lighting them so as to delight the
eyes without too greatly distracting the mind from the spectacle of
vast nature and the infinite ocean--all that makes Simon de Vlieger
one of the most remarkable Dutch masters."[9]
De Vlieger was as eminent in interiors, ruins, and processions as in
marines and landscapes. He loved to frame familiar and rustic scenes in
beautiful landscapes; and he had no need to call upon others, such as
Barent Gael, Schellinkx or Van de Velde, for his figures, as so many of
his contemporaries did.
=Painters of Architectural Pictures: De Vries.=--Pictures in which
architecture forms the chief interest had their beginning with Jan
Vriedeman de Vries, who devoted himself to the study of Vitruvius and
Serlio. His works were very successful, though in the mannered taste of
his time.
=Hendrik van Steenwyck and his Son.=--A scholar of his, Hendrik van
Steenwyck (1550-1604), who became a master in Antwerp in 1577, painted
chiefly interiors of Gothic churches of fine perspective, both lineal
and aërial, and was the first to represent the light of torches and
tapers on architectural forms. One of the very numerous Francken family
usually added the human figures. His son Hendrik van Steenwyck was his
pupil and follower, though he painted in a cooler tone and was inferior
in all respects.
=Pieter Neeffs and his Son.=--Pieter Neeffs (1620-75), however, was the
elder Steenwyck's best pupil. He followed him in style but excelled him
in warmth of tone, power, and truthfulness in expressing torchlight
effects. Many of his pictures contain figures by Frans Francken the
younger, Jan Breughel, and David Teniers the elder. In the Mauritshuis
we find a good example of Pieter Neeffs,--The Interior of a Church, with
figures by Frans Francken III.
His son of the same name was his pupil and follower, but produced
pictures of inferior merit. To this group belongs Bartholomew van
Bassen, who painted interiors of the Renaissance churches and halls.
=Van der Heyden's Architectural Paintings.=--Jan van der Heyden
(1637-1712) is "the Gerrit Dou of architectural painters." His subjects
chiefly are well-known buildings, palaces, churches, etc., in Holland
and Belgium, canals in Dutch towns with houses on their banks, fine
perspective, the views selected with great taste. The trees are rather
minute in foliage. The figures in many of his works were supplied by A.
van de Velde, and after his death by Eglon van der Neer and Lingelbach.
A View of the Church of the Jesuits at Düsseldorf, signed and dated
1667, is a valuable work. The figures are by A. van de Velde. "The warm,
clear chiaroscuro in which the whole foreground is kept is admirable,
while the sunlight falling on the middle distance has a peculiar
charm."[10] He is also represented in The Hague Gallery by a still life.
=Other Architectural Painters.=--Other architectural painters are Gerrit
Berckheyde, who painted exteriors of buildings in his own country, and
occasionally interiors of churches; Jacob van der Ulft (1627-90), whose
large picture in the Mauritshuis of troops marching has already been
mentioned; Pieter Saenredam, whose works form a transition from the
earliest architectural painters like Pieter Neeffs to the maturest
expression of this class; Dirck van Deelen, a pupil of Frans Hals, who
has a view of the Binnenhof with the last great Meeting of the States
General; Emanuel de Witte, who, strange to say, was a pupil of Evert van
Aelst, the painter of dead game and still life; Hendrik van Vliet, pupil
of his father, Willem, who has an interior of part of the Old Church at
Delft in the Mauritshuis, of peculiar warmth, brilliancy of effect, and
delicate treatment of reflected lights; and last of all, Gerard
Houckgeest (?-1655), who is represented by the Interior of the New
Church at Delft and Tomb of William I. in the New Church at Delft.
=The Excellence of Houckgeest's two Paintings.=--"This almost unknown
artist is a new proof of the astonishing efflorescence of excellent
painters in Holland about the middle of the seventeenth century. Two
views of the Interior of the New Church at Delft, in The Hague Museum,
are on a level with the highest development of the school. It would be
difficult to render the brilliancy and transparency of full sunlight
more completely than in the one which contains the monuments of the
Princes of the House of Orange. The other picture also, inscribed with
the master's monogram, and 1631, is in every respect, and especially
in the soft and full treatment, of the utmost excellence."[11]
=Dou, Founder of the Leyden School.=--The founder of the Leyden school
of painters, Gerrit Dou (1613-75), is represented in the Mauritshuis by
a masterpiece of the first rank, which is considered one of the gems of
the gallery. It is known as The Good Housekeeper, The Household, and The
Young Mother.
=Description of The Good Housekeeper.=--In a large room that serves as
hall, dining-room, and sitting-room, as well as kitchen, is seated a
lady, handsomely dressed in a morning costume. She has evidently just
returned from market; for there is a plucked fowl in a basket on the
window seat and an unplucked bird on the table, where a cabbage also
lies. A hare hangs on the wall above, and below the table one notes a
fish on a platter, and near a pot a bunch of carrots. A lantern has
fallen on the floor in the foreground. The lady is sewing, with a basket
beside her and a sewing-pillow on her knee; while a little servant
watches the baby in its basket cradle. The pillar that supports the roof
is carved, the brass chandelier is of splendid design, the draperies are
heavy, and a coat-of-arms is painted on the windows. Everything betokens
wealth and comfort.
The young mother looks at us in a very friendly way with her attractive
little face. Our attention is first attracted to the group in the
foreground; but gradually we admire the complete representation of all
the little things around; the wonderful, finely expressed chiaroscuro,
the beautiful stream of light, and the boldness of the shadowed yet
plainly visible group in the background. The picture belongs to the
artist's middle period and is dated 1658; and although it has darkened,
it is still full of rich color.
[Illustration: GERRIT DOU
The Good Housekeeper]
=The Good Housekeeper presented to Charles II.=--When Charles II. left
Holland for his Restoration in England, the directors of the East India
Company could think of no finer present to offer him than a picture by
Gerrit Dou, which they bought for 4,000 florins from M. de Bie. It was
this very picture of The Good Housekeeper, which was afterwards brought
back to Holland by William III. and hung in his castle at Loo.
=Dou's Style imitated by his Pupils.=--It is by such pictures that we
test the numerous works of his pupils, which are now, and have been from
the end of the seventeenth century, offered for sale as Dou's. Very
early in life Dou made use of magnifying glasses, and with great care he
ground his own colors. Sandart relates that he once went with Pieter de
Laer to pay a visit to Dou, who was painting a broomstick "which was
slightly longer than a finger-nail." When Sandart praised his great
industry, he answered that he "had to work about three days longer on
it."
=His Devotedness to his Work.=--When the weather was not fine, he
stopped his work. He devoted his whole life to work. His palette,
colors, and brushes he carefully protected from dust, which gave him
much trouble; he put them away with the utmost care, and when he sat
down to paint he would wait a long time until the dust had entirely
settled. His studio was a large one with high lights, facing the north
and looking out on the still waters of the canal.
=His Fondness for Domestic Subjects.=--He almost always depicts a view
of the interior of a burgher's dwelling. He is the painter of nice,
quiet domesticity, and his people almost invariably look gay and happy.
When he attempts to portray strong emotions, his people do not look as
if they felt them; even his Dropsical Woman in the Louvre is dying
peacefully and with resignation. Dou was an excellent observer of all
surroundings, and the slightest objects in his pictures are represented
with the utmost completeness. Dou could readily please, and form a
school, in a Northern and Protestant country, where people lead an
indoor life, a silent, concentrated family life, where man is attached
to his dwelling, adorns it with care, and closes it in, with the feeling
of a sanctuary. In fact, Dou painted only familiar subjects on canvases
or panels of small size, such as are suited to the small cabinet of a
_curieux_, and he was one of the first to set in honor the most
_recherché_ style of painting in Holland,--that of little pictures
executed in that precious manner which the French of the eighteenth
century called the _beau fini_.
=Dou and Rembrandt contrasted.=--Dou differed greatly from his master,
Rembrandt. The one had the fire of genius; the other had patience. Even
when Rembrandt highly finished his pictures, he knew when to neglect
some accessory, to sacrifice some detail to the expression of the
essential parts, and thus to give full value to everything in the
picture that could appeal to the heart or interest the mind. Dou, on the
contrary, applying himself to what he considered the last word of
painting, tried to give equal importance to everything that entered into
his composition, without admitting any of those negligences that are
often such happy artifices, and taking as much care in the finish of a
pewter pot as in expressing the feeling in a woman's features, or the
thought in a man's physiognomy. Therefore, Dou's natural tendency,
instead of being modified by Rembrandt, became only more pronounced. As
his master broadened, his manner grew more smooth and polished.
=The Fruit of Dou's Precautions.=--His care in making his own brushes,
colors, and varnishes, and his precautions to keep his wet canvases free
from dust (he chose a studio overlooking stagnant water) have been
rewarded by the present condition of admirable preservation of his
pictures. His minuteness wearied his sitters and he soon failed as a
portrait-painter. It is related that he made a distinguished Dutch lady,
Madame Spiering, pose five days for her hand alone.
=He forsakes Portraits for Scenes in Common Life.=--As his sitters left
him one after another, Dou devoted himself entirely to represent the
scenes of common life without giving himself any trouble in selection,
being sure that in them he would find opportunities to display his
veritable genius, that of detail. He was content to take what first
offered as a subject, and the circle of his invention did not go beyond
that. He simply observed life in the neighboring shops: the
pepper-seller, when she is dangling the scales with the tips of her
fingers; the marketwoman verifying the transparence of her eggs by the
light of a candle, and the mysterious interior of the barber-surgeon. If
he sees in the street a servant coming home from market loaded with
vegetables, counting what she has spent and what she is going to steal
from the change, there is a picture already made. In the public square
he stops to study the faces of the simple dupes gathered around a
charlatan vaunting his elixir, teaching the practice of love-philtres,
and drawing teeth painlessly. His artist's eye finds motives readily at
hand; sometimes in the room of the embroiderer, absorbed in her
needlework; sometimes in the juvenile schoolroom, where the martinet
overawes his frolicsome pupils. He also delights in representing the
joys of the domestic hearth, that ever simple and ever charming picture
of the _mater familias_ busy with household cares, while the children
are rolling about on the floor at their grandmother's feet. Finally, he
sometimes goes so far as to be malicious and to complicate the
picturesque accidents of a winding staircase which a woman descends
softly to surprise her husband in the kitchen with the servant.
The simplicity of trivialities Dou made the subject of the finest and
most precious pictures in the world. The Herring Seller is as finely and
minutely painted as The Philosopher in Meditation.
=He preferred Interiors to Open-Air Scenes.=--Dou seldom painted
open-air pictures. Interior light suited him better; and moreover he had
learned chiaroscuro from Rembrandt. However, one of his most famous
pictures, The Charlatan (in the Old Pinakothek, Munich), is an
exception.
"Upon the whole, the single figure of the Woman Holding a Hare, in Mr.
Hope's collection, is worth more than this large picture, in which
perhaps there is ten times the quantity of work."[12]
=His Foreground in Many Cases bordered by a Window.=--His small pictures
of one or two figures were usually framed by a window. He has often
painted his own portrait thus, sometimes holding a trumpet, and
sometimes playing a violin. Having once found this natural border, the
painter framed all his models with it. To-day we see the girl with
beautiful blond hair blowing soap bubbles and smilingly watching the
prismatic globes rise in the air; to-morrow, the pretty girl who is not
sorry to have on her window-sill more than one pretext for showing
herself,--the canary-cage, hanging outside; a letter to read; a pot of
geraniums to water, and what not. And this fresh face, which has for a
background the transparent shadow of a room wherein a group of people
are conversing, comes forward to be gracefully framed by the vine that
runs along the sash, and with its contours relieves the cold regularity
of the architecture.
It is certain that this patient imitator of nature must have been very
industrious, if we may judge from the number of his pictures and the
time he devoted to each. His pupil, Karel de Moor, says so. The
pronounced liking of his countrymen for his pictures left him no repose.
=The Best Example of his Candle-light Scenes.=--He frequently painted by
the aid of a concave mirror, and to obtain exactness, looked at his
subject through a frame crossed with squares of silk thread. The Evening
School, in the Amsterdam Gallery, is the best example of the
candle-light scenes in which he excelled. President van Spiering of The
Hague paid him 1,000 florins a year simply for the right of preëmption.
=Godfried Schalcken, Pupil and Imitator of Dou.=--The other picture
credited to Dou, A Young Woman Holding a Lamp in her Hand, and which was
so greatly admired by Sir Joshua Reynolds, is thought to be by Godfried
Schalcken (1643-1706). Those who are curious on this question may turn
to a picture by Schalcken called a Lady at her Toilette, by
candle-light, an effect which he was so fond of painting.
=His Device for securing Candle-light Effects.=--Schalcken was a pupil
of Dou, under whom he acquired delicacy of finish and skill in the
treatment of light and shade. He gained a reputation for his small
domestic scenes, chiefly with candle-light effects; and, to treat these
accurately, he is said to have placed the object he intended to paint in
a dark room with a lighted candle and peeping through a small hole
painted by daylight the effects he saw. A pupil of Samuel van
Hoogstraaten and Gerrit Dou (who were pupils of Rembrandt), he became an
imitator of the latter, following him in his depth of tone, extreme
finish, and preference for night scenes.
=Schalcken's Weakness in Drawing.=--Blanc says he was aware of his
weakness in drawing, particularly the extremities of the human body, and
this was one reason he liked partly to conceal his subjects in shadows
and half-lights. His master, Dou, had made a sensation with his Evening
School (in the Rijks) in which the effect of candle-light is treated
with such skill; but what was a caprice with Dou, Schalcken made a
habit. His pictures are a series of fantastic scenes and illusions. This
painter saw the night only; his pictures whether mythological,
historical, religious, or commonplace scenes, are always nocturnal ones.
Blanc says: "His brush was a permanent candle."
=His Great Popularity.=--Schalcken, however, attained an enormous vogue,
and many of the wealthy Dutch had their portraits painted by him,
pleased with the mysterious or piquant light he threw upon them. He went
to London, where he painted William III. with a candle in his hand. This
is now in the Rijks. Schalcken found Kneller too strong a rival, and
returned to Holland, having, however, acquired a good deal of money. The
Mauritshuis also contains four others of his pictures: a Portrait of
William III., King of England; _La morale inutile_; A Visit to the
Doctor; and a Venus.
=The Best Examples of Ostade's Work.=--Among the best recognized
examples of Ostade's work are: The Fiddler and his Audience (1673) and
Peasants in an Inn (1662), in The Hague; The Village School (1662), in
the Louvre; the Tavern Courtyard (1670), at Cassel; and The Sportsman's
Rest (1671), at Amsterdam.
=Description of The Fiddler.=--One of the gems of The Hague Gallery is
The Fiddler by Adriaen van Ostade (1610-85). The old dilapidated inn
with its broken casement window is picturesque because of the graceful
festoons of vine-leaves that grow above the roof and penthouse. A
wandering fiddler is playing to the innkeeper and his wife, who lean
over the door, while five children and a dog are variously grouped. A
young man with a large tankard in his hand also enjoys the music in his
lazy position.
[Illustration: A. VAN OSTADE
The Fiddler]
=Description of Peasants in an Inn.=--"Peasants in an Inn was painted
in 1662; but it exhibits all the qualities of Ostade's best work. The
figures are drawn true to life. Very charming is the poodle gazing
with great interest at the child, who is eating his bread and butter.
By allowing the full daylight to fall from the left through the door
while the background is lighted by a high window, Ostade gives himself
every opportunity to express his chiaroscuro as beautifully as he
desires. The little pot on the tree-trunk and all the other still life
of this picture forcibly remind us that Ostade was an unusually great
master in this field. His small pictures of still life, principally
representing pots and other kitchen stuff, are pearls of the first
water; but they are somewhat rare. The coloring of this picture is
warm, but it melts into cool tones, which we find still more strongly
in The Organ Grinder of the same gallery, which was painted eleven
years later."[13]
The Demand in Marriage, painted between 1650 and 1655, also hangs in the
Mauritshuis. This picture is owned by Dr. A. Bredius.
=Ostade's Pictures Generally taken from Low Life.=--The number of
Ostade's pictures as given by Smith is 385; but it is thought that he
painted even more. About 220 pictures have been traced in public and
private collections.
Adriaen Ostade was the contemporary of David Teniers and Adriaen
Brouwer, and, like them, chiefly devoted himself to painting rustic and
village life, tavern and gambling scenes, brawls and open-air games.
Smokers, drinkers, fish-wives, quacks, strolling musicians, itinerant
players, wood-cutters, children at play, alehouse-keepers and their
wives, all find sympathetic treatment. Like Brouwer, Ostade wandered
about the towns and country, finding his models in the taverns and
cottages.
=Increase in the Value of his Pictures.=--He painted with equal vigor at
all times; and so highly appreciated is he that pictures worth little in
his day now bring large sums. For instance, in 1876 Earl Dudley paid
£4,120 for a cottage interior. According to Houbraken, Ostade was a
pupil of Frans Hals, while he was also teaching Brouwer.
=Crowe's Opinion of Ostade's Style.=--"There is less of the style of
Hals in Adriaen Ostade than in Brouwer, but a great likeness to
Brouwer in Ostade's early works. During the first years of his career,
Ostade displayed the same tendency to exaggeration and frolic as his
comrade. He had humor and boisterous spirits, but he is to be
distinguished from his rival by a more general use of the principles
of light and shade, and especially by a greater concentration of light
on a small surface in contrast with a broad expanse of gloom. The key
of his harmonies remains for a time in the scale of grays. But his
treatment is dry and careful, and in this style he shuns no
difficulties of detail, representing cottages inside and out, with the
vine leaves covering the poorness of the outer side, and nothing
inside to deck the patch-work of rafters and thatch, or tumble-down
chimneys and ladder staircases, that make up the sordid interior of
the Dutch rustic of those days. His men and women, attuned to these
needy surroundings, are invariably dressed in the poorest clothes. The
hard life and privations of the race are impressed on their shapes and
faces, their shoes and hats, worn at heel and battered to softness, as
if they had descended from generation to generation, so that the boy
of ten seems to wear the cast-off things of his sire and grandsire. It
was not easy to get poetry out of such materials. But the greatness of
Ostade lies in the fact that he often caught the poetic side of the
life of the peasant class, in spite of its ugliness and stunted form
and misshapen features. He did so by giving their vulgar sports, their
quarrels, even their quieter moods of enjoyment, the magic light of
the sungleam, and by clothing the wreck of cottages with gay
vegetation."[14]
=Ostade the Greatest Dutch Painter of Peasant Life in his Day.=--Adriaen
van Ostade is rightly regarded as the greatest of the Dutch painters of
the seventeenth century who represented the peasant life of that day. In
song and dance, weddings and _kermesses_, at bowling, love-making, and
drinking, Ostade always was an observer of country folk, although he
himself was a townsman, and held a rather exalted position in the world.
His second wife seems to have raised him into a very high social class
of Amsterdam families, as numerous records of executions of wills, which
the painter must have signed in Amsterdam, inform us. To some extent,
his peasants involuntarily progress parallel with the force of his own
life. In his earliest pictures, when Ostade was still a modest artist,
his peasants are also still quite peasant-like; in his tavern-scenes
things are still very lively. Later, when the painter became closely
related to refined and well-to-do patricians, his peasants also became
more prosperous and polite; in a word, more decorous. Unfortunately, his
painting also became somewhat more polished and smooth, so that the
early pictures, and particularly those of the middle period, more
strongly delight the heart of an artist than the cool, smooth works of
the later period. Ostade is eminent in his coloring, chiaroscuro, and
composition: he knows how to arrange his groups in the most spontaneous
and natural manner; and truly artistic is his method of illumination,
for which, knowingly or unknowingly, he has to thank Rembrandt. In his
earliest pictures, which have a somewhat cold tone grading into gray,
reminding us of his teacher Hals (from 1631 to 1640), there still
remains some local color. The subjects, mostly peasants in poor homes or
in the tavern, are energetically conceived. Bode rightly says:
"Instead of the pleasant humor and the poetry of the prosperous middle
class which are common to the later pictures, these earlier works
display an effort for characterizing according to life and movement; a
keen humor in the spirit of Hals and Brouwer; and, particularly, a
characteristic inquiry into the separate individualities, such as the
lifelike representation of an expressive scene, the feasting, round
dances, and fighting of his jovial peasant folk."
=Bredius on the increasing Brightness of his Pictures.=--"He died in
1685. Before 1640 his chiaroscuro was already finer, and between 1640
and 1655 (his flowering-time) many of his pictures show no traces of
Rembrandt's influence. The tone of his works was quite different and
approaches a warm brown; the chiaroscuro, as, for instance, in his
well-known Painter's Studio in Amsterdam; and later, very closely
repeated (Dresden, 1663), attains the highest degree of freedom; then
his pictures become somewhat slowly cooler, the tone gets constantly
grayer, but the drawing always remains strikingly correct, the
grouping natural, and the pictures become brighter, smoother, and more
polished. In the meantime Ostade had become a finer, more respectable
gentleman. Well on in years, he could leave this life without worry,
and was buried at Haarlem by his admirers and pupils on May 2, 1685."
=Ter Borch's Freedom from Grossness.=--Ter Borch (1617-81) is excellent
as a portrait-painter, but still greater as a painter of _genre_
subjects. He depicts with admirable truth the life of the wealthy and
cultured classes of his time, and his work is free from any touch of the
grossness which finds so large a place in Dutch art. His figures are
well drawn and expressive in attitude; his coloring is clear and rich,
but his best skill lies in his unequalled rendering of textiles in
draperies.
=The Elegance of his Sitters.=--Ter Borch was not only an excellent
painter of Conversations, he was, indeed, the creator of his _genre_.
With a little less wit and a little less taste, perhaps, than Metsu, he
charms you with his family concerts, his _tête-à-tête_ lovers, his light
afternoon repasts, and in selecting for heroes the most elegant
cavaliers of the world in which he lived. His pretty pages with great
puffed sleeves striped with velvet, and those blond ladies with
transparent complexions, plump hands, and round waists, constitute a
type that no artist has so well represented as Ter Borch. Before
depicting these delightful and familiar scenes, he first learned to
imitate all that could add to the charm of these pictures of private
life,--silken draperies, Turkish rugs, leather, ermine, velvet, and
satin,--more particularly satin, and _white_ satin above all else. The
most striking example we shall see at the Rijks, in the picture called
Paternal Advice, known also as the _Robe de Satin_.
=Resemblance between his Paintings and those of Metsu.=--There is so
much resemblance between Gerard Ter Borch (or Terburg) and Metsu that at
first it is hard to distinguish them. Their subjects are much the same;
for instead of painting scenes of low life--inns with carousing
peasants, etc.--both turn with sympathy to high life; _sujets de mode_
is the name given to their works in which satins, velvets, silks, and
lace, rich robes and mantles, elegant hangings, and table-carpets figure
so largely.
=The Difference between Ter Borch and Metsu.=--The difference between
Ter Borch and Metsu is defined by Blanc, who says it is the difference
between _bonhomie_ and _finesse_; the one is naive and gracious, the
other ingenious and piquant. Both, however, are charming in the way they
introduce us into a house and show us some little comedy that is being
played by the unconscious lovers, family group, or party of friends.
Like Metsu, Ter Borch is particularly fond of making music a motive of
his pictures. A timid love often expresses itself to the notes of a
mandolin or lute; sometimes we surprise a musical party singing and
playing instruments; a lady composing music or trying a new piece for
the first time, while her gallant and richly dressed lover stands by her
side. Sometimes we see a young lady quite alone in jacket of
puce-colored velvet plucking her lute, which rests on her satin skirt.
Sometimes again the conversation takes place in front of a clavecin,
where the lady's hands are painted in correct position, though she
pauses to hear what her lover has to say, while her spaniel sleeps on
the foot-warmer.
=Ter Borch's Conversations characterized.=--"Pretty little dramas,"
Blanc calls these Conversations of Ter Borch, "dramas without action or
noise, which excite the thought only, and whose intrigue consists only
in a clasp of the hand, the lowering of an eyelid, or the exchange of a
glance and a smile." He also calls attention to the type of woman
represented by Ter Borch, Van Mieris, and Metsu, all of whom have high
foreheads on which a few little curls wander, like those made
fashionable at this period by Ninon de Lenclos, and known as "_boucles à
la Ninon_."
=The Women of Ter Borch's Pictures.=--The women of Ter Borch's pictures
are like Rousseau's pen-portrait of Madame de Warens, who
"had an air caressing and tender, a very gentle glance, ash-colored
hair of uncommon beauty, which she arranged in a very _négligé_ style
that produced a piquant effect. She was small and a little thick in
the waist; but it would be impossible to find a more beautiful head or
a lovelier bust, hands, and arms."
Dr. Bredius, who calls attention to Ter Borch's position in the hall of
fame as singular in the fact that he has never been assailed by critics,
nor, on the other hand, sufficiently appreciated, says:
"Without striking originality, without any commanding dramatic
quality, without humor, and without any startling light effects, Ter
Borch is yet entitled to the name of the first _genre_ painter of
Holland,--indeed, of all schools,--merely by his perfect talent and
fulfilment as an artist. Rightly is Ter Borch called the most eminent
painter of the Dutch school. Not only does he paint high society
almost exclusively, but he does it in a distinguished style. The pose
of his figures, the composition of his picture, the fine color, the
admirable drawing, all breathe an elegance which is not met with
elsewhere in the Dutch school. Thereby, he is the one and only master
of his subject. What he paints is always completed to the highest
degree. We never find in him a trace of effort. What he does must be
so and not otherwise. We look for humor in him in vain; but nobility
we always find, and not least in his likenesses, which,
notwithstanding their small dimensions, are 'the last word of a
portrait.'"
[Illustration: TER BORCH
The Despatch]
=Description of The Despatch.=--The Despatch, dated 1655, belongs to his
second period. On a low chair beside a table on which stand a decanter
and beaker, an officer is sitting with his wife or sweetheart. She is
sitting on the floor reclining against his knee. Both are young. He
holds the despatch in his hand and she looks somewhat distressed. In
front of them stands the trumpeter, who, it appears, has brought the
message. The officer is fully dressed, and on the table beside him lie
his weapons.
=His own Likeness, painted by Himself.=--The other picture of Ter
Borch's in this gallery is his own likeness, painted by himself about
1660. He is dressed entirely in black and stands out strongly against a
gray background. He wears a large wig, the curls of which shade his
rather melancholy face, distinguished by a long nose and grayish
moustache. It was probably painted while Ter Borch was a burgomaster of
Deventer.
=Caspar Netscher's Family Group.=--Much in the same style as Ter Borch's
Conversations is Netscher's Family Group. Caspar Netscher (1639-84) was
a pupil of Ter Borch, and this is one of the best works of his best
period. The painter, in a red slashed jacket, is accompanying on his
lute his daughter, who is singing, and whose timidity is well expressed.
She wears a dress of white satin and has feathers in her hair. On the
other side of the table covered with a Persian carpet, and in the half
light, sits Netscher's wife. On the back of the arm-chair in which
Netscher is sitting is his signature and the date 1665. Netscher is also
represented by two portraits--Mr. and Mrs. Van Waalwijk.
=Few Examples of Metsu.=--Metsu, like many other Dutch masters, is
poorly represented in the great public galleries of his own country.
While The Hague Gallery has but three and the Rijks only four, the
Louvre, for example, has eight and Dresden six.
Those who have seen pictures by Metsu (1630-67), Ter Borch, or Caspar
Netscher, will have a better knowledge of the customs and costumes of
the upper classes at the period of the Stadtholders, their faces, their
polished manners, their interiors, and even their thoughts, than if they
had read many books of travel, whole volumes of geography, description,
and history.
=The Rich Dutchman as painted by Metsu.=--As he appears in the pictures
of Gabriel Metsu, the rich Dutchman is domesticated, methodical, and
well regulated in his life. His house is the universe for him. In this
cherished and well-arranged abode, he concentrates as many joys as the
ancient kings of Asia assembled in the palaces of Susa or Ecbatana. His
country's and his own ships have "ploughed the sea from end to end,
penetrating to Japan for porcelain and amber, and bringing back from Goa
pepper and ginger." From the ends of the earth have come to him all
things that could charm his family life and distract the melancholy that
the sad nature of the North and its long winters inspire. Asia has sent
to him her muslins, spices, and diamonds; the polar ice has furnished
him with the furs that edge the velvet robes which his wife and his
eldest daughter wear indoors. The birds, insects, shells, and mineral
specimens of the most distant climes fill his cabinet, carefully
arranged under glass. In his gardens flourish rare plants, the choicest
flowers and bulbs cultivated by himself or under his own eyes. His
furniture, of exquisite taste and workmanship, carefully looked after
and incessantly cleaned, does not suffer by the changes of fashion; it
is transmitted from father to son, and lasts for generations. His alcove
bed is supported by ebony columns and closed in with green damask
curtains. Hanging from the ceiling, a candelabrum of gilt bronze spreads
its branches twisted into elegant volutes. The floors are waxed till
they are a pleasure to the eye, the windows are polished, the door-knob
is shining, the furniture gleams like a mirror, and yet the daylight
falling through lightly tinted taffeta curtains sheds over all these
objects only a soft, moderate, and harmonious radiance.
=How Metsu depicts the Manners of the Dutch.=--"The manners of
Holland, as well as its material physiognomy in civil life, its
interiors, its furniture, the decoration and luxury of its apartments,
are all written down in Metsu's pictures with charming clearness,
which is all the more pleasing since this merit seems to be
involuntary in the painter. After two hundred years, his work may
serve for the complete reconstitution of a well-to-do interior as it
was composed in the seventeenth century by the climate of the country,
the character of its inhabitants, and the historic circumstances in
the midst of which the Dutch merchants, the masters of the commerce of
the world, then lived.
"By Metsu's favor we are able to penetrate into those interiors which
are so jealously closed to strangers. Most often it is by a window
that serves as a frame for his picture that Metsu gives us access to
the boudoirs of fashionable ladies, and makes us take them by
surprise, sometimes in velvet _déshabille_ writing their secrets;
sometimes finishing their toilette in view of a hoped-for visit; and
sometimes breathing over the keys of their clavecin the sighs of their
hearts and the thoughts they do not express."
=His Carefulness in selecting Details.=--"Metsu rarely paints an
interior without introducing the pet spaniel of the period, which
often contributes much to our comprehension of the scene by the
character of its attitude.
"There are some Dutch masters who unintelligently accumulate
innumerable details everywhere. They make a picture of manners the
pretext for a ridiculous display of furniture, crystal, lustres,
_chinoisarie_ and curiosities of every kind; their interiors resemble
bazaars. Metsu puts beside his subjects only those details necessary
to make the intrigue clear, and to explain the conversation.
=His Treatment of Still Life.=--"However great may have been his
talent for painting still life, he never allowed himself to be carried
away, like so many others, by that vulgar pleasure; but, on the other
hand, what finish! what a precious touch! And then how he loves to
give full value to the beauties of local color, or to shade a Turkey
carpet, or to grade down the lights on gold and silver vases. What
pleasure he takes in the Bohemian glasses and the transparent liquors
that half fill them! The glasses in his pictures have great
importance, for the life of a retired Dutchman is spent in continual
smoking and drinking; but in Metsu we no longer see the
Pantagruelesque glasses of several stages that Van Ostade's peasants
always have in their hands; these are fine and more discrete glasses,
of elegant form, tall and oblong glasses in which the Haarlem beer
froths; glasses cut and fashioned in twenty different ways, octagon
glasses each facet of which ends with a curve and which cut the light
with their sharp edges, or glasses the calyx of which forms a reversed
cone on a heron's claw, or elongates into a swan's neck, and finishes
like a trumpet; lastly, the glasses of the grandparents, sometimes of
an imperishable thickness and solidity, sometimes as delicate, light,
and thin as an onion skin."[15]
=Favorite Subjects.=--Metsu is fond of representing the patricians of
his day and their womankind either in pleasant entertainment, or, more
frequently, in individual figures engaged in quiet work. A picture of
this class is The Amateur Musicians. The lady on the left is very
quietly playing her instrument with the same sense of repose that is
expressed by the lady who seems to be writing down the notes. Only on
the face of the elegant gentleman standing behind her chair is painted a
merry, almost roguish, smile.
[Illustration: METSU
The Amateur Musicians]
=The Elegance of Metsu's Figures.=--The figures are drawn with
certainty; the artistic handling of the subject is remarkable; and a
fine feeling for color is shown in the selection of the tones. In
Metsu's figures we notice an elegance and a nobility which are not found
elsewhere except in Ter Borch.
=The Influence of other Artists on Metsu.=--It is strange that the
earliest works of Metsu, which are the most broadly painted ones, show
little of Dou's influence, which is always so unmistakable in his
pupils, so that Bode believes he finds in them the working of Hals's
influence; and, in fact, the large pictures of Metsu's early period are
painted with a broad brush in Hals's gray tones. When Metsu removed to
Amsterdam, he fell more under Rembrandt's influence, and the beautiful
chiaroscuro of his later works incontestably proves this.
=His Miscellaneous Works.=--Metsu's Biblical and allegorial pictures are
the least important of his works. Besides The Amateur Musicians, signed
by Metsu, the Mauritshuis possesses a fine Portrait of a Huntsman dated
1661, and a great academical, constrained allegory of Justice Protecting
the Widow and Orphan, a picture that was found in the vestibule of a
house in Leyden in 1667. It was painted in 1655.
Crowe, who does not believe that this "rough and frosty composition" is
the work of Metsu, says:
"What Metsu undertook and carried out from the first with surprising
success was the low life of the market and tavern, contrasted with
wonderful versatility by incidents of high life and the drawing-room.
In each of these spheres he combined humor with expression, a keen
appreciation of nature, with feeling and breadth, with delicacy of
touch, unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries. In no single instance
do the artistic lessons of Rembrandt appear to have been lost on him.
The same principles of light and shade which had marked his school
work in The Woman Taken in Adultery[16] were applied to subjects of
quite a different kind. A group in a drawing-room, a series of groups
in the market-place, a single figure in the gloom of a tavern or
parlor, was treated with the utmost felicity by fit concentration and
gradation of light; a warm flush of tone pervaded every part, and,
with that, the study of texture in stuffs was carried as far as it had
been by Terburg, or Dou, if not with the finish or the _brio_ of De
Hooch. Metsu's pictures are all in such admirable keeping and so warm
and harmonious in his middle, or so cool and harmonious in his closing
time, that they always make a pleasing impression. They are more
subtle in modulation than Dou's, more spirited and forcible in touch
than Terburg's; and, if Terburg may of right claim to have first
painted the true satin robe, he never painted it more softly or with
more judgment as to color than Metsu."
One of the best pictures of Metsu's middle period is The Market Place of
Amsterdam, in the Louvre.
=Two Fine Portraits by F. van Mieris.=--Frans van Mieris (1635-81)
reached the highest rung of art in his portraits, of which The Hague
Gallery possesses two fine examples. One is of Florentius Schuyl,
Professor of Medicine and Botany in the University of Leyden, painted in
1666, and a still more important picture of the painter himself and his
wife. He has made a charming _genre_ picture of it, which Sir Joshua
Reynolds admired, not knowing who the characters were. The artist shows
himself standing and pulling the ear of the beautiful little dog which
his wife holds in her lap, while, to protect her pet, she gently wards
off her smiling husband with her right hand. The little dog's mother is
trying to spring into the lady's lap in order to take care of her
offspring. Both the drawing and modelling here are masterly, and endow
the scene with such charm that this work must be pronounced one of the
best by his brush. The tablecloth and the lute lying upon it are
beautifully painted.
=Description of Soap Bubbles.=--Sir Joshua also noticed the picture of
Soap Bubbles dated 1663, representing a boy at an open and vine-framed
window, blowing bubbles that are exquisitely painted and show beautiful
reflections and prismatic colors. His red hat with white plumes is lying
on the window-sill, near a bottle containing a sprig of heliotrope, and
above hangs a cage. Behind the child in the half-light stands a young
woman with a dog in her arms. On the window-frame is written the date in
Roman numerals. Willem van Mieris often imitated this composition of his
father's, who frequently repeated it himself.
=Pictures by Van Mieris Full of Refinement.=--Van Mieris takes us into
an elegant world, although he himself was fond of low life, a heavy
drinker and the companion of Jan Steen. He was the son of a goldsmith
and diamond-setter of Leyden, who wanted him to follow his business. He
was naturally influenced by his earliest surroundings, and in his
father's shop became familiar with the dress and manners of people of
distinction. His eye was also fascinated by the sheen of jewelry and
stained glass. Houbraken writes:
"Seeing his talent for painting his father placed him with Abraham
Torenvliet, a famous glass painter and a good draughtsman. From him he
passed to the school of Gerrit Dou, where in a short time he eclipsed
every one and gained the affection of the master, who loved to call
him 'the prince of his pupils.' At the end of a few years, his father
sent him to the historical painter Abraham van Tempel; but he did not
remain long with him, for his natural taste would allow him to follow
no other manner than that of Gerrit Dou,--a manner extremely finished,
demanding attention and excessive care."
=His Love of Elegant Accessories.=--Houbraken calls Metsu a painter of
_sujets de mode_. This term applies also to Frans van Mieris; for
certainly with him costumes, materials, and accessories play an
important part. If his people were less attractive one might imagine
that they were only a pretext for showing off the velvet jackets, satin
skirts, and rich furs. Very often Van Mieris shows us a spacious and
magnificently decorated hall, in the background of which a richly
dressed lady and her lover are walking; again he allows us to peep into
a charmingly furnished room where a lady in white satin is playing the
lute to entertain her guest, a handsome cavalier in black velvet; or we
surprise a lady as she is about to drink a glass of wine which a page
offers her on a silver salver. At other times we find a group of ladies
and gentlemen about to enjoy a light repast; or see a table invitingly
spread with luscious fruit in rich silver dishes; or watch a lady feed
her parrot. Sometimes the pet monkey is discerned behind the looped-back
curtains of taffetas. Frans van Mieris seldom chose panels above 12 by
15 inches in size. He never ventured to design life-sized figures.
=The Kind of Subjects he treated Best.=--"Characteristic of his art in
its minute proportions is a shiny brightness and metallic polish. The
subjects which he treated best are those in which he illustrated the
habits or actions of the wealthier classes; but he sometimes succeeded
in homely incidents and in portraits, and not unfrequently he ventured
on allegory. He repeatedly painted the satin skirt which Terburg
brought into fashion, and he often rivalled him in the faithful
rendering of rich and highly colored woven tissues. But he remained
below Terburg and Metsu, because he had not their delicate perception
of harmony, or their charming mellowness of touch and tint; and he
fell below Gerard Dou, because he was hard and had not his feeling for
effect by concentrated light and shade. In the form of his
composition, which sometimes represents the framework of a window
enlivened with greenery, and adorned with bas-reliefs, within which
figures are seen to the waist, his model is certainly Gerard Dou."
=His Lack of Humor.=--"It has been said that he possessed some of the
humor of Jan Steen, who was his friend, but the only approach to humor
in any of his works is the quaint attitude and look of a tinker in a
picture at Dresden, who glances knowingly at a worn copper kettle
which a maid asks him to mend.... If there be a difference between his
earlier and later work, it is that the former was clearer and more
delicate in flesh, whilst the latter was often darker and more livid
in the shadows."[17]
Blanc says:
"Among so many Dutch painters who copy nature it is very pleasant to
find one who deigns to select his models, and who, preferring grace to
ugliness, would rather paint beautifully women elegantly dressed than
_magots_. Strange, indeed! He loved distinction, yet lived in a
tavern; he loved luxury, and was soon ruined; and, in spite of a life
devoid of dignity, Van Mieris always kept a love of beauty and
elegance, as is shown in his delicate faces, fine complexions,
beautiful hands, grace of attitude, taste in costume and furniture,
and choice of splendid materials."
=Willem van Mieris.=--The Grocer's Shop, by his son and pupil, Willem
van Mieris (1662-1747), signed and dated 1717, also hangs in The Hague
Gallery. In extreme finish and minuteness of painting, this picture
would not disgrace Mieris the Elder or Gerrit Dou.
=Its Wealth of Still Life.=--You see only two figures, a young boy who
is buying and a young woman who is selling; but these figures are of no
more importance than the foods of all kinds exposed in the shop, on the
sill of the window, and outside. The lower part of the window is
decorated with a bas-relief, representing Cupids playing with a bird.
This bas-relief is half hidden by a superb piece of tapestry, on which
the painter has placed a basket of dried fruits. Great bags of grain,
peas, and beans, and everything that is sold by the bushel are exposed
on the pavement of the street, with a bucket and some tubs filled with
olives, sardines, and anchovies. On the wall hang a basket and a
bird-cage, and a magnificent damask curtain with large flowers falls in
graceful folds from an outside ring. Among the innumerable details of
the shop you note a little rat gnawing at the grains which have fallen
through a hole in one of the sacks.
The pendant to this picture hangs in the Louvre, where it is called
_Marchande de Volailles_.
=W. van Mieris influenced by his Father and by G. de Lairesse.=--Willem
van Mieris was a pupil of his father, and at first had no other ambition
than to imitate his style and produce those charming Conversations in
which rich furniture, shining chandeliers of brass or copper, Japanese
porcelains, silken curtains, Turkish table-carpets, flowers, and
elegantly dressed people make a somewhat restricted, although
delightful, world. Willem, falling under the influence of Gérard de
Lairesse, who was much in vogue in Holland, selected such subjects as a
young lady playing on the clavecin, or making lace, or walking in the
country in a lilac satin robe with large sleeves that reveal through
their slashes a beautiful arm, and a straw hat ornamented with a
sweeping plume. Becoming a shepherdess this attractive lady next sits in
his pictures with bare feet, in the shade of an oak, and beside her
Corydon talks of love.
=His Success with Mythical and Biblical Subjects.=--Next he turned his
attention to subjects from fable, romance, and mythology; and Diana,
Armida, Cleopatra, Bacchus, Jupiter, Tarquin, the Sabines, etc., fill
his panels or copper plates, which were hardly larger than your hand.
Biblical and religious subjects occupied him for a time and then he
again turned pagan. His success grew greater every day, and his Dutch
patrons who loved scenes of familiar life demanded from Van Mieris
pictures in the style of his famous father--those charming _genre_
pictures still being produced by Slingelandt, Van Tol, and other
imitators of Gerrit Dou.
=A Window-frame his Favorite Setting.=--Like Gerrit Dou, Willem van
Mieris selects a window-frame of stone, which he often decorates with
graceful creepers or a bouquet of tulips or jonquils placed on the sill,
or throws over it a bright piece of tapestry. From it a blond lady leans
to flirt with the unseen passer, a child blows bubbles, a portly dame
waters her flowers; or the artist himself sits calmly by. When tired of
this, Willem van Mieris takes us to his favorite shop.
=Arie de Vois.=--Among the portraits one must not fail to notice the
picture of A Huntsman Holding a Partridge by Arie de Vois (1630-80).
This was originally in the collection of William V. and was bought for
1,210 florins. His pictures are so rare that we are not surprised that
the Mauritshuis contains but one example. The Rijks is more fortunate in
owning four by this delightful painter.
=Abraham de Pape's Style.=--Abraham de Pape (1625-66), supposed to have
been a pupil of Gerrit Dou, is represented by An Old Woman Plucking a
Cock, with a little boy kneeling beside her. It is a very good example
of this master; and at the Gerrit Muller sale brought no less than 490
florins. Crowe says:
"This almost unknown artist is decidedly one of the best _genre_
painters of this time. He is true and speaking in action, animated in
his heads, harmonious, and even in some of his pictures warm in
coloring, and very careful and soft in execution."
=A. van der Werff's Biblical and Mythological Pictures.=--Adriaan van
der Werff (1659-1722) occupied a peculiar position among Dutch painters.
While his contemporaries were devoting themselves to the study of
nature and becoming realistic, he adhered to the pursuit of the
ideal and produced pictures inspired by Biblical or mythological
subjects,--pictures noted for their beauty and elegance, and moreover
finished with wonderful smoothness of touch, which he had learned from
his master Eglon van der Neer. His figures as a rule are small, and the
flesh-tints are of an ivory tone. Van der Werff was so popular that it
was impossible for him to execute all the commissions sent him. His
greatest patron was the Elector Palatine John William; the pictures that
Van der Werff painted for him are now in Munich, where this master may
best be studied.
=Description of The Flight into Egypt.=--He is fairly well represented
in the Rijks; but The Hague has only two of his works,--a Portrait of a
Man, dated 1689, and The Flight into Egypt, dated 1710. This is only one
foot six inches high and one foot two inches wide. The Virgin is in
profile in a Prussian-blue mantle, accompanied by St. Joseph, who is
leading an ass. The road runs by the side of a brook, and the landscape
is diversified with trees, ruins, and a portico. This picture was given
by the artist to his daughter, who sold it to Mr. Schuijlenberg for
4,000 florins. At the Schuijlenberg sale at The Hague in 1765 it brought
6,500 florins.
=Reynolds on Van der Werff's Manner.=--This picture was much admired by
Sir Joshua Reynolds, who saw it in the King's collection. In describing
Van der Werff's manner he said:
"He has also the defect which is often found in Rembrandt,--that of
making his light only a single spot. However, to do him justice his
figures and heads are generally well drawn and his drapery is
excellent; perhaps there are in his pictures as perfect examples of
drapery as are to be found in any other painter's work whatever."
=Philip van Dijk and his pupil, Louis de Moni.=--To this group belongs
Philip van Dijk (1680-1753), a pupil of Arnold Boonen, and an imitator
of Van der Werff. Judith with the Head of Holofernes is a good example
of his historical work; and two good _genre_ pictures, A Lady Playing
the Guitar, and A Lady at her Toilet, show this artist in a happier
mood, where he gives free play to his more delicate touch. His
Bookkeeper also hangs in this gallery. His pupil, Louis de Moni, shows
the decline of the school. An Old Woman and a Boy, in a window, the boy
blowing soap bubbles, is dated 1742.
=Ochtervelt a follower of Metsu and of Pieter de Hooch.=--Jacob van
Ochtervelt (?-1700), who occupies a first place among the second-rate
painters of his day, was a follower of Metsu and also of Pieter de
Hooch. The Fish Vender, representing a woman in a room where a man is
offering her fish, in conception and careful finish recalls Metsu, while
in lighting and combination of color it reminds one of Pieter de Hooch.
The general tone is warmer than most of Ochtervelt's pictures.
=Jan Steen's Favorite Subjects.=--One of the greatest of all the Dutch
_genre_ painters is Jan Steen (1626-79), "the jolly landlord of Leyden."
As a draughtsman and colorist he takes high rank, and as a student of
human nature he has been compared to Hogarth and Molière. His pictures
are studies of life and character, and are full of humor. He paints
feasts and merry-makings, weddings, quacks, tavern-brawls, dentists,
invalids, children at play, family parties, etc., with sympathy and
joyousness.
=His Character-painting.=--As a character-painter, he is unapproachable.
Nobody so well as he has understood all human passions, all
emotions--hilarious joy, deep-seated satisfaction, fear, grief, and
_Weltschmerz_ with such mastery, and known how to represent them in the
smallest possible space.
=His Method of showing Background to Advantage.=--With regard to Jan
Steen's interiors it is interesting to note that, like Ostade's, they
are painted from an elevation, so that the figures in the background are
not hidden by those in the foreground. Ordinarily he opens a window in
the background to illuminate the distant figures and thus is formed an
echo of the principal light. The number of utensils is less than with
most painters of this class, for Jan Steen had too much sense to
multiply them uselessly. Like Metsu, he often painted little pictures on
the walls of his interiors, and it is singular that these depict heroic
landscapes, battle scenes, mythological subjects, etc., and never tavern
or _genre_ scenes such as he himself painted.
=Refinement and Culture in his Pictures.=--Another thing to notice is
that whether in houses of affluence or in common taverns his people do
not drink grossly and from jugs, as in the taverns of Adriaen Brouwer.
Each one takes his place gracefully and naturally at the table or in the
room; and the details of the furniture accord with the politeness of the
people or the players. On the mantelpiece, for instance, stands a bronze
figure of Love; a guitar hangs from one of the panels; and here hangs a
fine landscape in an ebony frame. The collation consists of delicious
fruits that rejoice the eyes; perhaps also open oysters, which glisten
in the light like pearls; ripe grapes and beautiful peaches, whose furry
skins are blushing like the cheeks of a young girl, and finally some
lemons half peeled, the skin falling in a golden spiral. All this shows
the influence of Van Mieris, who was a friend of Steen and who spent
many hours in his tavern at Leyden.
=Reynolds's Appreciation of Jan Steen.=--Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was so
delighted with the Steens he saw in Holland, wrote the following
appreciative criticism of the artist:
"Jan Steen has a strong manly style of painting, which might become
even the design of Raffaelle, and he has shown the greatest skill in
composition and management of light and shadow as well as great truth
in the expression and character of his figures."
=Jan Steen's Fondness for painting his own Family.=--Jan Steen was very
fond of painting his own family; his wives, his aged parents, and his
children provided him with varied models of assorted ages and sizes. He
had six children by his wife Marguerite van Goyen, daughter of the
painter; and when she died, he married a widow, named Mariette
Herkulens, who had two. He has characterized the pleasures of all ages
in his picture called The Family of Jan Steen, bearing the legend "_Soo
de ouden songen pypen de jongen._" (As the old ones sing so will the
young ones pipe.) This is particularly interesting, because the artist
has painted himself between his wife Marguerite van Goyen and Mariette
Herkulens, who was destined to be his second wife. They were both quite
handsome, especially Marguerite. Mariette Herkulens was a meat vender.
=How he ridiculed the Physicians.=--Physicians were always butt for
Steen's caustic wit. It was a common practice in the seventeenth century
to turn them into ridicule; and as Molière brought them on the French
stage, Jan Steen painted them with all their charlatanism and gravity
and that severity of costume so studied for effect.
=Description of The Young Lady who is Ill.=--The Hague Gallery contains
two of these,--one known as The Young Lady who is Ill (sometimes called
The Doctor Feeling the Pulse of a Young Woman). In this picture a doctor
dressed in black, with a pointed hat like that worn by Sagnarelle in the
_Médecin malgré lui_, is seated at the bedside of a young and pretty
girl with round arms and clear, pale complexion, who looks with interest
at the potion that is being prepared according to the doctor's
instructions. The latter pretends to be looking at the medicine which an
elegant woman is bringing, but he is really looking at the beautiful
throat of the blond and well-dressed Dutch lady, who lowers her eyes,
charmed to let him gaze at her brilliant white neck, her little
_retroussé_ nose, and her hair arranged _à la Ninon_, which is half
covered with a sort of black cap. "If it were not for a little touch of
malice and certain inconsistencies in the somewhat careless execution,"
Blanc says, "this picture might pass for a Van Mieris or a Metsu."
=Description of The Doctor's Visit.=--In The Doctor's Visit, a physician
dressed in black, with pointed hat and holding his gloves in one hand,
with the other is feeling the pulse of a young lady who is sitting near
her bed in a _négligé_ costume. With a very knowing and solicitous
manner the doctor seems to interrogate the throbs of the pulse; but
while he seeks for the secret of the illness, the chamber-maid has found
it out, as her glance indicates; and, that you may not be left in doubt,
the painter has placed on the corner of the chimney a little statue of
Love the Conqueror. In some of his pictures of this class Steen adds the
legend "_Wat baet hier medecyn--het is der minne pijn_" (Of what use is
medicine here? Love is the trouble).
=Other Pictures by Jan Steen, in the Mauritshuis.=--In addition to those
already mentioned, the Mauritshuis owns A Village Feast, a picture of
his first period; the Dentist, who is extracting the tooth of a peasant;
A Menagerie; and an Interior known as The Oyster Feast and Jan Steen's
Tap-room.
=Description of Jan Steen's Tap-room.=--The latter is not an inn of the
common or rustic type such as is seen in Ostade's or Brouwer's pictures,
for the room is furnished in the best style of the period. In it we see
about twenty figures in several groups. On the left, an old man is
playing with a little child; near him a young girl is kneeling as she
cooks the oysters; and in the centre an old man offers an oyster to a
seated woman. Children are amusing themselves everywhere: here one is
making a cat dance; another is holding a dog; another is carrying a jug
and a basket of fruit. At the table on the right and a little back Jan
Steen sits playing a lute, a young woman is listening to him, a fat
companion with a glass of liquor in his hand is laughing; and in the
background are groups of players and smokers. Above and in the
foreground a large violet curtain is looped and casts its shadow over a
part of the interior. This fine picture is only 2 feet 3 inches by 2
feet 8 inches.
=Description of A Menagerie.=--A Menagerie is nearly four feet square,
and represents the courtyard of a country house--that of William III. at
Honsholredijk, which is seen in the distance. Near the stone terrace,
beneath the steps of which is a pool, a peacock sits on a branch of an
old tree; ducks are swimming in the pool, and hens, turkeys, and pigeons
are picking up grains in the courtyard. A little girl in a pale
straw-colored dress and a white apron is sitting on the steps and giving
a lamb milk out of a cup. A man, carrying a basket of eggs and a green
pot, is laughing and talking with her. Another old farm-servant is also
laughing as he regards his young mistress; another person, who carries a
hen under his left arm and her brood of chickens in a basket, is one of
those dumpy and deformed creatures that Jan Steen likes to paint. Burger
considers the head of the man with the basket of eggs is one of the most
wonderful heads that were ever painted by Jan Steen or any of the Dutch
Little Masters.
=Troost, the Dutch Watteau or Hogarth.=--Cornelis Troost (1697-1750) was
born at the close of the great period of Dutch art. The great painters
were all dead. Dutch painting had lost its originality and native vigor.
Under these circumstances Troost made himself the painter of his period
and of his country. Impelled by a witty and caustic humor, he thought to
bring back in the eighteenth century what Jan Steen had illustrated in
the seventeenth. But, inferior in every way to that master, he saw
contemporary society only on the stage or in books; and, instead of
painting manners, customs, and absurdities of the middle classes by
observing them in nature, he painted them as they were represented on
the stage. Almost all his heroes were characters of the comedy or the
novel. Troost has been called the Dutch Watteau and the Dutch Hogarth.
His pictures may be classified as follows: Conversations, Comic
subjects, Portraits, and Military subjects. The first follow the style
of Watteau; the second, Hogarth; and the last are reminiscent of Frans
Hals.
=His Excellence in Drawing and Color.=--Excellence of drawing and
richness of color distinguish all his works, which are also valuable for
their accurate portrayal of the manners and customs, costume and
furniture of his day. Troost worked in oil, pastel, and gouache with
equal facility; and produced many excellent mezzotints and etchings.
=Blanc on Troost's Style.=--"What we admire in him to-day is the
talent of the painter properly so-called, the art of enlightening and
grouping his figures and placing them on the stage, the brush-work,
the selection and quality of the tones,--in other words, order,
chiaroscuro, color, and touch. A man of wit, he shines in composition;
although adroitly calculated, his own humor always appears spontaneous
and natural. Troost never introduces useless personages nor
superfluous ornaments into his pictures. He clearly sets forth what he
wants to show; and, contrary to the habits of the other masters of his
nation who take pleasure in the accumulation of accessories, he only
puts into his interiors necessary furniture and significant utensils;
and in his open-air Conversations the surroundings are not overloaded
with detail, but simple and agreeable, being calculated to achieve the
idea of the picture, so admirably are they connected with the action
of the figures. Troost and Terburg, of all the Dutch masters of
_genre_, are the ones who best understood the concentration of the
interest of a picture, and what is called the repose of the
composition."[18]
=A Picture Illustrative of the Concentration of its Interest.=--"On
looking over his pictures in the little room devoted to his work in
the Mauritshuis, we find more than one example of this intelligent
sobriety. Take for instance _L'Amour mal assorté_. Here we have an old
man declaring his love to a young widow. He has thrown on the floor
his cane, hat, and gloves; and, in his senile ardor, he clasps the
facilely chaste Susanna. What a pretty interior! A Slingelandt, a
Gerard Dou, or a Mieris would have multiplied here the details of
domestic comfort; here there is not a detail, not a single piece of
furniture too much; but yet there is nothing lacking that should be
there,--neither the clock, the canary in its cage, the portrait of
the deceased husband whose place the guest desires to fill, nor the
flower-vase with its full-blown rose, like the charmer whom the
admirer wants to gather."
=Pictures of Love and Intrigue.=--"Again we have The Deceived Tutor, a
scene anticipated from 'The Barber of Seville.' Here we see coming
down the street a maiden led prisoner by her tutor, a jealous bear
clothed all in black. While she occupies his attention with a sweet
smile, her little hand receives the kiss of a lover whom chance has
led that way. Other scenes of similar intrigue treated in this light
vein are The Lover in Disguise and The Lover Artist. The scenes are
taken from the comedies and vaudevilles of Langendijk, Lingelbach,
Asselijn, Van der Hoeven, Van Paffenrode, and D. Buysero."
=The Dispute of the Astronomers.=--"A picture that does not deal with
love and intrigue, but is full of a different kind of humor is The
Dispute of the Astronomers, from a comedy by P. Langendijk, in which
two astronomers in the heat of their discussion on the systems of
Copernicus and Ptolemy make use of the plates and bottles on the
supper table to illustrate the sun and the planets. Another
interesting pastel is one depicting the old Dutch custom of a band of
men and children singing hymns before the doors of the village on
Twelfth Night, carrying a huge paper star, lighted within."
=Hondecoeter, Painter of Living Birds.=--The great Melchior
d'Hondecoeter (1636-95) began his career with marines; but it was not
long before he acquired celebrity as a painter of birds only, which he
represented not exclusively like Fyt, after a day's shooting, or as
stock in a poulterer's shop, but as living beings with passions of joy
and fear and anger. Though without Fyt's brilliant tone and high finish,
his birds are always full of action. William III. employed him to paint
his menagerie at Loo, and this picture shows that he could overcome the
difficulty of painting India's cattle, elephants, and gazelles.
Hondecoeter's best pictures have remained in Holland, and The Hague and
Amsterdam galleries possess his most interesting canvases. The four at
the Mauritshuis are: Geese and Ducks, Hens and Ducks, The Menagerie of
William III. at Loo, and The Jackdaw Stripped of his Borrowed Feathers.
All these are worthy of study, although Hondecoeter's most celebrated
picture, The Floating Feather, hangs in the Rijks.
Blanc says:
"In one of these the artist has amused himself with making his usual
heroes play a scene of human comedy; and, as a professional fabulist
would have imagined it, he has shown a jackdaw stripped of the
borrowed plumes with which he had adorned himself in his vanity. This
is a very fine picture, although it has somewhat blackened in certain
parts. Hondecoeter seems to us to have been happier in another canvas
in which he has grouped various birds. It seems as if on this occasion
he wanted to prove what prodigies he was capable of in the touch of
divers plumages; and the effect he has obtained is, in truth,
astonishing. We could not find the equivalent of this lightness of
touch and of this coloring either in Gryff[19] or in the two Weenixes,
or in any of the masters who have tried to paint birds, with the
possible exception of Giacomo Victor."[20]
=His Preparation for Bird-painting.=--"It is true that before having
succeeded so well in the representation of the bird, Hondecoeter made
a long study, not only of its external form, but of its habits,
customs, and manner of life. His studio had been turned into a
menagerie, or, rather, a game preserve. He had paid particular
attention to the education of a handsome cock, which seemed to
comprehend every word and gesture of his master; and who, at the
slightest sign, came near the easel and posed, often in very fatiguing
attitudes, for hours."
=Hondecoeter's Skill in painting Farmyard Scenes.=--"In painting,
Melchior d'Hondecoeter was a very able man without leaving the poultry
yard, and was satisfied with painting on the spot either the bloody
dramas or the peaceful scenes of the farmyard--the hen teaching her
chickens to scratch for grubs, the duck giving her little ones their
first swimming lesson, the superb cock keeping watch over his
seraglio, the peacock spreading his magnificent tail, and those
memorable combats in which for a fine-plumaged Helen, two rivals spur
one another while awaiting the hawk's talons. He painted 'the crested
gentry' and knew how to interest us in them by means of picturesque
truth, rustic grace, color, and spirit.
"Melchior, after the death of his father, found an excellent guide in
his uncle, J. B. Weenix, and followed his manner till his death in
1660 without servility."[21]
Burger says:
=His Pictures of Bird Families.=--"No one has painted better than he
cocks and hens, ducks and drakes, and particularly little chicks and
ducklings. He has understood such families as the Italians have the
mystical Holy Family; he has expressed the motherhood of the hen as
Raphael has the motherhood of the Madonna. In fact, the subject is
more naturally treated because it has less sublimity. Hondecoeter
gives us here a mother-hen, who could face the Madonna of the Chair.
She bends over with solicitude, with outspread wings, beneath which
peep the excited heads of the little chickens; while on her back is
perched the privileged _bambino_: she does not dare move, the good
mother!"
A picture of Cock and Hens by his father, Gijsbert d'Hondecoeter
(1604-53), was acquired in 1876. He was the teacher of his more talented
son, who also studied with his uncle, Jan Baptist Weenix (1621-60), no
pictures of whom are owned by the Mauritshuis.
=Jan Weenix's Tasteful Compositions.=--Two pictures of Jan Weenix
(1640-1719) hang in this gallery and are good examples. One is The Dead
Swan, the other is Game. Though Weenix painted portraits, landscapes,
and even seaports, his chief works represent dead animals, the size of
life. Peacocks, pheasants, partridges, geese, and most frequently swans,
figure in his pictures. Sometimes, too, he introduces a living dog and
paints it in the most spirited manner. Weenix had great taste in
composition and arranged his models (more often dead than living) around
the base of a handsome vase or urn in a beautiful park.
=Reynolds and Blanc on Jan Weenix's Paintings.=--"What excellence in
coloring and handling is to be found in the dead game of Weenix!"
exclaimed Sir Joshua Reynolds, who declared that he saw no less than
twenty dead swans by this painter during his walks through the Holland
galleries. "In his works of small dimensions," says Blanc, "his
execution is delicate and caressing; but it is broad and accentuated in
his decorative paintings. At his best he was the equal of his father,
which is no small praise."
=Jan David de Heem, the Greatest of the Group of Fruit and Flower
Painters.=--First in this group comes Jan David de Heem (1606-03 or 04),
the pupil of his father, David de Heem, and not only the first to
develop the art of fruit-painting, but the greatest master of the class
that the school produced. In the beautiful arrangement of his subjects
he has been compared to Giovanni da Udine. He is also a great colorist;
some of his early works approach Rembrandt in their golden tone.
Although his two most important works are in the galleries of Vienna and
Berlin, and splendid examples hang in the Louvre, Dresden, and Cassel,
the Mauritshuis owns two very fine examples. One is a Table with Fruits,
very tasteful in arrangement and soft in treatment; the other is a
Garland of Flowers and Fruits, enlivened with insects.
When Sir Joshua Reynolds visited the Prince of Orange's collection, he
saw these pictures and noted: "Fruits by De Heem, done with the utmost
perfection."
=His Greatness as a Painter of Fruits, Flowers, and Insects.=--De Heem
was one of the greatest painters of still life in Holland; no artist of
his class combined form and color more successfully. His drawing is
correct, and his colors are brilliant and combined harmoniously. He is
familiar with every object of stone and silver, every flower, whether
humble or gorgeous, every fruit of Europe or the tropics, every twig and
leaf and blossom. Burger has said of Heda, but it is true of De Heem,
that "he glorified insects, butterflies, and all the minute beings that
swarm in vegetation, and made the moths drink in cups of chased gold."
=His Pictures that point a Moral.=--De Heem was also famous for his
pictures that point a moral or illustrate a motto--those canvases known
as Vanitas. Here the snake lies coiled under the grass; there a skull
rests on blooming plants. "Gold and silver tankards or cups suggest the
vanity of earthly possessions; salvation is allegorized in a chalice
amid blossoms; death, as a crucifix inside a wreath." Sometimes De Heem
painted alone, or with men of his school, Madonnas or portraits
surrounded by festoons of fruits and flowers. He was so fond of the
festoon that he sometimes painted it alone. Sometimes, too, a nosegay is
figured alone.
=Cornelis de Heem's Subjects like those of his Father.=--The Hague
Gallery also owns Fruits by his son Cornelis (1631-95). The latter
painted precisely the same subjects as his father and with scarcely less
success. Still life, flowers, fruits, oysters, and lemons on a plate;
cold hams, boiled lobsters, flowers, knives, forks, glasses, watches,
clocks, etc., are all treated by him with the utmost cleverness. Crowe
says:
"He is not inferior to his father in drawing and warmth of color, and
with an equally solid impasto, almost surpasses him in melting
softness of touch. He is, however, in rare instances, somewhat
gaudier. Under these circumstances it is easy to understand that his
works are often mistaken for those of his father."
=Abraham Mignon, Pupil and Imitator of De Heem.=--Another pupil was
Abraham Mignon (1640-79), who is represented in the Mauritshuis by
Flowers and Fruits, and two canvases called Summer Flowers, which show
the influence of his master. Mignon's fruits and flowers have all the
bloom of nature; his butterflies and other insects seem to live and feed
on the leaves, buds, and blossoms; and the dewdrops on the leaves and
petals have all the transparency of real water. He was very popular in
his day and was overwhelmed with commissions.
=Jacob Walscapelle.=--Jacob Walscapelle is also supposed to have been a
pupil of De Heem, and many of his pictures have been attributed to one
of the De Heems.
=Maria van Oosterwyck, an Excellent Painter of Flowers.=--Another pupil
was Maria van Oosterwyck (1630-93), who usually painted flowers in vases
or glasses, and occasionally fruits. In 1882 the Mauritshuis acquired a
picture of Flowers, by this artist, who, perhaps, because of the rarity
of her pictures, is not so widely known as she deserves to be. Although
her flowers are not always arranged with taste and the colors are often
gaudy, yet Crowe thinks she represents them with the
"utmost truth of drawing, and with a depth, brilliancy, and juiciness
of local coloring unattained by any other flower-painter. At the same
time, her execution, in spite of great finish, is broad and free, and
the impasto excellent."
She was much admired in her day and received commissions from Louis
XIV., William III. of England, Augustus I. of Poland, and the Emperor
Leopold.
=Jan van Huysum, the Correggio of Flowers and Fruits.=--"If De Heem,
by the harmony of his warm golden color, be called the Titian of
flowers and fruits, Jan van Huysum's bright and sunny treatment
entitles him to the name of the Correggio of the same branch of art.
In masterly drawing and truth of single objects, both masters may be
classed on the same level, only that De Heem's principal subjects were
fruit; Van Huysum's were flowers, in which he entered into greater
detail; for instance, in the gloss of the tulip, the pollen of the
auricula, and the dewdrop on the petal. It is to these merits, fitted
as they are to the capacity of the greater number of admirers of art,
that Van Huysum owed the eager demand for, and high payment of his
pictures by princes and wealthy amateurs, even in his own day, and
also that of all painters of his class he still commands the highest
prices."[22]
=Van Huysum's Pictures in The Hague.=--Jan van Huysum (1682-1749) is not
so well represented in his own country as in the Louvre (which contains
eleven fine examples), Berlin, St. Petersburg, Munich, Hanover, and
Dresden. The Rijks owns but six, and The Hague only three,--an Italian
Landscape, Fruits, and Flowers. The two latter are such beautiful
examples of Van Huysum's art that they deserve study. In the one are
found that marvellous blush and downy bloom for which he was so famous,
while the other reveals his delicate treatment of petals and his
graceful arrangement. In Fruits, a peach, two plums, a small bunch of
grapes and some gooseberries are beautifully grouped, as to form and
color, on a marble table. Its pendant, Flowers, is an exquisite picture
of a full-blown rose and a rosebud, a pink and a convolvulus, placed on
a marble console. A butterfly of the admiral variety has alighted on the
rosebud.
=His Earliest Works.=--In his earliest period he painted landscapes
representing views of imaginary lakes and harbors, woods with tall,
lifeless trees, and classic buildings and ruins--finished in a glossy
and smooth style--which are now of little value in comparison with his
fruit and flower pieces. The Italian Landscape, which the Mauritshuis
acquired in 1816, is a very good example of this style.
=Fruits and Flowers his Forte.=--It is doubtful if any artist ever
surpassed Van Huysum in the representation of fruits and flowers, to
which he finally devoted himself with the greatest success. He set
himself the task of surpassing De Heem and Abraham Mignon; and he
studied the most exquisite fruits and flowers known. His taste in the
arrangement of his groups in elegant vases, of which the ornaments and
bas-reliefs were finished in the most polished and beautiful manner, and
in graceful baskets on marble tables, is generally considered to be
superior to that of any other flower-painter. He also shows great art in
relieving flowers of various colors against each other, and often they
stand out from a light transparent background. His fame rose to the
highest pitch, and the first florists of Holland were ambitious of
supplying him with their choicest flowers for subjects. Naturally,
therefore, we find on his canvases beautiful groups and bunches of
hyacinths, roses, pinks, primroses, and other garden buds and blossoms.
=His Skill in depicting Dewdrops and Insects.=--With marvellous skill he
frequently introduces dewdrops of incomparable transparency that trickle
down the leaves or sprinkle the fresh delicate petals. Butterflies and
other insects are also depicted with a truthfulness and precision that
give a perfect illusion, and often a bird's nest with eggs is
introduced.
=His Exquisite Taste.=--Jan van Huysum's pictures are so bright that
they have even been accused of being gaudy; but no critic has yet found
fault with his exquisite taste and faultless velvet-like finish that
seems to rival nature. His fruit pieces are inferior to his flowers,
though they are worthy of great admiration. Those painted on a clear or
yellow background are the most esteemed, and are distinguished from his
early works, which are usually on a dark one, by a superior style of
pencilling and a more harmonious color.
=Rachel Ruijsch.=--Another charming flower and fruit painter,--noted
especially for her flowers,--Rachel Ruijsch (1664-1750), is represented
in The Hague Gallery by two Bouquets. In 1693 she was married, but she
always signed her maiden name, and in several ways,--Ruijsch, Ruysch,
and Ruisch. She took great pains with her pictures, and the amount of
time spent on them limited their number. She is said to have given seven
years to two pictures, Flowers and Fruits, which she gave to one of her
daughters for a wedding present.
Blanc has most sympathetically described her qualities. He says:
=Her Truthfulness to Nature.=--"Whether she is painting the flowers of
the gardens or those of the field, which she groups so beautifully on
marble tables and calls around them fluttering butterflies and droning
bees, or beautiful ripe fruits that refresh the eyes and mind, Rachel
is always truthful, graceful, and clever. A colorist, she frankly
selects the brightest tones and combines them marvellously; a
draughtsman, she reproduces splendidly the most complicated forms,
while preserving to each plant its individual elegance, its aspect,
its way of holding itself, and foreshortening."
=Her Love of Nature.=--"In all justice, therefore, the Dutch rank
Rachel Ruijsch among their most excellent painters. She retained her
love of nature in all its freshness; it even seems as if she had a
weakness for rustic beauty, and that she found the same pleasure in
wandering about the country that others have in gardens and
greenhouses. Sometimes she even mingles thistles with her field
flowers, which she carelessly throws on a table; sometimes she chooses
an old tree-trunk overgrown with moss, upon which she places her bunch
of spring blossoms, while the insects hum around them, and the wings
of a beetle gleam through the shadow. Sometimes she brings a green
frog from some pool in the neighboring meadow and gives him a place in
her picture. In the infinite little world of great nature Rachel finds
no creature unworthy of her brush--not even the snail that crawls on
the leaf and is hunted away by the gardener, nor the little worm who
moves his variegated rings and spins his thread, destined to clothe
magnificent ladies, as he elevates himself into the air. Those insects
that we deem vile she honors in her paintings: she lets them lie on
her marble tables, crawl on the stem of the glass in which her peonies
and pinks are arranged; and she even allows them to devour the plums
and grapes of her picturesque collations. Nothing, however, is more
charming than her birds' nests, lined with lightest down and tiny
blades of grass, moss, and straw, expressed with the art and industry
of a wren or a tomtit."
The larger picture in The Hague Gallery is a charming group of roses and
tulips, with butterflies and insects.
Rachel Ruijsch was a pupil of Willem van Aelst (1626-83?), whose Flowers
(dated 1663) and Still Life (dated 1671) hang in The Hague Gallery.
=Description of One of Willem van Aelst's Pictures.=--M. de Burtin has
described a picture by Willem van Aelst which gives an idea of all the
works of this master:
"A table covered with a crimson velvet carpet bordered with golden
fringe, on which stands a drinking-vessel of antique shape half filled
with Rhine wine. The sides of this glass cup reflect several times and
in different views the street with the most magical and astounding
way, and in the very centre you see the reflection of the painter
himself, holding his palette. On one side of the cup are placed, on a
glass dish, four superb peaches and some roasted chestnuts; on the
other side are bunches of red and white grapes. Butterflies and other
insects add to the illusion, and the vine and peach leaves are
artistically used to decorate the beautiful pyramidal group that
stands out from a looped-back curtain of brownish yellow."
=Resemblance of his Work to that of Van Huysum.=--Although his name is
less celebrated than that of Van Huysum, Willem Aelst is not very far
removed from him in his beautiful productions; and certainly he
surpasses Evert van Aelst (1602-58) who was his uncle and master.
Without carrying finish to excess and preserving a certain freedom of
touch, he knows how to express marvellously the delicate wings of a
butterfly, the down of a peach, the dewdrops on a bunch of grapes, the
feathers of a dead bird, and the wrinkles of a game-pouch.
=In Favor with Princes and Cardinals.=--Many of his works are in France,
where he spent four years, and in Italy, where he lived seven years
filling orders for princes and cardinals. He was only thirty years old
when he returned to his native town, Delft; but he removed to Amsterdam,
where his works brought high prices.
=His Favorite Subjects.=--The pictures by him representing dead birds
are, as respects picturesque arrangement, finely balanced harmony of
cool but transparent color, perfect nature in every detail, and
delicate, soft treatment, admirable types of the perfection of the Dutch
School. Specimens of this class are a picture in the Munich Gallery of
two dead partridges and instruments of the chase, and another in the
Berlin Museum signed "W. v. Aelst, 1653," representing a marble table
with two woodcocks and other small birds, and two French partridges
suspended above. His favorite subjects, however, were fruit and other
eatables, herrings, oysters, bread, etc., with glasses and gorgeous
vessels in gold and silver. Although Willem van Aelst owed much to his
uncle Evert van Aelst, so famous for his dead birds and instruments of
the chase, perhaps he owed still more to his other teacher, Otho
Marcellis van Schrieck (1613-73), who acquired celebrity, excelling in a
singular branch of art. He painted the humblest creatures,--frogs,
snails, lizards, worms, serpents, and curious plants. The name of his
master is unknown; but he painted entirely from nature and is said to
have kept a kind of museum of serpents, vipers, insects and other
curiosities. These he studied with great attention, and drew them with
extraordinary fidelity and care, reproducing also their glowing and
metallic hues.
=Two Pictures by Beijeren, and Two by Seghers.=--Another famous Flowers
is that by Abraham van Beijeren (1620 or 1621-75), which was acquired at
the Van Pappelendam sale in Amsterdam in 1889. A fine Fish and Lobster
by the same painter should also be studied. The visitor will perhaps
notice as he passes two pictures by Daniel Seghers (1590-1661), one a
garland of flowers around a statuette of the Virgin; the other, a
garland of flowers around the bust of William III. The bust was a later
addition.
=Other Painters belonging to the Same Group.=--An interesting and
curious work is Shells, by Balthasar van der Ast (?-1656). There is also
a still life (1644) by Pieter Claez. To this group should be added
Pieter Roestraeten (1627-1700), famous for his great vases of gold and
silver, bas-reliefs, musical instruments, etc., which he designed with
precision. He spent most of his time in London, where he was injured in
the Great Fire (1666). Belonging to the same group are Pieter de Ring
and Willem Kalf, whom we shall see in the Rijks, and the strange
Christoffel Pierson, whose specialty was still life (particularly the
attributes of the chase) and portraits. His works are very rare; but a
peculiar combination of portraiture and still life hangs in The Hague
Gallery, representing the pastor of the Protestant Church at Hoorn,
Joris Goethals, and noticeable for the number of hunting implements and
objects hanging on the wall. Though sombre and monotonous in tone, his
touch and drawing are masterly. He thoroughly understood composition and
distributed lights and shadows with skill. Pierson was turned aside from
painting historical subjects and portraits by the success of Leemens, a
painter of dead game, guns, etc., and speedily surpassed his model.
Jan van Os, Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os, and Marie Margrita van Os
we shall see in the Rijks.
=Portrait of Rubens's Second Wife.=--Although Holland is not the land
where we can study Rubens (1577-1640) in all his greatness, yet the
Amsterdam Gallery and more particularly The Hague Gallery possess some
splendid pictures by his hand. In the latter hang the portraits of his
two wives. That of his second wife, the buxom Helena, whom he married on
December 6, 1630, and who bore him five children, is a masterpiece of
the first rank; certainly an entirely individual work of the artist's
later period.
=Much of Rubens's Work done by his Pupils.=--Thus we immediately come to
the question: What has the master himself and what have his pupils done
on it? No master has left behind him a larger amount of painted surface
of canvas and wood; but how unequal is the artistic value of all this
material! We know how that happened. Overwhelmed with pressing orders
and surrounded by a large throng of sometimes very able pupils, he often
only made a sketch, leaving the chief work to his best pupils, and
finally adding a few corrections; perhaps here or there a head or a
figure that particularly interested him. Rubens made no secret of this
fact; he often openly acknowledged what he and what his scholars had
done on a work.
=Dr. Sperling's Visit to Rubens's Studio.=--An eye-witness, the Danish
physician, Otto Sperling, who visited Rubens's studio in 1621, describes
the master as walking up and down in his vast hall among his many
pupils, making remarks and going over a picture here and there finally
with a few brush-strokes. The Doctor jocularly adds: "It is supposed
that everything is the work of Rubens, by which this man has amassed
enormous wealth, and has been rewarded by kings and princes with great
gifts and many jewels."
=His Pupils not very often allowed to assist him in Portraits.=--One
should remember that this assistance of his pupils was generally
confined to his greater historical pictures and church pieces; but the
portraits that Rubens painted are not always entirely the work of his
hand. Sometimes an order for a portrait was repeated, and his students
made the replica of a well-known personality. Rubens painted portraits
of small dimensions and then left them to be enlarged by able pupils;
but he himself added the final touches.
=Dr. Bredius on the Portraits of Rubens's Two Wives.=--"Even in the
case of the portrait of one of his wives, we are not quite sure
whether the work is exclusively his own. There exist such a marvellous
number of these portraits, and, moreover, of such varied artistic
value, that we must at last conclude that the family and friends of
these ladies, who belonged to the best families in Antwerp, all
ordered portraits from Rubens, who painted some of them entirely and
others only in part.
"While, for example, the present portrait of Rubens's first wife,
Isabella Brandt, whom he married in 1609, betrays the master's own
hand in the head and in part of the costume, the hands look to me to
be so extraordinarily like Van Dijck's work that I ask myself whether
the latter (about 1618) might not have had some part in this portrait.
On the other hand, the portrait of Helena Fourment, whom he married in
1630 (Isabella Brandt died in 1626) is handled with such a gush,
although very rapidly and with such geniality that hardly anybody
would say that this spirited portrait is not all his own.
"What flesh! what brilliance! what glow of color! what virtuosity in
the painting of the details and the material! What life streams from
this warm, youthful, proud wife upon her husband!"
Sir Joshua Reynolds describes these portraits thus: "Two portraits,
Kitcat size, by Rubens, of his two wives, both fine portraits, but
Eleanor Forman is by far the most beautiful and the best colored."
[Illustration: RUBENS
Helena Fourment]
=Description of Helena's Portrait.=--This is one of the most beautiful
of all Rubens's portraits of his second wife. Her face and figure are
not only wonderfully modelled and painted, but her red mouth has a
sweet, half-smiling expression, and dimples are ready to break out at
any moment and render the brilliant face even more brilliant. The eyes
are lustrous and handsome, beneath finely arched brows. The light silky
hair is roped with pearls, and a long plume falls gracefully from the
coquettish toque of velvet adjusted at an angle that suits the face
exactly. A pearl necklace and earrings adorn the ears and snowy neck, a
magnificent jewel with three pear-shaped pearls for pendants clasps the
front of the dress, jewels ornament the sleeves, and a great rope of
goldsmith's work passes from shoulder to shoulder. She wears a light
blue satin dress the sleeves of which are slashed with white, and a
black velvet cloak with gold buttons and a fur collar. The sleeves end
with delicate filmy frills at the wrist, and she gracefully holds in her
hand a couple of beautiful pink roses. The background is gray and the
curtain is red. This picture was painted in 1634, four years after
Rubens's marriage to the daughter of Daniel Fourment.
After Rubens's death the beautiful Helena was married to Jan B.
Broekhoven, Baron of Bergeijck. She died in 1673.
=Burger's Admiration for the Portrait of the First Wife.=--Not far away
from her portrait hangs that of Isabella Brandt, painted in 1620. Burger
admired it more than that of Helena, and went into ecstasies over the
"beautiful hands" crossed over her girdle. Isabella is dressed in black,
with a square and low-cut bodice and a gauze fichu. Her hair is adorned
with pearls.
=Portrait of Father Ophovius.=--The Mauritshuis possesses also a famous
portrait by Rubens of quite another character; this is that of a friend
whom he had sufficient influence to have made Bishop of Bois-le-Duc, the
Rev. Father Michael Ophovius, a Dominican monk. He is seen full face in
the costume of his order. He has an energetic head and is in robust
health. It is a broad and vigorous painting, and formerly adorned the
Dominican monastery at Antwerp.
=Two Pictures painted Partly by Rubens.=--Two other pictures by Rubens
should be studied. Adam and Eve in Paradise, in which, however, only the
figures are by Rubens (Dr. Bredius thinks the horse also); while the
landscape and other animals are by Jan Brueghel, also called Velvet
Brueghel. The latter also painted the landscape in the Naiads Filling
the Horn of Plenty, a picture that was once attributed to Van Bolen, but
now to Rubens. It is interesting to compare the landscape of the
Terrestrial Paradise by Jan Brueghel (Velvet) with the landscapes in the
above-mentioned pictures.
Copies of six pictures by Rubens are also owned by this gallery.
=Portraits by Van Dijck in The Hague.=--There are only three portraits
by Van Dijck (1599-1641) in The Hague Gallery: Portrait of Sir ----
Sheffield, painted in 1627; a Portrait of Anna Wake, his Wife, painted
in 1628; and a Portrait of the painter, Quintijn Simons. Of the latter,
Sir Joshua Reynolds said:
"A portrait by Van Dyck of Simon the painter. This is one of the very
few pictures that can be seen of Van Dyck which is in perfect
preservation; and on examining it closely it appeared to me a perfect
pattern of portrait-painting: every part is distinctly marked, but
with the lightest hand and without destroying the breadth of light;
the coloring is perfectly true to nature, though it has not the
brilliant effect of sunshine, such as is seen in Rubens's wife; it is
nature seen by common daylight."
=A Picture by Frans Snijders.=--Anthonie van Dijck is said to have
painted the huntsman in the picture of still life and game by which
Frans Snijders is represented here. Fuller knowledge of Snijders,
however, is to be gained in the Rijks.
=A Picture by Several Artists.=--One of the most curious and interesting
pictures in the entire gallery is The Interior of a Picture Gallery,
painted by a number of Antwerp artists, but which is catalogued under
the name of Gonzales Coques (1618-84). This artist and his family are
represented in the centre of a picture gallery, and are by the hand of
Coques himself. The pictures on the walls were painted by pupils of
Rubens, Van Dijck, Rembrandt, and others, and represent still life,
landscapes, mythological and allegorical scenes. Many of them possess
great charm. On the left are: the Meeting of Christ and a Centurion, by
Pieter Yykens (1648-95); The Earth, an allegory, by Erasmus Quellinus
(1607-78); an Italian Landscape, by Antoni Goubau (1616-98); The
Metamorphosis of Ascalaphus, by Carel Emanuel Biset (1633-after 1691); A
Boar Hunt, by Peter Boel (1622-89); a Moonlight and Landscape, signed J.
v. K.; a Landscape, by Pieter van Bredael (1629-1719), signed P. v. B.;
a Marine (unknown); The Nymphs Spied On, by Jan de Duyts (1629-76); and
a Marine, by Jan Peeters (1624-77). Above the door in the centre are two
pictures: The Judgment of Paris, by Theodoor Boeyermans (1620-78), and
Leda, by the same artist. On the left: The Triumph of Silenus, by Jan
Cossiers (1600-71); Water, an allegory, by Theodoor Boeyermans; the Four
Seasons, by the same artist; a Landscape (unknown); Still Life
(unknown); The Descent from the Cross and View of a City, both by Johan
van den Hecke (1620-84); Landscape (unknown); a Village Festival, by
Peter Spierinckx (1635-1711); a Landscape, by Johan van den Hecke
(1620-84), and Bathers, by the same artist; Still Life, by Peter Gysels
(1621-90); and a Venus and Adonis, by Casper Jacob van Opstal
(1654-1717). The architecture of the room was painted in 1674 by Willem
van Ehrenberg (1637-about 76). The picture is 5-3/4 feet high by 7 feet
broad, and was offered in 1683 by the Brotherhood of Painters in Antwerp
to Jan van Bavegom, Procureur of the Court of Brussels, as a reward for
the services he had rendered to the Brotherhood in the lawsuit against
the armies of the Six Guilds. It finally became the property of William
V.
="The Little Van Dijck."=--Gonzales Coques was a pupil of Pieter
Brueghel III. and David Ryckaert, whose daughter he married. He was fond
of painting portraits of his family walking in a park or engaged in
various occupations and pleasures indoors; and very frequently he was
assisted by other artists, as in the case of the picture just described.
Coques was a man of letters, and presided over the Chamber of Rhetoric
in his native city, Antwerp. His elegance, taste, and delicacy have
procured for him the name of "The Little Van Dijck." In his own day he
enjoyed great renown, and was honored with orders for pictures and
presents from many sovereigns, including Charles I. of England, the
Prince of Orange, and the Archdukes of Austria.
=Francken, Painter of Allegories and Festive Scenes.=--A historical
picture of interest is that of A Ball at the Court of Albert and
Isabella in 1611, by Frans Francken the Younger (1581-1642). He was
famous for his scenes from the Bible, allegories, landscapes,
mythological pictures, and particularly for his balls, masquerades, and
other scenes of festivity in which he introduced figures of small size.
Frequently, too, he painted figures in the pictures of the elder Neeffs,
the younger De Momper, and Bartelmees van Bassen.
=Description of the Picture of a Historical Ball.=--This ball scene,
which belonged to William V. at Het Loo, was painted between 1611 and
1616. The couple who are dancing in the centre are Philip William of
Nassau, Prince of Orange, and his wife, Eleonore de Bourbon, Princess of
Condé. Albert and his wife, Isabelle Claire Eugénie, and five other
portraits are by the hand of Frans Pourbus the Younger.
=Pictures by Vinck Boons and Droochsloot.=--Pictures of peasants
enjoying the _kermesse_, by David Vinck Boons (1578-1629), (1622), a
landscape and genre painter, whose figures are often of repulsive
ugliness, and by J. C. Droochsloot (1586-1666), also represented by a
Dutch Village (1652), bring us to a more brilliant painter of such
scenes.
=David Teniers the Younger a Conspicuous Painter of Still Life.=--David
Teniers the Younger (1610-90) is one of those Flemish painters who were
known and sought after in Holland during their lifetime. This may have
arisen from the fact that he was closely allied with the Dutch school
and with Brouwer, who lived and worked for a long time in Holland and
was very highly prized there. Teniers painted in particular little
cabinet pictures, soldier scenes, alchemists and cooks, and in them
often showed a conspicuous love of still life, so greatly liked in
Holland. Another circumstance which must be taken into consideration is
that his brothers Hendrik and Julius, both painters, lived for some time
in Holland and occupied themselves--the former in Middelburg and the
latter in Amsterdam--with the sale of the pictures of their famous
brother.
=The Resemblance of his Pictures to those of his Master.=--The younger
Teniers developed himself principally in the school of Adriaen Brouwer.
Some of his early pictures, painted between 1630 and 1640, stand so
closely sometimes beside those of Brouwer that they have been attributed
to the latter. In his first period, Teniers, quite trickily copied
Brouwer's real types, and many of his mannerisms, such as the famous red
cap which he so often put on his figures. The spirited painting, the
clear bright light with the finely expressed chiaroscuro, and the
beautiful harmony of tone he followed in the happiest way. He became
Brouwer's successor; and he is greatest when he is still under the
inspiration of his great prototype. Splendid pictures of this style are
possessed by the Museums of Madrid, the Louvre, Berlin, Dresden, St.
Petersburg, and many of the great private collections.
=A Gradual Change in the Tone of Teniers's Pictures.=--About 1650 the
warm golden tone of the master falls more and more into a cooler silver
tone. Bright and clear in the highest degree are the treasured works of
this period. At the end of his life, however, he grades more and more
into a brown, dull tone far removed from the vigor and transparency of
his youth. Still in his old age he maintained a careful drawing, a great
completeness in the painting, only the very last pictures show that the
hand of the old man at length had begun to tremble.
=Description of The Good Kitchen.=--The Hague possesses two fine
examples of this artist. In The Good Kitchen, a splendid work of his
middle period, painted in 1644, he delights us especially with masterly
representation of assembled details. Magnificently painted are the fish
and fowl, pots and kitchen stuff; only, perhaps, is the background keyed
up a little too high. The figures, as unfortunately so frequently
happens with Teniers, are somewhat uninteresting; only the little boy
who is holding the dish for his mother (evidently the portrait of a
child) looks out at us in a lifelike and endearing manner.
A famous kitchen it is, in fact; and it is evident that a feast of some
consequence is in preparation. Fowl, game, fish, vegetables, fruits, all
are there on the tables and the floor. In the background, before a big
fire, a cook is roasting joints, and a man and woman are very busy close
beside him. In front, in the middle, and in the bright light, is seated
the young mistress of the house, also aiding in the preparations. For
the moment she is peeling a lemon, and the little boy is standing beside
her holding a plate. She wears a blood-colored skirt, and on her
sky-blue bodice expands a broad collar of a whiteness that Metsu would
envy. The whole is very ably and broadly painted with that just and free
touch and those spirited accents which characterize the technique of
Teniers. It is painted at the beginning of his best period when his
silvery period begins: he was then thirty-four years old.
Burger cleverly says: "Like certain of those fishes that he has painted
so well, Teniers is excellent between the head and tail." The Good
Kitchen is painted on copper and is only two feet and a half broad. A
small picture on wood shows an alchemist with a gray beard seated beside
a table holding a book. His assistant is kneeling beside a furnace.
Sir Joshua Reynolds said:
"The works of David Teniers, Jun., are worthy the closest attention of
a painter who desires to excel in the mechanical knowledge of his art.
His manner of touching, or what we call handling, has perhaps never
been equalled: there is in his pictures that exact mixture of softness
and sharpness which is difficult to execute."
=Tilborgh's Picture of A Dinner.=--We must not neglect now to look at
the one picture by Tilborgh, A Dinner, particularly interesting on
account of the personages represented.
Tilborgh (1625-78), supposed to have been a pupil of Teniers, certainly
follows him in choice of subject--interiors of taverns, peasants
merry-making, _kermesses_, village feasts, etc. He was popular in his
day,--even more so, it is said, than Teniers himself. The dinner is
taking place in the home of Adriaen van Ostade, who is seated in the
middle, with his wife on his right, beyond whom are a man and a woman.
On the left is Paul Potter, with long hair and a large hat, dressed in a
pearl-gray doublet and red stockings. His general appearance is very
gay, and quite a contrast to the melancholy portrait by B. van der
Helst, which also hangs in this gallery. Near Potter stands his silly
little wife, dressed in light blue,--a not specially graceful figure.
Two other painters are standing on the left, talking together. Burger
thinks they may be Tilborgh himself and Isaak van Ostade.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] This picture, representing Dr. Johan Deyman's lecture in anatomy,
was partly burned in the eighteenth century, and the fragment now hangs
in the Rijks with the other collection of anatomical pictures from the
Surgeons' Guild of Amsterdam.
[2] The figures in this landscape were painted by Lingelbach.
[3] Blanc.
[4] Crowe.
[5] Bredius.
[6] Crowe.
[7] Crowe.
[8] Crowe.
[9] Blanc.
[10] Crowe.
[11] Crowe.
[12] Reynolds.
[13] Dr. Bredius.
[14] Crowe.
[15] Blanc.
[16] In the Louvre.
[17] Hymans.
[18] Blanc.
[19] Greef (Grif, Grifir, or Gryef), Anton, Flemish painter of
landscapes with dogs and dead game, born at Antwerp in 1670; died in
Brussels in 1715. He is supposed to have been a pupil of Frans Synders.
There seem to have been two painters of the same name.
[20] Victor, Jakob or Giacomo, Dutch painter of the seventeenth century.
Pictures by him are in Dresden, Copenhagen, and Munich; in the latter,
his Barnyard bears the forged signature of Hondecoeter.
[21] Blanc.
[22] Crowe.
THE RIJKS MUSEUM
THE WAY TO THE RIJKS
On taking the tramway at the Dam, the traveller will find the short trip
to the Rijks Museum a very pleasant one. The car glides rapidly through
a busy part of Amsterdam, crossing canal after canal,--the Singel,
Heeren, Keizers, and Prinsen grachts,--bordered with leafy trees and
houses that present a picturesque appearance. Alighting at Willems Park,
on the canal long known as the Buiten Singel, or outer girdle,
separating the old from the new town, we walk a short distance along the
Stadhouders-Kade to the imposing red brick building with granite bands,
arches, tympans, entablatures, etc., in the transition style between the
Gothic and the Dutch Renaissance, which covers nearly three acres of
ground. The principal _façade_, turned toward the Buiten Singel,
presents a somewhat majestic appearance, with its two fine towers and
central gable surmounted by a statue of Victory, by Vermeylen.
=History of this Collection.=--Before entering, we may note that this
splendid Museum was opened in the name of the King of Holland in 1885.
Perhaps we may pause also to recall the history and development of this
great collection, which was formed of the remnant of the pictures and
curiosities left by the last Stadtholder, William V.
In 1798 the Government decreed the formation of a National Museum, and
this was installed in the Huis ten Bosch (House in the Wood), near The
Hague, and opened to the public in 1800. From time to time the
collection was increased by purchases, and in 1805 it received the name
of Cabinet National. When the King of Holland removed his residence,
however, from Utrecht to Amsterdam, in 1808, he ordered that a Royal
Museum for the preservation of pictures, drawings, prints, sculpture,
carvings, engraven gems, antiquities, and curiosities of all kinds
should be formed.
=Opening of the Royal Museum in 1808.=--This Museum was opened in the
Palace on the Dam in December, 1808. Here were gathered ninety-six
pictures from the National Museum of 1798 (one hundred and fifty-four
remaining pictures being sent to The Hague); fifty-seven pictures bought
in 1808 at the sale of G. van der Pot van Groeneveld in Rotterdam; eight
old pictures given by The Hague in 1808; seven old pictures lent by the
city of Amsterdam (among them The Night Watch and Syndics and The
Banquet of the Civil Guard); six pictures and a marble statuette by J.
B. Xavery, given by Baron van Spaen de Biljoen; a few modern pictures
bought at the exposition of 1808; one hundred and thirty-seven pictures
forming the Van Heteren Collection, bought in 1809 for 100,000 florins;
and seven pictures bought in the same year at the Bicker sale; several
casts of antique statues from the Musée Napoléon of Paris; and some
antiquities found chiefly in Drenthe.
=Removal to the Trippenhuis.=--In 1810 the name was changed from the
"Royal Museum" to the "Dutch Museum," and in 1814 the collections were
transferred to the Trippenhuis, where they remained until 1885.
=Numerous Additions from 1825 to 1885.=--In 1825 some pictures were
exchanged with the Royal Museum at The Hague (Mauritshuis); and in 1828
some duplicates were sold for 23,701 florins, with which sum other
pictures were purchased. In 1828 William I. made a present of some
pictures he had acquired at the Brentano and Muller sales to the State
Museum, as it was now called.
In 1838 many of the modern pictures were transferred to the Paviljoen
Welgelegen, which became, therefore, a gallery of the works of living
painters of the Netherlands; and this collection was gradually enriched
by gifts and purchases. In 1885 the one hundred and eighty-four pictures
of this collection were sent to the Rijks.
=Bequests.=--The principal bequests have been as follows: Madame la Ve
Balguerie Van Rijswijck, twenty-two family portraits (1823); M. L.
Dupper, Wz., sixty-four superb pictures (1870); Mlle. J. E. Liotard, an
enamel of great value, and fifteen pastels by the Genevese painter, J.
E. Liotard, to which Mme. Liotard sent six other pastels by the same
artist in 1885 (1873); Jhr. Me. J. de Witte van Citters some objects of
art, curios, prints, and thirty-five family portraits (1875); Mme. J. J.
van Winter Bicker, forty-four portraits of the Bicker family (1879);
Jhr. J. S. H. van de Poll, fifty-two pictures of great value (1880); and
a gift of Jhr. J. S. R. van de Poll, comprising thirty-five family
portraits.
=Two Important Collections added.=--Two important collections have yet
to be mentioned: the famous Van der Hoop Collection and The Collection
of Contemporary Art. The former was gathered by M. Adriaan van der Hoop,
head of the house of Hope & Co., and knight of several orders, who made
a magnificent collection of about two hundred and twenty-four ancient
and modern pictures. These he left to the city of Amsterdam in 1854. It
was lodged in the Académie des Beaux Arts until removed to the Rijks in
1885. In 1880 Mme. Van der Hoop left twenty-four more pictures, which
had adorned her house, to complete the gift. The Collection of
Contemporary Art is the work of an association of Amsterdam art-lovers
founded in 1875.
=The Staircase and the Rembrandt Room.=--Before ascending the stairs
guarded by two lions couchant, we may stop to notice a picture by Pieter
Cornelisz van Rijck (1568-16--), representing an old Dutch kitchen with
all sorts of eatables, and in the background a feast representing the
parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. This staircase leads to the
Entrance Hall, from which we go to the Grand Gallery, which leads
directly into the famous Rembrandt Room, in which The Night Watch holds
the place of honor. The Grand Gallery is bordered on each side by four
compartments, or cabinets, hung with pictures of the seventeenth
century.
=A Tour through the Rooms.=--To the left of the Rembrandt Room is the
Carlovingian Room; and from this we pass into International Hall, where
pictures of foreign masters are gathered. In the next room are assembled
the oldest pictures of the Dutch School. The next room contains masters
of the sixteenth century, and next to it comes Dupper Hall, devoted to
the glorious period of Dutch art, the seventeenth century. Here are
sixty-four paintings, many of which are masterpieces. Next comes Van der
Poll Hall with fifty-two pictures, then the Hall of Anatomy Pictures,
and next Portrait Hall. From this we visit the five cabinets, containing
such pictures of the Old Dutch School as from their small dimensions and
minute finish are best seen in small rooms. On the opposite side of the
vestibule are five similar cabinets with similar pictures. Beyond these
is Pavilion Hall, containing portraits, many of which are painters'
portraits of themselves. Then come the Van der Hoop Museum and two
galleries of modern pictures, one of which is called Waterloo Hall,
because of The Battle of Waterloo, by J. W. Pieneman, hanging there.
From this we enter the Old Dutch Governors' Room, representing a typical
room of the seventeenth century with allegorical ceiling, tapestries,
and old furniture. From this we pass into the adjoining Gold Leather
Room, where there is a picture representing a marriage party, and a
collection of drinking vessels of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries in one of the cupboards. The Dutch Governors' Room leads into
the Rembrandt Room, which again leads us into the Grand Gallery, our
starting point.
=Rembrandt's Work in his Middle and Last Periods.=--We have seen in The
Hague the great works of Rembrandt's early period; in the Rijks we find
the full flowering of his genius in his middle and last periods. The
Night Watch was painted in 1642; the Portrait of Elizabeth Bas, about
1645; the fragment of the Anatomy picture, representing Dr. Deyman, in
1656; The Syndics, in 1661; and The Jewish Bride, or Ruth and Boaz,
about 1663. The Rijks owns two other pictures: a mythological
composition and the head of his father, painted in Leyden in 1630.
=Description of The Night Watch.=--Let us look carefully at The Night
Watch, Rembrandt's most famous picture and also his largest (11 feet by
14). It was painted in 1642, ten years after the Lesson in Anatomy, for
the Kloveniers Doele (Arquebusiers Shooting Company).
The great Sortie of the Banning Cock Company, which is the more correct
name for The Night Watch, represents twenty-nine life-sized civic guards
issuing from their guardhouse in a great state of bustle and confusion,
while the drums beat and the dog barks. The dominant color is the
citron-yellow uniform of the lieutenant, wearing a blue sash, while a
Titian-like red dress of a musketeer, the black velvet dress of the
captain, and the varied green of the girl and the drummer, all produce a
rich and harmonious effect. The background has become dark and heavy by
accident or neglect, and the scutcheon on which the names are painted is
scarcely to be seen.[23]
In the middle, in front, marches the captain in a dark brown, almost
black, costume, at his side Lieutenant Willem van Ruitenberg, in a
yellow buffalo jerkin, both figures in the full sunlight, so that the
shadow of the captain's hand is distinctly traceable on the jerkin. On
the right hand of the captain are an arquebusier loading his weapon, and
two children, of whom the one in front, a girl, has a dead cock hanging
from her girdle (perhaps one of the prizes). On a step behind them is
the flag-bearer, Jan Visser Cornelissen. The other side of the picture
is pervaded with similar life and spirit, from the lieutenant to the
drummer, Jan van Kamboort, at the extreme corner, who energetically
beats his drum. In an oval frame on a column in the background are
inscribed the names of the members of the guild.
=The Night Watch a Misnomer.=--The remarkable chiaroscuro of the whole
picture (seen to greatest advantage in the afternoon) has led to the
belief that Rembrandt intended to depict a nocturnal scene; but the
event represented really takes place in daylight, the lofty vaulted hall
of the guild being lighted only by windows above, to the left, not
visible to the spectator, and being therefore properly obscured in
partial twilight. The peculiar light and the spirited action of the
picture elevate this group of portraits into a most effective dramatic
scene, which ever since its creation has been enthusiastically admired
by all connoisseurs of art. Each guild member represented paid 100
florins for his portrait, so that, as there were originally sixteen in
the group, the painter received 1,600 florins for his work. The painting
was successfully cleaned by Hopman in 1889.
The picture is so deeply enveloped in shadow that it is some time before
the spectator can see figures emerge, although they always retain
something of a supernatural quality, derived partly from the
phosphorescent gleams that here and there illuminate faces, figures,
drum, halberds, flag-pole, and lances.
=The Mutilation of the Picture.=--When The Night Watch was removed from
the Kloveniers Doele to the small military council chamber of the Town
Hall on the Dam, in 1715, portions of it were cut off on the right and
left and at the bottom, which has greatly interfered with its
appearance. A photograph of an old drawing hangs near the picture, which
shows the (supposed) original form of the composition.
=The Syndics.=--Some critics consider The Syndics Rembrandt's greatest
achievement; and all are agreed that it is one of the finest groups of
portraits ever painted. This work, finished in 1662--twenty years after
The Night Watch--was ordered by the Guild of Clothmakers, who wished to
have a portrait group of their Syndics to hang in their chamber at the
Staalhof (sample hall) in the Staalstraat in Amsterdam.
=Rembrandt's Special Traits exhibited in this Picture.=--Here
Rembrandt's special traits are exhibited: his wonderful treatment of
light, his grouping of figures, and his study of character. The five
Syndics, all dressed alike in black with flat white collars and
broad-brimmed-high-crowned hats, are grouped around a table verifying
their accounts. The yellow oak wainscot behind them and the scarlet
table-cloth contribute the only color to the sombre group.
Six canvases of portraits of Syndics formerly hung in the Staalhof, the
oldest of which was painted in 1559. Only two now remain: the one by
Rembrandt, and another, also in the Rijks, by Aert Pietersen, painted in
1599. Upon the frame of the latter is a Dutch inscription, which,
translated, reads:
"Consider your oath
In what you know.
Live uprightly.
Through favor or hatred
Or self-interest
Don't give an opinion."
Rembrandt's five Dutch gentlemen look as if they had closely followed
this excellent moral advice.
=Description of The Jewish Bride.=--The Jewish Bride depicts two
life-size figures, standing and seen to the knees, one a young woman
dressed in a red gown with white sleeves and white cape. Her complexion
is rosy, and she has an abundance of brown hair. She is simply covered
with jewels,--a comb, earrings, collar, large chain, bracelets, rings of
pearls, and sparkling gems. Her face is tranquil and radiant. Her
gallant companion is about to embrace her, his face full of tenderness.
He wears a long wig with curls falling over his shoulders and has no
beard; this was the fashion after 1660. He has a large black cap on his
head, and his pourpoint, mantle, and wide and embroidered sleeves are
yellow. The head of the man is very highly finished, slightly recalling
in manner those in The Syndics; but his clothing is somewhat hastily
done. The picture is unfinished, but in the dark fantastic background
some architecture with foliage and a vase of flowers suggesting a park
may be discerned to the left; also the vague form of a dog. On the
right, there are some shrubs and a wall. Burger thinks this was painted
in 1669, the last year of Rembrandt's life. The canvas is about five
feet long and four feet high.
=The Celebrated Portrait of Elizabeth Bas.=--The portrait of Elizabeth
Bas, the widow of Lieutenant Admiral Joachim Swartenhout, painted in
1642, is considered one of Rembrandt's most celebrated portraits. Seated
in an easy chair and wearing a rich dress profusely ornamented with
buttons, the stern, commanding face of the old lady looks directly at
the spectator. Her marvellously painted hands are folded over a
handkerchief, and she wears a cap and a fluted ruff.
Two other portraits by Rembrandt can be seen here: one, of a lady; and
the other, of his father (a copy).
=Multiplicity of Portraits in the Rijks.=--In the Rijks Gallery
portraits, either single or groups, outnumber all other branches of art.
Some of these have a world-wide reputation, while others are interesting
only to the special student. No less famous than Rembrandt's Elizabeth
Bas is that of another old lady, Maria Voogt, Madame van der Meer,
painted by Frans Hals in 1639, which hangs in the Van der Hoop Room.
"An old woman is seated in an arm-chair almost full face and of
natural size. She is dressed in black velvet, with a white ruff. Her
right hand holds a book with a silver clasp, the left hand rests on
the arm of the chair. The tone is neutral. A superb portrait of the
first order. You read above the coat-of-arms _Ætatis suæ_ 64. _A{o}_
1639."[24]
=Hals's Portrait of Himself and his Wife.=--Hals's portrait of himself
and his wife, Lysbeth Reyniers, represents the couple as life-size and
seated in a rather uncomfortable position on a bank under the trees, in
a garden ornamented with statues and fountains. In the distance a
peacock struts; and the scene is so cheerful that the smiling faces of
Hals and his wife are quite explicable. The latter's ruff is of enormous
size and marvellously painted.
=Hals's The Jester.=--Hals always loved to render the face in action, to
fix forever a rapid fleeting expression; and one of his most notable
achievements is the famous Jester owned by Baron Rothschild in Paris. As
few art lovers can ever have the chance of seeing this masterpiece, the
admirable copy that hangs in the Rijks, said to have been made by Dirck
Hals, should be carefully examined. The canvas is variously known as The
Jester, The Fool, The Mandolin Player, and The Lute Player; and is said
to be a portrait of the artist's pupil, Adriaen Brouwer; but whoever he
is, he is a rascally, impudent fellow with a mocking, cynical smile, and
belongs to the same class as Touchstone, Dogberry, Launcelot Gobbo, and
other of our prized and disreputable Shakespearian acquaintances. Hals's
Jester is a creation. Look at the vagabond well, first because he will
soon twang the chords of his lute, break out into a song of the day,
then doff his cap and beg for money. Look at the pose of his left hand
and the strong, flexible thumb. He can _play_. Next look at the artist's
work and note the broad sweeps of the brush that so simply but surely
create the features and expression.
A Jolly Man is another of Hals's pictures that may be classed as
portraits, a splendid piece of work. Go closely up to the picture and
notice how the broad brush strokes are made.
[Illustration: MOREELSE
The Little Princess]
=Moreelse's The Little Princess.=--A very charming portrait is that of
The Little Princess by Moreelse. The child looks somewhat demurely at
the spectator, with large brown eyes. Her face is round, her forehead
high, and her light brown hair, brushed severely from her face, is
ornamented with a pink rose held in place by a jewelled band. Her large
earrings are coral and pearl. A necklace and bracelets of three rows of
handsome pearls adorn her neck and wrists, and a brooch containing a
miniature set with jewels fastens the rosette at the point of her
collar. Her dress is of dark green velvet embroidered with gold and
fastened by rich girdles and chains. Marvellously indeed has the artist
executed the lace and transparent lawn of which the "butterfly" ruff and
dainty cuffs are made. The little right hand rests lovingly on the head
of a King Charles spaniel, whose neck is adorned with bells. An old rose
curtain gives a charming note of color to the background.
=Moreelse's Great Success as a Portrait-painter.=--Paulus Moreelse
(1571-1638), a native of Utrecht and a pupil and follower of Mierevelt
in Delft, became so successful as a portrait-painter that all the great
ladies desired to sit to him. He visited Rome in 1604, and on his return
painted for a time historical and architectural subjects. He was also a
capable engraver and architect.
=Other Portraits by Moreelse.=--In addition to The Little Princess, we
may see in this gallery a very fine portrait of Maria van Utrecht, wife
of Joan van Oldenbarnevelt, at the age of sixty-three (1615); also a
Portrait of Himself; one of A Woman; another of Frederick V., King of
Bohemia; another of Colonel Wtenhoghe; and The Beautiful Shepherdess,
dated 1630, with flowers and a veil on her head, yellow draperies, and a
rake in her hand. This picture was purchased for 2,150 florins in 1817.
In all probability it is a portrait.
[Illustration: MIEREVELT
Prince Maurits of Nassau]
=Mierevelt, a Popular Portrait-painter.=--Michael Mierevelt (1567-1641),
the son of a goldsmith and pupil of Anthony van Montfoort at Utrecht,
attained notoriety by his portraits of some of the princes of the House
of Nassau. From that time he was never without orders; and he is
supposed to have painted a greater number of portraits than any other
artist of his country. Mierevelt spent most of his life in Delft. The
Rijks contains a great number of his works, among which are: portraits
of Jacob Cats; Johan v. Oldenbarnevelt; F. Hendrik; Philips Willem,
Prince of Orange; Prince Maurits; Johannes Uitenbogaert; Frederick V.,
Elector of the Palatinate; Lubbert Gerritz; Paulus van Beresteyn;
Volckera Nicolai; Henrick Hooft, and of Aegje Hasselaer, wife of Henrick
Hooft.
=Portraits by Honthorst.=--The student of history and lover of portraits
will be attracted by the following Honthorsts: Frederick Wilhelm,
Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife, Louise Henriette of Orange;
William II., Prince of Orange; William II. with his wife, Princess Maria
Stuart of England; Frederik Hendrik; Amalia v. Solms; and the Princes of
Orange, William I., Maurits, Frederik Hendrik, William II., and William
III.
=Portraits by Van der Helst.=--By Van der Helst there are portraits of
Maria Stuart, Princess Royal of England, widow of William II., Prince of
Orange; Portrait of a Warrior; and Portraits of Andries Bicker,
Burgomaster of Amsterdam (1586-1652); and Gerard A. Bicker (1623-66).
=Rubens's Portrait of Helena Fourment.=--Rubens's portrait of Helena
Fourment shows his second wife, in a different mood and costume from the
one in the Mauritshuis. Here she is represented full face, with hair
curled in tufts, a satin bodice, high fan-shaped ruff spreading behind
the head, throat half bare, with necklace and many jewels. He has also a
portrait of Anna Maria, wife of Louis XIII. of France.
=Portraits by Van Dijck.=--Van Dijck is represented by a Portrait of
William II., Prince of Orange, and his Betrothed, Mary Stuart, painted
in 1641; a Portrait of a Man; and one of Johannes Baptist Franck, a
young man of twenty-eight, with light hair, pointed beard, and
moustache, and wearing a black cloak draped in graceful folds. This was
once in Lucien Bonaparte's collection.
=Portraits by T. de Keijser.=--A few examples of Theodor de Keijser,
though of small dimensions, rank among the best specimens of this
painter.
=Change of Fashion in Portrait-painting exemplified by Maes.=--Maes,
more familiar by his _genre_, has no less than eight portraits here,
besides a large corporation picture representing the Chiefs of the
Corporation of Surgeons of Amsterdam, 1680-81. The great difference in
style and quality between the early and late portraits of this master
has led many to believe that they are the work of more than one master.
The change is attributed to his visit to Antwerp; but it has been
pointed out that the fashion was changing everywhere, including
Amsterdam, where even Rembrandt during the closing years of his life was
despised and neglected by the fashionable public. Maes, on the other
hand, made concessions to the vulgar taste; and, for a quarter of a
century, produced an enormous quantity of secondary or mediocre
portraits, in which all trace of his master's qualities was lost.
=Artists' Portraits of Themselves.=--Though not so great in the line of
painters' portraits of themselves as the Uffizi, the Rijks possesses a
good number of men who thought they saw themselves as others saw them,
or at any rate, as they wished posterity to know them. Among these are
Jan Steen, Gerrit Dou, Ferdinand Bol, Honthorst, Ter Borch, and L.
Bakhuysen.
A fine portrait by Bol of the famous sculptor Artus Quellin; a Male
Portrait by Dou; one of Amalia v. Solms by Flinck; and the Portrait of
an Architect with his Wife and Child, by Bernhart Fabritius, deserve
notice.
=Van der Helst, a Great Portrait-painter.=--Bartholomew van der Helst
(1613-70) was considered the greatest portrait-painter of his time, and
received more money for his portraits than any other Dutch painter; yet,
notwithstanding his industry and the money that he received, he died
poor. He is thought to have been a pupil of Nicholas Eliasz Pickenoy at
Amsterdam, where he fell under the influence of Rembrandt.
=Description of The Civic Guard Banquet.=--Bartholomew van der Helst's
great work, The Schuttersmaaltijd (Civic Guard Banquet), held June 18,
1648, in the upper hall of the Cross-bow, or St. George Company House,
at the Singel, in celebration of the Peace of Münster, always
fascinates.
The twenty-five figures are all portraits. At the head of the table
Captain Wits is seated in a chair of black oak with a velvet cushion. He
is dressed in black velvet, his breast covered with a cuirass, and on
his head is a broad-brimmed black hat with white plumes. His left hand,
supported on his knee, holds a magnificent silver drinking-horn
ornamented with a St. George and the Dragon,--which valuable piece of
silver, by the way, is on permanent exhibition with other beakers and
drinking-horns of the old guilds in the Rijks. The good-humored Captain
is cordially grasping the hand of Lieutenant Van Waveren, who wears a
handsome pearl-gray doublet richly brocaded with gold, and lace collar
and cuffs. His feet are crossed, and he wears boots of yellow leather
with large tops and gold spurs. His hat is black, with dark brown
plumes. Behind him, in the centre of the picture, is the
standard-bearer, Jacob Banning, in easy, martial attitude, hat in hand,
his right hand on his chair, his right leg on his left knee. He holds
the flag of blue silk, on which the Virgin is embroidered. The banner
covers his shoulder, and he looks out toward the spectator frankly and
complacently. The man behind him is probably a sergeant. He wears a
cuirass, yellow gloves, gray stockings, and boots with large tops and
kneecaps of cloth. On his knee is a napkin, and in his hands a piece of
ham, a slice of bread, and a knife. The old man behind him is thought to
be William the Drummer. In one hand he holds his hat, and in the other a
gold-footed wineglass filled with the most marvellously painted white
wine. He wears a black satin doublet slashed with yellow silk, and a red
sash. Behind him are two matchlock men seated at the end of a table.
One, with a napkin on his knee, is eating with his knife; the other
holds a long glass of white wine, also a marvel of the painter's skill.
Four musketeers, with differently shaped hats, stand behind; one holds a
glass, the others have their guns on their shoulders. Between the
standard-bearer and the Captain several guests are placed: one is
carving a fowl; another, with his hat off and hand uplifted, is talking
to his neighbor; a third is filling a cup from a silver flagon; and a
fourth holds a silver plate. Behind the Captain are two other figures,
one of whom is peeling an orange. Two others with halberts are standing,
and one holds a plumed hat. Between Banning and the Captain there are
three others, one of whom holds a pewter pot, engraved with the name
Pocock, the landlord of the Hotel Doele. At the back a maidservant is
bringing in a pasty on which rests a turkey. The _façades_ of two houses
are seen through the panes of the window in the background. In the
left-hand corner stands a very handsome wine-cooler.
=Reynolds's Opinion of this Picture.=--"The best picture in this house
is painted by Van der Helst. It represents a company of trained bands,
about thirty figures, whole-length, among which the Spanish Ambassador
is introduced shaking hands with one of the principal figures. This is
perhaps the first picture of portraits in the world, comprehending
more of those qualities which make a perfect portrait than any other I
have ever seen: they are correctly drawn, both head and figures, and
well colored; and have great variety of action, characters, and
countenances, and those so lively and truly expressing what they are
about, that the spectator has nothing to wish for. Of this picture I
had before heard great commendations; but it far exceeded my
expectations." ...
=A Portrait Group by Rembrandt, and another by Van der Helst.=--"A
Frieze over one of the doors in chiaroscuro by De Witt, is not only
one of the best deceptions I have seen, but the boys are well drawn;
the ceiling and side of the room are likewise by him, but a poor
performance. The academy of painting is a part of this immense
building: in it are two admirable pictures, composed entirely of
portraits,--one by Rembrandt, and the other by Bartholomew van der
Helst. That of Rembrandt contains six men dressed in black; one of
them, who has a book before him, appears to have been reading a
lecture; the top of the table not seen. The heads are finely painted,
but not superior to those of his neighbor. The subject of Van der
Helst is the Society of Archers bestowing a premium: they appear to be
investing some person with an order. The date on this is 1657; on the
Rembrandt 1661."
=Van der Helst's Masterpiece.=--Captain Roelof Bicker's Company, painted
in 1639, has been termed Van der Helst's masterpiece. It is the largest
picture of its class in the gallery and contains thirty-two figures.
Captain Bicker and Lieutenant Jan Blaeu have brought their men from
their headquarters, and are welcoming a new ensign before the Brewery de
Haen (the Cock) on the corner of the Lastaadje (Geldersche Kade and
Bloomsloot), in 1639. The picture is remarkable for its wonderful
display of color and the vitality that every figure possesses.
[Illustration: B. VAN DER HELST
Company of Captain R. Bicker]
=Regent, Doelen, and Corporation Pictures.=--In every gallery in Holland
the traveller will come across the life-size groups known as "Regent,"
"Doelen," and "Corporation" pictures. These are always portraits of
members of shooting, charitable, and medical civic societies and guilds
of merchants, and were painted at the order of these various companies
to hang in their guild halls, shooting galleries (_doelen_), and
hospitals. Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Bartholomew van der Helst brought
these pictures to their highest expression and made of them artistic
compositions. Hals's great works of this class are in Haarlem; but the
Rijks owns, as we have seen, the celebrated Night Watch and The Syndics,
and B. Van der Helst's masterpieces, Schuttersmaaltijd and Company of
Captain Roelof Bicker.
=Similar Pictures by Govert Flinck.=--Next in importance are the works
of Govert Flinck (1615-60), a pupil and close imitator of Rembrandt, who
devoted his energies to portraits and historical and religious subjects.
Three "Corporation" or "Doelen" pictures by his hand hang in this
gallery; also Isaac Blessing Jacob, dated 1638; and three portraits,
including one of J. van den Vondel, who thought so highly of Flinck
that he compared him to the Greek Apelles.
=His Greatest Work.=--His most important "Corporation" picture depicts
the same scene as Van der Helst's. This, called Arquebusiers of
Amsterdam at a Banquet Celebrating the Signing of the Peace of Münster
in 1648, is considered this artist's greatest work; it is particularly
interesting from the fact that it contains a portrait of the painter
himself standing in the doorway. This picture is in two groups: on the
left, nine men are coming from the St. Jorisdoele, led by Captain Jan
Huidecoper van Maarseveen, dressed in black velvet, with a blue sash;
and the other group, consisting of eleven figures, is led by Lieutenant
Frans van Waveren, also dressed in black velvet with a blue sash, who is
congratulating the Captain.
The two other "Regent" pictures are: Four Chief Masters of the
Arquebusiers' Shooting Company and The Company of Captain Bas and
Lieutenant Conyn.
=Bol's Pictures of this Class.=--Burger, however, when looking at
Ferdinand Bol's pictures of this class in the Rijks, especially The
Regents of the Leprozenhuis in Amsterdam, and its companion The Lady
Patronesses of the Leprozenhuis, placed the artist second to none but
Rembrandt, and even the superior of B. van der Helst.
=Description of the First of These.=--The first picture (8 by 6 feet)
represents the Regents of the establishment, among whom are the
Burgomaster Hofdt and the Receiver of Amsterdam, Pieter van
Uitenbogaard, Rembrandt's friend. All are dressed in black, with large
hats, and are seated around a table covered with a Persian carpet. The
_custos_ is bringing before them a little bare-headed leper. The figures
are life-size, and "have the distinction of Van Dijck's personages,"
writes Burger, "and the solidity and depth of Rembrandt's."
=Dujardin's Regents of the House of Correction.=--Karel Dujardin's
Regents of the House of Correction in Amsterdam, painted in 1669, is
another remarkable work and very unusual in style for this artist. The
canvas is no less than 12 feet 8 inches by 7 feet 8 inches, and
represents the five Regents. Of natural size, these are grouped around a
table with a violet velvet cover. (Violet, it may be noted, was Karel
Dujardin's favorite color.) One of the Regents, his body turned to the
left and his head three-quarters, is seated in front, with his right
hand on the table; he holds a paper with a coat-of-arms dated February,
1669, and signed "Medelman"; his left hand rests on his hip. Another
holds out his hand to a servant, who is bringing him a paper. One only
is standing. All are dressed in black, with large black hats and white
neckbands. Some white marble columns in the style of G. de Lairesse are
seen in the background, where a servant with her hands crossed over her
waist is entering the open door and turning her head to listen to a
young man. Heads, hands, faces, and costumes are all remarkably
depicted.
=Other Pictures of the Same Class.=--Before dismissing the Corporation
pictures we may mention J. van Sandrart's Captain van Swieten's Company
Preparing to Escort Queen Dowager Marie de Médici, painted in 1638, and
considered the artist's chief work; P. Moreelse's Amsterdam
Arquebusiers; N. Elias's Banquet of Captain J. Backer's Company; B. van
der Helst's Presidents of the Voetboog-doelen and Presidents of the
Handboog-doelen.
One of the earliest pictures of this class is Cornelis Teunissen's
Banquet of the Civic Guards of the Cross-bow Company, painted in
Amsterdam in 1533. Another by the same artist, Guards of the
Cloveniers-doelen, was painted in 1557. A still earlier one, Dirck
Jacobsz's Civic Guards of the Cloveniers-doelen, was painted in 1529.
This artist is also represented by Civic Guards of the Arquebusiers,
which hangs near Dirck Barentsz's Civic Guards and Civic Guards of the
Cross-bow Company. A number of Regent pictures also hang in the Hall of
Anatomy Pictures, including Lessons in Anatomy, by Thomas de Keijser,
Nicolaes Elias, Dr. J. Deyment, and Rembrandt (the latter a fragment).
It is unlikely, however, that the visitor will care to linger in this
lugubrious hall.
=The Portrait Hall.=--We now pass into the Portrait Hall, which contains
two portrait collections, consisting of portraits bequeathed by the
Bicker family of Amsterdam, and twenty-six pictures purchased in 1895
from the descendants of the great Admiral de Ruyter. Here we again find
a number of Corporation and Regent pictures, chief among which is
Rembrandt's Syndics of the Guild of Clothmakers, which has been
described.
=Abundance of Dutch Landscapes in the Rijks.=--The Rijks is rich in
landscapes of every period of Dutch art. Ruisdael is particularly well
represented. His pictures are The Torrent, Château de Bentheim, Winter,
The Forest, View of Haarlem, Landscape, Wooded Landscape, Landscape in
Norway, and View of the Rhine near Wijk bij Duurstede.
=Description of Ruisdael's View of the Rhine near Duurstede.=--Burger
thought that the picture of the banks of the Rhine taken from Wijk near
Duurstede deserved to be placed by the side of the superb Tempest in the
Louvre; for it has "the same original grandeur of execution and the same
depth of sentiment." This is almost a marine. The water occupies almost
all the left foreground, where you note a sail-boat. A large boat, the
masts of which you see only, has taken refuge in the little bay in the
centre. On the right, upon a tongue of land that juts out and is
bordered by piles, stands a windmill; behind this is a house, and on the
horizon a steeple. A little to the left of the mill and far distant is a
castle with turrets. On the road that leads to the mill come three
peasant women in white aprons. One wears a white head-dress; the two
others have yellow ones. You can also distinguish some other tiny
figures by the little bay where the boat lies. The incomparable sky is
gray, and the clouds are of the same hue.
=Burger on the Same Picture.=--"Earth, water, sky, all are so
beautifully combined in a harmony so strong and dominating, so simple
and magnificent, that you are impressed with that strange--almost
terrible--effect produced, and you can't tell why. Indeed, there is
only a large mill with a round, tower-like base in the ordinary
fashion of the country, and three women who are returning to the
village. There is nothing to excite the imagination. Yet,
notwithstanding, you are filled with an irresistible melancholy. The
character and nature of the people are so strongly marked that you are
taken out of yourself and transported by the force of the artist's
heart and creation."
Another picture represents a mill with its wheel in the water; and on
the right some wood-cutters at work. This is a strong picture, but a
little sombre.
=Burger on The Cascade.=--"The Cascade [6 feet long by 4 feet high]
seems to have been composed with various elements of Nature herself.
The water bounds and foams in the foreground and over the entire
canvas. Above this great torrent on the right are tall trees, beneath
which are four little figures; and on the left, a clump of shrubs, in
the shadows of which a flock of sheep is passing by the brook. In the
background, behind the meadows, a belfry is seen on the horizon. It is
very rich, very vigorous, very beautiful."
=Influence of Everdingen.=--The Norwegian Landscape (about five feet
long) is also a large picture. Here the cascade tumbles over little
rocks, and on the right are rocks, trees, a house, and one tall,
isolated tree. This is cleverly painted, but the composition is not
happy. The true accents of nature are lacking; for it is certain that
Ruisdael never was in Norway, and that he devoted himself to cascades
and rocks on account of his intimacy with Van Everdingen, whose bold
landscapes, so different from Holland, surprised and delighted the
Dutch. Everdingen had suffered shipwreck in Norway, and had been greatly
taken with its bold, savage scenery. His favorite subject was a
waterfall in a glen with sombre fringes of pines mingled with birch, and
log huts at the base of rocks and craggy slopes. The prevalence of
falling water in his pictures, when others could paint only the
monotonous Dutch lowlands, gained for him the name "Inventor of
Cascades."
Salomon Ruisdael (?-1670) has two fine landscapes, The Halt, dated 1660,
and The Village Inn, dated 1655.
=Description of Hobbema's Water Mill.=--Hobbema is represented by two
Water Mills and a Landscape. The picture in the Van der Hoop Collection
shows a wooden mill with red-tiled roof in the centre of the picture;
and behind it a background of tall trees. Hollowed-out-tree-trunks
supported by boards carry the water to the mill wheel, over which it
falls. The foreground is occupied with water in which ducks are
swimming. In the shadows of the door of the house, a tiny figure of a
man appears; and a small figure of a woman in bright red bodice, upon
which the sunlight falls, is busy washing clothes in a copper. On the
right, an old peasant in brown is holding by the hand a little boy who
wears a red cap. The Landscape is diversified with trees and thickets.
The sky is full of clouds, between which the rays of sunlight issue to
gild the verdure. Delicate tones of olive and gray distinguish this
beautiful picture.
[Illustration: HOBBEMA
The Water Mill]
=Description of Hobbema's Landscape.=--In the Landscape, which by some
is thought superior to the Water Mill, a house and barn are seen on the
right; two small figures are in front of the house, a man in black,
standing, and a woman in red, bending over; and there are a group of
trees, a large elm, and a hedge. All this is beautifully reflected in a
sheet of water in the foreground,--a reflection that seems to tremble.
This picture is only one foot five inches long by one foot high.
=Hobbema and his most Frequent Scenes.=--Meyndert Hobbema (1638-1709),
supposed to have been a pupil of Jacob Ruisdael, or of Jacob's brother
Salomon, was long neglected, and died in penury. He is now regarded
second to none but Ruisdael and his works are worth their weight in
gold. His most frequent scenes are villages surrounded by trees, such
as are frequently met with in Guelderland, with winding pathways leading
from house to house. A water mill occasionally forms a prominent
feature,--so prominent, indeed, as to give its name to the picture.
Again, he paints a slightly uneven country diversified by trees in
groups or rows, wheat fields, meadows, and small pools; occasionally a
view of a town with gates, or canals with sluices and quays; and more
rarely the ruins of an old castle or a stately residence in the far
distance.
=Hobbema, a Master of the Still Life of Woods and Waters.=--"It is
doubtful whether any one ever mastered so completely as he did the
still life of woods and hedges, or mills and pools. Nor can we believe
that he obtained this mastery otherwise than by constantly dwelling in
the same neighborhood, say in Guelders or on the Dutch Westphalian
border, where day after day he might study the branching and foliage
of trees and underwood embowering cottages and mills, under every
variety of light, in every shade of transparency, in all changes
produced by the season. Though his landscapes are severely and
moderately toned, generally in an olive key, and often attuned to a
puritanical gray or russet, they surprise us, not only by the variety
of their leafage, but by the finish of their detail as well as the
boldness of their touch. With astonishing subtlety light is shown
penetrating cloud, and illuminating--sometimes transiently, sometimes
steadily--different portions of the ground, shining through leaves
upon other leaves, and multiplying in an endless way the transparency
of the picture. If the chance be given him he mirrors all these things
in the still pool near a cottage, the reaches of a sluggish river, or
the swirl of a stream that feeds a busy mill. The same spot will
furnish him with several pictures. One mill gives him repeated
opportunity of charming our eye. And this wonderful artist, who is
only second to Ruisdael because he had not Ruisdael's versatility and
did not extend his study equally to downs and rocky eminences or
torrents and estuaries,--this is the man who lived penuriously, died
poor, and left no trace in the artistic annals of his country. It has
been said that Hobbema did not paint his own figures, but transferred
that duty to Adriaen van de Velde, Lingelbach, Barent Gael, and
Abraham Storck. As to this, much is conjecture."[25]
=Hackaert's Pictures.=--Jan Hackaert is perfect when he is simple and
inspired by the character and style of his own country. The Rijks owns
his beautiful Avenue of Ash-trees; a Clearing in the Forest; a Landscape
with Cattle; and a Landscape, which is full of light and delicacy, and
recalls the manner of Wijnants, although the arrangement follows the
pseudo-Italians.
=Hackaert's Avenue of Ash-trees.=--The Avenue of Ash-trees is a charming
picture, representing a park from which a hunting-party is about to set
forth in the early morning. The light shines on the trunks of the trees
that border the park, to the right of which is a large sheet of water.
Huntsmen accompanied by dogs, one of which is barking at two swans in
the pool, ladies and gentlemen on horseback, servants, and dogs, all
issue forth with good wishes from the master of the _château_ at the
gate. All of these elegantly painted little figures are the work of A.
van de Velde.
[Illustration: JAN HACKAERT
Avenue of Ash-trees]
=Joos van Winghen.=--Joos van Winghen (1544-1603) travelled to Rome,
where he lived for four years; and, on his return, was appointed Court
Painter to the Prince of Parma. He painted portraits, interiors, and
Biblical subjects. A Banquet and Masquerade at Night is one of his
best-known pictures.
=Pieter Aertsen.=--This artist has a picture called The Egg Dance, which
claims attention by its life and spirit.
=Jan Lijs.=--Jan Lijs (d. 1629) was a pupil of Goltzius; and then
visited France and Italy, where he executed large works under
Caravaggio's influence. His Music Party is signed and dated 1625; and
therefore belongs to his last and not his first period, as the catalogue
informs us.
=Pieter van Rijck.=--Pieter Cornelisz van Rijck (1568-1628) painted
interiors, especially kitchens, and landscape. He was a pupil of H.
Jacobs Grimani, whom he accompanied to Italy; he remained there fifteen
years. The big picture in the Rijks representing a kitchen interior was
described in enthusiastic terms by Van Mander.
=Willem Duyster.=--Willem Cornelisz Duyster (1599-1635) was a pupil of
Pieter Codde. His picture of Backgammon Players is matched by a similar
subject in St. Petersburg, and another in Dresden. Another picture in
the Rijks, variously attributed to J. v. Bijlert, Jan Lijs, P. Codde,
Jan Miense Molenaer and others, has by recent discoveries been finally
recognized as the work of Duyster. The subject is The Marriage of
Adriaen Ploos van Amstel, Lord of Oudegein and Tienhoven, to Agnes van
Bijler, widow Broekhuysen. A contemporary of whom little is known,
Abraham van der Hecken (fl. 1650), has a Butcher's Shop, painted with
much truth and spirit.
=Pieter de Bloot.=--Pieter de Bloot (1600-52) was a pupil of Jordaens;
he painted, however, more closely after Teniers, with fine grasp of
chiaroscuro and perspective, with a soft and agreeable coloring. He
copied nature so faithfully as to reproduce his subjects in all their
ignobleness. _Kermesses_ and interiors chiefly occupied his brush. The
Lawyer's Office is signed and dated 1628; it is a fine specimen of the
work of this artist in his prime.
=Van Gaesbeeck and Van der Kuyl.=--Adriaen van Gaesbeeck (?-1650), of
the same period, was probably one of G. Dou's pupils. He painted _genre_
pictures of small dimensions. His Young Man in a Study is full of the
feeling found in his master's work. Another painter of _genre_, who is
represented here by two charming pictures, is Gysbert van der Kuyl
(?-1673). He was a pupil of the famous Wouter Crabeth the Younger, and
like his early master, spent many years in France and Italy. Later in
life he modelled himself on Honthorst and Abraham Bloemaert. His Ruse
Surpasses Force and The Music Party are worth more than a passing
glance.
=Nicolas Moeyaert.=--Nicolas Cornelisz Moeyaert was a forerunner of
Rembrandt in his treatment of light and shade. His powers of portraiture
are exemplified here in a group of Regents; and another side of his art
is charmingly displayed in the Choice of a Lover.
=Jan van Bijlert.=--Jan van Bijlert (1603-71) was a painter of _genre_,
mythological, and historical subjects. Almost all his known pictures
were ordered by foreign rulers. The Guitar Player is a small example of
his work, for he usually painted his figures life-size. His style so
much resembles that of G. Honthorst that his pictures have frequently
been confounded with those of the latter.
=Adriaen Brouwer.=--Adriaen Brouwer studied with Adriaen van Ostade and
under Hals; and afterwards adopted the Flemish style when he returned to
Antwerp in 1631. However, he remained true to one ideal,--the striving
after true action and physiognomy, and the feeling for character and
expression. No finer examples of his powers in this field exist than The
Village Orgy and The Peasant Combat. These both belong to the days when
he was under the influence of Hals.
=Cornelis Saftleven.=--Cornelis Saftleven (1606-81) also took Brouwer as
his model, for his usual types and favorite motives are borrowed from
that master. Like Brouwer, he painted tavern interiors with men sitting
at table before a pot of beer and a game of cards. Sometimes he mixes
with his jovial companions a peasant who seems to have escaped from one
of Teniers's _kermesses_; and sometimes he makes an excursion into the
simple representation of rustic scenes. He is full of spirit, and groups
his little characters with fine art. His compositions are full of life
and movement, but his color is tame and lacks brilliance. His three
pictures here are Peasants at an Inn (1642); Landscape with Peasants and
Cattle (1652); and Peasants Praying: an Approaching Storm.
=Jan Olis.=--Jan Olis (1610-70) was a painter of _genre_ and landscape.
An interesting picture of a kitchen here is signed and dated 1645. Until
recently, however, this picture was attributed to Sorgh.
=Van der Oudenrogge.=--Johannes van Oudenrogge (1622-53) also was a
painter of this class. His picture of Peasants in a Weaving Factory is
dated 1652.
=Egbert van der Poel.=--Egbert van der Poel (1621-64) was a prolific and
versatile painter of the school of Isaac van de Velde and A. van der
Neer. He painted pictures of all kinds,--portraits, still life, figures,
landscapes, perspective, kitchen interiors, moonlit landscapes, and more
particularly devoted his talents to conflagrations at night, in which he
was very successful. Nothing could be more natural and animated than the
large number of tiny figures he shows occupied in extinguishing the
flames. His color is clear and strong. In his Ruins in the Town of Delft
after the Explosion of the Powder Magazine, October 12, 1654, we have a
good example of his style. He has also another picture of the Interior
of a Farm, dated 1646.
=Pieter J. Quast.=--Pieter Jansz Quast (1606-47) was a follower in the
steps of Adriaen Brouwer. His selection of subjects often verges on
caricature. His characterization is well displayed in The Card Players.
The figure of the young woman in this picture, however, has been
entirely repainted by another hand.
=Thomas Wijck's Versatility.=--Thomas Wijck (1616-77) was another artist
who visited Italy and painted its landscapes, especially coast scenery,
after having been taught, or at least influenced, by P. de Laer. Besides
marines, he painted interiors, fairs, etc. He had the talent to depict
sea-gates full of movement, figures and merchandise, in the taste of J.
B. Weenix, markets, outlandish charlatans, public squares, hunts, ruins,
tavern scenes, and everything that the Italians call _capricci_.
=Chemical Laboratories his Forte.=--But the subject that he treated with
the greatest care and taste, and with which he was most happily
successful, was that of chemical laboratories. These he arranges,
illuminates, and paints in a style entirely his own. Without endowing
them with the magic of A. van Ostade, or enveloping them in that
master's full and warm atmosphere, Wijck gave much charm to his
alchemistic interiors, and the objects he multiplied therein are full of
the right kind of feeling.
=His Picture of The Alchemist.=--Moreover, he has a sound comprehension
of chiaroscuro, as may be seen here in his picture The Alchemist. He
casts a shadow over the skeleton fish and stuffed crocodiles and other
monstrous animals hanging from the ceiling. The principal light usually
falls full upon a medley of phials, retorts, furnaces, bellows, and
alembics--a whole apparatus of strange utensils that in a subject of
this kind could not be regarded as mere accessories, and which are
touched with spirit but also with sobriety. A second window at the end
of the apartment admits a softer light that forms an echo to the
principal one, and faintly illumines other objects that are toned down
by the intervening atmosphere. Placed in the centre of his laboratory,
wearing a red cap, Wijck's alchemist is quite individual in not being
old, bald, bent, or grizzled; on the contrary, here is a man in the
prime of life and full of health, with a bright eye and an open
countenance that has no such melancholy in it as is generally affected
by alchemists. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that Wijck has
represented himself in the person of this seeker after gold.
The Rustic Interior depicts a woman spinning, with a child and a dog
near her.
=Karel Slabbaert.=--Karel Slabbaert (1619-54), whose Grace before Meat
is in this gallery, is supposed to have been one of G. Dou's pupils. His
pictures are scarce. This one shows a woman cutting bread, while two
children are saying grace. He paints in warm tones; his composition is
good and full of feeling.
=Jan Wolfert.=--Jan Baptist Wolfert (1625-87) also travelled in Italy,
and was famous for his classical landscapes with animals and human
figures; he also painted _genre_. He was very learned; and his works
show fine spirit and imagination. The Bagpipe Player is dated 1646, and
is therefore an early work of this artist before he was subjected to
foreign influence.
=Caspar Netscher.=--Besides three portraits of brilliant quality,
Caspar Netscher has a beautiful little interior called Maternal Care, in
which the influence of his master, Ter Borch, is noticeable. This
picture of a mother arranging her child's hair is generally considered
this artist's masterpiece. There is some story told with each of his
portraits. He marvellously rendered the texture of stuffs; and his
drawing is always full of grace and truth. Inferior to Ter Borch in
harmony and chiaroscuro and to Metsu in touch, and to both in feeling
for color, he equals them in the tasteful composition and the elegance
of his figures, and surpasses them in beauty of form.
=Esaias Bourse.=--Esaias Bourse (1630-?) was a follower of Rembrandt. He
had a roving career, making many voyages to the East Indies during
sixteen years as an officer, and then working as a painter in Italy. His
color is usually brownish in tone. His pictures have sometimes been
confused with those of another of Rembrandt's pupils--Pieter de Hooch.
An Interior with a Woman Spinning enables us to compare the merits of
the two artists.
=Daniel Boone.=--Daniel Boone (1631-98) painted mythological subjects
and familiar scenes of peasant life. In the latter, his chief aim was to
provoke laughter by the representation of grotesque situations and
grimaces. In this he was generally successful. Peasants Playing Cards is
painted in this vein.
[Illustration: N. MAES
The Spinner]
=Pictures by Maes.=--Nicholas Maes is represented in the Dupper
Collection by The Spinner. The old woman is seated before her wheel in a
simply furnished room, which is dimly lighted from a window on the left.
Through this the fading daylight falls, illuminating the rich red of her
costume and the dull colors of the table-cloth. There is something
inexpressibly still, solemn, and charming about the figure, the room,
and the light.
Another Spinner, in the Van der Hoop Collection, is seated by her wheel.
She wears a black cap, and the sleeves of her dress are red. She stands
out boldly from the brightly lighted wall. The lights and the figure
are heavily impasted. The forehead of the old woman is in sunlight, the
rest of the face is in shadow.
A very pleasing picture of his earlier period is The Dreamer, sometimes
called Musing, representing a young woman who is looking out of a
window. From her glance we gather that she has spied her lover, who is
looking up to her casement, so gracefully decorated with apricots and
peaches.
=L. de Moni, an Imitator of Dou.=--Louis de Moni (1698-1771) was a pupil
of F. van Kessel and K. E. Biset at Breda, and later (1721-25) of Philip
van Dijk at The Hague. Blanc says that this mediocre painter endeavored
to resuscitate the long-extinct style of G. Dou and the elder Mieris,
and to constitute himself their posthumous disciple. In this he only
partially succeeded, but at least he exhibited, along with a certain
delicacy of touch, great care and patience. More than once he borrowed a
subject from Dou--familiar scenes, and small pictures of one or two
figures. He is good in detail but poor in color. The Rijks has a small
and pleasing picture of his called The Gardener.
=J. Quinckhard.=--Julius Quinckhard (1736-76) was a pupil of his father,
Jan Maurits, but soon abandoned art for commerce. He was an able painter
of portraits and _genre_ nevertheless, as his Amateurs of Music (dated
1755) and Amateurs of Art (1757) attest. The figures in the latter are
portraits of the painter and his friend, M. J. C. Ploos van Amstel.
=Eight Pictures by Paul Potter in the Rijks.=--Although there is nothing
of Paul Potter's in the Rijks to compare in reputation with The Bull, or
in beauty with _La Vache qui se mire_, there are no less than eight of
his pictures there. Horses in a Meadow (1649) and Cows in a Meadow
(1651), the latter having a dark sky that proclaims approaching rain,
were acquired with the Van der Hoop Collection. The Shepherd's Hut,
painted in 1645, is only ten inches long and six high, but is as
brilliant in color as a Cuijp. The composition is simple: a shepherd
guarding his cows and sheep is seated near his lowly dwelling. A Little
Dog is dated 1653, as is also a Landscape with Cattle.
=Description of The Bear Hunt.=--An extraordinary picture is The Bear
Hunt, eleven feet square. No one would ever imagine who the painter was
if his signature were not in enormous letters on the trunk of a tree.
This gigantic work was painted two years after The Bull and represents a
gentleman on horseback and one on foot, six dogs, and two bears. The
bloody contest is taking place in the foreground. This work was
repainted during the first half of the nineteenth century, and only two
dogs remain of the original painting.
=Crowe's Opinion of Orpheus Charming Animals.=--The celebrated Orpheus
Charming Animals, painted in 1650, is much smaller (3 by 2 feet), and is
much admired by critics. Crowe says:
"For power and fulness of warm tones this is one of his most beautiful
works. The left is occupied with little hills crowned with trees; the
right shows a forest, and a glimpse of the sky. In the foreground is a
meadow, where we see a camel, a boar, a cow, a buffalo, an ass, a ram,
a goat, a sheep, and a hare. In the middle distance, at the foot of a
hill, sits Orpheus playing his lyre; behind him is a dog, and in front
of him a crouching lion, an elephant, a horse, a white unicorn, a
wolf, and various other animals. On the right, at the border of the
forest, emerges a deer."
=Description of Shepherds and Flocks.=--Shepherds and Flocks, painted in
the next year (1651), is also a masterpiece, remarkable for the
clearness of its light golden tones, especially in the sky. It
represents a hilly landscape with a shepherd playing on the bagpipes, a
shepherdess singing to her child, and flocks of sheep, goats, and oxen
grouped variously. By the side of the shepherd is a black dog. At the
Van der Pot sale, in 1808, this picture brought 10,050 florins!
=Description of A. van de Velde's The Artist and his Family.=--A very
beautiful work by Adriaen van de Velde is The Artist and his Family in
the Van der Hoop Collection. It is generally considered one of the most
incomparable and precious works in the gallery. This is a landscape
bathed in the light of a lovely Autumn evening. The scene is probably
near Haarlem, where the artist is enjoying the country with his family.
Adriaen himself, about twenty-eight, is standing in the foreground,
dressed very simply but elegantly in brown with a white collar, his hat
under his left arm while his right rests on his huge and fashionable
walking-stick. He has blue eyes, chestnut hair, a small moustache, a
fine mouth, and a charming expression. On his left stands his wife,
whose handsome figure is dressed in a crimson skirt, brown corsage, a
white fichu, and a black cloak. She wears a little cap and long,
ash-colored gloves. Her hands are crossed over her waist. Near this
attractive couple is a little boy of seven dressed just like his father,
leading a little spaniel by a string to a fountain. He has thrown his
hat on the ground. A nurse dressed in a blue skirt, white apron, and
yellow bodice is sitting at a little distance on a tree-trunk, taking
care of the little daughter, who is playing with some flowers. Around
them are some bushes and stumps, a kind of hedge, and an undulating and
sandy ground that leads into a group of trees. On the road, in the
middle distance behind Adriaen, is the carriage that has brought them
here,--an open four-wheeled chariot, with red seats, drawn by two fine
dappled-gray horses, whose harness a servant in gray is examining. On
the right, a shepherd is lying on the grass, near a flock of sheep and a
goat. In the background is a meadow with cattle, a winding stream, a
house half hidden in the woods, and the distant line of the horizon. The
landscape has all the delicacy of a Wijnants, but more breadth and
harmony.
=Crowe's Opinion of this Picture.=--"This picture, signed and dated
1667, and of considerable size (4 ft. 8-1/2 in. high by 5 ft. 7 in.
wide), is without question the finest work of the master. The
composition of the whole is picturesque in no common degree; while
the union of a tenderly graduated tone in keeping with the most
delicate carrying out of all the parts shows what a height of
perfection the school had attained at this time."
This picture was bought in London in 1833 for 15,700 florins.
=Description of The Chase.=--The Chase (1669) shows a beautiful picture
with a wooded background. On the left, through the gate of a park comes
a huntsman with the hounds. A large chestnut palfrey with a green saddle
embroidered with silver is led by a valet in red livery, and a little
farther away a gray horse with trappings of scarlet velvet is led by
another valet. On the right are seated two men: one in red, the other in
brown, and before them a big fawn and a white dog; another large dog is
sniffing the ground in the foreground on the left.
=Other Works by A. van de Velde.=--A Landscape with Cattle shows a
somewhat sombre country with clumps of trees; on the left, sheep, goats,
and a little shepherd; in full light two cows, one white standing in
profile, and the other black, seen from behind and foreshortened. It
brought 5,650 florins in 1838. A Landscape with Ferry (1666), The Cabin
(1671), and another Landscape complete the list of A. van de Velde's
works in the Rijks.
=An Appreciation of A. van de Velde's Pictures.=--His cattle browse in
velvet meadows under a beautiful sky. Animals, meadows, grassy hills,
and trees--he painted them all with affection. He excels in depicting
the various hides and skins of goats, sheep, horses, and asses. Animals
always occupy a prominent place in Van de Velde's canvases. The air
seems to circulate--light, pure air gently moving the trees or slightly
waving the grass. The blue sky is filled with vaporous clouds, which are
often mirrored in tranquil lakes. The chestnut with its thick foliage,
the willow with its flexible branches, the oak, he paints in masses, or
singly, with exquisite skill.
=General Description of Aelbert Cuijp's Style.=--Aelbert Cuijp
(1620-91), son and pupil of Jacob Cuijp, first followed his father's
style, as is evidenced in the Hilly Landscape in the Rijks. Little by
little he formed his own style and became thoroughly original. He
excelled in depicting the humid atmosphere about Dordrecht, and on the
horizon of all his landscapes generally the clock-tower of his native
city is represented half veiled in golden mist emerging from the lush
meadows, where placid cows repose in the bright sunshine.
=His Versatility.=--Though Cuijp loves to paint the calm meadows of
Holland under a golden light, his elegant figures of men and animals,
dashing cavaliers, boats driven by the approaching storm, and landscapes
seen under the enchantment of moonlight prove how versatile he was.
Moreover, he was a brilliant painter of still life, as the partridges in
The Return from the Chase (in the Louvre), the Salmons Offered to Mr. de
Roovere Directing the Fisheries in Dordrecht (in The Hague), and the
Dead Game (in the Rotterdam Gallery) show.
[Illustration: A. CUIJP
Fight between a Turkey and a Cock]
=His Skill in painting Living Birds.=--As for painting living birds he
is only equalled by Melchior d' Hondecoeter. It is only necessary to
look at his magnificent Fight between a Turkey and a Cock which hangs in
the Rijks. The sky has darkened in sympathy, as it were, with this epic
combat, where two splendid specimens are using their beaks and claws
with the greatest fury, and the brilliant feathers fly in all
directions. Splendid in color, furious of action, and beautiful in its
arrangement of light and shade, it deserves its great reputation.
The Rijks owns four other pictures: Portrait of a Young Man, Shepherds
with their Flocks, Cattle, and View of Dordrecht.
[Illustration: A. CUIJP
Shepherds with their Flocks]
=Description of Shepherds with their Flocks.=--Shepherds with their
Flocks represents an Autumn morning in a meadow, where four grazing cows
and a shepherd on a mule occupy the foreground; on the left, a man on an
ass and a man on foot wearing a red vest; on the right, two large trees;
in the middle distance, some trees, a river, and a tower; and in the
background, mountains.
=Description of Cattle.=--This painting represents a great red ox with a
white head, standing in profile on the left, occupying half the picture;
a little behind is seen a black ox, full face; both stand out from the
gray wall of a house. In front of the red ox three lovely pigeons are
pecking. On the left, in the middle distance, a brown and a dun-colored
ox are lying down. In the background, on the horizon, are trees and the
spires and towers of Dordrecht. The sky is superb.
The View of Dordrecht seen from a great expanse of water, marvellously
painted, is also a beautiful picture.
=Jacob G. Cuijp's Scène Champêtre.=--Jacob Gerritsz Cuijp (1594-1651?),
father of Aelbert, is a painter whose pictures are very scarce. His
Portrait of a Woman is dated 1651; and a very fine _Scène Champêtre_,
which brought no less than 4,000 florins in 1849, represents, according
to Immergeel, the family of the painter Cornelis Troost, a gay and large
family. The grandmother, father, mother, four boys, and two girls are
walking in a landscape where is also seen a chariot drawn by a handsome
black horse of the Frisian race that Aelbert Cuijp so often paints.
=The Cuijp Family.=--The founder of this family was Gerrit Gerritsz
Cuijp, originally from Venlo, who settled in Dordrecht, where in 1585 he
entered the Guild of St. Luke as a painter on glass. He sent his
talented son, Jacob, to study with Abraham Bloemaert. Jacob Cuijp became
known as a portrait-painter, and was noted for his fine drawing,
splendid coloring, and force of expression. His pictures were ranked
with those of Th. de Keijser. He was no less skilful in painting animals
and landscapes and family groups in the open air, undisturbed by
browsing cattle.
=Benjamin G. Cuijp's Style.=--Benjamin Gerritsz Cuijp (1612-52), brother
of Jacob and uncle of Aelbert, a painter who has attracted much
attention of late years, differed entirely in taste and style from them
both. He was particularly fond of historical and mythological subjects,
and belonged to the Italian group of Dutch painters, who tried to
amalgamate the traditions of classic art with the growing realism of the
day. Some of his works show the influence of the young Rembrandt. His
Joseph Interpreting Dreams was acquired by the Rijks in 1883.
=Jan van Goyen.=--Jan van Goyen has five beautiful landscapes: River
Scene, View on the Meuse and Town of Dordrecht, View of Valkenhof at
Nimeguen, View of Dordrecht, and a Landscape.
[Illustration: JAN VAN GOYEN
View of Dordrecht]
=Burger's Explanation of the River Scene.=--"The view of a river in
the Van der Hoop Collection is the last expression of his magnificent
and exalted manner. A better name for this picture would be The
Windmill. In a few words here is the picture: A bit of the Meuse; on
the right a piece of ground covered with trees and houses, and on the
summit a black mill with its sails spread to the winds, extending high
upon the canvas; a stockade, against which the waves of the river
break gently, the water heavy, soft, and admirable; and a little
corner of the almost lost horizon, very attenuated, very firm, very
pale, yet very distinct, on which rises the white sail of a boat, a
flat sail without the slightest wind in the canvas, but having a value
tender and perfectly exquisite. Above, a great sky filled with clouds;
through the rifts and holes the shining blue that they efface, the
clouds all gray and filling the space from the stockade to the top of
the canvas; so that there is no light in any part of this powerful
tonality, composed of dark brown and sombre slate colors. In the
centre of the picture one ray of light glimmers like a smile upon the
clouds. A great square _grave_ picture, of an extreme sonority in the
deepest register, and my notes add _merveilleux dans l'or_."
=Karel Dujardin (1625-78).=--Of the Portrait of a Gentleman with a Dog
and a Dead Hare (1670), Burger says:
=A Dead Picture of a Dead Hare.=--"The deadest one in the lot is not
the hare; for if the hare were alive the dog certainly could not run
after him, nor could the gentleman run after his dog. The gentleman is
dressed in tin-plate and is represented to the knees and of natural
size, with the background of a dark sky. The hands have been praised;
but they do not look as if they could move."
=A Good Portrait of Gerard Reinst.=--A Portrait of Gerard Reinst, a
celebrated art collector of Amsterdam, who died in 1658, and who was a
patron of Dujardin, is painted sympathetically. He is bareheaded, with a
blond wig, and is dressed in a grayish violet with chocolate tones. One
hand rests on his hip; the other is marvellously represented. A
landscape and sky form the background, and two greyhounds are at the
gentleman's side.
=A Portrait of Himself.=--A portrait of himself is signed and dated
1660. This is only nine inches by six and one-half inches. It is only a
bust showing a shaven face with a thread of a moustache, long black
hair, brilliant eyes, and handsome mouth. He wears a grayish costume
with puffed sleeves, and his right hand somewhat pretentiously holds the
drapery of his cloak on his chest.
=Dujardin's Other Works.=--A Landscape, dated 1655, and showing a
peasant winnowing corn, is noted for its silvery tone; A Trumpeter on
Horseback shows a cavalier in a blue mantle and on a white horse,
stopping before the door of an inn, and drinking from a glass offered by
the hostess, who is standing at the door. His other works are an Italian
Landscape with Animals and The Muleteers. Another Landscape in the Van
der Hoop Collection was bought at the Duchesse de Berry's sale in 1837
for 4,000 florins. A copy after Karel Dujardin shows an Italian
Landscape with figures, and a white horse.
=Adam Pynacker.=--Adam Pynacker has four landscapes: Border of a Lake in
Italy, Italian Landscape, Landscape, and Pilgrimage.
=Johannes Both's Pictures.=--Johannes Both may be studied in The
Courtyard of a Farm; two Italian Landscapes, one of which is a luminous
picture of a summer morning, with mountains on the horizon on the left,
trees to the right in the foreground, and many small figures on the
road; and in Painters Studying from Nature. Here we see on a canvas
about six feet by seven, a vast landscape of much beauty, having the
Apennines for a background. Beneath a tall oak tree on the right and
among the rocks, Johannes Both himself is seated, with his back turned
to the spectator. He has a sketch book before him and is talking to a
beggar; his brother Andries is facing us; and the fourth person is
talking to some one in the distance. The time is a beautiful Summer
morning.
=Jan Asselijn.=--Jan Asselijn (1610-60) was a pupil of Esaias van de
Velde, but went when young to Italy, where he was called by the band of
Dutch painters "Krabbetje," on account of a contraction in his fingers.
His pictures are highly valued, representing, as a rule, views of Rome,
enriched with figures and cattle in the style of N. Berchem. He greatly
resembles Jan Both.
His Italian Landscape in the Rijks is considered a very true and
important landscape, with a background of bluish mountains, and a bridge
on the left. The artist has introduced Italian ruins and some muleteers.
He is also represented by a Cavalry Combat, signed and dated 1646; and
the Allegory on John de Witt.
=Philips Wouwermans's Hawking Scene.=--Of the thirteen pictures by
Philips Wouwermans we may pause before the well-known Hawking Scene,
noted as a specimen of his delicacy and precision on a small scale. It
is only one foot high by eight inches wide. The exceedingly animated
composition shows about a dozen people on horseback scattered through a
delicate landscape. Other figures of men, women, and children enliven
the scene. This is painted in his last and most prized period.
=His Horse-pond.=--The Horse-pond is a lovely picture, with a silvery
sky filled with luminous morning clouds, and, far away in the distance,
hills, trees, and women bleaching linen. In the centre of the picture, a
lovely stream in which children are bathing, and a ferry with persons
and animals passing over in little boats. It is the moment when grooms
and peasants are taking their horses and animals to water; and
naturally, therefore, we have some beautiful groups: here a man is
leading two horses, one of which is kicking at a barking dog; other
horses are at the edge of the stream; others have plunged in. Among the
eight horses, there is one splendid white one, and there are about
twenty figures, including washerwomen and children. It is impossible,
even with Wouwermans, who is so _spirituel_ and clever, to find a
richer, more animated, more varied, and more brilliant composition.
A Landscape with Water belongs to the first period when Wouwermans
followed Wijnants; The Camp shows horsemen and other people; a horseman
turned to the right and mounted on a white and brown horse is very
remarkable.
=Description of The Kicking White Horse.=--A celebrated canvas is The
Kicking White Horse. Two mounted horses and one lead horse are under a
tree in the foreground. The white horse, after having knocked over an
old woman with a basket of fruit, is kicking the lead horse on the
right, while a dog is snarling at his heels. On the extreme left, a
richly dressed lady and gentleman are watching the affair with interest,
and in the middle distance, on the right, two men are watering their
horses at a ford. There is fine painting of distance in the low
landscape and beautiful aërial perspective in the Summer sky with its
floating clouds.
Besides landscapes, a camp, and others in his usual style, there are two
pictures of fighting peasants.
His brother, Pieter Wouwermans (1623-82), is represented by two works:
Assault on the Town of Koevorden, 1672, and The Hunting Party. His works
have frequently been mistaken for Philips's, though, as may be seen in
these pictures, his brush work has less freedom, and his tones are
heavier than his brother's.
=Jan Wijnants Unsuccessful in peopling his Scenery.=--Jan Wijnants
(1600-79), who is said to have been the master of Philips Wouwermans,
has eight pictures by which his qualities may be compared with those of
that painter. These are Landscape in the Dunes, with Hunters;
Mountainous Country; The Farm; and Flock in a Landscape; and four
landscapes in the Van der Hoop Collection. He was a painter of extreme
care and finish; and in painting nature he ranks among the highest. Like
so many other Dutch landscape-painters, however, he was not successful
with figures; and for peopling his scenery he availed himself of the
assistance of his great pupil, Adriaen van de Velde (as in the case of
the above-mentioned Landscape in the Dunes), Lingelbach, Wouwermans,
Helt Stokade, and others.
=Jan Wijnants's Love of painting the Dunes.=--Durand Gréville says:
"His dated pictures are of his last period, 1641-79, so that he may
claim the honor of first having introduced into the landscape the
neighboring dunes of Haarlem and of having been the first to love
them. He faithfully translated in their blond harmony the dunes, gray
or golden, with the sun, the trees with their pale foliage, and the
skies with their light vaporous veilings. To his last hour he went
back again and again to that inexhaustible theme in its apparent
monotony. He put into the execution of the dazzle of the sand,
tree-trunks, spaces of moss and clumps of grasses an astonishing
sincerity, perhaps even somewhat too minute from the point of view of
the impression of the whole, but, even by that, quite accessible to
the taste of the majority of people. None the less he remains to-day
one of the most remarkable landscape-painters of Holland."
=Cornelis van Poelenburg.=--Cornelis van Poelenburg has four
characteristic pictures in his favorite Italian style: The Bathers,
Women Coming from the Bath, Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise, and The
Bathers Spied Upon.
=Winter Scenes by A. van der Neer.=--The most noted painter of winter
scenes and of the magic beauty of snow and ice is Aart van der Neer
(1603-77), a friend of A. Cuijp, from whom he doubtless learned much, as
they frequently worked together on the same canvas. His winter pieces
are generally warm in their lighting. Two fine specimens hang in this
gallery, one of which is brightened by numerous figures skating and
playing ball on a frozen canal. The sky is full of dark snow-clouds. He
may also be studied by a Landscape.
=His Moonlight Scenes.=--He is also famous for his beautiful towns on
the canals, lighted by the moon, and his conflagrations. No other
painter has depicted the broad masses of shadow, and the effects of
light and tranquillity of character peculiar to a moonlight night, with
so much truthfulness as Van der Neer. In his rendering of the warm glow
of sunset he has been compared to his friend Cuijp.
=Hendrick Averkamp.=--In this connection The Skaters, by Hendrick
Averkamp (1585-after 1663), should be noted. This artist was surnamed
"the Mute of Kampen" because of his taciturnity. He produced many
marines, landscapes, and festivals on the ice, which have,
unfortunately, lost their color.
=Esais van de Velde's Pictures.=--Winter amusements by Esais van de
Velde will afford pleasure to the student, who may also see this
artist's Dutch Landscape, painted in 1623; The Surrender of Bois-le-Duc
(1629-30), and an original replica of his curious satire on religious
quarrels in 1618-19, Prince Maurice Fastening Bells on a Cat. Many of
the architectural painters have depicted the well-known street scenes
and buildings under the mantle of winter.
=Three Excellent Pictures by Hendrik Dubbels.=--Hendrik Dubbels
(1620-76?), about whom comparatively little is known, has three pictures
of great excellence: A Marine, a Calm, and a River Scene. Dubbels is
supposed to have taught Ludolf Bakhuysen (1631-1708), who was also a
pupil of Allart van Everdingen.
=Bakhuysen, Painter of Stormy Seas.=--Bakhuysen loved the ocean in its
angry moods, and used to hire fishermen to take him out in their boats
in the fury of storms. His works are highly valued, and some critics
prefer them to the more placid pictures of Willem van de Velde. The
Rijks owns two views of The Ij (or Y) near Amsterdam; The Port of
Amsterdam, painted in 1673; Agitated Water: Haarlemmer Meer (for which
3,500 florins was paid in 1840); Stormy Sea After the Storm (1672);
Embarkation of Jan de Witt on the Dutch Fleet; and Portrait of the
Painter by himself.
=Van de Velde, the Elder and the Younger.=--Willem van de Velde the
Elder (1611-93), who was Court Painter to Charles II. and James II. of
England, is represented in the Rijks by eleven marine drawings. We have
already seen fine examples of his more famous son, Willem van de Velde,
at the Mauritshuis, but thirteen splendid examples hang in this gallery.
=Some Notable Pictures of Naval Warfare.=--The Ij (or Y) at Amsterdam,
dated 1686, which formerly hung in the Schreierstoren in Amsterdam, was
described by Sir Joshua Reynolds as follows:
"At the office of the Commissary of the Wharfs is one of Vandervelde's
most capital pictures: it is about twelve feet long; a view of the
port of Amsterdam with an infinite quantity of shipping."
[Illustration: W. VAN DE VELDE
The Ij or Y at Amsterdam]
The Four Days' Combat is a picture of the moment when the English
flag-ship, the "Prince Royal," is striking her colors in the fight with
the Dutch fleet in 1666; and its companion, The Capture, shows four
English men-of-war brought in as prizes in the same fight. Here the
painter has represented himself in a small boat, for in such a position
he actually witnessed the battle. An Agitated Sea, with various
sailing-vessels, is delightful because of the warm lighting and movement
of the waves; two Calms represent the painter in the mood he best loves
to paint the sea. Other canvases represent the sea under squalls, light
breezes, etc. The Canon Shot, with a large ship in the foreground, was
bought in 1834 for 3,000 florins.
=A Beautiful Picture of the Dutch Coast.=--View on the Coast of
Scheveningen shows the dunes on the right, above which rises the steeple
of a church; on the left is the calm sea under a lovely afternoon light.
Two fishing-boats are seen in the distance; a boat lies on the beach; a
fisherman walks by with his nets, and in the foreground are three men.
The sea, the dunes, the tiny figures, and the light all combine to make
a beautiful picture.
=How some Painters helped each Other.=--The great geniuses could do
everything well--portraits, landscapes, marines, figure subjects,
architecture, interiors, and still life. Some, however, excelled in one
particular branch, and, sometimes against their will bowed to the
popular demand for their works in that line, and devoted themselves
entirely to it. This specialization was carried to great lengths; and it
seems strange to us to find one master of landscape calling upon a
famous figure-painter to people his landscapes _à la mode_, and _vice
versa_, as happened in numberless instances. Sometimes even cattle were
supplied; and, more particularly, live and dead game, flowers, fruits,
household stuff, and all kinds of still life.
=The Effect of this on their Reputation.=--Sometimes a young artist's
facility in a certain field was detrimental to high esteem. Paul Potter,
for example, had to live down the reproach that he was nothing but a
painter of animals,--which he very quickly did. Those who made a
specialty of live animals apart from landscape are very few. With the
exception of the works of Snyders, hunting scenes are rare. Wouwermans's
hunts are confined to the start and the return of the cavalcades.
=Blanc's Description of Weenix's Style.=--J. B. Weenix must have loved
hunting also, for it forms one of the familiar motives in his landscapes
in the Italian style. However,
"as he painted above all for the pleasure of painting, his usual
custom was to group in the foreground of his composition the products
of the chase rather than to represent the hunt itself. It is only in
the distance that hounds and huntsmen are seen hunting the hare, while
the poor animal is already dead and hanging by its foot to a branch of
a tree in the foreground. A brilliant gamecock, one or two partridges,
some ribbons and flowers, and a big garden vase will accompany the
hare and form a charming picture for the mere delight of the eyes.
Truth, finesse of local color, delightful light and shade, exquisite
handling, and the whole technique of art are employed to make us
admire this still life. We cannot help noticing the masterly manner in
which the artist has rendered the fur of his dead hare, crimsoned with
blood; and how lovingly he has caressed the plumage of the neck and
crop of his partridges, and reproduced the beautiful lustrous black of
the cock, whose wings are splashed with white; how he has made us feel
the velvet of the skin at the joining of the muscles, and accentuated
the feet and claws. But the final luxury of the palette seems to have
been reserved for a superb hunting-dog with delicate ears, that
watches with an eye full of life over his master's gun and the
glorious trophies of the chase; and distends his nostrils as if to
snuff the odor of the gunpowder, the aroma of the gin, and the strong
scents of the venison."
=Painters of Still Life.=--Usually the painters of inanimate objects
take the trouble to arrange their inert models, just as a historical
painter would dispose his living figures. The human figures in Snyders's
pictures were painted by Rubens, Jordaens, or Martin de Vos. His pupils
were Jan Fyt, Nicasius Bernarts, and Pieter Boel. The Rijks Gallery has
two splendid pictures by him: one, a dish garnished with fruits and dead
game; and the other, a dead roebuck, a wild boar's head, and vegetables.
=Snyders's Dead Game and Vegetables.=--Beautiful in composition and
color is his Dead Game and Vegetables. On a shelf are placed choice
specimens of china, glass, earthenware, fruit stands, etc., and these
are balanced on the left by a beautiful glass vase of roses and iris
standing in a niche. A large basket of apples, peaches, melons, pears,
and grapes, a hung deer, a boar's head, a lobster, a few artichokes, and
a bunch of asparagus show the artist's wonderful arrangement of form and
color.
[Illustration: FRANS SNYDERS
Dead Game and Vegetables]
=Savery's Landscapes and other Pictures.=--Roelandt Savery (1576-1639)
was famous as a landscape-painter. The landscapes are somewhat
artificial, and really are used as framework for the animal life he
loved to introduce. His execution is sometimes rather heavy but with
strong tones. The landscapes usually consist of grassy swards with
brownish-green trees and shrubs in the foreground, while the background
is bathed in the bluish tints so dear to Brueghel. Animals and birds of
all kinds animate Savery's pictures, as well as human figures, all drawn
with much talent. The Hague has a famous picture, by this artist, of
Orpheus Charming the Animals; and the Rijks owns Elijah Fed by the
Ravens (1634) and A Stag Hunt in a Rocky Landscape (1626).
=Adriaen van Utrecht and his Still Life.=--Adriaen van Utrecht was ten
years ahead of Jan Fyt in painting those pictures of live or dead
animals, game, fruits, and implements of the chase that we still admire
so much. Although his lights are sometimes somewhat heavy and his brush
work is not so fine as Fyt's, yet he equals the latter in certainty of
touch and especially in his feeling for life and nature. His pictures
are very scarce: Amsterdam possesses only one, called Still Life, signed
and dated 1644. On a canvas eight by ten feet the painter has grouped
pies, hams, a lobster, grapes, peaches, and lemons on a table. On the
left, on the floor, are some musical instruments; on a chair some golden
vases; above, a parrot; on the right a great sculptured basin and a
little white spaniel, and in the centre a monkey playing with some fruit
from an overturned basket.
=Ten Pictures by M. Hondecoeter.=--Melchior d' Hondecoeter can be
studied to great advantage in the Rijks, which owns several pictures of
the first order: The Floating Feather, The Philosophical Magpie, Animals
and Plants, The Country House, The Duck Pond, The Frightened Hen, The
Menagerie, Dead Game, and two of birds.
=Hondecoeter's Father and Grandfather.=--The great Hondecoeter was a
pupil of his father, Gijsbert d' Hondecoeter (1604-53), the pupil of his
father Gillis d' Hondecoeter (1583-1638), a painter of portraits and
landscapes in the manner of R. Savery and David Vinck Boons. Gijsbert
followed his father's style of landscapes; but he attained a great
reputation for his birds, and particularly his ducks. Both styles may be
seen in the Rijks: A Landscape with Figures, dated 1652, and Aquatic
Birds, dated 1651. In the duck pond, where ducks and pigeons are
sporting, is also a feather floating on the water, for the artist was
fond of repeating this little touch.
The Philosophical Magpie regards from a tree-trunk a dead heron, a
goose, and ducks; its pendant shows a living peacock near a large vase
and a dead hare and pheasant. Dead Game, a small picture, exhibits a
dead partridge and a string of four little birds, and the others
represent parrots and other exotic birds, flowers, and plants, and some
monkeys. The Frightened Hen is defending her chickens against the attack
of a pea-hen. The most famous of all, however, is The Floating Feather.
[Illustration: M. D'HONDECOETER
The Floating Feather]
=Burger's Criticism of The Floating Feather.=--"To make a pilgrimage
to Amsterdam without admiring The Floating Feather, would be
committing the crime of _lèse-peinture_. Hondecoeter has painted this
most carefully and in his happiest vein. In a park luxuriantly
decorated with beautiful trees and springing fountains, he has grouped
strange and rare birds with domestic fowls. On the left in the
foreground may be recognized a pelican, a crane, a flamingo, and a
cassowary; on the right are ducks and geese of various breeds; a
magpie cleaves the air with rapid wings; and, lastly, a light feather
floats on the surface of a quiet pool, and this detail has given the
picture its name."
Dr. Bredius says:
"The pelican on the left is particularly remarkable; but the ducks do
no less credit to this artist, who has expressed with such penetration
the life of the feathered world, the movements of these creatures, I
should indeed say their expression; and he has rendered their
physiognomy and character with such profound truth that no other
artist can approach Hondecoeter in this respect."
The Philosophical Magpie, the Country House, and, better still, the
modest frame in which the artist, putting aside for a moment his usual
style, has brought together lizards, butterflies, and sparrows amid
shrubs and large-leaved plants, are Hondecoeters of the most admirable
quality, whether in frankness of detail, or for the mastery of execution
and accent of color.
=Asselijn's Allegorical Bird Picture.=--The curious Allegory of the
Vigilance of the Grand Pensionary John de Witt by Jan Asselijn is a bird
picture. Here a great white swan is defending her nest against the
attack of a black dog swimming rapidly toward it. Beneath the swan is
the Dutch legend The Grand Pensionary; on the eggs, Holland; and under
the dog, The Enemy of the State (intended for England). The feather lost
by the bird is beautifully painted, and has challenged comparison with
Hondecoeter's Floating Feather.
[Illustration: ASSELIJN
The Swan]
=Eckhout.=--G. van der Eckhout (1621-74) has a Huntsman with Two
Greyhounds, painted about 1670. The huntsman, wearing a red vest, is
seated on the grayish earth. The general tone of the picture is
chocolate or chestnut.
=Jan Vonck.=--Jan Vonck (1630-?), another painter who devoted himself
principally to still life, especially dead birds, sometimes was
responsible for the birds in Ruisdael's pictures. His brush work is that
of a master; his color is strong and agreeable with a transparent touch.
The Rijks owns one example, Dead Birds.
=Jan Weenix.=--Jan Weenix (1640-1719) was the pupil of his celebrated
father during the latter's lifetime; and later he studied still life
under his uncle G. Hondecoeter, Elias Vonck (brother of Jan), and
Matthys Bloem. He surpassed his father in his pictures of dead game, one
of which hangs in this gallery. His animals--swans, hares, and various
birds, arranged with flowers and fruits around sumptuous antique
vases--are not so strong in character as those in Hondecoeter's works;
but they are very true to nature and have the great charm of harmony and
picturesqueness. They richly deserve their original popularity which
their wonderful finish and execution have preserved till the present
day.
=Coninck a Good Animal-painter.=--David de Coninck (1636-87), who had
many affinities with Fyt, also painted landscapes, animals, and birds.
He received the nickname Ramelaer from his fondness for painting rabbits
especially. He was quite at home in hunting scenes, two of which are in
the Rijks,--The Bear Hunt and The Stag Hunt.
Another painter of this period, Pieter Jan Ruijven (1651-1716), has a
fine picture of a cock and hens.
=Bosch, an Early Painter of Flowers.=--One of the early Dutch painters
of flowers was L. J. van den Bosch (?-1517), who painted with a
transparent color and a light touch. He treated fruits, flowers, and
insects with sympathy and truth. He often represented flowers in vases;
his insects are so minute that they have to be examined with a
magnifying glass.
=Delff's Poultry Seller.=--Pictures of this school, however, do not
abound in the Dutch galleries till we come to the artists who lived a
century later. The first of these who appears in the Rijks is Cornelis
Jacobsz Delff (1571-1643), a pupil of Cornelis Cornelisz. Delff was
renowned for his pictures of still life. He is represented in the Rijks
by The Poultry Seller.
=Other Still-life Painters in this Gallery.=--Other still-life painters
born in the sixteenth century, who are represented in this gallery, are
Ambrosius Bosschaert (1570-?), Pieter Noort (1592-1650), Pieter Symonsz
Potter (1597-1652), Adriaen van Utrecht (1599-1652), and Hans Boulengier
(1600-45). Bosschaert has a picture, Flowers, dated 1619. He had a son
of the same name who also painted flowers.
Of Pieter Noort little is known beyond the fact that he painted still
life, and especially Fish, as in the two pictures here signed P. van
Noort.
P. S. Potter painted on glass and was the manager of a gilded leather
establishment at Amsterdam. His model was Hals. Besides portraits and
landscapes, his preference was for still life. The Straw Cutter and
Still Life (signed and dated 1646) are worthy of attention.
=Two Pictures by Heem of Utrecht.=--Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-84) of
Utrecht was a son of David de Heem, so famous for his _déjeuners_
spread with game, oysters, lobsters, fruits, wine, china, glass, and
silver. Jan inherited his father's tastes, and much of his talent, as is
evidenced by two pictures in the Rijks. One shows flowers and fruits of
natural size; and the other represents a table on which are a cup, a
glass, and a vase of wrought silver loaded with fruits.
=Gréville on his Style.=--"At Antwerp, under Seghers, he enriched his
palette and learned the art of composing a delicious harmony by
setting flowers and fruits and glass and silver vases on an Oriental
table-cloth. To the most minute exactitude and almost microscopic
details, he added the most brilliant coloring and an unfailing taste
in the arrangement of his flowers and still life."
=Pieter de Ring.=--A picture of a table covered with blue velvet and
spread with lobsters, oysters, bread, fruit, etc., is typical of the
work of Pieter de Ring (1615-60), one of De Heem's pupils, a Fleming,
who spent his whole life in Holland, and was noted for his picturesque
arrangement and fine execution.
Hans Boulengier has a flower piece signed 1625. He painted still life,
_genre_, and sometimes "fantasmagories." Little is known about him.
=Still-life Painters in the Latter Half of the Seventeenth Century.=--A
generation later this school was in full blossom. Pictures of fruits,
flowers, and dead game, by artists who flourished in the second half of
the seventeenth century, are fairly plentiful.
Abraham Hendricksz van Beyeren (1620-74) painted with fine composition
and strong color breakfast pictures in the style of David de Heem, and
delighted in portraying fish as in the Rijks example.
Cornelis Brisé (1622-7-) painted portraits; this gallery possesses one
of his pictures of flowers, signed C. Brisé, 1665. On the wall beside it
hangs another flower piece by the brush of Elias van Broeck (?-1708).
=De Snuffelaer.=--Otto Marseus van Schrieck (1619-78) was nicknamed De
Snuffelaer (the ferreter), by the Dutch art colony in Rome, because of
his frequent country walks to discover new plants, insects, and reptiles
as models for his compositions. He painted with wonderful finish, good
drawing, and truth to nature, as may be seen in his Insects, Lizards,
etc., here signed O. M. V. S.
Jacob Marrel (1614-81) has a flower piece signed and dated 1634. Among
other masters in Utrecht, Frankfort, Brussels, and Antwerp, he studied
with J. D. de Heem.
=Kalff, a Good Painter and a Brilliant Talker.=--Willem Kalff (1622-93)
was the pupil of Henry Pot, and as soon as he left the master he
abandoned his manner, choosing for his subjects vegetables, fruits,
kitchen utensils, and sometimes handsome vases. Houbraken says he spent
whole days before a lemon, a beautiful orange, and the agate or
mother-of-pearl handle of a dessert-knife; and the vessels of Holland
never brought home a single shell, the strange form and splendid colors
of which he did not copy.
Unlike many of the Dutch painters of his day, who spent most of their
time in the tavern, Kalff was a man of charming and distinguished manner
and a brilliant talker, and he possessed a witty and cultivated mind.
His friends would spend the entire night listening to his conversation,
and when he died from an accidental fall from the bridge at Bantem, the
poet Willem van der Hoeven wrote a eulogy in which he said that Willem
Kalff "knew how to paint golden vases and silver cups and all the
treasures of opulence, but no treasures could outweigh his merit, for he
had no equal in his line."
=His Favorite Subjects.=--The kitchen with Kalff became a heroic
subject, and over it he threw the most subtle effects of chiaroscuro,
throwing a gleam of light upon a well, a scoured saucepan, or a bunch of
vegetables. Who is the hero or heroine of the scene? A fine cauldron or
saucepan or kettle shining with a thousand reflected lights that come
through a window of thick glass or yellow paper. An old cask stands by,
interesting us with all its details of decay,--its swollen staves, its
rusted hoops, and the insects that lodge in the rotten wood. A big
nail, an earthen pot, a skimmer, a few onions with their shining skins,
a broom, a jug of water, and a towel lying on a barrel,--with such
simple things he makes a beautiful picture. Perhaps in the background
the cook and her dog are discerned. Kalff never allows figures to become
too prominent, for he wishes his still life to catch and hold the
spectator's interest.
The picture by this artist in the Rijks has for its subject a silver
vase, of elegant form, and a porcelain dish filled with oranges and
lemons. The objects are tastefully arranged and beautifully painted.
=Some other Painters of Animals and Fruits.=--Anthonie Leemans (1630-8-)
has also a characteristic picture of still life; he was fond of painting
dead birds. Another picture of dead birds is by Willem G. Fergusson
(1632-9-), a Scotchman, who hired a house at The Hague in 1660, and
another in 1668; he was living in Amsterdam in 1681. The picture is
dated 1662. A Garland of Fruits is signed J. Borman, who flourished in
Leyden in 1657 and 1658; but about him little is known. Another notable
canvas belonging to this school is Animals, Insects, and Fruits, by
Anthony van Borssom (1629-77), who was probably a pupil, and certainly
an admirer of Rembrandt; his tones are somewhat sombre, but his drawing
is vigorous and full of interest. R. van der Burgh (fl. 1680) has a
lifelike painting of Sea Fish; and Karel Batist is a little-known
flower-painter, who worked in Amsterdam in 1659; his canvas is unusually
large for this _genre_, though the student will have noticed that most
of the artists of this period liked to paint their flowers and fruits
natural size.
Pieter Claes van Haerlem (d. 1660) has a small picture of still life
which bears the false signature, Johan de Heem, 1640; and Jan van Kessel
(1626-79) has a much smaller one of Fruits and Insects. Another picture
by the latter, representing a woman seated at a table with fruits, etc.,
on it, is falsely attributed to Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-78), who
was called "the marvel of her century." Her great reputation probably
prompted some dealer to attempt the fraud. None of the principal
galleries of Europe possesses any examples of her pictures, insects,
etc., so celebrated during her lifetime.
Another picture of Flowers, dated 1667, is by Nicolaes Lachtropius, who
was a famous Dutch painter of coach panels during the second half of the
seventeenth century. A contemporary German painter, Ottomar Elliger
(1633-79), also has a flower piece, dated 1674.
=Mignon, a First-class Flower-painter.=--Abraham Mignon (1640-79) was a
pupil of J. D. de Heem. He had as pupils in the same style, two
daughters and M. S. Mérian. He belongs to the first rank of
flower-painters. Péries says:
"The qualities which distinguish the works of Mignon are freshness,
delicacy of tone, finish, the splendor of the reflections, and the
perfect imitation of nature. His flowers are selected with taste and
he perfectly well understands the art of giving them their full value.
He equally excels in painting insects, flies, and butterflies, and the
dewdrops trembling on the leaves; the velvety skin of his fruits
invites the touch of the fingers. His only fault is perhaps a dryness
in his draughtsmanship."
=Some of his Pictures.=--His masterpiece, _Mignon au Chat_, showing a
Persian cat upsetting a vase of flowers on a marble table, is in the
Rijks. Another picture here is Fruits, representing a dish with grapes
and pomegranates, besides oysters and white bread. In composition,
warmth, harmony, and truth to nature this belongs to his best work.
Inferior to this is Flowers, where flowers appear in a vase, and a cat
and a mouse-trap are also represented. Still Life and Fruits shows a
marble table, on which are fruits and flowers, a boiled lobster and an
antique vase, a picture that approaches his master Jan de Heem in
harmony and softness of touch.
=How Jan van Huysum became a Great Fruit and Flower painter.=--Jan van
Huysum was the son of a flower-painter who had turned his house into a
sort of factory where everything contributing to the decoration of
rooms and gardens could be found. Jan, who was placed at the head of the
enterprise, grew tired of the business side and devoted himself to art,
especially the works of Mignon, Verelst, and David de Heem. He also
closely studied nature, and seeing a whole world unfold itself in the
study of flowers alone, he explored the furthest recesses of his domain;
birds, butterflies, beetles, wasps, bees,--he forgot none of the
satellites of the flowers. Being also surrounded with examples of all
the exterior and interior art decorations of the day, he was able to
copy the marble consoles that served as supports for his baskets, the
earthenware bowls and vases in which he kept his bouquets fresh, and the
bas-reliefs that set off the flowers in those vases, and the mascarons
and chimæras that formed the handles. It may be said of him as a French
critic said of Baptiste: "His beautiful flowers lacked only the perfume
that they seemed to exhale." Reynolds must also have been thinking of
Huysum's effects when he said that Rubens's pictures were "bouquets of
colors." Huysum's fruits have received some criticism: some critics hold
that he has given them the look of wax and the polish of ivory. In this
branch of his art, he perhaps falls short of David de Heem. His peaches
are too firm, his plums not provocative of thirst, and his grapes leave
a little more ripeness, gold, and sun to be desired. He succeeded better
with red gooseberries and the cleft pomegranates with their pulp and
seeds sparkling like rubies and delightful to the eye. The Rijks Museum
has five pictures by this master in which his qualities as a fruit and
flower painter are fully displayed.
=His Landscapes.=--A small landscape is also here. Formerly Huysum's
landscapes were as highly prized and as costly as his flower pieces.
However, his works in this field are echoes merely of Guaspre, Glauber,
Poussin, and Claude; he lived in an age when the Dutch again bowed down
before foreign idols. The familiar Dutch pastures were now peopled with
nymphs and demigods.
=Conrad Roepel.=--Conrad Roepel (1678-1748) was famous for his flowers,
fruits, festoons, garlands, birds, and insects. He painted with much
truth and good color. He studied under C. Netscher; but later he took
Huysum for his model. The Rijks has a picture of Flowers and another of
Fruits by him, both signed and dated 1721.
=The Van Os Family.=--Jan van Os (1744-1808) was greatly admired in his
day as a painter of marines, landscapes, and more particularly flowers
and fruits. There is one of the latter here. His son and pupil, Georgius
Jacobus Johannes (1782-1861), was equally famous as a painter of flowers
and game. He is represented here by four pictures, one of which is a
landscape, the animals of which are painted by his brother Peter
Gerhardus (1776-1839). The latter painted chiefly military and hunting
scenes, landscapes, and animals. Nine canvases exhibit his qualities in
this gallery. His sister Marie Margrita van Os (1780-1862) was, like her
brothers, a pupil of Jan van Os; she has a Still Life in the Rijks.
=Eight of Gerrit Dou's Pictures.=--Gerrit Dou is represented by eight
works including the famous Evening School which in 1808 was sold for
17,500 florins. The others are his own Portrait; the Portrait of a Man,
dated 1646; Portraits of a Gentleman and his Wife, in a landscape
painted by Nicholas Berchem; _La Curieuse_, a small oval picture of a
girl with a lamp in her hand; a Hermit in Prayer in a Grotto; a Hermit,
dated 1664; and A Fisherwoman.
=Description of The Evening School.=--The Evening School is the most
important of all Dou's candle-light pictures. The composition is very
simple. A looped curtain is lifted to reveal a room poorly furnished
with benches and tables. The schoolmaster, who sits at a table with his
arm on a small desk, is hearing a girl spell, and shaking his finger at
a boy who is walking away. This group is lighted by a candle that stands
on the table near an hour-glass. In the background a small group is seen
at a table also lighted by a candle. On the left of the teacher a boy is
making calculations on a slate, while a girl by his side looks on,
holding a lighted candle in her hand. A fourth light--from a large
lantern on the floor--adds another artificial light for the painter to
treat. This great work is painted on a panel 1 foot 8 inches high by 1
foot 3 inches long.
=The Fisherman's Wife.=--The Fisherman's Wife, painted in 1653, shows an
old woman in a black gown with yellow sleeves and a man's round hat. She
is holding a reel.
=Description of The Hermit.=--The Hermit is one of the most marvellously
finished works of the master in his most minute style. You can count the
wrinkles and hairs of the old white-bearded man who holds a crucifix in
his hands. An open book, an hour-glass, a can, and a basket (for bread
and wine or water) and other accessories are painted in miniature; on
the right is seen the trunk of a tree, and in the far distance are some
arcades, probably cloisters. The tiny panel is only ten by eight inches.
=Schalcken, Imitator of Dou and Rembrandt.=--Godfried Schalcken was the
pupil of Hoogstraten, and of Dou, whom he skilfully imitated. The sight
of some of Rembrandt's pictures next led him to devote himself to the
effects of light, artificial light especially: the majority of his
pictures therefore are illuminated by lamp or candle light. His most
remarkable work is at Amsterdam. It is called Young Girl Lighting a
Lantern. At the Revolution, he accompanied William III. to England, and
painted portraits of that king, one of which, signed with the artist's
name and dated 1699, is in The Hague Gallery. Among his best pictures is
the Boy Eating an Egg, in the Rijks Museum.
=His Portrait of William III.=--The half-length portrait of William III.
in the same gallery, in which there is a remarkable play of light, shows
that this master who delighted in the composition of small subjects
borrowed from common life, was equally capable of painting pictures of
natural size.
Schalcken's chief merit consists in the neatness of his finishing and
the perfect intelligence of his chiaroscuro. His touch is mellow, but
too fused, and his color warm and golden.
=His Other Pictures.=--The other pictures here are A Young Man Smoking;
Difference in Taste, in which two men are talking, while another lights
his pipe; and two Female Portraits, one of an ambassador's daughter, and
the other her companion.
=Slingelandt, Another Imitator of Dou.=--Pieter Cornelisz van
Slingelandt (1640-91) is another pupil and a close imitator of Dou; and
almost surpasses him in laborious execution. He reached the limits of
what can be done by a painter in oils. All his work seems to have been
done under the impression that imitation is the sole end of art.
=His Skill in Delicately Minute Painting.=--Naturally he excelled in
still-life painting, in which nothing was too minute for him to endeavor
to reproduce on his canvas. His brush indicates the weft of the most
delicate tissues; the coloring matter, almost microscopically divided,
gives a tone to every stitch in a linen hood or cap, or a knitted
stocking. On a panel of the smallest size you can sometimes distinguish
the shadow, half tone, and high light of each of the pearls in a
necklace; sometimes also a cat's whiskers, and even the hairs on the
skin of a mouse. Sometimes a piece of lace is rendered with such labor
that it took more time to paint than to make. The consequence is that
his pictures are very scarce: not fifty are known.
=His Favorite Subjects.=--Though as a rule he preferred the luxury and
elegance of high life, with its marbles and richly carved furniture,
upholstery and tapestry, jewels and laces, silks and satins, velvets and
furs, he also sometimes chose models of humble estate. The Rehearsal is
a masterpiece in this class. Here a man is playing a violin while a boy
is singing and a woman preparing dinner. The other example of his art is
quite in contrast with the above. It is called The Rich Man, and on it
Slingelandt has lavished all the resources of his brush. Blanc says:
"He painted the merchant at his counter and the lacemaker at her
distaff, the housekeeper purchasing partridges or getting dinner
ready, and the woman of the people occupied in sewing beside the
cradle in which her infant is sleeping. From the richly furnished
salon Slingelandt descended to the scullery and took pleasure in
looking at the rows of shining pots and pans, and other kitchen
utensils. He observed the correct tone of the servant's apron as well
as that of the silken skirt he had painted in her mistress's portrait.
He devoted as much attention to imitating the polish of a brass vase
or the rough varnish of an earthenware pot, as to expressing the
transparency of a Bohemian glass. Cats and mice were also honored with
his precious painting, as well as parrots and spaniels. But what he
rendered with most love and with unequalled truth was the musical
instrument. His violins are light, and sonorous; his violoncellos
provoke the virtuoso and enchant the ear almost as much as the eye.
One would say that nothing escaped his observation, nothing of what
constituted private and family life, that which he himself lived in
obscurity, the simplicity and joys of which he painted with so much
application, finish, and patience."
=Adriaen de Vois.=--Arie (or Adriaen) de Vois (about 1630-80) studied
first under Nicholas Knupfer in Utrecht, next with Abraham van den
Tempel, and lastly with Pieter van Slingelandt, whose highly finished
style he followed with great success. He painted charming scenes of
familiar life, lovely portraits, interiors, and even landscapes, in
which he introduced, in the style of Poelenburg, tiny nude figures. The
Dutch collectors have always prized them for the delicacy of their color
and touch and vivacity.
[Illustration: A. DE VOIS
Lady and Parrot]
=Description of The Lady with a Parrot.=--In his Lady with a Parrot, the
lady is rather French in type, and dressed in the most fashionable style
of the period. Her earrings are wonderfully painted and perhaps even
more realistic are the fruits in the basket which she holds on her knee,
and from which she offers her parrot a tempting treat. Every detail of
this picture is perfect in treatment--the dress, the hair, the face, the
jewels, the still life, and the brilliant feathers of the bird.
=His Other Pictures in the Rijks.=--In addition to this beautiful
picture the Rijks also owns The Fisherman Smoking, a little oval panel;
A Violin Player, who holds a wineglass; and The Fish-Vender, a jolly
old fisherman with a glass of beer in his hand.
=Seven Pictures by Brekelenkam.=--Quieringh Gerritsz van Brekelenkam
(?-1668) was a pupil of Gerrit Dou; and his own manner was a mixture of
Dou and Rembrandt. He settled in Leyden in 1648. His works,
representing, as a rule, interiors, with figures noted for the natural
expression of their heads, are highly esteemed. His touch is light and
spirited, and he understands the art of chiaroscuro. The Rijks owns
seven pictures: Two Interiors, The Fireside (1664), The Mouse Trap
(1660), Confidences (1661), Reading, and A Mother and Child. The latter
is a little oval panel, in which a woman in a red skirt and black jacket
is giving some porridge to her child.
One of the Interiors, representing A Tailor's Shop, is one of his best
works. The tailor, with long hair and fur cap, is seated at a work-table
on the right; he is talking to a woman who is carrying a tin bucket. On
the right, near the window, you see the back of a young workman. In the
background hangs a picture, and there are some clothes on a board. The
work is somewhat in the style of Pieter de Hooch.
=His Poverty of Imagination.=--Brekelenkam has been accused of poverty
of imagination because of the paucity of figures in his compositions;
and yet some of the most beautiful and famous pictures of the Little
Masters consist of single figures, such as a woman sitting spinning. One
critic complains:
"Notwithstanding his ability (his method is preferable to Dou's; his
painting is more unctuous, warmer, and freer, being finely accented
with lifelike touches on the various utensils or accessories of his
interiors), it seems that this painter was not endowed with a very
fertile imagination. He has a very slight taste for difficult
subjects, and carefully avoids complicated compositions; most often,
indeed, a single personage suffices him for a picture. A smoker
lighting his pipe, an old woman sitting in the chimney corner, a
philosopher turning over the leaves of a folio volume, the interior of
a farm, or a kitchen,--these are Brekelenkam's ordinary motives. But
feeling and intellect give relief to these vulgar themes, and render
the delicate works of this too-little-known painter precious to
art-lovers."
The student will be able to judge from the pictures in the Rijks whether
or no the artist deserves more or less than this half-hearted praise.
=Ter Borch's Famous Paternal Advice.=--Ter Borch, as we have seen by The
Message or Despatch in the Mauritshuis, was fond of painting pictures
with some slight dramatic connection. Here we find the very famous
Paternal Advice, also called The Paternal Reproof, but better known as
The Satin Dress (_Robe de Satin_).
A young lady is standing with her back to the spectator. She wears a
black cape and a white satin dress, and her hair is blond. The
table-cloth, bed curtains, and other hangings are red. On the table at
the left are a silver candlestick, two combs, and a pink string, and a
mirror or perhaps a picture in a frame. On the right is seated a rather
young man with long hair, and richly and somewhat extravagantly dressed
in lilac and gray. In one hand he holds a large hat trimmed with three
immense blue and lemon-colored plumes. His sword is by his side, and
behind him in the shadows stands his greyhound. His left hand is raised
with some gesture, probably of admiration, as his face is smiling. The
old woman at his side is interested solely in her glass, through which
half of her face is seen as she is drinking.
It was Goethe who bestowed the name Paternal Advice upon this picture,
the story of which is not yet known; but although critics have accepted
fatherly admonition as the theme, the relative ages of the characters do
not justify the theory.
=Blanc's Critique of the Picture.=--Blanc is one who does not question
this. He exclaims:
"Truly this dress is perfect: it is so close to the eye and within
reach of the hand that it engrosses the entire attention of the
spectator. One would say that the young girl, so gently reprimanded by
her father, has come there merely for the sake of showing her dress;
and, indeed, the painter has dwelt on this detail with the greatest
affection, and, moreover, has hidden the face of the young girl, and
shown us only the back of her head with its blond coil and the
escaping tresses, in which are mingled some black velvet, which
relieves the ash-colored tone of the hair. What a singular thing! A
frightful sacrifice of a woman's head to a robe of satin, the
unheard-of triumph of an accessory--a charming infraction against all
the principles of art--we might call it a colossal fault--but a
privilege only allowed to great artists. The painter has by this
aroused our curiosity regarding the face of the young girl, who has
turned away her head, and so we have to imagine her blushing cheeks
and her lowered eyelids. As for the father, he is remonstrating with
her so tenderly, with such a gentle gesture and so paternal a manner
that we are not disturbed by it, and can therefore fix our glance on
the magnificent satin dress, the folds of which are so beautifully
broken by the light, and in which all the interest of the picture is
concentrated. But what an inexplicable attitude is that of the mother,
who is slowly drinking a glass of fine wine, while her husband
lectures their daughter."
=Other Pictures by Ter Borch in the Rijks.=--The Rijks owns a Portrait
of Ter Borch, painted by himself, and one of his wife, Geertruida
Matthyssen; a copy of The Peace of Münster (original in the National
Gallery), and a copy of his Boy and a Dog, also known as The Scholar.
=Description of The Scholar.=--The latter shows a table covered with an
old gray carpet, on which is a copy-book and an inkstand. The scholar,
who instead of writing his exercise is busy catching fleas on the dog,
which he holds between his knees, wears a violet coat and blue
stockings, and his gray hat lies on a little wooden bench before him.
The whole is of a neutral color, but very clear.
=Seven Pictures by Adriaen van Ostade.=--Adriaen van Ostade has seven
pictures on these walls: An Artist's Studio, Travellers' Halt (1671),
The Charlatan (1648), The Baker, The Merry Peasant, The Intimate Company
(1642), Confidences (1642).
=His Artist's Studio.=--An Artist's Studio, of which there is a replica
dated 1666 in the Dresden Gallery, shows a painter sitting at an easel
with his back to the spectator; he wears a violet coat and a red cap.
The other features of the composition are a black dog asleep, an
assistant grinding colors in a corner, and a pupil preparing a palette.
The artist is supposed to be Ostade himself in both instances; but for
some reason his face is half hidden. The play of light and shadow in the
apartment is noticeably Rembrandtesque in character.
=A Tavern Interior.=--There are two tavern interiors here. In one (dated
1661) five peasants are grouped in the foreground. Before a large
chimney stands a man in a blue vest and gray hat, holding a mug in his
hand; opposite is a man in a blue mantle and a white hat, who is filling
his pipe; in the chimney corner an old man is dreaming; and to his right
an old woman is listening to what a man in a furred cap, with a pipe in
his hand, is saying to the man before the fire. On the extreme right a
little girl, on a wooden stool before a rustic table, is eating her soup
and amusing herself with a little black-and-white dog. In the
background, near the open window, five men are grouped around a table,
smoking, drinking, and talking. The lights on the separate groups from
the back and side windows are ably managed.
=Ostade's Best Period.=--The Charlatan, dated 1648, belongs to the
master's best period, when he painted such gems as The Barn, The Family,
and The Father of the Family.
The Intimate Company, signed 1642, is in the Van der Hoop Collection, as
is also a rustic interior, _Société de campagnards_, signed 1661. The
latter has passed through the Lormier, Choiseul, Du Barry, Tolozon, and
Duchesse de Berry collections.
=Some of his Pupils.=--Among Adriaen's many pupils may be mentioned
Cornelis Dusart, Cornelis Bega, Michiel van Musscher, R. Brakenburgh,
and Jan de Groot. They all followed his style more or less closely.
When Jan Steen visited Haarlem he also fell under his influence.
=Isaak van Ostade.=--Isaak van Ostade (1621-49) has two rustic inns, one
signed and dated 1643, that are typical of his style. In his early work
he imitated his brother and teacher with some success, both in subject
and treatment, especially wayside hostelries. His pictures, however, are
browner in tone and harder in execution than Adriaen's. In one picture
here we see two travellers with a white horse halting in front of an
inn. The composition is delightful and full of nature and spirit.
=C. Dusart, Better in some Respects than his Master.=--Cornelis Dusart
(1660-1704) adopted his master's (Ostade) style without servile
imitation. He was a minute observer of details and had an astonishing
memory that enabled him to use them to the best advantage in his
interiors. His choice and treatment of scenes were rather more
distinguished and less vulgar than some of his master's. His later
pictures are inferior to his early ones: they lack spontaneity of
conception, and that freshness and simplicity of impression that mark so
many of his works. Five striking pictures worthily represent his
abilities,--Wandering Musicians, The Fish Market (1683), The Village
Kermesse, A Village Inn, and Maternal Happiness.
=Cornelis Bega.=--Cornelis Bega (1620-64), another pupil of Adriaen van
Ostade, copied and improved upon him. A Concert of Peasants is full of
color, light, movement, life, and gayety, with music, singing, and
dancing. It is warmer in color than most of his works.
The Grace before the Meal (1663) shows a young woman with folded hands
seated at the table, and on the other side an old man. On the
window-sill is a flower-pot; in front, on the floor, a foot-warmer. This
is a good picture, but a little too red in tone, as often happens with
Bega.
=M. van Musscher's Lack of Originality.=--Michiel van Musscher
(1645-1705) was completely lacking in individuality: he simply mirrored
his successive masters, Martin Zaagmorlen, Abraham van den Tempel,
Gabriel Metsu, and Adriaen van Ostade. Not only that, but he sometimes
painted also in the style of Jan Steen, and even imitated the marvellous
chiaroscuro of Pieter de Hooch. Sometimes also in subject and treatment
his work resembles that of Netscher and Albert Cuijp. He has five
portraits here, but is not represented by an example of his many
interiors, feasts, or scenes of peasant or genteel life.
=Brakenburgh, a Clever Colorist.=--Richard Brakenburgh (1650-1702), a
pupil of A. van Ostade, Hendrick Mommers, and probably Jan Steen, whom
he imitated, lived in Haarlem. He also studied with B. Schendel, and
became a clever painter and very able in the management of chiaroscuro.
He is fond of merrymakings, drunken assemblies, doctors' visits, and
children's feasts. He sometimes painted the figures in the landscapes of
P. de Koninck and others. In his best works, some competent critics
consider him worthy to rank with Ostade in the brilliance of his color,
although it is always inferior in transparency. In form and modelling
his subjects suffer by comparison with those of his master. The Rijks
owns a jovial tavern scene, and The Feast of St. Nicholas, signed and
dated 1665, which the student will be interested in comparing with Jan
Steen's treatment of the same subject.
=Several Periods in the Career of D. Teniers the Younger.=--David
Teniers the Younger (1610-90) has seven pictures here that illustrate
his various styles. As with most other artists who reached old age,
critics recognize several periods in the career of Teniers. At first,
his figures, from twelve to eighteen inches high, are broadly painted in
brownish and somewhat heavy tones. Toward 1640 his color becomes clearer
and more luminous and golden. From 1640 to 1660 it assumes silvery tones
of admirable lightness and limpidity; and, at the same time, his
execution grows more careful and precise. The pictures of this last
period are held in highest esteem. After that Teniers returned to a
gamut of golden tones, in which he sometimes displayed great power. At
the close of his life he became heavy and brownish in tone, and his
touch lost some of its clearness. Not many of his pictures are dated.
The earliest known date is 1641, on Our Corps de Garde, a medium-sized
picture of no special interest, in which we note numerous military
attributes. This is far inferior to a similar picture, now in St.
Petersburg, painted two years later.
=His Relish for Pictures of the Supernatural.=--The Temptation of St.
Anthony is one of many pictures he painted in his relish for the class
of subjects painted two centuries earlier by Jerome Bosch--Dives in
Hell, incantations, witches, phantasmagoria, etc.--for the simple
purpose of assembling the most hideous and grotesque apparitions
imaginable.
=His Pictures of other Kinds.=--The other pictures here are devoted to
his villagers, drinking, playing bowls, dancing, singing, and fighting.
A Landscape, with a rustic house, shows a gardener standing, spade in
hand, talking to a woman with a child on her lap. On the left, on the
ground, are some vegetables, also pots and other household utensils.
=Peter Balten.=--Peter Balten (fl. 1540-71) is represented by a large
picture, St. Martin's Fair. His figures are full of spirit, and his
touch is sure. Little is known of him except that he was one of the
greatest wits of his day. He studied under Pierre Brueghel, whom he
resembles in style.
=B. van Bassen.=--A contemporary of his was Bartholomeus van Bassen (d.
1652), who has a fine Interior with figures supplied by Esais van de
Velde. His specialty was portraits, with studies of perspective, and
church and other interiors.
=Three Pictures by Hendrick Bloemaert.=--Hendrick Bloemaert (1601-72)
was probably the son of Abraham. The Rijks has three of his pictures,
signed and dated: Winter (1631), Portrait of Johannes Puttkamer (1671),
and The Eggseller (1632). The latter is in the Van der Hoop Room.
=Three Popular Artists.=--Jan van der Meer the Younger (1656-1705) is
represented by a charming picture, The Sleeping Shepherd, dated 1678.
Frans van Mieris the Elder is represented by The Letter, The Lute
Player, Jacob's Dream, The Lost Bird, and Fragility. His son, Willem van
Mieris, is represented by The Poulterer (1733), A Landscape with
Shepherds and Shepherdesses (1722), and a Lady and a Gentleman.
[Illustration: F. VAN MIERIS
Grocer's Shop]
=The Grocer's Shop by F. van Mieris the Younger.=--Willem's son and
pupil, Frans van Mieris the Younger (1689-1763), who carried on the
family traditions in Leyden, although somewhat inferior to his father
and grandfather, is represented by A Hermit (1721), A Chemist's Shop
(1714), and The Grocer's Shop (1715). This latter picture presents an
interesting scene of the day. Note the beautiful painting of the
sculptured bas-relief of the counter, at which stand the purchasers--an
old woman and a child. The shopkeeper holds scales and two baskets,
about the contents of which there seems to be some contention. In the
shop there is a larder, on the shelves of which various articles are
seen; baskets hang on the wall; and tubs, barrels, and casks are also
visible. Over the shop has grown a grape-vine, and its graceful festoons
of leaves make a beautiful effect.
=Several of Karel Dujardin's Pictures.=--Karel Dujardin may also be
studied by his Portrait of a Man; Portrait of Gerard Reinst, a
celebrated art collector of Amsterdam and also a patron of the painter;
The Muleteers; The Laborer on his Farm (1655), in which a peasant is
seen winnowing corn; A Trumpeter on Horseback; a Portrait of Himself
(1660); an Italian Landscape with Animals; and a Landscape, which was
purchased at the Duchesse de Berry's sale in 1837 for 4,000 florins.
=Burger on A Woman Reading.=--"Again the sphinx! Here we have an
interior with a woman standing in profile to the left. She is reading
a letter; she wears a light blue jacket and a grayish-blue skirt.
Before her are a table and a chair with a blue back. Behind her is
another blue chair. Decidedly Van der Meer has an affection for the
blue sky. The wall of the background is a pale moonlight blue, and the
woman's figure stands out against a geographical map a little tinted
with _bistre_, which hangs on the wall.
"The execution of this picture is very delicate, indeed almost
trivial: the paint is laid on very lightly, the color is weak and even
a little dry. It is true that this picture is a little rubbed. On the
contrary, Van de Meer's touch was frank and the _pâte grasse_
abundant, even somewhat exaggerated in the View of Delft at The Hague;
there is an incomparable firmness of design and modelling in The
Milkmaid in the Six Gallery; and in the Façade of a Dutch House in the
same gallery, the color is extremely warm and harmonious. These
differences of practice make us hesitate for a time regarding the
parentage of The Woman Reading in the Van der Hoop Collection.
However, the physiognomy of this woman is of an exquisite delicacy;
her bare arms and the hand that holds the paper are marvellously
drawn.... This pale light and these delicate blues betray Van der
_Meer_. This artist probably had several styles.
"This picture is signed: an open book on the table bears the word
Meer."
=Van der Meer's Later Style.=--In later pieces his style is reminiscent
of De Hooch and Metsu, but it is brighter and the tone more enamelled.
In most instances the scene is in a small room lighted by a casement
window. Sometimes the painter himself is seated in a studio; sometimes a
girl and her lover are together; sometimes a woman is seated at the
clavecin. The Milkmaid in the Six Collection is noted for its brilliancy
of tone, harmonious distribution of tints, delicacy of gradations, and
solidity of touch.
=His Portrait-painting.=--Van der Meer was also a splendid
portrait-painter and excelled in landscapes, in which he sacrificed
figures to trees, cottages, and lanes. There is a charming little
picture of this class in the Six Collection, representing a row of brick
houses with people, in the style of Pieter de Hooch. It is said that he
was killed by the fall of his house at the time when Simon Decker, a
vestryman of the Delft Church, was sitting to him for his portrait.
=Pieter de Hooch (1635-78).=--This master who was so long neglected and
is now regarded as at least the equal of Ter Borch, Metsu, and Van
Mieris, is well represented in the Rijks, though absent from The Hague
Gallery. His talent is exhibited chiefly in his Conversations. Burger
says he has never seen a single picture by De Hooch that is not of the
first rank.
=Burger on De Hooch's Choice of Subjects.=--"Sometimes he paints
interiors--people are playing at cards, or having a family concert, or
reading, or drinking, or conversing. Sometimes he paints exteriors;
then the painter introduces us to domestic occupations, and the
innocent recreations of private life, as, for instance, a servant
washing linen in a back yard, or cleaning fish, or plucking a fowl; or
perhaps there are ladies and their cavaliers playing at bowls in a
garden with trim gravelled walks."
=His Excellent Painting of Interiors.=--"When he paints interiors,
this artist rarely neglects to show, on the right or left, doors
opening on a staircase or revealing a leafy alley, or the trees along
a quay, so that his pictures almost always seem to be the antechamber
of another picture. In this characteristic style of De Hooch, when the
interior of the apartment is moderately lighted, the sun shines
outside, and we feel its heat and brilliance in the vistas gradually
lost to view in the background, so inimitably managed in the artist's
manner.... Pieter de Hooch seems to have been in Rembrandt's secrets,
and knew how to adapt the genius of that great master to familiar
scenes, just as Gonzales Coques had adapted the genius of Rubens."
[Illustration: P. DE HOOCH
The Country House]
=Seven Fine Examples of his Work in the Rijks.=--The Rijks Museum owns
seven fine examples of this master's work. The Portrait of a Man is said
to be that of the painter at the age of nineteen; but this is doubtful.
One of the most celebrated interiors shows a woman about to let a child
drink from a jug of beer at the entrance to a cellar. This picture is
very attractive for the simple attitudes, and for the depth of the
equally sustained warm harmony. "The execution," says Crowe, "is a model
of softness and juiciness." The most glowing example, however, of this
warm lighting is a woman cleaning the hair of a child, in the Van der
Hoop Room. The woman wears a skirt of deep blue and a bodice of red,
bordered with white fur, while the child has a skirt of green and a gray
bodice. Behind them is an alcove bed with green curtains, and to the
right, in the foreground, a little chair. An open door on the left
allows you to see into another room with a passage and courtyard beyond.
A little black dog seen from behind lies on the reddish tiles. The
picture is beautiful in its treatment of three successive planes of
light.
Another picture in the same collection represents apparently a pair of
lovers who seem to be teasing each other. The lady seen in profile is
squeezing a lemon into a glass, and the young man sitting opposite with
his elbow on the table looks at her with a subtle smile. The costumes
are elegant--the lady wears a straw-colored skirt and a rose-colored
jacket. The man has on a garnet-colored doublet, scarlet knee-breeches,
and white stockings. He is bareheaded and wears a wig. If it were not
for the pipe in his hand he would remind you of Molière's gentlemen.
They are sitting in a kind of courtyard of a house with a red-tiled
roof, and a window with red shutters is also visible. At the door of the
house a woman is standing with a glass in her hand. A servant is busy
with a kettle by the window. On the right there is an opening into a
clump of trees, suggesting a park, and to the left another enclosure.
One of the most beautiful pictures in the collection, a marvel very
difficult to describe because its superlative value lies in its luminous
effect, is thus described:
=A Picture Highly valued for its Luminous Effect.=--"We are in a room,
the door of which, in the background on the left, opens onto the quay
of a canal. A girl passes along the path; next we see a tree, a
stretch of the canal, and on the opposite bank another street, flooded
with sunlight, in which two cloaked men have halted in front of a
house. Above the door, which is slightly arched, is a large window
with small panes in four compartments, one of which is open. Under the
light falling from the window, in the corner of the room, a girl in a
blue bodice and white apron is seated, with her head turned toward a
youth who is entering through on the extreme right in the foreground.
In one hand he holds his hat, and presents a letter with the
other."[26]
=A Pleasing Sunlight Effect.=--Another picture shows a sunlight effect,
in which both De Hooch and Vermeer of Delft delighted. There is a window
on the left, above a table covered with a Turkey-red table-cloth, which
is silhouetted brightly on the lower part of the opposite wall, close to
a chimney piece. A servant is sweeping in front of the latter. Another
woman, almost full-face, is seated, holding a baby in a yellow frock,
with a child's cradle beside her. She wears a blue velvet jacket and red
skirt. Behind her a door opens into a courtyard, and gives us a glimpse
of the town. The rest of the background consists of a gray wall, on
which hangs a picture. There is also a picture over the fireplace.
=The Sick Lady.=--Very similar to the pictures by Jan Steen and Metsu is
Hooghstraten's The Sick Lady, who, very pale and with drooping head,
sits by a table on which her left elbow rests. On the red cloth, which
is covered with a piece of white linen, stand a pot and a phial. She
wears a white cap, a yellow jacket bordered with ermine, a Persian-blue
skirt, and a white apron. Her hands are clasped at her waist, and her
feet rest on a foot-warmer. Behind the table stands the doctor in his
conventional costume of black. The bed, draped with green curtains, is
seen in the background, where, to the left, a short flight of stairs
leads to a series of rooms opening one into another in the style of
Pieter de Hooch. The figures, about a foot high, are very finely drawn.
Burger says:
"The general harmony of color is strange, distinguished, and original.
There are tones of straw-color, tones of pearl-color, and silvery
tones, happily brought together, a clever distribution of light, and
lightness in the shadows."
=Jan Steen's Style patterned after Hals and A. van Ostade.=--Jan Steen
shows the influence of his models, Hals and Adriaen van Ostade, in
several of the seventeen pictures of this artist owned by the Rijks
Museum. His own portrait and those in the Oostwaard picture (dated 1659)
are strong, bright, and clear with the qualities he admired in Hals. The
other pictures are all distinguished by correct drawing, admirable
freedom and spirit of touch, and clear and transparent color. They range
in subject from the stately interiors of grave and opulent burghers to
tavern scenes of jollity and debauch.
=Some of the Seventeen of his Pictures owned by the Rijks.=--There are
two pictures of the charlatan who puffs his pills, draws teeth, and
sells everything helpful to those sick in body or in mind, from a
love-philtre to the Elixir of Life. Here, also, we see doctors and
patients, card-parties, marriage-feasts, and the festivals of St.
Nicholas and Twelfth Night. His delightful rendering of children is also
fully exemplified here. In detail, the pictures are as follows: A
Portrait of Himself, showing a rather handsome man with oval face,
arched brows, and well-cut mouth; A Charlatan Selling his Wares, in
which the chief figure is standing on a platform beneath the shade of a
tree, while around him are many little figures variously grouped,
forming comic episodes; The Baker Oostwaard with his Wife and a Son of
the Painter (1659). The baker is arranging his wares, and the little boy
is blowing on a horn. The Scullion represents a woman scouring a pewter
pot. She is in a kitchen, and wears a white jacket and a blue skirt. On
the table by which she stands are utensils and a lantern.
[Illustration: JAN STEEN
The Parrot Cage]
=Description of The Parrot Cage.=--The Parrot Cage is a domestic scene,
in what appears to be a tavern or a middle-class hall, in which there is
a bed, a chair, and a table, at which two men are playing backgammon,
while a third looks on smoking a pipe. At the big fireplace an old woman
is broiling oysters, which are likely to spoil, as she is taking more
interest in the backgammon than in her own task. A boy seated on a low
stool is feeding a kitten with milk from a spoon, and watching a woman
of graceful figure who is offering a biscuit to a parrot in a cage.
The Orgy is famous for the dash and abandon with which it is painted.
=The Village Wedding and Other Pictures.=--The Rijks owns also The
Birthday of the Prince of Orange, The Happy Return, The Rake, The
Dancing Lesson, in which merry children are teaching a cat to dance; The
Village Wedding, a little masterpiece, in which the light is treated as
if by Ostade, and where the bride and groom are seated at a table with
friends, while musicians play for many dancers.
=Description of The Happy Family.=--In The Happy Family we see a simply
furnished room, in which is a bed, and next it a cupboard, on the top of
which stand a mortar, some platters, and a vase of flowers; a happy
family group is seated at a table. Hanging on the bed curtains is the
legend in Dutch, "As the old ones sing so will the young ones pipe."
This is the keynote of the picture. Every one is singing, piping, and
making merry. Their gaiety is infectious. The father, seated at the end
of the table, has a viola in one hand, while the right holds a glass of
wine. Next him stands a boy playing bagpipes. Then the grandmother,
singing, with a jolly expression on her face; next, the merry mother,
with a merry baby, the image of her; next, a boy with a flute, another
with a pipe; next, a girl about to smoke a pipe, in front two children,
and at the open window a boy with a pipe. A dog stands by the master,
near an empty platter, that shows he too has shared in the feast. There
is a handsome table-carpet on the table, protected by a napkin, and on
it a ham and a loaf of bread.
[Illustration: JAN STEEN
The Happy Family]
=A Family Scene on Twelfth Night.=--Nearly all the same persons, only
grown older, appear in A Family Scene on Twelfth Night: Margarita van
Goyen, Steen's wife, seen this time from behind, with her profile
upturned, and wearing a red skirt and a blue jacket trimmed with ermine,
and ten other figures, including the old father and the painter himself,
who are smoking in the background. "Delicious in color and vivacity!" is
Burger's comment.
=A Doubtful Picture of Steen and his Wife.=--The Couple Drinking is said
to be Steen and his wife. The latter with a white handkerchief on her
head, a dark blue jacket, red skirt, and white apron is drinking from a
tall glass. The man in black behind her and talking to her is about to
drink from a mug. The ages of the couple make it doubtful if the painter
and his wife are represented.
=The Young Lady who is Ill.=--The Young Lady who is Ill, seated
languidly in a red arm-chair, with her head on a pillow, may be compared
with similar pictures in The Hague Gallery. She wears a yellow silk
skirt, and a jacket of lilac velvet bordered with ermine. The doctor is
one of Steen's best creations of this type.
=Steen's Most Popular Picture.=--The most popular of all Steen's
pictures, however, is the Eve of St. Nicholas, which shows a room in Jan
Steen's house, and himself, his first wife, and their children. Beside
the chimney sits the mother in lilac skirt and green velvet jacket
bordered with ermine, and on her left is a low table, on which is a
variety of cakes, fruits, and other holiday sweets. In the background
sits the father, who is enjoying the scene. Seven children are present.
The oldest, holding a baby with a rag doll in its arms, is pointing up
the chimney, explaining to the open-mouthed and staring little boy at
his side whence St. Nicholas came. On the extreme left a boy is crying
because all that St. Nicholas has rewarded him with is a birch rod,
which his sister is presenting to him in his wooden shoe, and with
evident pleasure. A little boy, with his father's cane in his hand, is
enjoying his brother's disappointment and probable future punishment. In
the background, the grandmother, drawing the curtains of the bed and
tauntingly beckoning to the crying boy, seems to invite him to spend
his St. Nicholas festival in bed. In the very centre of the picture is
the pet of the family--a little girl, the very image of her mother. She
has a pail full of toys, fruits, and cakes on one arm, and in her tiny
hands she holds the figure of St. Nicholas, whose head is surrounded
with a nimbus.
[Illustration: JAN STEEN
Eve of St. Nicholas]
A basket of wafers, cakes, waffles, buns, crullers, etc., stands on the
floor on the left; and leaning against the little table on the right is
an enormous flat loaf of bread or cake iced in lines and decorated with
figures of the cock at the four corners and in the centre that of St.
Nicholas.
=Early and Later Styles of Jan Miense Molenaer.=--Jan Miense Molenaer
(1610-68) was either a pupil or a very skilful imitator of Jan Steen in
his early works, which are painted in strong, clear color with bold
execution. About 1650, however, he adopted a brown tone with a light and
transparent execution, and concentrated his effects of light after the
manner of Ostade when the latter was under the influence of Rembrandt.
=A Fine Example of his Powers.=--The Lady at the Clavecin is a splendid
example of the powers of this artist who was almost as fond of making
musical instruments important features of his compositions as
Slingelandt was. It was painted in 1637 as the signature shows, and
therefore is full of the Hals influence. The lady and two children,
whose amiable faces are turned with interested expression toward the
spectator, are evidently portraits, probably of the artist's wife and
children. The other picture, Grace before Meat, is also a fine study
with Hals's technique. It is in the Van der Hoop Collection.
=Four Pictures by Metsu.=--Four Metsus hang in the Rijks: The Huntsman's
Present, purchased in 1843 for 12,400 florins, The Old Drinker,
purchased in 1827 for 2,960 florins, The Breakfast, acquired in 1809,
and the Old Woman in Meditation, bought in 1880 for 6,170 florins.
=Description of The Huntsman's Present.=--For taste, depth, warm
harmony, and careful execution, The Huntsman's Present is of the first
order. In a room lighted by a window on the left, a lady is seated by
the side of a table on which is a rich carpet. A large white apron of
exquisite tone covers her lap, and on it lies a little green cushion on
which she has been making lace, which she holds in her left hand. Her
jacket, bordered with ermine, is of that flesh-color that Metsu loved.
With her right hand she caresses a little King Charles spaniel perched
on the table. On her right, an old gentleman is seated. He still wears
his hunting clothes and holds his hat under his arm. Evidently he has
just returned from the chase, for his dog is with him, and on the floor
lie his game bag, gun, and a dead duck. To the lady he is presenting a
partridge. On a handsome _kas_ stands a statuette of Cupid.
=The Old Drinker.=--The Old Drinker represents a man with gray hair and
short gray beard, with a pipe in one hand and a mug in the other. He has
on a gray coat and a red cap edged with brown fur. He is perfectly
happy, as his joyous expression shows.
=The Breakfast.=--The Breakfast is a beautifully painted scene. At a
table covered with a Persian carpet over which is thrown a linen cloth,
a woman in a light pink bodice, a violet skirt, green apron, and white
fichu, seated at the right in profile, is pouring wine from a jug into a
tall glass. A man in a puce-colored vest is placing a dish of meat on
the table, which is already set with plates, bread, knives, and a glass.
On the left is a dark green curtain, and in the background a door is
indicated.
=Johannes Verkolje.=--Johannes Verkolje (1650-93) is represented by The
Family Concert (1673). He was the son of a locksmith in Amsterdam, and
studied with Jan Lievensz, but later imitated the highly finished style
of Gerard Pietersz Zijl (fl. 1655), whose works were in such favor. He
produced portraits, historical subjects, and conversations, delicate and
graceful in sentiment, charming in color, and excellent in drawing.
=Jan Victors's Pork Butcher.=--The Pork Butcher (1648) and The Dentist
(1654) are by Jan Victors, an artist about whom so little has been
known until recent years that he has been confused with two others of
the same name. The pork butcher is seen in the centre of the picture,
which represents a village street; the butcher is standing before his
freshly butchered quarter of pork, and a boy, in a large hat and jacket,
with yellow sleeves, with knife in hand, is helping his master, to whom
a woman is bringing a drink in a glass. On the right, a little boy
seated on a fence is blowing a bladder, while a little girl looks on and
laughs. Behind, a man is ascending a ladder into a barn. On the right a
little boy is washing a ham in a tub, and a woman is kneeling by him
with a dish.
=The Dentist.=--The pendant shows a table over which a rose-colored
umbrella is opened, and under it a charlatan is drawing the tooth of a
peasant. A man and a woman witness the operation, and three children on
the left, a peasant, and a woman with some vegetables on her head are
laughing heartily. In the foreground two dogs are quarrelling over a
bone; and in the background small figures and a village clock-tower are
visible.
=The Religious Pictures.=--The religious pictures need not detain us
long. Two or three in the style of Rembrandt: Isaac Blessing Jacob, by
Govert Flinck; The Woman Taken in Adultery, by G. van der Eckhout,
purchased in London in 1828 for 3,000 florins, and belonging to that
artist's best period; and the picture of Herodias with the Head of John
the Baptist are worth the student's attention. The latter is
particularly interesting, because, although the catalogues give it to
Cornelis Drost (1638-?), a pupil and imitator of Rembrandt, it is really
by the hand of Karel Fabritius (1624?-54), also a pupil of Rembrandt and
so close a follower that many of his pictures have passed for
Rembrandt's. The artist met with a tragic death; for he was killed in
Delft by the explosion of a powder magazine.
=Aertsen's Altarpieces.=--Of historic value are the altar wings by
Pieter Aertsen (Long Peter), The Presentation at the Temple; on the
reverse, King Balthasar, painted for the Delft church; and the Nativity
of Jesus Christ, a fragment of a picture destroyed in the fire of the
Town Hall in Amsterdam in 1652. On Dr. J. Six's authority, the rest of
this picture is in the New Church in Amsterdam. Aertsen was particularly
famous for his altarpieces, many of which were destroyed by the
Iconoclasts in 1566.
=Other Painters of Biblical Scenes.=--Of other painters whose
reputations are larger in other fields, but who are represented in this
gallery by one or two Biblical works, we may mention Berchem, with Ruth
and Boaz; Velvet Brueghel, Repose of the Holy Family, Christ Preaching
in a Fisherman's Boat, and the Adoration of the Kings, in a winter
landscape; Frans Francken II., Adoration of Jesus Christ, and The
Prodigal Son; and Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), The Resurrection
of Christ. Benjamin Gerritsz Cuijp may be studied in Joseph Interpreting
the Dreams of the Baker and Butler; Dirck van Hoogstraten (1595-1640),
The Virgin, with Jesus and St. Anne; Eglon Hendrick van der Neer
(1643-1703), Young Tobias with the Angel; and Rubens, Bearing of the
Cross (a sketch for the picture in the Royal Museum in Brussels), and
Ecce Homo and Meeting of Jacob and Esau (copies).
In addition to several Biblical pictures in the Italian, Flemish, and
German schools, there are, by François Joseph Navez (1787-1839), Isaac
and Rebecca and the Resurrection of the Widow's Son; by A. van Dijck,
The Repentant Magdalen; (School of Van Dijck) The Holy Family; one by
Bronzino, Judith with the head of Holofernes; one of the School of Palma
Vecchio, The Holy Family; and Spain is represented by The Annunciation
to the Virgin, by Murillo (1618-82), and The Glorification of the
Virgin, by Antolines (1639-76). Hans Rottenhammer (1564-1623) has a
Virgin with the Infant Jesus (1604); Nicholas Bertin (1667-1736), Joseph
Fleeing from Potiphar's Wife, and Susannah at the Bath; Sebastian
Bourdon (1616-71), the Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine; copy after
Hieronymus van Aeken, surnamed Bosch (1462?-1516), Adoration of the
Magi; Leonard Bramer (1595-1674), a Biblical Subject(?) and King Solomon
Sacrificing to Idols; Mechior Brassauw (1709-57?), The Prodigal Son;
Peter Codde (1599?-1678), Adoration of the Shepherds; Jacob Cornelissen,
Saul and the Witch of Endor; Gasper de Craeyer (1584-1669), The
Adoration of the Shepherds and Descent from the Cross; Geertgen van St.
Jans (fifteenth century), Allegory on the Death of Jesus Christ; Barend
Graat (1628-1709), The Prodigal Son (1661); Nicolaes de Gijselaer
(1590-95-1644?), The Angel Gabriel Appearing to Zacharias in the Temple
(1625); Cornelis van Haerlem (1562-1638), Massacre of the Innocents, and
Adam and Eve in the Terrestrial Paradise; Pieter van Hanselaere, Chaste
Susannah; Frans Haseleer (1804-?), Esther before Ahasuerus; Isaac Isacsz
(1599-1648), Abimelech Giving Sarah to Abraham (1640); Cornelis Kruseman
(1797-1857), The Burial of Christ; J. A. Kruseman (1804-62), Elisha and
the Shunammite; Pieter Pietersz Lastman (1583-1633), The Sacrifice of
Abraham; Willem de Poorter (?-1645?), Solomon Sacrificing to Idols;
Joris van Schooten (1587-1651), The Adoration of the Kings (1646); Jan
van Scorel (1495-1562), St. Madeleine, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,
and David and Bathsheba; Gerard Seghers (1591-1651), Christ and the
Penitents; Benvenuto Tisi (the Garofalo) (1481-1559), Holy Family, and
Adoration of the Magi; Tiziano Vecelli (1477-1576), Repentant Magdalen
(copy); Jan Victors (1620-82?), Joseph Interpreting Dreams (1648); Jacob
de Wet (1610?-71?), Christ Blessing the Children; Rogier van der Weyden
(1399?-1464), Descent from the Cross; and Joachim A. Wttewael
(1566-1638), David and Abigail (1597).
=Mythological Pictures combined with Landscape.=--It is noticeable that
in mythological pictures landscape forms a prominent feature. Rubens
was, doubtless, responsible for much of the popularity of this class of
art, and the vogue that the Italian landscape also enjoyed aided the
taste. Nymphs and satyrs and gods and goddesses were more appropriate
figures to introduce into the classic scenes of Italy than Dutch
peasants and cattle. We, therefore, find two classes of mythological
pictures: one in which the landscape is more important than the figures;
and one in which the figures take precedence.
Born more than half a century after Poelenburg, Gerard de Lairesse
(1641-1711), the most important Flemish painter of historical and
mythological subjects in the generation succeeding Rubens, followed
Poelenburg in his taste for Italian settings for his figures, although
he had never been to Italy. He is represented in the Rijks by Mars,
Venus, and Cupid; another of the same title, Seleucus Abdicating in
Favor of his Son Antiochus; Diana and Endymion; Virtue, an Allegory; and
two in _grisaille_,--The Revolution and Legitimate Power.
=G. de Lairesse, Portrait-painter.=--Gerard de Lairesse was the son of
an artist of some celebrity, studied under Bertholet Flemalle, and by
the age of sixteen had become known as a portrait-painter. Some
historical works for the Electors of Cologne and Brandenburg established
his reputation, and when he settled in Amsterdam he was regarded as the
greatest historical painter of his time. At the age of fifty he lost his
eyesight. His style is grand and poetical, and his background enriched
with architecture.
=More Mythological Pictures in the Rijks.=--The other mythological
pictures in this gallery are: Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632), Bacchus's
Homage to Diana; Jan Brueghel le Vieux (Velvet) (1568-1625), Latona in
Caria; Caravaggio (1569-1609), The Death of Orion; Johannes Glauber
(1646-1726), Mercury and Io, and Diana Bathing; Henricus Goltzius
(1558-1616), The Dying Adonis (1603); Hendrick Heerschop (1620 or
21-72?), Erechthonius Found by the Daughters of Cecrops; Jacob Jordaens
(1593-1678), A Satyr; Hendrik van Limborgh (1680-1759), Cupid and
Psyche; W. Ossenbeeck (?-1678), Mercury and Io (1632); Hans Rottenhammer
(1564-1623), Mars and Venus (1604); Adriaan van der Werff (1659-1722),
Cupid Embracing Venus; Pieter van der Werff (1665-after 1721), Cupid
Adorned with Flowers (1713), Young Hercules and Young Bacchus; Thomas
Willeborts (1614-54), Mars Armed by Venus; Flemish School (1610-20),
Dispute of Apollo and Pan; Dutch School (sixteenth century), Adonis
(supposed to be by Jan van Scorel); and Dietz (living in 1830), Hebe.
Here must be mentioned Rembrandt's mythological picture known by the
name of Narcissus.
=Painters of Exteriors and Painters of Interiors.=--No survey of Dutch
art would be complete without a brief account of the painters of
buildings; and these may be divided again into two classes: those who
painted the exteriors and those who painted the interiors.
=Murant and his Old Farm-house.=--The first of those who painted
exteriors seems to have been Emanuel Murant (1622-1700), a pupil of
Philips Wouwermans. He chose for his specialty Dutch village houses
which he painted with vigor and warmth, and introduced figures and
cattle into his foregrounds. These he painted himself. His works are
rare, because he spent so much time on each work that he produced few
pictures. He also spent much time in travel. His color is rich and
silvery in tone; his impasto fine, and he gives the details with great
truth and finish. By the aid of a magnifying-glass every stone in his
buildings and every leaf on his trees may be counted. The Rijks
possesses The Old Farm-house, which represents a dilapidated old house,
where a man is feeding the chickens, and there are also pigs and an old
woman at her spinning-wheel.
=Jan van der Heyden.=--Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712) was "the Gerard
Dou of architectural painters." The Rijks owns View of the Town of
Amersfoort, with delightful figures by A. van der Velde, A Drawbridge, A
Stone Bridge, and A Canal in Holland. He loved to paint canals bordered
with trees. His tone is warm, and his execution soft and free.
=G. A. Berck-Heyde, Painter of German and Dutch Towns.=--Another skilful
painter of exteriors, Gerrit Adriaensz Berck-Heyde (1638-98), is noted
for his faithful representations of the principal towns of Germany and
Holland. His perspective is extremely fine. The Rijks owns: View of the
Dam at Amsterdam; View of the Heerengracht (1685); The Flower-Market,
Amsterdam; The Ruins of the Castle of Egmont, near Alkmaar; and three
Views of the Town-hall. In some of his works he was assisted by his
brother.
=J. A. Berck-Heyde.=--Job Adriaensz Berck-Heyde (1630-93) was a pupil of
Frans Hals and Jacob de Wet. He is represented in the Amsterdam Museum
by The Spaarne at Haarlem, Interior of a Church (1674), and Interior of
the Old Bourse at Amsterdam.
=J. van der Ulft the Versatile.=--The works of Jacob van der Ulft, so
remarkable for his versatility, are rare. The Rijks, however, owns two
pretty cabinet-pictures by him, representing an Italian town and an
Italian port. A very interesting and valuable picture by him,
representing the Town-hall on the Dam, completed in 1667, is in the
present Town-hall.
=Other Painters of Exteriors.=--Among the other artists and pictures
represented are: Kornelis Beelt (seventeenth century), Dutch Flotilla at
the Herring Fishery and View of the Haarlem Market; Anthonie Beerstraten
(seventeenth century), View of Regulierspoort in Amsterdam in Winter,
and Interior of a Town in Winter; Johannes Bosboom (1817- ), Notre-Dame,
Breda, Great Church, Edam, and Aire in Guelders; F. der Braekeleer,
Ruins of the Citadel of Antwerp (1832); Hendrik Gerrit Ten Cate
(1803-56), The Tower, Jan Rodenpoort in Amsterdam (1829), and the City
in Moonlight; Jan Ten Compe (1713-61), View of the Quay called
Keizersgracht, in Amsterdam; Constantinus Coene (1780-1841), the Porte
de Hal in Brussels (1823); Croos (seventeenth century), View of the
Castle of Egmont, near Alkmaar; Claes Dircksz van der Heck (seventeenth
century), The Castle of Egmont and The Abbey of Egmont (1638); Edward A.
Hilverdink, View of the Singel in Amsterdam; Johannes Janson (1729-84),
The Château de Heemstede (1766); Kasparus Karssen (1810-?), Interior of
the Old Bourse at Amsterdam (1837); J. C. K. Klinkenberg (1852- ), The
Market at Nimeguen; Everhardus Kloster (1817- ), Amsterdam; Dirk Jan van
der Laen (1759-1829), View of a Town: A Snow Scene; François de Momper
(1603-60), The Valkenhof at Nimeguen; Isaac de Moucheron (1670-1744),
View of Tivoli, near Rome, and View in the Hortus Medicus at Amsterdam;
Isaak Ouwater (1747-93), Unfinished Tower of the New Church at Amsterdam
and Le Poids St. Anthony at Amsterdam; Antoon Sminck Pitloo (1791-1837),
St. Georgis Church, Rome (1820); P. J. Poelman (1801-?), The Town Hall
at Oudenarde (1824); J. H. Prins (1758-1806), View of a City (1793);
Cornelis Springer (1817-91), Town-hall and Vegetable Market at Vere
(1861), and Town-hall, Cologne (1874); Abraham Storck (1630?-1710?),
View of the Dam; Pieter George Westenberg (1791-1873), View of Amsterdam
in Winter (1817); and Jan Wildens (1586-1653), View of Amsterdam (1636).
=Painters of Interiors--P. H. van Steenwyck.=--Turning now to those
painters who devoted their attention chiefly to interiors, the first to
be noticed is Pieter Hendrik van Steenwyck the Elder (1550-about 1604),
the pupil of Jan Vredeman de Vries, who has never been surpassed in this
particular field. He usually painted the interiors of Gothic churches
and other buildings. He also won distinction with torchlight effects.
The figures were usually supplied by the Franckens and others. Van
Steenwyck lived in Antwerp and also in Frankfort. The Interior of a
Catholic Church, in the Rijks, is a good example of his style.
=His Pupil, Pieter Neeffs the Elder.=--Among his pupils was Pieter
Neeffs the Elder (1577-between 1657-61), who followed his master
closely, but with a heavy touch. His colors are not so pleasing as
Steenwyck's, but his mechanical skill is great. F. Francken, Teniers,
Velvet Brueghel, and Van Thulden are responsible for the figures in his
pictures. In the Rijks we may study him by his Church of the Dominicans
in Antwerp (1636), A Church: Effect of Candle-light (1636), and Interior
of a Church.
=P. J. Saenredam, Painter of Church Interiors.=--Next must be mentioned
Pieter Jansz Saenredam (1597-1665), who painted the interior of churches
in a large and luminous manner. His pictures were highly esteemed, but
are now very rare. The Rijks owns: two Interiors of the Church of St.
Bavon, Haarlem; three Interiors of St. Mary's, Utrecht; and View of the
Church in Assendelft. Adriaen van Ostade contributed the figures in the
latter. Pieter Saenredam was a pupil of his father, a celebrated
engraver, and of Frans de Grebber in Haarlem.
=Emanuel de Witte's Beautiful Work.=--Emanuel de Witte (1617-92), a
pupil of Evert van Aelst, bears the same relation to the representation
of interiors that Ruisdael does to landscape, and Willem van de Velde to
marine painting. Beautiful modelling, fine color, linear and aërial
perspective, masterly treatment of chiaroscuro, and animated figures are
all at his command. The Vestibule in the Prinsenhof in Delft and two
Interiors of a Church are picturesque canvases that exhibit the rich
talents of this painter.
=H. C. van Vliet.=--Hendrik Cornelisz van Vliet (1608-66?), a pupil of
his father, Willem van Vliet (1584-1642), paints under the influence of
De Witte as is shown in the Interior of Part of the Old Church at Delft,
signed "H. van Vliet, 1654." Here the treatment of sunlight is very
reminiscent of Emanuel de Witte.
=Egbert van der Poel.=--In this connection may be mentioned Egbert van
der Poel (1621-64), whose specialty was conflagrations. The effects of
lurid light are seen in his Ruins in Delft after the Explosion of a
Powder Magazine (1654) and Interior of a Farm-house (1646).
=Collections on the Ground-floor and Basement.=--After lunching in the
pleasant little restaurant in the west wing on the ground-floor we take
a rapid view of the collections here. The East and West Courts contain
military, naval, and colonial collections, weapons, uniforms, and models
of ships, which need not detain us long; nor will the department of
Ecclesiastical Architecture and the Hall of the Admirals, where there is
a collection of modern French paintings. In the western half of the
building there are splendid collections of engravings, porcelain,
lacquer, and textiles, two seventeenth century rooms furnished by the
Antiquarian Society, and in the basement a collection of old Dutch
costumes, carriages, and doll houses. On the east side are a number of
correctly furnished Dutch rooms, one a "Chinese Boudoir" from the
Stadtholder's Palace at Leeuwarden (seventeenth century), and a great
collection of civic and industrial domestic art. Silver occupies a
conspicuous place, and one of the cases contains drinking-horns, among
which is the original drinking-horn of the Guild of St. Joris, which
appears in Van der Helst's painting.
The visitor will seldom see a more wonderful collection of glass of all
shapes and forms, and beautifully engraved, cut, and mounted; and the
display of jewelry, trinkets, and children's toys will also claim
attention.
=The Garden.=--We now enter the garden at the south side of the
building. This is laid out in the Dutch style of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, with clipped hedges of beech and box, and adorned
with flowers, vases, statues, and busts. There is also a maze, and
fragments of old Dutch buildings, such as the old Bergpoort of Deventer
(1619) and the Heerenpoort of Groningen (1621). Various old gables,
pilasters, columns, walls, tympanums, and gates have been grouped; and
in the eastern part of the garden is the house of the Director of the
Museum.
FOOTNOTES:
[23] J. F. White.
[24] Burger.
[25] J. A. Crowe.
[26] Blanc.
THE STEDELIJK MUSEUM
=Ground-floor of the Stedelijk Museum.=--A short walk from the Rijks
down Paulus Potter Straat brings us to the Stedelijk (Municipal) Museum,
built in 1892-95. The ground-floor is devoted to uniforms, weapons, and
pictures of the Schutterij of Amsterdam, and a series of rooms furnished
in the style of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries,
including an old Dutch kitchen.
=Its Pictures of the History of the Netherlands.=--An extraordinary
collection of pictures by Allebé, Israëls, Rochussen, and other
well-known painters, treating of the history of the Netherlands,
deserves a passing glance, for there are no less than 250 small
canvases, all of the same dimensions and similar treatment. A more
curiously monotonous effect would be impossible to imagine; but, to use
a Dutch term, they are decidedly _symmetrisch_.
=The Gallery of Modern Pictures.=--Ascending the stairs we reach the
gallery of modern pictures. The collection consists of about 200
paintings gathered by a society founded in 1874, and is very rich in
fine examples of the modern Dutch school.
=Mauve's Sheep on the Dunes.=--One of the gems of the modern landscapes
is Mauve's Sheep on the Dunes. The sheep, all of which have their backs
to the spectator, the rolling dunes with their tall, waving grass, the
shepherd boy and his dog, are all painted with equal skill; and over the
still landscape hovers a poetic feeling that communicates itself
instantly to the spectator.
Mauve is also represented by A Fold and Woodmen.
=Anton Mauve.=--Anton Mauve (1838-89) was a native of Zaandam, and the
son of a clergyman. He studied under the cattle-painter, Van Os, who was
not particularly pleased with his pupil. After his apprenticeship was
over, he began to paint little pictures in the neat manner and
conventional style of his master. Mauve lived in Oosterbeck, "the
Barbison of Holland," for a time, and at a later period spent his
winters in Amsterdam and his summers in The Hague, where he could enjoy
Scheveningen and the dunes.
A Dutch writer, A. C. Loffelt, says:
=His Style.=--"The poetry of Mauve's art, its tenderness, the
unobtrusive, quiet sadness of the scenery and people which attracted
him most; the homeliness, humor, and domestic happiness which he
interpreted in his interiors and scenes of country and village life,
can only be appreciated by people of the same descent."
The same critic tells us that Mauve lived for a time in a farm-house,
near Dekkersdinn.
=His Favorite Themes.=--"Here Mauve found some of his most important
and favorite themes, such as poor cots built in or near the downs,
where slender, poorly nurtured women tended a few sheep or a goat, or
occupied themselves in bleaching linen. His painting had not yet
gained that transparency and brilliancy of tone which the artist
acquired in subsequent years. At this time his work was gray, but not
always pellucid or silvery. Thus it came to pass that critics and
public began to talk of 'The Gray School,' for a few other artists
painted in the same neutral scale of tints.
"As we walk in the rural lanes, beneath the slender birches wrapped in
their mantle of silver-gray haze, or watch the chequered sunlight
dancing into the secluded nooks of some emerald meadow, when we hear
the echoes of the tinkling sheep-bells on the moors, we think 'There
lives Mauve!'"
[Illustration: MAUVE
Sheep on the Dunes]
=His Truthful Painting of Sheep and Cattle.=--Mauve is, perhaps, best
known by his flocks of sheep painted under all conditions and at all
seasons and times of day; but not less true to nature are his cows in
the _Melkbocht_, that paddock or reserved spot in the meadow where the
cows are gathered for milking. His horses ploughing, or at rest, and his
coast scenes, showing Dutch fishing-boats about to be pulled across the
sands by teams of horses, are no less remarkable performances.
=The Early Training of Josef Israëls.=--For a whole generation Josef
Israëls has stood at the head of modern Dutch art. Born in 1827, at
Groningen, the son of a money-changer, he carried money-bags in his
early years to the banking-house of Mesdag. He studied under Jan Adam
Kruseman, and at first painted historical pictures; lived in the Ghetto
in Amsterdam, and nearly starved in Paris, where he studied in the
Delaroche school.
=The Themes of his Paintings.=--It was in Zandvoort, near Haarlem, that
he discovered his true bent, and began to depict the seafaring man and
the peasant in their homely every-day life. His people are all humble,
and most of them are broken by poverty and sorrows. For more than thirty
years his pictures have occupied the place of honor in all the Dutch
exhibitions; and on his seventieth birthday he was made Commander of the
Order of Orange-Nassau, and was the recipient of many gifts and
congratulations. In this gallery hang a number of pictures dating from
various periods. Among them are Fisherman's Children, Rustic Interior,
After the Storm, Passing the Mother's Grave, Margaret of Parma and
William of Orange (one of his earliest efforts), Old Jewish Peddler, and
a Study of a Head.
[Illustration: ISRAËLS
Fisherman's Children]
=Veth's Appreciation of Israëls.=--The artist himself is represented in
a statuette by F. Leenhoff, which stands in one of the rooms, and also
in a portrait by J. Veth, who sympathetically writes:
"The choicest pictures by this master are painted in a truly
mysterious way, simply by the nervous vigor of an untaught hand with
heavy, sweeping shadows and thick touches of paint, which stand out
in a wonderful mixture of sharp relief and dim, confused distance;
with soft hesitation and touches of crudely decisive certainty; with
broad outlines and incisive emphasis. Ruggedness and tenderness,
corruption and sweetness, whimsicality and decision, are magically
mingled there in dignified depth, with the most refined feeling--the
most ductile language of the brush that is known to me.
"And yet, notwithstanding, all this exists, as far as possible, in the
clear, simple execution of the old Dutch painters, and there is one
great family resemblance between the nineteenth century master and
those who are the classics among the _petits maîtres_."
=Each of his Pictures a Harmonious Whole.=--"The resemblance--the
revived tradition--is to be seen in the fact that Israëls, like the
old Dutch painters, nay, even more than they, always aims at the
sober, general harmony of the whole work. It is wonderful how discreet
the effect is of a picture, for instance, by Pieter de Hooch, with all
its elaborate execution; how splendidly it holds together, how strong
yet delicate the construction is. It is this great quality of
presenting an absolutely organic whole at one impulse which seems to
have passed into Israëls from his precursors, who otherwise painted so
utterly differently. Indeed, it is in this concentrated power, in this
self-contained harmony, the outcome of one glance, as it were, and of
one impetus, that we may discern one of the principal features of
Israëls's art. There is nothing in his work that asserts itself alone,
nothing detached, nothing that plays any part but that of
strengthening the whole."
=His Aim to paint the Truth, rather than to produce Studied
Effects.=--"Those who really understand the sincerity of his art know
that he rejects everything approaching to working for
effect--everything that looks like rule of thumb; and that he in fact
never consciously troubles his head about studied effects or beauty.
Beauty to him lies in the silent woe with which the survivors stand in
a house of death; in the attitude of the old wife left alone, who
spreads her hands stiffly out to the fire, as though she might win a
spark of life from the smouldering hearth; in the way in which the
decrepit old man sits with resigned dejection in his gloomy hovel,
staring into his old dog's eyes; in the stupefied wretch who sits on a
broken bench, where, behind him, his dead wife lies stretched on her
bed; in the woful gleam in the eyes of the huckster who sits in front
of his dirty booth, with a motley collection of rags above his head,
watching us so mysteriously; in the sad old woman who, with elbows
wide apart on her table, her hands quietly folded, sits weary and
alone in front of her meal; in the kindly but hard-set woman, who,
through wind and weather, tramps along field and road by her jolting
dog-barrow, in a cruel struggle for existence; in the business of the
fisherman and seafaring folk and their hard and simple labor; in the
dignity of the patriarchal peasant family that gathers round the dish;
he sees beauty in everything which lays bare what lies mysteriously
latent in poverty and privation and suffering, at the very roots of
human life."
=Roelofs, Painter of A Marshy Landscape.=--Familiar to the Holland
traveller is the Marshy Landscape, so true to nature and so charming in
color.
[Illustration: ROELOFS
Marshy Landscape]
If he had painted nothing else, Willem Roelofs (1822-97) would deserve
his reputation because of this work.
This painter was born in Amsterdam and was a pupil of H. van de Sande
Bakhuijzen for about a year; then he remained for six years in Utrecht;
and settled in Brussels, where he remained forty years, finally
returning to Holland. This painter's chief desire is to express himself
poetically.
=The Inexhaustible Supply of His Favorite Subjects.=--"His pictures
are truly beautiful: cattle standing up to their knees in rich green
pasture land; luxuriant meadows; secluded pools reflecting the blue
sky and the moving clouds; lakes with floating lilies; rivers,
streams, noble trees, canals, and the thoroughly Dutch windmill.
Roelofs may be called the pioneer in our country of a broader school
of painting, especially that pertaining to landscape. Much of this he
may be said to have taken from the French.... Of late years he has
added more cattle to his pictures; but whether cattle or trees, land
or water, they are painted with the firm belief that they needed no
embellishment, but were good enough to be represented exactly as they
were. For Roelofs will not invent a subject. And why, indeed, should
he do so? Is the supply exhausted? _He_ does not think so, for no
summer passes but he packs up his paint-box and with his little stool,
his easel, and his umbrella, goes off either to Noorden, or Abcoude,
or to Voorschoten, to study nature again and again, as if he did not
know her well already."[27]
=J. Maris, Skilful in producing Ethereal Effects.=--Of Jacob Maris,
Zilcken writes:
"No painter has so well expressed the ethereal effects, bathed in air
and light, through floating silvery mist, in which painters delight,
and the characteristic remote horizons blurred by haze; or again the
gray yet luminous weather of Holland, unlike the dead gray rain of
England, or the heavy sky of Paris."
This artist may be studied in this gallery by A Beach, two Views of a
Town, The Ferry, and The Two Windmills, which latter represents two
windmills standing as sentinels over a rather dreary landscape at the
edge of a river and a canal.
=His Training and his Aim in Art.=--Jacob Maris (1837-99) was born in
The Hague and was sent to Stroebel's studio, and later studied in the
Antwerp Academy of Drawing. He was also a pupil of Louis Meyer in The
Hague, and in 1865 went to Paris and studied with Hébert. Returning to
The Hague, he devoted himself to landscape. He painted views of streets,
country lanes, small hamlets, windmills, canals, rivers, and, sometimes,
_genre_ pieces. In all his work his aim was to make an impression. One
day he said: "A picture is finished as soon as you can see what it is
intended to represent."
=Marius on the Beauty of his Work.=--The Dutch critic, G. H. Marius,
writes:
"If you stand before one of Maris's pictures for a long time you
discover many objects which you had not noticed at first--houses,
bridges, trees, all looming out of the mellow misty light which is
diffused over the entire canvas.... What an endless variety of
windmills he immortalizes! Some of his canvases have but a small
solitary windmill, while others have a crowd of these gigantic,
cumbersome structures. Some pictures have a fringe of them upon the
horizon.
"However simple the subject, it is ofttimes made almost dramatic by
the rays of the setting sun, or by the brilliancy of a silver-lined
cloud. These effects of light and shade are rapidly passing, and we
gaze with admiration upon the skilful work of a man who can produce
such a faithful picture, which his eye could have seen but
momentarily. Sometimes he paints a canal with a barge pulled by a
weary-looking horse, tramping along the muddy road the ruts of which
are filled with water from recent rain (his horses are generally
white). Or it is a bit of rich agricultural land, the long furrows
stretching into the far distance; against a wonderful sky you see the
profiles of distant houses, trees, mills, etc., all dying away into
the horizon, showing the flatness of our Dutch landscape, where there
is nothing to impede or obstruct the eye for miles."
=Willem Maris's Relish for painting Cows.=--Willem Maris (1844- )
studied with his brothers Jacob and Matthys, and all three worked
together. As early as 1868 he sold a picture which found its way to The
Hague Gallery. This, representing cattle in a green meadow, at once
showed his talent for painting warm sunlight. A typical picture of
Cattle hangs in this gallery; for the chief subjects of Willem Maris's
pictures are cows in meadow lands; sometimes they are waiting to be
milked, or are being milked; sometimes they are standing or lying under
the trees; and sometimes they are knee-deep in one of the lakes.
Mr. Marius says:
=Willem's Style contrasted with his Brother Jacob's.=--"The two
brothers Maris [Jacob and Willem] treat their skies in exactly
opposite manners. The one depicts clouds, threatening storm, and
changeable weather, whereas the younger brother gives us only sunshine
and a sky of turquoise blue; if, however, clouds are introduced, they
are like small white feathers or like the petals of a white rose. Each
in his own way true to nature, and beautiful to gaze upon, yet
methinks that we must give the preference to the one who gives us that
greatest of all blessings, sunshine.
"A very favorite aspect of his is a cloudless sky, the brightest of
suns, and part of the canvas thrown into deep shade, producing a
wonderful contrast.
"Another bewitching feature, so truly Dutch, in Maris's landscapes, is
the rising mist after the heat of the day. It rises from the meadows
at sunset and covers the land like a cloak, especially after a hot day
when the ground has been baked."
=A Socialistic Artist with Romantic Visions.=--Matthys Maris, the second
of the three, joined his brother Jacob in Paris, and eventually he
settled in London.
"Thys Maris found rest and isolation in a suburb of London; a few
faithful friends, such as Swan (the animal painter) and Van
Wisselingh, break in occasionally upon his solitude. But his ideas are
still socialistic, not only theoretically, but materially; and,
without looking around, he gives what he receives. On this point he is
likewise very sensitive. To be waited on by another, although that
service is paid for, he considers humiliating; and, in order to avoid
such a possibility, he lives without the comfort of attendance.
"Many might pass by the works of Maris without even noticing them;
many may consider them impossible and inexplicable, and pass on,
almost out of humor, perhaps even angry with them; the rational
spectator will put questions to which he will receive no satisfactory
replies.
"Though in his early years he painted still-life pieces, his fame
rests chiefly on his visionary women seen in his romantic dreams, and
portrayed with the clouds and mists of dreamland about them."[28]
In this gallery The Bride represents him worthily.
=Two Pictures representing Albert Neuhuys.=--Albert Neuhuys, born in
Utrecht in 1844, studied in the Academy of Drawing in Antwerp, and
settled in Amsterdam, the painter of landscapes and scenes from homely
and humble life. He is represented by The Doll's Dressmaker and By the
Cradle, which represents a mother leaning over the cradle of her baby
lying comfortably on pillows. It is interesting to note how thickly the
artist has spread the paint on the canvas.
[Illustration: A. NEUHUYS
By the Cradle]
=A Characteristic Picture by Christoffel Bisschop.=--Christoffel
Bisschop (1828-1904) may be studied by The Lord Gave and the Lord hath
Taken Away, Sunday in Hindeloopen, Sister of the Bride, and Winter in
Friesland, also called Repairing Skates. This is a very characteristic
and typical picture. Friesland is not only the home of a peculiar style
of brightly painted furniture, but also the home of a school of skating
of which there are two schools,--the Dutch and the Frisian. The latter,
which is the older, aims at speed; and the skater wears a peculiar kind
of skate, well shown on the foot of the young girl seated on the right,
who is having the other skate repaired. The carved and colored sledges
are also typical of Friesland. An escort waits at the door. The painter
was himself a native of Friesland, and therefore depicts the costumes,
furniture, houses, and people of this most picturesque corner of Holland
with accuracy, charm, and sympathy.
[Illustration: BISSCHOP
Winter in Friesland]
=Christoffel Bisschop.=--Christoffel Bisschop is the Dutch colorist _par
excellence_. He entered the studio of Schmidt in Delft, and worked at
The Hague under Huib van Hove. He also studied in Paris with Le Comte
and Gleyre, and in 1855 established himself in The Hague. A visit to the
quaint town of Hindeloopen charmed his artistic eye, and henceforth the
peasants, with their gay costumes, and the brightly painted furniture
and quaint houses, have furnished themes and settings for his pictures.
=H. W. Mesdag.=--Born in Groningen in 1831, Hendrick Willem Mesdag was
destined to follow the family business of banking. Art, however, claimed
him; and after painting for several years as an amateur he started work
in Brussels in 1866. Except for the criticisms of Roelofs, Alma-Tadema,
and other artists, Mesdag may be said to be self-taught. In 1869 he
removed to The Hague, so that he could be near Scheveningen, for he had
found his special talent. "I must go and live near the sea," he said,
"gaze upon it daily, not only for weeks, but for months and years; watch
and study its every movement, this ever-changing element, this amazing,
stupendous work of the Almighty!" In 1870 he exhibited at the Paris
Salon, and his Breakers in the North Sea received the gold medal. His
fame was now established. France has decorated Mesdag more than once,
and one of his sea pictures hangs in the Luxembourg.
=His Style.=--Mesdag is a realist, and with broad, bold strokes of the
brush he portrays what he sees and feels. He depicts the ever-changing
ocean in all its moods, at all times of day and in all seasons; and the
life of the fisherfolk on the shore and in the fishing-boats is also
treated with sympathy. His Calm Sea by Sunset, painted in 1878, and
Fishing-boats at Sea and Beach, the two latter painted in 1895, belong
to this gallery.
"High up in the scale, and standing somewhat apart, is Henry William
Mesdag, the marine painter. Into a branch of art which had been
treated in so masterly a fashion in former centuries by Willem van de
Velde and Van Capelle, not to speak of Lodewijk Backhuysen and
Bonaventure Peeters, he introduced a thorough reform. In the beginning
of the century he was preceded by men of note, such as Schotel,
Waldorp, Meyer, Greive, Van Heemskerck, Van Beest, Van Deventer; but
their chief aim was to remain true to the tradition of the great
period. They painted pretty little ships sailing on calm seas, their
white sails catching a gentle breeze and reflecting the rays of the
sun; or again they would paint large vessels, driven before a gale
over mountainous waves. But the one was as artificial as the other;
their water was like glass, their ships as if made of tin, their skies
seemed cut out of oilcloth, and not one showed that he felt any love
for the sea.
"Mesdag was the first to paint the sea as it is, the turbulent,
restless, omnipotent, unlimited sea, that free, majestic, and
mysterious element which cannot be brought within any formula, but can
only be rendered in its tossing and pitching, peopled by its 'children
of the sea' living on its shores or drifting on its billows. He
studied every movement of the waves, every tint of the water, every
change in the ever-changing sky; he bade good-bye to large vessels,
huge castles of the sea, and took to painting small ships and fishing
smacks, the cottages, so to speak, of the ocean. His painting is as
broad and manly as the element wherein he moves and the space it
covers; not as soft and transparent as the works of landscape
painters,--those who give us meadows and downs,--but yet a
revelation."[29]
[Illustration: MESDAG
Sunrise on the Dutch Coast]
=Other Works in the Stedelijk by Modern Artists.=--Other works by modern
artists worthy of attention are: Canal in Amsterdam and Sinking Piles
for the Erection of a House, by G. H. Breitner (1857); Te Deum Laudamus,
Groote Kerk at The Hague, Oude Kerk at Amsterdam, Groote Kerk at Edam,
and Barn-floor in Guelderland, by J. Bosboom (1817-91); Mother and
Child, by B. J. Blommers (1845); Arrival of the Water Gueux at Leyden,
by C. Rochussen (1814-94); Episode from the Siege of Leyden, Battle at
Castricum, and Mellis Stoke Presenting his Rhymed Chronicle to Floris
V., Count of Holland, by K. Klinkenberg (1852); River Scene in Winter,
by L. Apol (1850); Scheveningen in Rainy Weather, by S. L. Verveer
(1850); Queen Fredegonda and St. Prætextatus, by Alma-Tadema (1836);
Mary Magdalen at the Foot of the Cross, by Ary Scheffer (1795-1858); A
Landscape, by H. van de Sande Bakhuijzen (1795-1860); Church at
Zandvoort, View in Enkhuizen, Town Hall in Cologne, and Heeren-Gracht at
Amsterdam, by C. Springer (1818-91); and A Prison of the Spanish Period,
and Norwegian Women Bringing their Children to be Christened, by H. A.
van Trigt (1829).
=A Survey of Modern Dutch Art.=--A brief survey of modern Dutch art,
condensed from the learned pen of Max Rooses, will not be unwelcome,
particularly as we shall meet many more examples of the modern artists.
=The French Neo-Classical School.=--He tells us that the group of Dutch
and Belgian figure-painters of the beginning of the century were
descendants of the French neo-classical school; and until 1850 the
principles of David, Gros, and Girodet were highly respected. The
best-known representatives were John William Pieneman in Holland, and
Bree, Navez, and Paelinck in Belgium.
=The Romantic School.=--Thereupon followed the Romantic school, whose
leaders in France were Eugène Delacroix, Horace Vernet, and Descamps; in
Belgium, Wappers and De Keyser; in Holland, Huib van Hove, Herman Ten
Cate, Charles Rochussen, Stroebel, and Van Trigt. This school departed
from the academic tendency of its predecessors, just as romantic
literature declared war against classicism in poetry.
=The Secret of the Success of the Romanticists.=--Another source helped
to swell the stream of Romanticism in Holland. The artists of the
neo-classical school, with their pompous but severe forms, paid more
attention to line than to color. They took their example from the
Italians of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Their successors set
themselves to study the masters of their own country, and learned to
appreciate the rich coloring, the warm lights, and harmonious tones of
the golden period of their own art. We can see that they were filled
with admiration for the effects of light and color in Rembrandt's works
and in those of De Hooch, Gerrit Dou, and Ter Borch.
Not only did they find subjects for rich and warm coloring and pleasing
treatment in the history of former days, but also in that of their own
times. They took, in fact, a great step forward in that they observed
the daily life around them, and kept in touch with their
fellow-creatures, their ways and habits. To this group belongs Hubert
van Hove, who was the first to admire the works of the old masters, and
again to carry on the broken tradition; Charles Rochussen, Stroebel, to
whom the effects of light and color were particularly attractive; and
Herman Ten Cate and Van Trigt, the talented painters of romantic scenes
derived from history.
[Illustration: ISRAËLS
Old Jewish Peddler]
=Josef Israëls, a Brilliant Painter in this Group.=--To this group
belongs Josef Israëls in his earliest works. During this period of his
brilliant career he was filled with enthusiasm for all that is sweet,
joyous, and charming in the world, all that is fair in youth and nature;
this is the period of his Children of the Sea, his Fishwomen, and his
Knitting Girls. Later his subjects became more serious, and more
serious, too, the claims of his art. Many followed Israëls's example.
The group of admirers of the master, those who saw the world as he
did,--though with their own eyes,--may be called the pith and kernel of
the young Dutch school. Blommers, Valkenburg, Neuhuys, and Artz may be
placed at the head. They did not take life quite so sadly, they did not
wish to obscure light and color but allowed the sun to blaze and triumph
over mystery and darkness.
=A New Party opposed to the Romanticists.=--In opposition to these
"champions of twilight and tenderness" arose those who preferred the
real and substantial: Breitner; Sosselin de Jong, the portrait-painter;
Witkamp; Thérèse Schwartze, and Van der Waay.
A similar movement took place in landscape-painting. The most important
landscape-artists in the first half of the nineteenth century were
Kobell, Koekkoek, and Schelfhout. Their great ideal was a careful,
almost painful, working out of detail; they selected subjects rich in
material, masses of big trees against water, producing great effects of
light and shade. They sought to captivate the eye by an abundance of
detail, and to depict woods and meadows with a smoothness which was more
artificial than natural.
=Bilders, Roelofs, and their Followers.=--What was called the
picturesque in a landscape became unnecessary to the younger men of the
newer school; they painted Nature in its own beauty and in the
simplicity of its charm, as they saw it in their daily lives. Of this
group Bilders is the most important. He admired in the landscape, not a
favorite spot, or a pretty pool, or a gayly colored cow; he saw rather
land and meadow and wood in the mass, as one whole, beautiful by reason
of its grand lines, its rich tones. William Roelofs went a step further;
his first works differ little from those of his predecessors, but by
degrees he tore himself away from the accepted style and became a true
reformer. It was no longer the color or the beautiful contours of a view
that attracted him, but the country itself, the vegetation, the verdure,
the cattle in the meadows, the sky that seems always holiday-making, the
ever-changing clouds, always full of beauty.
A whole school followed in this new track,--Van de Sande Bakhuijzen,
Mevrouw Bilders van Bosse and Mevrouw Mesdag, Van Borselen,
Storlenbeker, Gabriël, who depicted with extraordinary fidelity both
land and sea; John Vrolijk, whose cows are always grazing in sunny
meadows under a brilliantly blue sky; De Haas, whose cattle are more
heavy and massive; Du Chattel, who prefers the effect of light in Spring
and in Autumn; Apol, who devotes himself almost exclusively to snow
scenes, producing singularly charming effects of the sun shining upon
monotonous whiteness; Mari Ten Kate, De Bock, Wijsmüller, Weissenbruch,
and Tholen.
=Another Step in the Modern Direction.=--Another step in the modern
direction was taken by artists who gave themselves up entirely to the
impression of the landscape, and painted exactly what they saw; Ter
Meulen, for instance, who loves Nature for the mood which she awakes in
him, and who understands so well how to convey light and tone into his
clever and refined pictures; Anton Mauve, and the brothers William and
Jacob Maris, were also accomplished interpreters of nature, and all that
lives and moves therein.
[Illustration: J. MARIS
Two Windmills]
=Modern Dutch Painters pursuing Independent Lines.=--Of other modern
Dutch painters pursuing different lines may be mentioned Bosboom, who
devoted himself chiefly to the interiors of old churches, bringing out
the play of light and shadow among the pillars; Klinkenberg, who paints
Dutch streets and canals and the old buildings upon them in full
sunshine; Jansen, who paints the Amsterdam docks and quays; Alma-Tadema,
painter of classical scenes; Bisschop, the great colorist; David Bles,
"the witty portrayer of morals and manners of years ago"; Henrietta
Ronner-Knip, the famous painter of cats and dogs; Henkes, who depicts in
grayish tones old-fashioned scenes and characters; Bakker Korff, who
paints similar scenes, but in miniature; the brothers Oyens; Elchanon
Verveer, painter of jolly old fishermen; Sadée; Mejuffrouw van de Sande
Bakhuijzen, and Mejuffrouw Roosenboom, painters of flowers and fruit;
Eerelman and Van Essen, the animal painters; Allebé, the colorist,
painter of human figures and animals; and Kaemmerer, who is fond of
painting figures in the costumes of the Directoire.
FOOTNOTES:
[27] H. Smissaert.
[28] G. H. Marius.
[29] H. Smissaert.
THE TOWN HALL, HAARLEM
FROM AMSTERDAM TO HAARLEM
It would be well now to make a day's trip to Haarlem. The steam tram
takes us through an interesting country, and in about an hour we reach
the centre of the town,--the Groote Markt,--in which are several old
buildings, the meat market, the Groote Kerk, and the Town Hall. The
latter is the chief object of our visit to Haarlem, for it contains ten
large pictures by Frans Hals, which no admirer of this great master can
afford to neglect.
The Town Hall, facing the Groote Kerk, was originally a palace of the
counts of Holland. It was begun in the twelfth century, but was
remodelled in 1620 and 1630, when a wing was added. Some of the large
beams in the interior date from the thirteenth century. The walls of the
vestibule are decorated with coats of arms and portraits of the counts
and countesses of Holland.
=The Room containing Hals's Doelen Pictures.=--We pass at once into the
principal room, where the famous Regent (or _Doelen_) pictures by Hals
are arranged in chronological order. These pictures represent nearly all
the artist's working period. The Banquet of the Officers of the Guild of
the Archers of St. George was painted in 1616, when the artist was
thirty-five; the same subject, with different portraits, in 1627; the
Banquet of the Officers of the Arquebusiers of St. Andrew, in 1622, when
the corps departed for the siege of Hasselt and Mons; Reunion of the
Arquebusiers of St. Andrew, in 1633; and Officers and Sub-Officers of
the Arquebusiers of St. George, in 1639.
[Illustration: FRANS HALS
Reunion of the Arquebusiers of St. Andrew]
As the enormous canvases each contain from fourteen to twenty life-size
portraits, we feel as if we were entering a hall full of convivial
officers, laughing, jesting, and making merry over their fine wines and
choice food. They are richly dressed; many of them wear lace cuffs and
ruffs and bright scarfs; flags flutter, spears glitter, spurs and swords
clank and flash in the sunlight; the plumes on the large hats nod; and
loud talk and bursts of laughter seem to issue from the frames. These
convivial men have fought against the hated Spaniards, and are ready to
trail a pike at any moment. The artist was commanded to paint each man
accurately and according to his rank in the company. Every picture is,
therefore, a group of portraits; and Colonel Jan Claasz Loo, in the
picture of 1633, is considered one of Hals's masterpieces of
portraiture. These pictures rank with Rembrandt's and Van der Helst's
works of this class.
In addition to these are Regents of the Hospital of St. Elizabeth
(1641), Regents of the Old Men's Almshouse, and Lady Regents of the Old
Men's Almshouse, both painted in 1664, when Hals was over eighty. Two
fine portraits of Nicholas van der Meer, Burgomaster of Haarlem, and his
wife, are dated 1631. A copy of a portrait of Frans Hals by himself
hangs in an adjoining room.
=Crowe on Hals's Earlier and Later Styles.=--"In every form of his art
we can distinguish his earlier style from that of later years. Two
Boys Playing and Singing, in the Gallery of Cassel, and A Banquet of
Officers, in the Museum of Haarlem, exhibit him as a careful
draughtsman, capable of great finish, yet spirited withal. His flesh,
less clear than it afterwards became, is pastose and burnished.
Further on he becomes more effective, displays more freedom of hand
and a greater command of effect. At this period we note the beautiful
full-length of a young lady of the Berensteyn family in the house of
that name in Haarlem, and a splendid full-length of A Patrician
Leaning on a Sword, in the Lichtenstein Collection at Vienna. Both
these pictures are equalled by the Banquets of Officers of 1627, and a
Meeting of the Company of St. George, of 1633, in the Haarlem Museum.
A picture of the same kind in the Town Hall of Amsterdam, with the
date of 1637, suggests some study of the masterpieces of Rembrandt,
and a similar influence is apparent in a picture of 1641 at Haarlem,
representing the Regents of the Company of St. Elizabeth....
Rembrandt's example did not create a lasting impression on Hals. He
gradually dropped more and more into gray and silvery harmonies of
tone; and two of his canvases, executed in 1664,--the Regents and
Regentesses of the Oudemannenhuis, at Haarlem,--are masterpieces of
color, though in substance they are but monochromes."
=His Pictures of Various Strata of Society.=--"Hals's pictures
illustrate the various strata of society into which his misfortunes
led him. His banquets or meetings of officers, of sharpshooters and
guildsmen, are the most interesting of his works. But they are not
more characteristic than his low-life pictures of itinerant players
and singers. His portraits of gentlefolk are true and noble, but
hardly so expressive as those of fishwives and tavern heroes. His
first master was Van Mander, the painter and historian, of whom he
possessed some pictures. But he soon left behind him the practice of
the time illustrated by Schoreel and Moro, and, emancipating himself
gradually from tradition, produced pictures remarkable for truth and
dexterity of hand."
=Hals and Rembrandt compared.=--"We prize in Rembrandt the golden glow
of effects based upon artificial contrasts of low light in
immeasurable gloom. Hals was fond of daylight, of silvery sheen. Both
men were painters of touch, but of touch on different keys. Rembrandt
was the bass, Hals the treble. The latter is, perhaps, more expressive
than the former. He seizes with rare intuition a moment in the life of
his sitters. What nature displays in that moment he reproduces
thoroughly in a very delicate scale of color, and with a perfect
mastery over every form of expression. He becomes so clever at last
that exact tone, light and shade, and modelling are all obtained with
a few marked and fluid strokes of the brush."
=The Other Corporation Pictures.=--The other Corporation pictures will
not detain us; but while here we can take a hasty glance at A. Brouwer's
Binnenhuis; Jan Steen's Peasants' _Kermesse_; Philips Wouwermans's Stags
and Goats; Molenaer's Rustic Wedding; F. Hals the Younger's Binnenhuis;
Pieter Aertsen's Children in the Fiery Furnace; A. Backer's Semiramis;
Cornelis Bega's Street Musicians; Gerrit Berckheyde's Groote Markt in
Haarlem and Fish Market in Haarlem; Job Berckheyde's Groote Kerk,
Haarlem, and Joseph and his Brothers in Egypt; Bloemaert's Message to
the Shepherds; Pieter Claez's Still Life; Jacques de Claen, Fruits;
Droochsloot's _Kermesse_; A. van Everdingen's Street in Haarlem; H.
Goltzius's Titus; G. W. Heda's Still Life; G. van Honthorst's Singer;
Hendrik Meyer's Groote Markt, Haarlem; P. de Molyn's Pillaged and
Burning Village; Isaac van Nickele's Groote Kerk, Haarlem; Isaac
Ouwater's Groote Markt, Haarlem; Christoffel Pierson's Hunting
Attributes; Isaac Ruisdael's Holland Dunes and Landscape in the Dunes;
Saenredam's Nieuwe Kerk, Haarlem; P. van Santvoort's Winter Landscape;
J. van Scorel's Adam and Eve, St. Cecilia Playing the Organ, and
Christ's Baptism in the Jordan; Jacob van der Ulft's The Forum of Nerva,
Rome; Esais van de Velde's Landscape; Jan Wijnants's Landscape; Thomas
Wyck's Roman Ruins; and many portraits by Maes, Jan Weenix, Jan Victors,
Verkolje, Ter Borch, Ravesteyn, Pot, Netscher, Mierevelt, T. de Keijser,
and other famous Dutch artists.
=The Teyler Museum.=--We can afford to neglect the Teyler Museum, unless
we are particularly interested in the study of modern Dutch art. In that
case, we can view there some excellent examples of Israëls, Mauve,
Mesdag, Ten Cate, J. Koster, Bosboom, Verveer, Eeckhout, Koekkoek, and
others. The Teyler Museum also contains a valuable collection of
engravings and drawings by old masters, including Rembrandt,
Michelangelo, Goltzius, and A. van Ostade.
=The Paviljoen Welgelegen.=--Taking the tram to Frederiks-Park, we may
glance at the Paviljoen Welgelegen, a _château_ built in 1788 by Mr.
Hope, an Amsterdam banker, and which was purchased by Louis Napoleon
when he became King of Holland. It was to this building that the modern
pictures were removed from the Trippenhuis in 1838. This now shelters a
Colonial Museum and a Museum of Industrial Art, both of great interest.
THE BOIJMANS MUSEUM, ROTTERDAM
THE MUSEUM'S ORIGIN AND GROWTH
The Boijmans (or Boymans) Museum, on the Schiedamsche Dyk, was founded
by a bequest of Mr. F. J. O. Boijmans, who died in 1847. His fine
collection of 360 paintings suffered by fire in 1864, and only 163 of
them were left. These were housed in a new building, completed in 1867.
By means of various bequests and purchases, the collection has been
increased to more than four hundred paintings and two thousand drawings
and engravings. The ground-floor contains the drawings and engravings,
the Library of Rotterdam (30,000 volumes), and the Portrait-room. The
upper floor consists of six galleries, two of which are devoted to
modern pictures.
=Two Classes of Landscapes in this Museum.=--The Boijmans Museum is rich
in landscapes. These naturally fall into two classes: first, the works
of those men who studied in Italy or at least owed their inspiration to
others who did; and secondly, pictures of purely Dutch scenery with the
peasants, flocks, and herds familiar to the native. The classical
landscapes are framed with mountains, and usually have cascades and
ruins, and often are peopled with nymphs, shepherds, and other figures
classically draped. Many examples of this school have already been noted
in The Hague and Amsterdam museums.
=Painters of Italian Landscapes.=--Jan Miel (1599-1664) went to Rome and
studied under Andreas Sacchi. His Italian Landscape, alive with
travellers, is similar in feeling and treatment to many others in this
gallery by Jan van de Meer, Jr., Adam Pynacker, J. Lingelbach, Jacob van
Huchtenburgh, Willem de Heusch, Jan Hackaert, J. van Bronckhorst, Pieter
Bout, Jan Both, Adriaen Bloemaert, and Johannes van der Bent. In many of
these classical landscapes the figures are supplied by A. van de Velde
and Lingelbach.
=Poelenburg's Figure-painting.=--Poelenburg painted the figures in the
pictures of some of his contemporaries,--in the Rocky Landscape by
Willem de Heusch, for instance. In this panel we find the usual road
with women, children, cattle, sheep, goats, trees, cascade, rocks
covered with vegetation, shepherd with flock, travellers with a
pack-mule, and mountainous background.
=A. Bloemaert's Italian Landscape.=--Adriaen Bloemaert (d. 1668) painted
historical subjects and landscape. His Italian Landscape exhibits goats
on rocks covered with vegetation in the foreground, from which a road
rises to a castle on a mountain. A man and a child are coming down the
road. The background is mountainous.
=Dirk Maas's Camp.=--Dirk Maas (1656-1717) studied successively under
Mommers, Berchem, and Huchtenburgh, and finally adopted the style of the
latter. His subjects generally are skirmishes, marches, and camps. His
Camp is full of life. The canvas of a tent is fixed to a tree-trunk.
Before the tent sits a cavalier, glass in hand and holding a horse by
the bridle, talking to a woman standing in front of him. Inside the
tent, soldiers are playing cards; on the right, two dogs are fighting.
There are other groups of soldiers, beggars, horses, women, and
children. The background is closed by tents at the foot of an elevation
crowned by a fortress.
=Jan Maartsen's Cavalry Combat.=--Jan Maartsen (d. 1645) painted battles
and cavalry skirmishes. His Cavalry Combat, dated 1630, shows a fight
between Dutch and Spaniards. Infantry are engaged in the background.
=Vrancx's Pillage and his Promenade.=--Sebastian Vrancx (or Francken)
has a Pillage, somewhat similar to that of Wouwermans. Soldiers are seen
pursuing fugitives and chasing cattle before them; one soldier takes a
poor peasant from his house as prisoner; and farther away, near a tree,
are a horseman on a rearing horse, and a house in flames; in the middle
distance the village street guarded by the cavalry; and in the
background houses, and a town on the horizon.
His Promenade shows a gentleman in black, with brown mantle and large
hat ornamented with green, white, and red feathers, offering his hand to
a lady in a white dress, red overskirt, black mantle, and red bonnet. On
the right is a grape-vine; on the left, an inn, in which several persons
are seated; and on the horizon, a town.
The same subject is again treated, but this time the gentleman wears a
costume of white satin and red velvet, a brown cloak and a brown hat
with a green plume, and high leather boots, while the lady has a blue
dress, a white bodice, a tunic of red satin, a fluted ruff, and a round
hat. Fireworks are seen in the background.
=Esais van de Velde's Battle Picture.=--Esais van de Velde has a
Nocturnal Combat between Cavalry and Infantry, in which a Dutch troop of
cavalry are attacking Spanish Mousquetaires and Lansquenets, the scene
illuminated by a tent in flames. Far in the distance are the towers and
spires of a town.
=Johan Huchtenburgh and his Cavalry Combat.=--Johan van Huchtenburgh
(1646-1733) was a pupil of Thomas Wijk. After joining his brother Jacob
in Italy in 1667, and working there for a time, he left for France, and
painted under the direction of the celebrated battle-painter, A. F. van
der Meulen. On his return to Holland in 1670 he grew famous; afterwards
he painted scenes from the wars in which William III., Marlborough, and
Prince Eugene were prominent. His Cavalry Combat shows a fight between
the Imperial troops and the Turks in a mountainous district. It is full
of action. The foreground is in shadow, while the middle distance and
background are fully illuminated.
=Lingelbach's Country People by a Fountain.=--Country People by a
Fountain is the title of a picture by J. Lingelbach. In the foreground
of an Italian landscape several country people are variously grouped; on
the right, at the foot of a rock, a fountain gushes forth, by which is a
man wrapped in sheepskin; in the centre, a woman riding an ass, is
talking to another woman, who stands by her side; then comes a boy; then
a man is seen drinking from the fountain, his ass beside him. On the
left, another peasant is riding a white horse laden with panniers; and
by his side walks a man with a stick in his hand, and followed by a dog.
On the left is a lake; and mountains form the background.
=Three Landscapes by Adam Pynacker.=--The Rotterdam Gallery owns three
pictures by Adam Pynacker. In An Italian Landscape a line of high
mountains edges the horizon, from which stretches a plain; and in the
foreground on the right, a river flows from a high mountain through a
rocky gorge. Two men are fishing; and near them are a dog and an ass. On
the left a road leads to a small lake, on the borders of which a
herdsman and his cattle are advancing. In the Mountainous Landscape a
ruined tower stands at the foot of a high rock on the left; and along
the road that is lost behind the hill and rocks in the foreground,
peasants and their cattle are seen. The setting sun throws its warm rays
over the wooded hills and over the river that winds through the vast
landscape and upon the figures, and illuminates a cow and a goat
browsing among the bushes and rocks. On the Border of a Lake shows a
sheet of water illuminated by the sun, and on the left several persons
are embarking. In the distance are rocky peaks partly wooded; and men
are fishing from the shore of the lake.
=Jacob Huchtenburgh's Mountainous Landscape.=--Jacob van Huchtenburgh
followed his master, Berchem. In the foreground of his Mountainous
Landscape a road crosses a river by a three-arched stone bridge. In the
road are some sheep and peasants; and a shepherd with an ass and two
cows is crossing the bridge. At a ford on the right a man is watering
two horses. Some distance away there is a cloister at the foot of a high
mountain, before which are monks, peasants, and a carriage and horses.
Higher up the mountain are a farm, a castle, and a group of buildings
surrounded by walls. Peasants are dancing in a valley on the left.
Finally, we see a vast mountain landscape through which a river winds.
=Moucheron's Mountainous Landscape.=--Another Mountainous Landscape is
by Moucheron. In the foreground we observe a woman on a white horse. She
is talking to a man who descends a hill. Some country people are wading
through a ford, and on the other side of the stream stands a ruined
tower. The picture is lighted by the warm rays of the setting sun.
Adriaen van de Velde painted the figures.
=Two Imitators of Poelenburg's Style.=--Jan van Bronckhorst has an
Italian Landscape in the style of Poelenburg, by which he is most
commonly known. There are ruins partly surrounded by water, two bathers,
a shepherd and goats, a stone bridge, and mountainous background.
Another imitator of Poelenburg was Jacob Esselens (b. 1628), who painted
landscapes, marines, and town views. A Landscape shows a distinguished
company of ladies and gentlemen beside a stream with carriages, horses,
hounds, herons, and falcons. On the river are a yacht and a row-boat;
and, in the distance, a castle among the trees. The scene is full of
color and movement.
=Jan Beerstraten and his Town Gate.=--Jan Beerstraten (d. 1660) painted
marines and town views; but nothing is known of him except that he
married Magdalena Bronckhorst. His drawing is good, color excellent, and
brush work strong. Some of his marines will bear comparison with those
of Backhuysen. A. van de Velde sometimes painted his figures. A Town
Gate, signed and dated 1654, worthily displays his powers. In a
mountainous country we see a town, with its churches, towers, gates, and
fortifications, situated on both sides of a river; on the water several
boats are sailing and rowing; and, on the banks, people are bathing and
promenading.
=Jan Hackaert's Mountainous Landscape.=--Jan Hackaert has a fine
Mountainous Landscape with a shepherd playing a clarinet by a stream,
and a couple of peasants dancing, watched by a man with his back to us.
On a hill to the right, under tall trees, are a hunter and his dog; to
the left, a man on horseback followed by a dog. A road runs along the
banks of a lake, at the foot of a high mountain brightly illuminated by
the sun, on which three cavaliers are approaching at a fast trot. The
figures and animals in this canvas belong to J. Lingelbach.
=Berchem and Two who painted in his Style.=--Johannes van der Bent
(1650-90) was a pupil of Ph. Wouwermans and A. van de Velde; but he also
imitated the style of N. Berchem. He has an Italian Landscape in which a
shepherdess is milking a goat in the foreground, with another woman and
a boy near her; farther on are a white horse and cattle. The mountainous
background has a cascade as usual. Berchem is not strongly represented
here,--only by A Grotto: a woman and two men, one mounted on an ass, are
driving cattle over a ford. On the right, a shepherd is driving a flock
of sheep; there are high mountains in the distance. Dirk van Berghen has
also a Landscape and Animals in this style with mountainous and woody
perspective.
=J. Both's Italian Landscape: Evening.=--Johannes Both has another of
his pictures here that shows the influence of Claude Lorraine. In the
Italian Landscape: Evening, the left foreground is occupied by tall
trees; a chariot is drawn by two oxen along a road leading to an old
tower; on the horizon is a town on the sea-shore.
=P. Bout's Italian Seaport.=--Pieter Bout (1658-1702) almost always
worked in collaboration with N. Boudwijns, for whose landscapes he
supplied figures. Works exclusively his own are very rare. He belonged
to the Flemish-Italian school, and has here a busy and lively Italian
Seaport in the style of J. B. Weenix. It is signed and dated 1669, which
hardly agrees with the date given for his birth unless he was very
precocious.
=Other Painters in the Same Group.=--In this group also we might include
Gerrit Claes Bleecker (d. 1656), whose work recalls Elzheimer and his
followers. His Saul on the Road to Damascus is classical rather than
Biblical in sentiment, and the landscape is Italian.
=Weenix's Tobias Sleeping under a Vine.=--The same may be said of the
charming Tobias Sleeping under a Vine by J. B. Weenix. In this there is
a house on the right, against the wall of which is a vine under which
Tobias is sleeping. A magpie is flying above his head, and beside him
are various objects such as this artist loved to paint,--vegetables, a
great copper milk pan, a yoke, harness, and other things, including a
basket of grapes and an earthen pitcher. In the background a man is
mounting a ladder. The picture is signed and dated 1662, two years
before the painter's death.
Hendrick Mommers (1623-97) also has an Italian Landscape. He imitated
the style of Karel Dujardin, another painter of this school. Frederick
de Moucheron has a Mountainous Landscape. His pictures also were peopled
by the indefatigable Van de Velde and Lingelbach.
=Landscape Setting for The Good Samaritan.=--Joris van der Hagen is
another who makes use of a Biblical episode as an excuse for a
landscape, or for the frame of the subject, as in his Landscape Serving
as a Frame for the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In the foreground on
the left, near two tall trees, the Good Samaritan has dismounted and is
stanching the wounds of the traveller; four dogs are near the ass; not
far away the brigands are descending a path at the foot of a mountain.
On the right is the Levite, and farther back is the Pharisee, going away
in a different direction. In the background is a river crossed by a
three-arched bridge, on the other side of which are high buildings
surrounded with trees. Mountains close the view.
=Boaz and Ruth in an Italian Setting.=--Gerbrand van den Eeckhout
(1621-74), although a pupil of Rembrandt, painted so-called Biblical
scenes in much the same spirit. Thus his Boaz and Ruth has an Italian
setting. In the foreground Boaz is talking to his servant; Ruth is
standing beside the latter with her apron full of wheat. On the left is
a barn surrounded with trees; in front of it three harvesters are eating
their meal; on the right beside a plough are a straw hat, a game-bag,
and a pitcher. In the background is a field of corn which is being
reaped and sheafed. Mountains close the scene.
=Balaam, by the Same Artist.=--Again in Balaam, trees and a river, high
mountains and ruins, form the background. The prophet is seated on his
ass, and beating him with a stick to make him advance; but on the left
an angel in white with golden wings stops him, sword in hand. Balaam is
followed by two horsemen in Roman costume, and behind them is a chariot
drawn by two horses.
=The Flight into Egypt with an Italian Background.=--Pieter Lastman
painted an Italian landscape as a background for the Flight into Egypt.
Here we see the Virgin Mary on an ass with the Infant Jesus in her arms,
and by her side walks Joseph, carrying his carpenter's tools. A tree is
seen on the left; and a cascade, ruins, and rocks in the background on
the right.
=Van der Weyden's The Apostle John.=--Rogier van der Weyden (1390-1464)
is an early master who painted in this style. In his The Apostle St.
John, the Apostle is seated in the foreground of a landscape, writing on
a sheet of paper which lies on his knees. He wears a red robe, and a
large red mantle lined with green falls from his shoulders and covers
his knees with ample folds. Behind him, a winged demon empties his
inkstand. On the left two gentleman are seen on horseback, and the
background shows a mountainous landscape traversed by a river and
enlivened by a castle and a fortified town.
=Van der Maes and Van der Werff.=--Evert Crijnsz van der Maes
(1577-1646) has a St. Jerome in a landscape, signed and dated 1609.
Another picture of a hermit is by B. Matton, who lived a little later.
Pieter van der Werff has a Repentant Magdalen, who is kneeling in a
grotto with hands crossed on her breast, while she reads a parchment
scroll covered with Hebraic characters.
=Jan van Byler's Picture of Rachel and her Father.=--Jan van Byler, born
in Utrecht in the second half of the seventeenth century, and pupil of
his father, is rarely met with in either public or private galleries.
Here, however, we find Laban Reproaching Rachel for having Carried off
his Household Gods. In the foreground, Rachel is seated holding by one
hand a little boy, while with the other she makes a gesture, as if to
ward off the reproaches of Laban, who is standing before her. On the
right is a young man carrying a basket. A brown and white dog lies in
the foreground; and in the distance are seen two men and a camel near a
tent attached to the trunk of a tree.
=H. Goltzius.=--H. Goltzius is represented by an interesting picture,
Juno Receiving the Eyes of Argus Killed by Mercury. Mercury is seated on
a red cloak; in his right hand he holds one of the eyes of Argus, which
Juno, descending on a cloud, is about to receive in her robe. Before him
are the severed head and corpse of Argus and a naked sword. A rocky
landscape extends to the right, and on the left, in the clouds, the
chariot of Juno, drawn by peacocks.
=Moreelse's Vertumnus and Pomona.=--An interesting mythological picture
by Moreelse is called Vertumnus and Pomona. The latter is seated under
the trees to the left with her face turned toward the spectator. She
wears a yellow silk dress with a blue tunic; her right hand holds a
pruning-hook and her left a bunch of white grapes. A little behind her
Vertumnus is seen in the guise of an old woman, leaning on a stick and
extending the left hand.
=De Vos's Allegory, Crowned by Riches.=--Cornelius de Vos (1585-1651),
pupil of David Remens, has an Allegory, Crowned by Riches. On the right,
under a red tent fringed with gold, a young woman in a green dress and
mantle embroidered with gold, a crown of gold in her right hand and a
sceptre in her left, stands majestically. Before her kneels a farmer to
be crowned, and he extends his hand to the fruits and vegetables in the
foreground. On a table to the right, covered with a crimson cloth, are
various objects of gold and silver. Farther back under the tent are two
women, a negro, and Love. In the middle distance is Time with his
scythe. To the left in the background, a landscape, where people are
tilling the soil.
=An Allegory by De Wit.=--Jacob de Wit also has an Allegory. Minerva, in
a landscape, is seated with her right hand on her harp; in front of her,
four naked children are sporting, and one is playing a harp.
=A Classical Scene by Van der Ulft.=--Jacob van der Ulft has a picture,
painted in 1674, representing The Betrothed of Allucius Led as Prisoner
Before Scipio. Ruins of temples and city walls and gates are seen to
right and left. In the foreground are Scipio, the betrothed of Allucius,
and other prisoners. Farther back are Roman soldiers with chariots,
elephants, camels, and spoils of war. In the background a town is seen
at the base of the mountains.
=Achilles Recognized by Ulysses, by Van Limborch.=--Achilles Recognized
by Ulysses, by H. van Limborch, shows Achilles kneeling on the ground in
the dress of a woman with a blue chalmys, having a sword in his right
and the scabbard in his left hand; he is recognized by Ulysses who, with
another person, is standing behind him. On the ground lie a helmet, a
shield, several precious objects, and some jewels which are being
examined and handled by the wives of Lycomedes, King of Scyros. In the
background on the left is the peristyle of a palace; and on the right
are several persons near a statue and a boat.
=De Vriendt's The Death of Lucrezia.=--The Death of Lucrezia, by Frans
Floris de Vriendt, is painted in a similar vein. Lucrezia is on her
knees, in a despairing pose, and about to stab herself. In the
background several buildings are seen.
=Painters of Purely Dutch Scenery.=--Turning now to painters of purely
Dutch scenery and outdoor life, the Boijmans contains many pictures by
the followers of Rembrandt, Potter, Ruisdael, and Wouwermans. Some of
these display the open country, and others the life by the wayside, in
the streets, and in the vicinity of towns. There are many charming
pictures of the outdoor life of the gentry, the tradesmen, and the
farmers. We have scenes of hunting, hawking, fishing, promenades, and
cavalcades, with beautiful landscape surroundings, and several pictures
of the farm, pure and simple.
=Three Pictures by Jacob Ruisdael.=--Jacob Ruisdael has one picture, The
Corn Field, which represents a hilly landscape. In the foreground
brushwood, heath, and moss; on the right two oaks and, on an incline, a
wheat-field partly cut, and mowers who are resting. On the horizon, to
the left, is the sea with a few sails upon it.
Another picture is called A Sandy Road, and on this, which leads through
brushwood and oak-trees, trudge two persons. On the right is a pool
partly hidden in shadow.
The third picture by Ruisdael represents The Old Fish-Market at
Amsterdam. On the right is the tower of the old church; in the
foreground are the fish-venders sitting at their stalls and many
promenaders; and in the background is the canal, on which boats are
lying and sails spread out to dry. The figures were painted by Gerard
van Battem.
=A Wooded Landscape by Izack van Ruisdael.=--Izack van Ruisdael (1628 or
9-1677) is represented by A Wooded Landscape, signed and dated 1665.
Water is seen to the right, as well as in the foreground, and six cows
are standing in it. On the left are several tall trees, beneath which
are cows and sheep; and far in the distance some men are fishing from
the bank.
=A Wooded Landscape by Hobbema.=--A Wooded Landscape and Landscape by
Hobbema are characteristic examples. The first shows fine treatment of
light. The sun piercing through thick clouds lights the middle distance,
while foreground and background are in shadow. Among the tall trees in
the background a barn is seen; then a boy and a woman fording the
stream; a shepherd and some sheep near a willow tree; then come two
tree-trunks and some brushwood; then a winding road, on which a peasant
and a boy are walking; then a sheet of water bordered by willows.
=Another Landscape by Hobbema.=--The other Landscape also shows a sheet
of water in the foreground where two persons are fishing; then a
tree-trunk, half of which is in the water; then some trees on a rising
ground. A couple of ducks are swimming in the water. In the background a
peasant's house is seen, before which a man is standing; and on the left
a second clump of trees, where two persons are walking. The background
is brilliantly lighted; but the middle distance and the foreground are
in shadow.
=Van Kessel's Landscape near Haarlem.=--Jan van Kessel (1648-98), about
whom little is known, and some of whose works follow the style of J. van
Ruisdael, has here a Landscape near Haarlem and a View of Amsterdam. The
first shows a brightly lighted foreground with a road leading to a
village on the right, the ruins of the Castle of Brederode. Huntsmen and
dogs, a shepherd and sheep, and some swans in a moat, by Lingelbach,
enliven the scene. The middle distance is in shadow, and here we have
trees, fields, and dunes. The background shows a brightly lighted
landscape stretching away into the distance.
=His View of Amsterdam.=--His View of Amsterdam shows a canal where a
man is rowing a boat, a large boat fastened on the right, some swans
floating in the water on the left. The canal, shut by the gates, is
crossed by a stone bridge, on which some people are walking. In the
corner is a quay bordered with trees, and on the horizon a clock-tower.
=One of Isaak van Ostade's Rare Pictures.=--Isaak van Ostade (1621-49),
a pupil of his brother Adriaen, usually painted inns and village scenes,
now extremely rare. Neither the Mauritshuis nor the Rijks owns an
example. Hence the Inn among the Dunes is of great interest. A chariot,
drawn by a white horse, is arriving before an inn among the trees on the
left. The horse is being fed, and some travellers and children stand in
front of the door. A little boy is leading some pigs across the
foreground; two horsemen are galloping away in the distance, and the
horizon shows the dunes and a clock-tower.
=A. van der Neer's Moonlit Landscape.=--A Moonlit Landscape by Aert van
der Neer is a striking picture with simple materials. A road, bordered
with trees, is seen in the foreground, with two persons approaching; in
the middle distance are some cows on the banks of a canal, and peasants'
houses under the trees, with a clock-tower in the background. The sky is
stormy, and the moon is rising and throwing its rays on the water.
=A. van de Velde's Landscape and Blacksmith.=--Adriaen van de Velde has
a Landscape with Animals and A Blacksmith. The first shows a flat
landscape with a light brown ox, and a little farther away a sheep lying
down, and also a cow; in the background a farmhouse is seen beneath the
trees, and a vast meadow dotted with cows stretches away to the right.
The Blacksmith is in the background at the door of his forge, before
which a boy stands with a gray horse. An ass, a cock, and some hens lend
additional animation to the little scene.
=Two Norwegian Landscapes by Everdingen.=--Albert van Everdingen is
represented by two fine examples of the Norwegian landscape, for which
he is famous. The scenes are lively, with human figures in both.
=A Hunting Scene by Keirinckx and Poelenburg.=--Alexander Keirinckx (b.
1600) was a painter of landscapes and views of towns. He painted with
much truth to nature, his foliage especially being executed with rare
perfection. Poelenburg, as a rule, painted the figures in his pictures,
as he did in A Forest, signed and dated 1630. This is a hunting scene,
with a gentleman on horseback followed by hounds under tall trees in the
foreground. Other figures are a huntsman sounding a call, two other
hunters, and a stag in the distance among the trees.
=Verboom's Evening.=--Abraham Hendricksz Verboom (seventeenth century)
is represented by Evening, showing trees in the foreground, huntsmen and
dogs in the middle distance lighted by the setting sun, and behind a
wooden fence a farmhouse. In the background a clock-tower appears on the
right, while a rocky landscape extends to the left.
=Nymegen's Swiss Landscape.=--Gerard van Nymegen (1735-1808) was the
pupil of his father D. van Nymegen. He visited Germany and Switzerland.
The Boijmans owns a Swiss Landscape, in which a majestic and foaming
cascade plunges down the rocks; while, on the left, in the foreground,
is a large fallen tree. Shepherds and sheep are crossing a bridge.
=Van der Heyde's Ruined Castle.=--A good example of Jan van der Heyde is
A Ruined Castle. The scene is a courtyard with a large tree, under which
is seated a shepherd playing a flute; a horseman is in a gateway on the
left; and several persons are standing on a stone bridge on the right. A
few clouds are floating across the clear sky. The picture is much
admired for its light and shadow.
=Donck's Coming Home from Shooting.=--Gerrit Donck has a canvas called
Coming Home from Shooting, with a cottage, two gentlemen, a woman, a
peasant, and a boy. In the centre, some dead game lies on an inverted
tub. One gentleman is seated; he points to the birds and talks to the
woman. The other gentleman holds his gun and listens to what the peasant
has to say. The boy looks on. Through the open door on the right we see
a landscape in the style of J. van Goyen.
=P. Wouwermans's Gentleman on Horseback.=--A Gentleman on Horseback is
by Philips Wouwermans. Mounted on a gray horse the rider takes his way
through a sandy landscape toward the dunes that are seen on the left. He
wears a gray costume embroidered with gold, a black hat with a white
feather, and high black boots. In the background are trees, and on the
right is a pavilion.
=An Admired Picture by E. van de Velde.=--Esais van de Velde's Cavalier
has always been greatly admired. Vosmaer says: "This little figure, seen
from behind, sitting so squarely and easily on his horse, seems really a
personage of life size; it is almost an equestrian statue. The horse is
rearing, and the rider, whose back is turned to the spectator, wears a
felt hat, a blue cloak, and high black riding-boots."
=P. Wouwermans's Pillaging Soldiers.=--Philips Wouwermans once again
displays the pleasure he takes in painting horses in his Pillaging
Soldiers. In a hilly country and on the banks of a river a soldier on a
white horse is aiming at the cheek of a peasant who is begging for mercy
on his knees; one individual lies stretched out on the ground; and on
the right a woman with her child in her arms is being pursued by a
soldier. In the middle distance, a horseman is carrying off his booty,
and on the left two horsemen are pursuing the fugitives. A village in
flames appears in the background.
=Verschuring's Horse-Shoer.=--Hendrick Verschuring (1627-90) was a
painter of social life, portraits, and figures, and was a pupil of Dirk
Govertsz and Jan Both. He visited Italy. His picture here is called A
Horse-Shoer. Before the steps of the old town hall of Amsterdam
(represented also in Beerstraten's picture in this gallery) a man is
shoeing a white horse. Farther back stands a man in a red cloak; to the
right some beggars with a dog. Among the trees in the background a
horseman is disappearing.
=A Spirited Forest Scene by Looten.=--Another landscape painter of this
period was Jan Looten, who died in England in 1660. Like so many of his
contemporaries, he employed others, especially Nicolaes Berchem, to
enliven his scenery with figures. His large picture, A Forest, signed
and dated 1658, is a spirited scene of ladies and gentlemen mounted,
with hawks on their fists and followed by falconers. The landscape is
prettily diversified with woods, streams, and hills.
=The Dunes, by J. Wouwermans.=--Jan Wouwermans (1629-66), pupil of his
brother Philips, has a picture of The Dunes. In the middle of the
picture is a watercourse, which is crossed by a bridge and loses itself
behind a hill over which is seen the roof of a house.
=A Sunny Picture by Molenaer.=--Nicolaas Molenaer (d. 1676) has a sunny
picture of a Bleaching Ground. In the foreground is a man in a boat on a
stretch of water. To the right is the bleaching ground, in which people
are busy spreading out the linen; and on the left are cottages, with
tall trees behind.
=P. de Molyn's Farm.=--Pieter de Molyn the Elder (?-1661) has a pretty
picture of a farm, where two peasant men are talking to a peasant woman.
A very large tree stands in the front in full light, and behind the
hedge are a hayrick and the house.
=Murant's Farm.=--Another farm is the work of Emanuel Murant. A large
tree and a sheet of water occupy the foreground. Near the latter a goat
is lying; then come three pigs before a stable, and three sheep and a
peasant. A pigeon-house on four poles and a hay-wagon are seen in the
background.
=Three Good Landscape-painters.=--Jan Breughel (1601-78) painted so much
like his father ("Velvet") that it is hard to distinguish the one from
the other. His two village scenes are full of the country and rural
life. Michiel Carree (1666-1747) was another painter of the country. His
Wooded Landscape with Cattle has a mountainous background; it is
animated by a shepherd, an ass, two oxen, two goats, a ram, and several
lambs. Cornelis Decker (d. 1678) was a pupil of Salomon Ruisdael, whom
he greatly resembles in style. His landscape depicts a peasant's cot
half hidden among trees on the bank of a stream. On a plank crossing the
latter a woman is washing clothes; on the right are two persons in a
boat; on the horizon are trees and a clock-tower.
=Netscher's Family Scene.=--Netscher's Family Scene, painted in 1667,
shows a group in a garden in front of an imposing house. A gentleman in
a long brown wig leans on the base of a pillar; behind him is a statue
of Justice, and beside him a lady in white satin with a child on her
knee. Near her are two young girls; one is in red silk, the other in
blue satin. They are making floral crowns, while three other children
are twining flowers around a statue of Love. On the left, in the
foreground, is a handsome stone vase containing a plant.
=Two Landscapes.=--Pieter Jansz van As has a typical Dutch landscape
with rustic cottages, goats, shepherds, etc. Jan van Gool (1685-1763)
was a pupil of Terwesten and Van der Does. His Landscape and Animals is
a milking scene in a meadow, wherein are also a dog, goat, sheep, and
lambs. Trees, meadows, and a town close the distance.
=One of Koninck's Very Scarce Pictures.=--Jacob Koninck (fl. 1640) was a
pupil of A. van de Velde; his pictures are very scarce. Landscape with
Animals shows sheep and cattle browsing and lying down, with a young
shepherd presumably cutting his name on a tree-trunk. Banks of trees and
a farmhouse close the background.
=A Charming Landscape by P. van der Leeuw.=--Another little-known
landscape-painter, Pieter van der Leeuw (fl. 1670), was a son and pupil
of Sebastiaen van der Leeuw. He has a charming Landscape and Animals;
the animals consist of two oxen drinking at a stream, a ram, two ewes, a
goat, a sheep, and two lambs. A shepherd and shepherdess rest under a
tree. The color and composition are excellent.
=Michau's Landscape with Cottages.=--Theobald Michau (1676-1765)
modelled himself on D. Teniers the Younger. His Landscape with Peasants'
Cottages is full of the spirit of humble life. A woman sits at her door
with a child on her lap, talking to three neighbors; another is washing
kitchen utensils; a man and a dog are approaching. On the left there are
tall trees, and five cows beside a stream; and farther back are cottages
and a church-tower above trees.
=A Characteristic Picture by Van der Poel.=--Egbert van der Poel has
here a characteristic picture, Fire at Night in a Village House. The
house in flames occupies the middle of the picture; many persons are
trying to put out the fire, and some are throwing water upon it. Several
neighboring houses and a clock-tower are lighted by the glow of the
flames.
=Van Straaten's Washerwoman.=--Bruno van Straaten, who was born in
Utrecht in 1786, is represented by The Washerwoman. She is represented
as busy outside the walls of the town; near her are houses, trees, and a
windmill.
=Van Os's Farrier.=--Pieter Frederik van Os (b. 1808), a pupil of his
father, Pieter Gerardus, has a canvas called The Farrier. In this, two
men are shoeing a white horse in front of an old forge.
=Cuijp's Stable.=--Aelbert Cuijp's picture The Stable shows two dappled
horses seen from the back in a stable; in the foreground are seen a
stable-boy, a goat, some stable utensils, and a brown dog.
=An Interesting Kermesse by Droochsloot.=--Joost Cornelisz Droochsloot,
a native of Utrecht, who was born about 1586 and died after 1666, has an
interesting _Kermesse_. The scene is a village street, where a great
number of peasants are drinking, singing, and quarrelling. The houses
are half hidden by trees, and in the background is seen a clock-tower,
on the summit of which a red flag is floating.
=An Interesting Picture of Low Life.=--An interesting picture by Govert
Camphuysen, who lived in the seventeenth century, called Wagon Full of
Drunken Peasants before an Inn, shows a wagon drawn by a white and a
brown horse standing before an inn. About half a dozen men and women are
seated in it drinking and singing, and there is a fiddler upon the front
seat. The driver is cutting some bread; by the door stands the hostess,
who is pouring beer into a pewter mug; a man with glass in hand is seen
at an open window; a beggar stands by the wagon; and a horseman is
riding along the road.
=A Dutch Landscape by Van Os.=--Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os has a
landscape. The scene is in Guelderland. Trees and a wheat field occupy
the background and middle distance; and in the foreground are seen sheep
and cows, painted by his brother, Pieter Gerardus van Os.
=Maria J. Ommeganck's Landscape with Sheep.=--Maria Jacoba Ommeganck
(1760-1849) is represented in this gallery by a Landscape with Sheep.
The scenery is mountainous. In the foreground two sheep are lying down;
in the middle distance a brown sheep is standing near a portion of a
house; and in the background are a shepherd with his dog and some
browsing sheep.
=Two Landscapes.=--Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch, born in Amsterdam in 1829,
has a Landscape with Animals, representing cattle in a meadow bright
with sunshine. In the foreground to the right is a watercourse, and in
the middle distance a mill. A Landscape in Guelderland by Anthonie
Jacobus van Wijngaerdt (1808- ) represents a sandy road through a forest
along which a man and a woman trudge bearing fagots. The sky is full of
clouds.
=A Sunset, by Schipperus.=--Pieter Adriannus Schipperus (b. 1840) has a
Sunset. The red sun disappears behind the trees and is reflected across
a pond surrounded by brushwood that occupies the foreground.
=A Fine Example of H. van Hove's First Period.=--Hubertus van Hove
(1814-65), the son of Bartholomeus, painted figure subjects, after
having first applied himself to landscape. A fine example of his first
period is the View of the Lakes in the Environs of Rotterdam.
=An Early Production of W. Roelofs.=--Willem Roelofs is represented here
by one of his early productions, Landscape and Animals. In the middle
distance are trees and a country house, and in the foreground a meadow
with cows standing on the banks of the river. It is interesting to note
that the cows were painted by J. H. L. de Haas.
[Illustration: MAUVE
Cows in a Shady Nook]
=Mauve's Cows in a Shady Nook.=--Anton Mauve is represented by Cows in a
Shady Nook. Several black cows spotted with white are lying under the
shade of the big boughs; another stands in the foreground near the
water; in the background there is a ditch bordered with willows and tall
grasses.
=Other Modern Landscapes.=--Among the other modern landscapes we may
note: Landscape, by Apol; On the Dunes, by Artz; The Water-mill and View
of the Village of Nuenen in Northern Brabant, by Vincent van Gogh; An
Afternoon at Katwijk-on-Sea, by S. L. Verveer; Landscape with a Windmill
near Schiedam, by Weissenbruch; Heath in Guelders in Autumn, by
Théophile de Bock; Street View (The Hague) and March Showers, by J. J.
van de Sande Bakhuijzen; and Summer (a woman and three children playing
on a beach), by Blommers.
=Jäger's View of the Town of Alger.=--Gerard de Jäger (d. after 1663)
was a painter of marines and canals. Nothing is known of him. His View
of the Town of Alger is signed and dated 1665. It is a plan rather than
a picture, having an explanatory placard of the objects of interest
depicted.
=A Village Picture by Van der Meer.=--Jan van der Meer (1628-91) has a
picture of The Village of Noordwijk Seen from the Dunes, dated 1676. A
hunter is talking to two women in the foreground; cattle and a
bleaching-ground occupy the middle distance, while a church amid trees
is in the extensive stretch of background.
=Two Town Views of Van Hove.=--B. J. van Hove has a Town View, where
upon a square in front of a Gothic church three men are talking. One of
them is accompanied by a dog. On a stone parapet on the left is seated a
person with a basket on his back. In the background a canal is seen with
two boats on it, and behind the trees on the quays some houses are
visible. Another Town View by the same painter shows a canal with a
bridge, beneath which a boat is passing. In the middle distance on the
right there is an old Dutch house, a part of which, as well as the
church with its clock-tower in the distance, is brilliantly lighted.
=Two of De Hulst's now Rare Pictures.=--The pictures of Frans de Hulst,
a native of Haarlem, where he died in 1662, are now exceedingly rare.
Two hang here. One is a View of the Old Gate of the East at Hoorn,
showing the moat surrounding the town, and various boats, in one of
which the fishermen are drawing their nets. In the middle distance is
the old fortified gate (built in 1511 and now demolished) and the
drawbridge, and in the horizon a large sheet of water. The View of
Nymegen shows some travellers arriving on the river bank in a chariot
drawn by four horses; the city is seen on the hills bordering the river
on the right, and beyond the walls and gates rises the Valkhof with its
square tower. The river is lost on the left.
=Town Views, by Vertin.=--Petrus Gerardus Vertin (born 1820) has two
Town Views. One represents some old houses more or less dilapidated, and
persons carrying merchandise and talking; the second, a canal bordered
with very old Dutch houses. On the horizon a clock-tower is seen.
=Winter Scenes by Leichert.=--Charles Henri Joseph Leichert (1818- ) has
two winter scenes: one represents a frozen canal animated with skaters,
with a frame of houses, a church, and a clock-tower; and the other a
street covered with snow, with houses on either side, and many figures.
=Van Beest's Market.=--Sybrandt van Beest (d. 1665) painted landscapes,
marines, and _genre_. His pictures are rare. He somewhat resembled Van
Goyen in style. In his Market, we see on the right a richly costumed
gentleman bargaining for a melon with a woman who is seated before a
table loaded with all kinds of fruit. Behind her are a man and two women
in conversation; an ass drawing a cart is passing. To the left are a
heap of vegetables and a woman is picking up a red cabbage. The
background is composed of houses and a wall partly covered with verdure,
and several women in front, also selling vegetables. The panel is signed
and dated 1652.
=De Witte's Fish Market at Amsterdam.=--Emanuel de Witte's The Fish
Market at Amsterdam is an interesting picture. In the foreground under
an awning near her stall, where lie many kinds of fish, a fishwoman is
standing and disputing with a lady who has a white handkerchief on her
head and a blue satin jacket. On the right a fisherman is taking off his
hat to her. In the background a part of the quay, Buitenkant, and the Y
are seen.
=Three Pictures of Fish-Sellers.=--Frans van Mieris the Younger has a
picture of a fish-seller standing behind his stall; he holds a whiting
in his right hand and two baskets in his left; on the right are a
tobacco-box, a knife, and a pipe. On the left are some trees, and the
sea extends on the right into the background. Louis de Moni has The
Fishmonger. An old woman stands at a window where dried fish are
hanging; on the left is a spinning-wheel. She is talking to a servant
who is standing before the window and who has a basket full of bread.
Several houses are seen in the background. The Herring Seller, by Pieter
Christoffel Wonder (1780-1852), belongs to this group. A young woman is
seated before the window of her house and at her stall, on which are
apples, cabbages, and onions. She has a pot on her knee and holds it
with her right hand, while in her left she offers a herring for sale.
=Two of Barent Gael's Good Pictures.=--Barent Gael (d. 1663) was a pupil
of Ph. Wouwermans; and, like his master, painted battles and cavalcades
with rich ordering, careful drawing, and picturesque effect. He
sometimes painted more humble scenes, as in the Woman with Cakes. She is
making these appetizing dainties in front of a village house, watched by
a man and four children. To the left are a hedge and some trees, and in
the background a few little houses. A beggar with his wife and child is
trudging along the road.
The Village Inn is not less interesting. Here a gentleman, having
alighted before the inn, stands with the bridle in his left hand and a
glass in his right, as he talks to a man and woman seated on a bench. In
the foreground a dog is lying, and in the background are two horsemen
and some trees.
=A Town View by Beerstraten, with Figures by Lingelbach.=--A.
Beerstraten, about whom little is known except that he lived in
Amsterdam in the seventeenth century, has an interesting picture of The
Old Town Hall of Amsterdam, built in the fifteenth century and destroyed
by fire in 1652. The old building on the Dam and the adjacent houses are
covered with snow. Persons of quality, and also merchants and peasants,
are seen walking through the snowy streets in all directions. These
little figures were painted by Lingelbach.
=Job Berckheyde's Old Bourse at Amsterdam.=--Another architectural
picture by Job Berckheyde (1630-93) shows The Old Bourse at Amsterdam,
built by De Keyser in 1608-11, and destroyed in 1836. We see only a
portion of the interior of this building under the colonnade, where many
merchants are talking. Some of them are in oriental costume. The picture
is beautifully lighted by the sun, which enters on the right.
=His Brother Gerard's Cologne.=--His brother Gerard Berckheyde
(1631-98?) has painted The Town of Cologne, showing the quay, the wall,
churches and other buildings, with the Rhine on the left. The foreground
is beautifully lighted. A brown and white horse, wagons, and boats
enliven the scene.
=Two Town Pictures by Verheijen.=--A fine view of The Geertekerk at
Utrecht by Jan Hendrik Verheijen (1778-1846) shows the church on the
right and the streets enlivened with strollers, playing children, and a
fish-seller. His Town View, where brightly lighted buildings are seen
across the bridge of a canal, should also be noted.
=St. Mary's Church, Utrecht, by Saenredam.=--Pieter Jansz Saenredam
(1597-65) is represented by St. Mary's Church, Utrecht. This remarkable
church, demolished in 1813 or 1816, was a copy of a church of the
eleventh century in Milan. It dominates the picture, although it stands
on the right. Behind it are some houses, and in front are trees and a
square, on which men and women are promenading, and children playing.
=A Good Example of H. van Vliet's Style.=--The Interior of a Protestant
Church, by Hendrick van Vliet (1605-71), is a good example of this
painter's style. On the left is the choir; in the centre of the
foreground, an open tomb; on the right, near a pillar, a gentleman whose
back is turned toward us, and who is accompanied by a dog. Between the
pillars the preacher in his pulpit and his hearers are seen. The name
and date, 1666, appear on one of the pillars.
=A Splendid Church Interior by Neeffs.=--Pieter Neeffs the Elder has a
splendid Interior of a Catholic Church, showing the nave animated with
many figures; chapels and altars are on right and left, and the choir is
in the background.
=Two Church Interiors by Bosboom.=--Johannes Bosboom (1817-91) has an
Interior of a Protestant Temple, with people walking about in costumes
of the seventeenth century; and also an Interior of the Church of St.
Laurence, Alkmaar, also brightened with figures.
=A Noted Picture by Klinkenberg, and Others by him.=--John Christian
Charles Klinkenberg (1852- ) is the modern Dutch painter of towns,
cities, and hamlets,--the Dutch Canaletto. He is a pupil of Bisschop and
Louis Meyer. At first he was inclined to historical subjects, but soon
turned his attention to street views. It would be impossible to
enumerate them all,--the old water-gate at Sneek, the town hall at
Zutphen, the town-gate at Hoorn, the market at Nymegen, the chancellory
at Leeuwarden, the old gate at Haarlem, the old streets of Amsterdam,
and the old buildings of The Hague. His noted picture representing a
View of the Vijver at The Hague was presented to the Museum by the
Rotterdam Society for Promoting Art in 1876. The Royal Museum is
represented on the right.
[Illustration: KLINKENBERG
View of the Vijver at The Hague]
=The Maas before Dordrecht, by S. van Ruisdael.=--The view of a town
seen across the river has always attracted Dutch artists. Dordrecht and
Rotterdam in particular have been painted by Jan van Goyen, Cuijp, and
others. One of the most noted pictures of river scenes is The Maas
before Dordrecht by Salomon van Ruisdael. In the foreground, to the
right, is a shabby old pier on which some cows are standing, while
others are in the water. Row-boats and sail-boats brighten the river,
and one of them on the left is flying the flag of Dordrecht. The town is
seen on the horizon.
=Burger's Opinion of this Artist.=--Burger says that this artist formed
his brother, and that he stands between Van Goyen and the glorious
Jacob. The picture just mentioned he considers "as masterly as one of
Jacob's works. The distant horizon and the tiny sails, extremely fine in
color, harmonize with the beautiful silvery sky."
=A Fine River Scene by Aelbert Cuijp.=--Aelbert Cuijp has a beautiful
View of the River in the Morning. On the right, at the foot of a high
mountain, a tongue of land advances into the water; two shepherds are
visible; some cows are browsing, quenching their thirst, or lying down;
and the river is dotted with row-boats and sail-boats. On the left are
some mountains, and in the background the town lies on the banks of the
river.
=One of Pompe's Rare Works.=--A View of Rotterdam, by a little-known
painter, Gerrit Pompe (fl. 1700), whose works are very rare, deserves
study. The Maas, animated with ships, occupies the foreground; on the
left, the Admiralty yacht is under full sail, and there is also a
row-boat; in the middle distance is a battleship; in the background are
some other boats; and still farther away extends the town of Rotterdam.
The painter has signed his name on a floating plank.
=Pompe's Rotterdam and Sonjé's.=--It is interesting to compare Pompe's
Rotterdam with the View near Rotterdam by Johannes Sonjé. Here we have
the Rotter in the foreground, on which a merchant ship and a row-boat
are seen. The river winds among the trees of the meadows, which are
animated with persons and animals. Under the trees on the left is a
farmhouse. Farther back are two sail-boats, and in the background is the
city.
=A Beautiful River Scene by Van Goyen.=--J. van Goyen, the father-in-law
of Jan Steen, was particularly famous for his landscapes and river
scenery, a beautiful example of which is called View of a River in
Holland. On the left is a jetty, from which fishermen are loading a boat
with baskets; in the middle distance is a boat with fishermen drawing a
seine; and in the background are a mill and some houses on the bank.
Several other sailing and rowing boats are on the water, and on the
horizon to the left is a village.
=Avercamp's Famous View of a River.=--Hendrik Avercamp (fl. 1660) was
famous in his day for his Dutch _kermesses_, camp life, landscape, and
still life. His View of a River is full of life and color. In the left
foreground are two fishermen, and on the left a seated fisherman's wife.
The men are dragging a big seine. In the middle distance to the right
people are bathing and swimming; swans are on the stream, also boats
with occupants; and there are houses on the banks.
=River Scenes by Willaerts, Father and Son.=--Isaac Willaerts (fl. 1650)
has a View of a River. On the left is a village on a dike; on the right,
a river with many sail-boats. He was a pupil of his father, Adam. The
Mouth of the Meuse near Brielle, by Adam Willaerts, also belongs to this
group. In the foreground on the left stands an inn with the sign In de
Witte Zwaan (The White Swan), and before it on a cask sits a wandering
singer, surrounded by fishermen and peasants; a little to the front are
seen a gentleman and his family, to whom an old fisherman offers fish;
on the banks of the river are groups of peasants, sailors, and
fishermen, talking, embracing the women, and offering their arms to them
for a promenade. Boats are arriving and departing, and on the horizon
lies the town.
=A River Picture and Two Others by Verschuier.=--Lieve Verschuier has
The Maas before Rotterdam. The river is seen on the right; on the left
are the Bompjes (the quay bordered with trees), the Oudehoofdpoort (old
gate), and the Haringvliet (canal). Merchant vessels are riding at
anchor, and all sorts of boats are carrying merchandise and passengers.
In the foreground is a boat with two fishermen. The same artist has here
a Mountainous Landscape, and the old Oostpoort at Rotterdam, built in
1611-13 and demolished in 1836.
=Jongkind's Impressive Picture of Overschie in Moonlight.=--The
impressive picture, View of Overschie in Moonlight, was purchased in
1893 out of a bequest by Mr. Prainat at Rotterdam. After Jongkind
settled in France he frequently visited Holland, and this picture was
painted in 1872, during one of his visits. He was exceedingly fond of
Rotterdam and its environs. Overschie is a village near Rotterdam, and
the Schie, it may be noted, joins the Maas at Delftshaven; upon it is
situated Delft. It is interesting to compare this picture with Gabriel's
In the Environs of Overschie.
[Illustration: JONGKIND
View of Overschie in Moonlight]
=Jan Storck's Picture of the Old Gate at Rotterdam.=--Jan Storck, whose
Castle of Nyenrode is in the Rijks, has here The Oude Hoofdpoort at
Rotterdam seen from the Maas. In addition to the old gate (built in 1598
and demolished in 1856), several boats are represented, and a yacht is
just leaving port amidst salvos of artillery. The Maas is seen to the
right.
=Two Pictures Characteristic of A. Storck's Style.=--Abraham Storck has
two characteristic works. An Italian Seaport has a jetty on the right
with a large building and a stone fountain. Several persons are busy
discharging the contents of the boats and galleys. On the left a sloop
is going toward a Dutch boat at anchor. His other picture is A Dutch
Port in Winter. A great hole appears in the ice in the centre; on the
right is a pole on which nets are drying; on the left, a boat stuck fast
in the ice: Farther along are more imprisoned boats, some houses, and a
mill; near the bridge are a lady and gentleman in a sleigh; on the left,
two persons playing hockey; farther along are some skaters and
promenaders. In the background are two ships in the ice; and on the
horizon, some houses and a clock-tower.
=Two Marines by Backhuysen.=--Ludolf Backhuysen has a large View of the
Dutch Coast in Stormy Weather, dated 1682. Ships of various sizes are
endeavoring to escape an approaching heavy squall. A marine, about
one-third the size of the above, is a calmer but bustling scene of ships
of war exchanging salutes at a place of embarkation.
=A Marine, by Zeeman.=--Reinier Zeeman (16-- after 1673), whose pictures
greatly resemble those of Jan Both and Claude Lorraine, is represented
by a marine. On the left some vessels are in the roadstead, on the right
other boats are off for the deep, and on the banks sailors and fishermen
are seen.
=Two Marines by Schotel.=--J. C. Schotel has an Agitated Sea showing a
brig at anchor and a fisherman's boat. A lighthouse is seen on the shore
to the right. Another, called Au Moerdijk, represents a steamboat plying
toward the landing, and in the background boats laden with hay. The
weather is calm.
=The Port of Texel, by W. van de Velde.=--A characteristic example of
Willem van de Velde is The Port of Texel. On the left is a jetty from
which large merchant ships are preparing to leave, on the right the
Admiralty yacht firing salvos, in the foreground fishermen busy with
their nets, a boat containing several gentlemen, and in the offing many
boats leaving port.
=A Sea-Strand, by Mans.=--Fredericus Mans (d. 1673) has a panel called A
Sea-Strand. In the foreground are fishermen, peasants, and women. A road
on the right leads to a village in the dunes. On the left, the beach is
animated with many figures and fishing boats.
=A Marine, by L. G. Man.=--L. G. Man (eighteenth century) has a marine
consisting of several English men-of-war on a sunlit sea.
=Sunset at Scheveningen and Two Other Pictures, by Schelfhout.=--Andreas
Schelfhout (1787-1870) has A Beach, with the sea in the background,
fishing-boats in the middle distance, and a fisherman on the dunes, with
his dog in the foreground. A Winter Scene represents a frozen stream
where three children are playing with a sled; farther away are some
skaters; and to the right, the village houses beneath wintry trees.
Sunset at Scheveningen shows a beautifully lighted sea; some boats with
fishermen occupy the middle distance; and the beach with promenaders is
shown in the foreground.
=H. Koekkoek's Stormy Sea.=--Hermanus Koekkoek (1815-82) was a pupil of
his father, and, like him, a marine painter. His Stormy Sea, showing
various vessels struggling with the elements, is full of force and
atmospheric effects.
=Two Beautiful Marines by Mesdag.=--Two beautiful pictures by the
skilful marine-painter, H. W. Mesdag, should be noted: Breakers on the
North Sea Coast, presented by Mr. C. E. van Stolk in 1885, depicts a
scene that the traveller himself may verify at any moment; and A
Sunrise on the Dutch Coast, presented by the Society for Promoting Art
at Rotterdam in 1876. This was painted in 1875. Beautiful in color and
striking in composition, it appeals equally to the artist and the
amateur.
A picture by Mrs. Mesdag, Moorland with a Sheepfold in Moonlight, was
presented to this gallery by her in 1904.
=David de Heem, One of the First Painters of Still Life.=--This gallery
owns many pictures of fruits, flowers, animals, and birds. David de Heem
(1570-1632) was one of the first to devote his talents almost
exclusively to still life. Neither The Hague nor the Rijks gallery
contains an example of his work. He treated with great minuteness
flowers, fruits, glasses, etc. Even during his own lifetime his
paintings were much sought after, and high prices were paid for them. In
his Flowers and Fruits we see a glass of Rhine wine standing in a stone
niche ornamented with carved mouldings. The glass is garlanded with
roses, honeysuckle, pinks, and chrysanthemums; and grouped about it are
white grapes, peaches, apricots, plums, etc.
=A Large Still-life Picture by Jan de Heem.=--His more famous son, Jan
Davidsz, who inherited his talents and tastes, has here a large picture
of still life. On a table partly covered with a cloth of green velvet
are arranged various fruits,--grapes, peaches, figs, and a lemon partly
peeled. In the foreground is a pewter dish full of crabs, prawns, and
hazelnuts; then come a blue porcelain bowl and a pewter plate with
oranges and strawberries; next we have a basket covered with a blue
velvet cloth, on which is a pewter dish with a cut ham. In the
background is a box with gold and silver fringe, and on it a
wide-mouthed bottle of Rhine wine, with a vine branch, a cooked
crayfish, and some chestnuts. To the left are two wine glasses and a
silver plate of plums, figs, and cherries. Well may Blanc exclaim:
"There is no eater so cloyed, no gourmet so _blasé_, who would not
have his appetite restored by the sight of one of De Heem's pictures;
for here everything is exquisite, both the form and the substance, the
viands and the fruits, as well as the way in which they are served. It
is necessary that the eye should dine, says the proverb; and this is
particularly true of feasts and collations given in painting.... De
Heem has happily expressed the quality of every viand and every fruit,
its rough or smooth surface, dull or shining, and even its stage of
ripeness,--the violet plum with its thin skin, splashed with red and
drab, the light down of the peach with its pale and purple tones, the
plush envelope in which the hazelnut hides, and the green and split
shell inside which we see the kernel. Moreover, this diversity of
substances is not only rendered by local color but also by certain
variations of the brush work by fine shades of touch. On the oak or
marble table is placed an enormous glass vessel cut in facets, a
patriarchal glass, all the ridges of which glitter in the light, and
through the crystal of which we see a golden liquid, fused topaz.
Sometimes it is a _roemer_, a cylindrical vase of Bohemian glass
mounted in silver, a precious utensil transmitted from generation to
generation. This is a picture that transports us to the intimate life
of these domestic Dutchmen, attentive to all the delicacies of
interior comfort."
Jan's son, Cornelis, has also a piece called Flowers and Fruits in the
same style.
=Seghers's Flowers.=--The striking picture of Flowers, by David Seghers,
shows a stone cartouche with a little bust of Ceres framed in a garland
of red and white roses, tulips, and many small flowers, around which
hover numerous butterflies.
=W. C. Héda, an Early Still-life Painter.=--Willem Claes Héda
(1594-1668) was one of the earliest Dutchmen who devoted themselves
exclusively to the painting of still life. Héda was the contemporary and
companion of Dirk Hals, with whom he had in common pictorial touch and
technical execution. But Héda was more careful and finished than Hals,
and showed considerable skill and not a little taste in arranging and
coloring chased cups and beakers and tankards of precious and inferior
metals. Nothing is so appetizing as his Luncheon, with rare comestibles
set out upon rich plate, oysters,--seldom without the cut
lemon,--bread, champagne, olives, and pastry. Even the commoner
Refection is also not without charm, as it comprises a cut ham, bread,
walnuts, and beer.
=Van Gelder and Gillemans, Famous Painters of Still Life.=--N. van
Gelder (d. 1660) painted birds, animals, and flowers with great finish
and delicacy. His Poultry consists of a dead cock on a black marble
plinth, partly suspended by one of its feet from an iron hook fixed
behind a partly open green curtain. To the left are two shot pigeons, a
green velvet game-bag, and a fowling-piece.
Jan Paul Gillemans (1618-?) was famous for his still life. This gallery
possesses one of his fruit pieces, in which grapes, oranges, lemons,
plums, and apricots are temptingly displayed.
=Ykens, Painter of Flowers.=--Franchois Ykens (or Ikens) (1601-93), a
painter of flowers and pupil of his uncle, Osias Beest, has a picture
here that was formerly attributed to François Seghers. A stone
cartouche, surrounded with a garland of roses, tulips, pinks,
honeysuckle, clematis, etc., and bearing a representation of the mystic
marriage of St. Catherine, is called simply Flowers.
=W. van Aelst and his Famous Pupil, Rachel Ruysch.=--Willem van Aelst
delights us with his Flowers. On a brown marble slab in a niche stands
an elegant vase containing roses, poppies, a pink, and other blossoms,
around which a butterfly is fluttering. A snail is crawling in the
niche. On a brown table-cloth with gold fringe, to the right, is an open
gold watch with a green ribbon attached. The picture is signed and dated
1662. Willem's famous pupil, Rachel Ruysch, may be seen here by a
charming flower piece. A tree-trunk surrounded by red and white roses,
poppies, convolvuluses, etc., and upon the stony ground, covered with
moss and mushrooms, innumerable lizards, toads, snails, and various
insects swarm. Butterflies hover over the flowers. Rachel Ruysch painted
this picture in 1685, and gave it as a present to the famous painter,
Ludolf Bakhuysen.
=Pieter Boel's Dead Game.=--Her contemporary, Pieter Boel, shows the
influence of his master, F. Snyders, in Dead Game. A dead swan hangs by
its foot to a tree. In the foreground, near a pedestal, are arranged two
partridges and some other game, with a gun and a brass hunting-horn. On
the left is a hound; and, in the background to the right, an owl on a
cage with a little dead bird in front of it.
=Marseus, Painter of Lowly Animal Life.=--Another follower of Snyders
was Otto Marseus van Schrieck. He excelled in the loving rendering of
lowly animal life. His Nest is of natural size, with eggs lying on the
moss near some thistles, wild mulberries, and red mushrooms. Around it
flutter some butterflies; on the right is a lizard, and on the left a
Mayfly.
=A. Breughel's Still-life Pictures.=--His pupil, Abraham Breughel
(1631-?), went to Rome; but little is known about him except that his
favorite subject was still life. Like so many others, his flowers and
fruits are painted natural size. The principal objects in his picture
are a silver dish with figs, a silver bowl containing roses and
gladioluses at the foot of a column, and black and white grapes, apples,
etc., in the foreground.
=A. Cuijp, a Painter Catholic in his Tastes.=--Aelbert Cuijp was very
catholic in his tastes. He occupied a country house near Dordrecht,
called Dordwijck, where he painted everything that struck his
fancy,--men, animals, fruits, flowers, and landscape. The poultry yard
is noticed in a Cock and Hen scratching in the straw, with a broom and
some blocks of red stone conspicuously placed. A hare, two pigeons, and
other birds on a stone pillar compose his Dead Game. A painting called
Fruits represents peaches on a blue plate on a table, and, beside the
plate, white grapes, cherries, and green gooseberries. On the left is
also a butterfly. A charming jumble of peaches, black and white grapes,
and various shells make the picture, Fruits and Shells, in which three
butterflies and a housefly are also prominent.
=One of Jan Weenix's Many Dead Swans.=--No Dutch gallery would be
complete without a Dead Swan by Jan Weenix. Sir Joshua Reynolds admitted
that he had seen no less than twenty during his visit to Holland. The
dead swan is here suspended by the foot from a stone pedestal; on one
side lie a peacock, a partridge, and a thrush; and near them a branch
from a rosebush and a basket of fruit. In the background is seen a park
with a lake, statues, fountains, and large trees.
=Two of Mignon's Best Pictures.=--Abraham Mignon appears at his best in
two pictures in this gallery called Flowers and Fruits. In the former we
admire a vase on a stone table, filled with red and white roses, tulips,
blue irises, poppies, pinks, convolvuluses, and ears of wheat; on the
left on the table a mouse, snails, butterflies, beetles, and other
insects are painted with rare delicacy and truth. Insects and snails
also occur in the second picture, in which the fruits are placed in a
niche, and consist of a bunch of black grapes, a peach, a melon, an
apricot, and some plums decorated with a vine leaf, wheat, and small
flowers.
=A Still Life by Van Beyeren.=--Abraham Hendricksz van Beyeren was
especially fond of painting flowers and marine life. His Sea Fish is an
evidence of his excellence in this line. On a table is a basket
containing whiting and a slice of salmon; in front of the basket are a
crab, some soles, some slices of cod, and a knife.
=Van den Broeck's Flowers.=--Elias van den Broeck (1653-1711), a pupil
of Jan de Heem, delighted to immortalize on canvas the flowers he
cultivated in his beautiful garden. A stone plinth with roses and Indian
cress; and, in front, chrysanthemums and creepers, a lizard, two snails,
and butterflies are the chief features of his Flowers.
=Van Os, Another Good Flower-painter.=--Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os
(1782-1861) was a worthy successor of the seventeenth-century masters of
this school. Flowers and Flowers and Fruits are artistically composed
and lovingly painted. The former consists of an Etruscan vase filled
with roses, blue irises, tulips, and anemones, standing on a marble
table. The second picture represents, on a marble plinth in a niche, a
melon, a pear, and a bunch of black grapes with roses, convolvuluses,
poppies, and other flowers.
=His Pupil, Hendrik Reekers.=--His pupil, Hendrik Reekers (1815-54), has
here Fruits, Vegetables, and Game, arranged on a marble table. A basket
is full of white and black grapes, a cut lemon, and some oranges, plums,
peaches, and an artichoke, mingled with flowers. Above these hang a
partridge and a grouse.
=Flowers, by Steenbergen.=--Flowers, by Albertus Steenbergen (1814- ),
consists of roses, poppies, lilacs, convolvuluses, nasturtiums, etc.,
arranged in a vase that stands on a marble plinth. On the right flutters
a butterfly.
=Still Life, by Maria Vos.=--Still Life by Maria Vos (b. 1824) consists
of a stone plinth partly covered with a piece of matting on which stand
a white cock and a black hen, an overturned basket of oranges and
lemons, a copper dish, and a porcelain bowl; and on the wall a stone jug
with a pewter top.
=Flowers, by Margaretha Roosenboom.=--In Flowers, by Margaretha
Roosenboom (1843), we have a silver vase filled with roses, standing on
a table with a green cover. In the background, a green curtain is half
drawn.
=Two Excellent Hunting Scenes by Hondius.=--Abraham Hondius (1638-91),
who excelled in painting the different breeds of dogs and other animals,
and hunting scenes, with much fire and action, has two pictures here. A
Boar Defending Itself Against Dogs shows the furious beast at bay, with
four dying or dead dogs under him in the foreground. On the left three
more dogs are rushing to the attack. The features of the landscape are
three trees, with a mountainous background. The other picture, of
exactly the same size, depicts a Bear Attacked by Dogs. The bear is
standing on his hind legs with a dog under him, and throwing another
into the air, while he hugs the life out of another. On the right and
left, more dogs are rushing to attack. There is a dying dog in the left
foreground. On the right, in the middle distance, there are two trees
near a rock, and a cascade, and the background is mountainous. Both
pictures are signed and dated 1672.
=Bird Pictures by the Hondecoeters, Father and Son.=--Gijsbert de
Hondecoeter shows his loving study of the gallinaceous tribe in Cock and
Hens. In the foreground is a black hen with a white comb; and behind her
are a sitting yellow hen and a standing white one; still farther back
are three more hens, one perched on the branch of a tree. To the left
sits a brown hen with a black comb, with a yellow-brown cock behind. The
ground is strewed with oyster shells and straw. Three hens are in the
background. The picture is signed and dated 1652.
Melchior de Hondecoeter, who surpassed his father as a painter of birds
alive and dead, enriches this collection with his Dead Game. In a grotto
at the foot of some ruins a dead bittern and two partridges are hanging.
In front are two gulls; and on the right are a hunting-horn, tied with a
red tasselled cord, a green velvet bag, a kingfisher, and two finches.
In the middle distance is a fowling-piece with a shoulder belt and net.
The entrance of the grotto is in the background on the left.
=Four Portrait Groups by the Eversdijcks.=--In common with all other
Dutch galleries, the Boijmans is rich in portraits. Royalties, admirals,
officers, ladies of quality, gentlemen, elderly men and women, and
children are all represented. Three pictures of gatherings of officers
at Goes, by Cornelis Willemsz Eversdijck, who died in his native town of
Goes about 1649, and one by his son Willem, representing the same corps
of archers, are the only important pictures of this class in the
gallery.
=Two Portraits by Mostert, and One by Queborn.=--Jan Mostert (1474-?),
who was a painter of portraits and altarpieces, has here two
half-lengths of Augusteyn van Teylingen, Anno 1511, and Judoca van
Egmont van der Nieuburch, 1511 (his wife).
Crispyn van den Queborn (1604-58) was a distinguished portrait-painter
and engraver. His half-length Portrait of Hartogh van Moerkerken was
painted in 1645.
=Santvoort, a Portrait-painter after the Style of Rembrandt.=--Dirk van
Santvoort (d. 1660) was probably one of Rembrandt's pupils; or, at
least, he adopted that master's manner. Not many of his pictures are
known, and the majority of these are portraits. His two pictures in the
Boijmans Museum, however, belong rather to the classical school of the
Elzheimers and Poelenburgs. A Young Shepherd Playing the Chalumeau,
wearing a brown cap with an ostrich feather, and a bright brown robe
over a white shirt, with a knife and horn at his belt (green
background), is dated 1632. A Young Shepherdess, half-length, turned to
the left, wears a violet dress with red sleeves. A blue hat with a green
branch is on her head and a crook over her right shoulder. The
background is greenish.
=Two Portraits by F. Bol.=--Ferdinand Bol's Portrait of a Woman
represents a young woman seen in profile half-length, and turned to the
left. She wears a red dress and a violet velvet mantle lined with fur.
Beautiful ornaments of gold and pearls are in her hair and on her neck
and arms. One hand rests on the base of a column, and the other holds a
closed fan. His portrait of Dirk van Walijen represents a young boy with
long curls, dressed in yellow satin, red tunic, and yellow boots.
=Portrait by Gerrit Dou.=--Among the most striking portraits is that of
An Old Lady by Gerrit Dou. She is dressed in black velvet trimmed with
fur; her bodice is of black silk, and she wears a large turned-down
collar, and round her neck a gold chain with a pendent jewel. She has on
a blue cap with a gold band. The head stands out boldly from the grayish
background, and the expression of the smiling face is singularly
impressive.
=Jacob Cats and his Cousin, by Mytens.=--Mytens's Portrait of Jacob
Cats, the Dutch poet, and his cousin Cornelia Bars, is also of interest.
It was painted in 1650, and represents Jacob Cats seated at a table
before a tent. He is dressed in crimson, and turns toward his cousin at
his side, who wears brown silk. On the table, with its red carpet, are
an open book and an inkstand. On the left is seen a hilly landscape with
trees; and in the background an angel with a long white robe.
=Portraits by Opzoomer.=--Simon Opzoomer has a portrait of Rembertus
Frescarode, one called Erasmus in his Study, and one of the Brothers de
Witt in Prison in Gevangenpoort. Cornelis is in bed, and Jacob is seated
by him with a book on his knees. The time is just before their murder by
the populace in 1672.
=Portraits of Two Notables by Mierevelt.=--Mierevelt has a Portrait of
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, painted in 1671. His Maurice of Nassau shows
that prince standing by a table and wearing a richly worked cuirass, the
present of the States-General after the victory of Nieuwpoort, and an
orange silk scarf. He holds a commandant's baton in his right hand, and
his helmet with orange plumes is seen on the table. Mierevelt has here
also A Lady of Quality.
=Finely painted Portraits by Nason.=--Pieter Nason (1612-90), who
painted portraits and still life, and who has a Portrait of Willem
Frederick, Count of Nassau (1662), in The Hague, has here The Portrait
of a Lord, and one of A Woman of Quality. The lady is holding some
yellow flowers. She is dressed in red silk with white undersleeves; a
brown scarf falls over her shoulders; and pearls ornament her hair,
ears, and neck. The jewels, silks, and satins are beautifully painted,
as is also the costume of the lord in the accompanying picture. He is
dressed in yellow silk with a brown mantle, and his lace cravat is held
by a circle of diamonds. Trees form the background.
=A Woman of Quality, by Pourbus.=--Pieter Pourbus (1510-83) was a
painter, geographer, and architect. His Portrait of a Woman of Quality
shows her costumed in the Valois mode, with Mary Stuart cap, fluted
ruff, and black robe.
=Two Portraits by Netscher.=--Caspar Netscher has a sombre Portrait of a
Protestant Pastor and a brilliant Lady of Quality, dressed in blue satin
with a graceful brown scarf. She is seated by a fountain. One hand is
placed on her breast; the other is full of roses.
=Pool's Interesting Portraits of his Wife and her Father.=--Of great
interest is the portrait of Rachel Ruysch, painted by her husband,
Juriaan Pool. This is a bust only. The lady is represented with powdered
hair and dressed in brown satin with lace at the neck and sleeves. Her
right hand is lifted and holds a veil. The background contains a column
and a green curtain. Pool's portrait of her father, Professor Frederik
Ruysch, is also a bust. He wears a large powdered wig and a long robe
with a band; his left hand holds a skull.
=A Portrait Group by Maes.=--Nicholas Maes is represented by a Portrait
of a Gentleman and a Lady standing in front of a noble house. The lady,
in black with a gray tunic having an embroidered gold border and a large
collar, holds a little child with her left hand. The latter is dressed
in white and wears a cap with a red feather. The gentleman holds his
wife by her other hand. He is dressed in black, with white ruff and
cuffs, and a mantle is thrown over his left shoulder. His right hand
holds a glove. Behind them are a rosebush and flowers, and there are
shrubs and bushes by the wall.
=Other Portraits by Maes.=--Another by the same artist represents Mr.
Willem Nieupoort, Envoy from the States-General to Oliver Cromwell in
1653. He is standing by a broken column, and is dressed in yellow silk
and brown velvet, a corselet, a lace cravat, and a red scarf. Near the
column are a sword and a helmet with red plumes. His wife, Anna van
Loon, is also painted by Maes, standing by a stone balustrade. She wears
a dress of red velvet with a tunic of yellow silk, a gray veil, and
pearls in her hair. In her left hand she holds some oranges, and her
right clasps that of a little girl in white. Trees occupy the
background.
=A Portrait of a Priest, by Metsu.=--Gabriel Metsu has a Portrait of a
Priest, seated at a table in his study. One hand rests on his breast,
the other on a death's head. On the table, covered with a green cloth,
are placed an open book, a crucifix, and a sheet of paper. A glove,
books, and a half-drawn curtain occupy the background.
=A Lawyer in his Study, by A. van Ostade.=--Adriaen van Ostade has A
Lawyer in his Study. This important personage, dressed in black velvet
and a violet robe, is seated by a table covered with a Smyrna rug, on
which are books, papers, documents, and a pewter inkstand. He is reading
a document which he holds in his left hand; his right, resting on the
arm of his chair, holds his spectacles. Behind the table there is a blue
screen. An open door is seen in the background.
Honthorst has a Portrait of an Old Man, dressed in brown, and having a
long gray beard.
=Several Portraits by Van der Helst.=--Bartholomeus van der Helst has
one of A Protestant Minister, painted in 1638; one called A Man, and
another A Woman (the two latter painted in 1646); Portrait of Daniel
Bernard; and Portrait of a Lady and Gentleman. The latter, painted in
1654, represents the couple on a bench in the garden. The lady is
beautifully dressed in white satin, with pearls and diamonds, and she is
plucking a rose from a bush near by. She has a huge diamond ring on her
thumb. The gentleman is dressed in black satin: in one hand he holds his
large-brimmed hat; the other supports the right arm of the lady. The
landscape, with its varied trees and playing fountain, was painted by
Aldert van Everdingen (1654).
=A Portrait by Jan de Vos.=--Jan de Vos, who died about 1651, has here a
Portrait of a Man, dressed in black with white ruff, and standing by a
table. His right hand holds a pen, his left rests on an open copy-book.
=A Portrait by Stolker.=--Jan Stolker (1724-85), pupil of J. M.
Quinkhard, has a Portrait of the Burgomaster of Rotterdam, Willem
Schefers, seated at a table covered with a red cloth, on which are
several books. He is dressed in black velvet, and wears a powdered wig.
=Portraits by Simon de Vos.=--Simon de Vos (1608-76), a pupil of
Cornelis de Vos and Rubens, has a Portrait of a Man, dressed in black
with striped sleeves and a large fluted ruff. His right hand rests on a
table, and his left on his hip. He has also another Portrait of a Man,
whose left hand rests on a chair, while his right holds a glove.
=A Man in Oriental Costume by Van Vliet.=--Jan Joris van Vliet, born in
Delft in 1610, and one of Rembrandt's pupils, can be studied here by An
Old Man in Oriental Costume. This is only a bust; the hair is short, the
moustache gray; and the costume consists of a black turban with gold
ornaments, a crimson coat, black mantle, and a golden chain. His right
hand rests on his chest.
=A Huntsman by Verkolje.=--Verkolje has a Portrait of a Huntsman seated
beneath a tree. He is young, and wears a large black hat, a gray
costume, and orange scarf. His undersleeves are white, his stockings
brown, and his garters orange. His left hand rests on his hip, and his
right holds a gun. Two hunting-dogs are by his side, and some dead
rabbits. Trees occupy the background.
=Van der Werff's Portraits of himself and Others.=--Pieter van der Werff
has portraits of W. B. Schefers and his wife, of Johannes Texelius and
of himself. The painter stands with his elbow on a stone balustrade,
dressed in grayish blue embroidered with gold. A brown velvet cloak is
thrown over his shoulder, and he holds his palette and brushes in his
left hand.
=An Admiral and his Wife, by Van den Tempel.=--A. van den Tempel has An
Admiral and his Wife, in which the former is dressed in gray and silver,
and his wife in black and pink and jewels. She holds an orange in her
hand; and in the distance a negro is seen with a dish of oranges. In the
background a lifted curtain of crimson velvet reveals a warship from
which a gun is being discharged.
=A Portrait by Zimmerman.=--J. W. G. Zimmerman has a Portrait of Mr.
Joost van Vollenhoven, Burgomaster of Rotterdam in 1864-81, dressed in
the robes of office, his right hand holding a letter and his left
resting on some books on the table.
=Other Portraits of Interest.=--Other portraits of interest are Adriaen
Backer's Portrait of a Man; Hendrik Berckman's Portrait of Admiral
Adriaen van Trappen; Portrait of Himself, by Gijsbertus Johannes van den
Berg, and Portrait of his Wife with her son on her knee; C. Bisschop's
Portrait of Prince Henry of the Netherlands, in the costume of the Royal
Yacht Club; Ferdinand Bol's Portrait of a Woman (two), and Dirk Van der
Waeijen; Cornelis Cels's Gijsbert Karel, Count of Hogendorp; Cornelius
Janszoon van Ceulen's Portrait of a Gentleman, and Portrait of a Young
Woman; P. van Champaigne's Portraits of two Artists; Jacobus Delff's
Portrait of a Man; Albrecht Dürer's Portrait of Erasmus; Anthonie van
Dijck's Portraits of Charles I., King of England, Henrietta Maria, and
Their Two Children; Gerbrand van den Eeckhout's Portrait of a Child;
Robbert van Eysden's Portrait of J. F. Hoffman, Burgomaster of
Rotterdam, 1845-66; Carel Fabritius's Portrait of a Man, dressed in
black with open shirt showing his neck and chest; Govert Flinck's
Portraits of Dirck Graswinckel, and his Sister, under a tree, in a
landscape with ruins in the distance; George Gilles Haanen's Portrait of
a Young Man; Frans Hals's Portrait of an Old Gentleman; Adriaen
Hanneman's Portrait of Johan de Witt; Constantin Netscher's William
III., King of England; Dionys van Nymegen's Willem van der Pot (1733)
and Sara, his Wife (1733); Nicholaes Pieneman's William III., King of
the Netherlands; David van der Plaes's Cornelis Tromp, and A Gentleman;
Crispyn van den Queborn's Hartogh van Moerkerken; Jan van Scorel's A
Young Man, and A Gentleman; Pieter van Slingelandt's Johannes van
Crombrugge; Hendricus Turken's (1791-?) Margarethe Agnes de Vries;
Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne's Prince Frederick Henry on Horseback
with his Suite (_en grisaille_); and Abraham de Vries's A. A. Vroesen
(1639), and An Old Woman (1644). Musscher's Portraits of Three Children,
crowning the statue of a child with flowers, should also be noticed, as
well as Jacob Gerritz Cuijp's Portraits of a General, a Lady of
Distinction, and Three Children. The last, a boy and two little girls,
are beautifully dressed, and are playing under the trees in a charming
landscape, with several buildings, including a mill and a church-tower
in the distance.
=Good Pictures of Social Life by Palamedesz.=--Anthonie Palamedesz
(1601-73) was a painter of social life, _corps-de-gardes_, portraits,
landscapes, and still life. His art belonged to the school of Frans
Hals. The quality of his work is very unequal, but many of his interiors
are full of life and color. He was such a good painter of figures in
landscapes that his aid was much sought after by brother artists,
notably B. van Bassen and A. de Lorme. In The Hague Gallery he has two
works that show him at his best,--Music after Dinner, and Merry Company;
also a Portrait of Martinus van Stavenisse, Knight of St. Michael.
=An Interior of High Life, by Palamedesz.=--The Rotterdam Gallery has An
Interior of High Life by this artist. In an apartment hung with gilded
leather several ladies and gentlemen are talking and playing musical
instruments. In the foreground there is a lady dressed in blue with a
light red tunic; next to her is a gentleman holding a guitar. On the
left there is a lady with a sheet of music in her hand. She wears a
white dress and a yellow tunic, and beside her is seated a gentleman. In
the centre of the room there is a table covered with a red carpet, at
which two persons are seated. Farther back in the room several groups of
ladies and gentlemen are seen; and in the background a chimney-piece.
=A Musical Reunion, by Van Deelen.=--A Musical Reunion by Dirk van
Deelen (1605-71) is a scene in high life. Six gentlemen and four ladies
are in a hall paved with blue and white marble. A gentleman who turns
his back to the spectator is seen in the foreground. He is dressed in
black satin slashed with yellow, a black velvet cloak, yellow stockings,
red-heeled shoes, lace collar, and large black hat. At the right a lady
is leaning on a table with a red cloth. She wears a black-and-yellow
flowered dress with a red tunic and large lace collar and sleeves. Near
the table, on which are a guitar and some books of music, are four
gentlemen, one of whom is without his hat. In the centre a lady dressed
in green silk is playing the guitar, with her foot on a foot-warmer.
Beside her stand a gentleman and two ladies, one of whom wears a black
dress with a yellow satin tunic and holds a book of music. In the
background on the right there is a bed with green curtains and an open
door flanked with columns at each side. On the left are two tall
windows, and on the wall hang two male portraits.
=An Architectural Painting by Van Deelen.=--The Peristyle of a Building,
by this artist, shows his love for classic architecture. A stone bath
with steps occupies the foreground, and two men enveloped in long cloaks
talk with a woman who is seated on the steps. Near it is a statue of
Hercules on a red marble pedestal. Many people are seen in a distant
gallery through the columns.
=A Delightful Conversation Piece, by Ochtervelt.=--The Collation, by
Jacob Ochtervelt, is one of those delightful "conversation pieces" so
popular in the seventeenth century. A young woman in a yellow satin
skirt and a red velvet jacket bordered with white fur is seated on a
tabouret of green velvet with her back turned toward the spectator. Her
left hand rests on her hip and her right holds a glass of wine. On her
right is a table with an Oriental carpet upon which stands a flagon of
wine. By its side is an officer in a blue costume and large blond wig,
who is handing some oysters in a silver dish to the young woman.
=A Ball, by François Francken, Junior.=--François Vranckz, or Francken,
the Younger (1581-1642), pupil of his father François Francken and a
native of Antwerp, has here A Ball. In the foreground a gentleman and
lady are beginning a dance surrounded by spectators; at the entrance of
the hall on the right a servant comes in with wine, and farther down
against the wall and under the windows is a long table served with
refreshments. In the centre farther back two gentlemen are talking to a
lady; on the left a platform with musicians; in the background a large
chimney-piece between two windows.
=A Fine Interior, by Tilborch.=--Of Egidius, or Gilles, Tilborch
(1625-78), a fine Interior (once attributed to Biset) hangs here. In a
very rich room hung with gilded leather, and from the ceiling of which
is suspended a copper chandelier ornamented with a two-headed eagle, a
lady is seated before the mantelpiece near a table covered with a Smyrna
rug. She is dressed in white, with a red petticoat, and some red bows on
her breast. Around her are six children of different ages, including one
in the arms of a servant. Opposite to her is a gentleman dressed in
black with white sleeves, accompanied by a dog; a little behind is a
servant with an inkstand. On the left an aged woman dressed in black is
seen, and two ladies and a gentleman enter the chamber on the left. Over
the chimney-piece is a beautifully painted landscape, and on the left
against the wall a large _armoire_ or _kas_ of black wood ornamented
with gold, above which hangs a large portrait.
=A Village Interior, by C. de Man.=--Cornelus de Man (1621-1706) painted
portraits, churches, and social life. In The Hague Gallery he has a
Peasants' Wedding, and here his qualities may be studied in A Village
Interior. A joyous company of peasants, with a sprinkling of the better
class, are gathered in a big barn. In the centre, a couple are
dancing,--the man holding aloft a pewter pot. On the right a group are
playing "hot cockles." In front, there is a dog asleep; on the right, a
little girl with a hoop; and on the left, a peasant asleep on a barrel.
Farther back is a long table covered with food, at which several men
and women are seated. A violinist sits on a barrel, and a guest is
sitting on the table mimicking him with tongs; on the floor in front of
him is an earthen pitcher with a pewter lid. In the background are two
individuals, one with a drum. A black bird is on a perch close to the
ceiling.
=Two Pictures of Rustic Life by Molenaer.=--Two pictures by Jan Miense
Molenaer are owned by this gallery,--The Clarinet Player and Rustic
Gaiety. The former represents a peasant's house, where a man with his
foot resting on a stool is playing the clarinet; his audience consists
of two peasants, one of whom is sitting and the other standing by the
side of the fire.
Music is the feature of Rustic Gaiety also. A table with a green cover
is set with pewter plates and bread; seated thereat is a peasant,
dressed in green blouse and wearing a red cap, his face turned toward
the spectator. His left hand rests on his leg and he holds a glass of
wine in his right. Opposite is a woman singing and playing the guitar; a
little farther away another woman, with a glass of wine in one hand and
a jug in the other, is also singing. In the background a peasant, seated
near a barrel, is lighting a pipe, and still farther back a man is
playing a fiddle.
=A Village Interior, by Sorgh.=--Hendrik Maertinsz Sorgh, who died in
Rotterdam in 1670, and who was a pupil of David Teniers, reflects his
master in A Village Interior. Here we have the interior of a barn where
five peasants are eating and drinking around a table, at which is also
seated an old woman whose hands are resting on a jug. On the left is a
brick oven, and utensils of various kinds hang on the wall. Many
articles are scattered about, including a leather slipper, a wooden
spoon, some mussel shells, a tub of onions, etc. From the ceiling hangs
a wicker bird-cage and in the foreground a cock and hen are strutting
about.
=The Market in Rotterdam, by Sorgh.=--Another picture represents an
animated scene at The Market in Rotterdam. In the foreground a
vegetable stall is placed against the _façade_ of a house. A woman
carrying a copper pail is selecting some vegetables and disputing with
the vender. Farther back more buyers and sellers are arguing; and the
background is closed with some houses and the entrance to the
Nieuwsteeg.
=A Village Interior, by Wyck.=--A Village Interior, by Thomas Wyck
(1616-77), shows a room in which a woman is seated; a little boy
kneeling has his head in her lap; by her side is a little girl, and
other little girls are sitting on the floor; under the window on the
left a child is sitting at a table with a red carpet; on the right, in
the foreground, stands a barrel on which is a jug. A wooden stairway is
seen in the background.
=Two Paintings illustrating the Versatility of Quellinus.=--Erasmus
Quellinus (1607-78) was a pupil of Rubens, and painted history,
architecture, landscape, portraits, and religious subjects, like his
master. He was a strong colorist and his draughtsmanship is excellent.
Two sides of his art are exhibited in The Ascension of the Virgin and A
Woman in a Kitchen. The latter is a fine study of still life in the
rendering of the various utensils. On the right a young woman with bare
arms, a white cap, a red dress, and white tunic is represented down to
the knees; on the left on the table and by its side are all sorts of
pewter, copper, and earthenware utensils. Behind the table stands a
young negress who is offering a bunch of cherries to the woman.
=A Fine Example of Kalff's Still-life Painting.=--Another study of still
life is shown in The Village Kitchen, by Willem Kalff, a fine example of
this master. In the background a woman is preparing vegetables, a man
stands near a ladder with a basket filled with vegetables, and another
woman is coming through an open door; but these figures are subordinate
in interest to the pots, kettles, and pans of shining copper; the meat
hanging from the ceiling; the bottles, the casks, milk jugs, white
linen, beer, artichokes, onions, cabbages, and other vegetables and
fruits variously arranged.
=Koninck's Famous Gold Weigher.=--Of single figures perhaps the most
famous is by Salomon Koninck (1609-68?), pupil of N. Moijaert. The Gold
Weigher, an old man with white hair and beard, is seated at a table. He
wears a doublet of green velvet and gray fur, and a crimson velvet cap;
he weighs the gold with the greatest care in a pair of scales which he
holds in his right hand. He holds a piece of gold in his left hand also.
On the table, which is covered with a red cloth, are books, a sheet of
paper, a box of weights, and a bag of gold. The light falls through a
window on the left.
=Van der Neer's Guitar Player.=--The Guitar Player, by Eglon Hendrik van
der Neer, is probably a portrait. Here we see a young woman dressed in a
red satin skirt and a white satin jacket, seated by a clavecin. She is
tuning a guitar; and not far away is a gentleman who has a glass of wine
in his hand.
=Pencz's Savant in his Cabinet.=--George Pencz (d. 1550) was a pupil of
Albert Dürer, who also went to Rome and studied under Raphael. He
painted therefore much the same class of subjects and in the same style
as Van Orley. His Savant in his Cabinet is an interesting interior. The
savant is seated at a table covered with a green carpet, his head rests
on his right hand, and his left is extended toward a death's head. He is
dressed in red and wears a red cap. Behind the table is a desk on which
are an open book and a copper chandelier with an extinguished candle.
Through an open window in the background a landscape is visible.
=The Drinker, by D. Ryckaert.=--Another good study is The Drinker, by
David Ryckaert (1612-77), a pupil of his father, Maerten Ryckaert, and
who formed himself on Teniers, Brouwer, and Ostade. The man in a brown
coat with red sleeves and a red cap is seated at a table with a pewter
mug in one hand and a pipe in the other. A pewter plate and an
earthenware jug stand on the table.
=Pictures containing Human Figures, by Muys.=--Nicholas Muys (1740-1808)
has three scenes in _grisaille_ from plays, A Study in Light, two
Interiors, and a Landscape with Figures. The last shows a monument in
the shadow of an oak, and before it a gentleman, lady, and little child
in the costume of the end of the eighteenth century. A beggar and his
family sue for charity. Near the monument are three other persons. Two
ducks are being pursued by dogs in the foreground, a hut is seen among
the trees in the distance, and a village lies on the horizon.
One of the Interiors represents an apartment of the eighteenth century,
where a lady dressed in a green robe is showing a little picture to two
gentlemen. The other Interior is a richly carved vestibule, in which
stands a lady in a violet silk dress and a blue hat; by her side on the
floor are a dead heron, a partridge, a hare, and some rabbits, and the
live greyhound that helped to catch them. Through a door in the centre
is seen the kitchen, where the huntsman and his wife are preparing the
vegetables; and there are two other persons, one of whom is hanging a
cage from the ceiling.
In A Study in Light the painter has grouped a number of objects,--a bust
of Homer on a white marble table, a guitar, music-books, and a chair
with a violin on it,--and lighted them from a candle in a silver
chandelier. In the background a lady is standing before an open clavecin
with a sheet of music in her hand.
=An Interior, by J. B. Scheffer.=--Johan Baptist Scheffer, who died in
Amsterdam in 1809, has here An Interior, showing a room in which a young
peasant woman is sitting at a table preparing vegetables. Beside her
stands a pedler who has placed his right hand on her shoulder, while his
left dangles a gold chain before her eyes. On the left, a little girl is
amusing herself by scaring a cat with her dog; in the background an open
door gives a view through the next room into the street.
=Ary Scheffer's Training.=--Scheffer's more famous son, Arie
(1795-1858), inherited talent also from his mother, Cornelia Lamme, a
very distinguished miniature-painter. He received his first instruction
from his father and in Paris studied under Pierre Guérin. Géricault and
Eugène Delacroix joined him in striking into a new path of art.
=His Two Paintings of Ulrich of Würtemburg.=--Here Arie Scheffer has two
sketches--Heads of Two Children, and A Shepherd Under a Stormy Sky, and
two large canvases on Uhland's ballad representing Ulrich, son of Count
Eberhard of Würtemburg. He first represents the young warrior who,
having lost the Battle of Reutlingen, returns to Stuttgart and finds his
father at the table alone. He has a cold welcome; and Count Eberhard
without greeting him takes a knife and cuts the table-cloth in halves.
In Scheffer's picture Ulrich is standing by the table on the right, and
the angry father is cutting the table-cloth. Exasperated by this insult,
Ulrich returned to the army and, throwing himself into the thickest of
the fray at Doffingen, was killed. The old count spent the night weeping
over the body of his only son. The companion picture, called The Weeper,
represents the bereaved father with clasped hands seated by Ulrich's
body, which still is in armor and lying on a bearskin in the tent.
=Hendrik Scheffer's The First Child.=--Arie's younger brother, Hendrik
Scheffer (1798-1862), also a pupil of Guérin, was a capable painter
whose work, The First Child, hangs in this gallery. A young mother in
bed receives a visit from her husband, who is kissing her hand. On the
right the nurse is seen with the child in her arms.
=A Similar Picture by Cornelis Troost.=--Another similar picture is by
Cornelis Troost. The lady is lying in bed eating her breakfast. Near her
are a cradle, a nurse with the baby, and a little girl. The wall is hung
with portraits, and a clock and a painted screen are seen.
=Brakenburg's Malade Imaginaire and Interior.=--Richard Brakenburg
(1650-1702), a pupil of Ostade, has a _Malade Imaginaire_, in which a
young woman in blue rests languidly on her pillow, attended by a
physician, who is feeling her pulse. A little dog plays by her side, and
several persons are variously grouped and laughing. A parrot cage hangs
from the ceiling. This picture is dated 1696. A different phase of life
appears in his Interior, showing a large room full of peasants,
including women and children. They are laughing at an owl on a perch,
because a man dressed in a black satin doublet is giving it a piece of
cake on the point of a knife. A bird-cage hangs from the ceiling.
=Bollongier's Carnival.=--Hans or Johan Bollongier, who lived in the
middle of the seventeenth century, has a Carnival. A man and woman are
dancing in a street, the former being dressed as a savage and carrying a
club; an individual follows them with a "rommel pot." In the foreground
we see a dog, and a man in a blue toga, holding a sword and an imperial
globe in his hands. Behind these persons a house is visible, the doors
and windows of which are filled with people. The picture is dated 1720.
=Jan Steen's Feast of St. Nicholas.=--Turning now to humorous pictures,
Jan Steen affords two. The Feast of St. Nicholas differs slightly from
the one in the Rijks, and represents the painter's family. On the right
is seated a young woman in a white satin dress and a blue velvet jacket
trimmed with white fur. She is holding out her hands to a little girl,
whose arms are full of spiced bread and other dainties. On the left a
boy is crying behind the table, on which is a shoe containing a switch,
and near him a servant, a boy, and an elderly man are laughing at his
distress. The last has a glass of wine in his hand. Behind the group is
an old woman, who is showing a piece of silver to the poor little boy to
console him for St. Nicholas's present.
=Another Humorous Picture by Jan Steen.=--Another picture which shows
Jan Steen in his most humorous vein is The Operator, who is removing the
stones from a man's head. In Holland in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries to say that a man had "a stone in his head" was only the
equivalent for saying that he was "cracked"; and "to extract the stone
from one's brain" merely meant to cure him of his folly. The patient is
seated in a surgeon's office, and the surgeon, who is behind him
performing an imaginary operation, ostentatiously places some stones in
a basin that an old woman is holding in the full view of the patient. On
the left stands a boy with a basket full of stones, from which the
surgeon supplies himself. The patient's arms are tightly bound with a
rope of straw; a crow is pecking at his hand, and he is screaming with
all his might. Some spectators at an open window are laughing heartily.
=A Similar Picture in the Style of Frans Hals.=--This may be compared
with a picture of the school of Frans Hals, called The Quack Doctor. The
doctor pretends to be cutting stones from the head of a man. To his cap
is fastened a piece of parchment with Hebrew letters and three seals,
and he wears spectacles. The patient is crying out; and a boy, dressed
as a negro, stands in front with a basin full of stones. On the right is
a table covered with a red cloth, upon which are scissors and other
instruments, books, gourds, and a water bottle.
=Cuijp's Eater of Mussels.=--Aelbert Cuijp's Eater of Mussels has a
double interest because the painter has represented himself here. The
scene is laid in a forge, where the master is eating mussels from a
plate that stands beside a glass of beer on a keg. Two little girls and
a boy are watching him with great attention, and through an open window
two gentlemen are peeping in from outside. One has a glass of wine in
his hand, and the other is the artist himself, who is laughing heartily
at the man devouring the mussels. In the foreground are seen a dog, a
large jug, an anvil, some shells, an overturned basket of wood, a cat,
and a hen. In the background are seen a blacksmith and many utensils.
=Two Bright Pictures by Van Stry.=--Abraham van Stry (1753-1826), a
pupil of his father, the architectural painter, has an amusing Table
Well Served. In a middle-class room a fat man is seated at a table, on
which stand a fine roast and other dishes. He casts an approving glance
upon a dish which a servant is just bringing in. Behind him another
servant is pouring out some wine. This artist's Village Inn represents a
peasant on a white horse. He is taking a glass of beer from the
innkeeper's wife. A servant, a barking dog, a woman, and a boy are the
other figures. The sunlight is very vivid.
=Some Characteristic Examples of the Early Netherlands School.=--The
early Netherlands school is well represented by a few characteristic
examples. Toost van der Beke, called "The Master of the Death of the
Virgin Mary," may be studied by three pictures,--Saint Jerome in his
Study, the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, and Portrait of Joris van
der Helde (who died in Ghent in 1569). Dierick, or Dirck, Bouts is
represented by The Apostle Saint John, which was formerly attributed to
Rogier van der Weijden. Saint John is seated in a landscape writing the
first verse of his Gospel on a sheet of paper, and a devil is tormenting
him.
"The Master of the Half-Length Female Figures," a Dutch painter who is
supposed to have worked at Bruges between 1520 and 1540, and who is
known only by his pictures of saints on altarpieces and young women
playing musical instruments, may be studied here in pictures called
Golgotha and Young Woman Playing on a Lute. The latter is dressed in the
costume of 1540, and she is singing from a music-book the words:
"Si jayme mon amy
Trop, plus que mon mary,
Se n'est pas de mervelles."
Golgotha represents the Crucifixion. The Cross, bearing the livid figure
of Christ, is in the foreground, and beside it stand the Virgin on the
left and St. John on the right. The landscape is very fine, but is
entirely Flemish in character, although soldiers are supposed to be
returning to the distant Jerusalem. At the foot of the hills Flemish
cottages are noticeable, and the sky is gradually darkened from the sun
on the horizon, until it gets very black just above the Cross.
This may be compared with The Crucifixion of Christ of the Netherlands
school, an altarpiece of the sixteenth century, formerly attributed to
Bernard van Orley (died in Brussels in 1525). Like the former, it
presents a green landscape with horsemen wending their way to the
distant Jerusalem. The Virgin and St. John are kneeling at the foot of
the Cross, and in the clouds are two female saints, God the Father, and
the dove representing the Holy Ghost.
THE END
INDEX
[Names will be found indexed under the surname, not under the prefix
thereto; as, Dijck, van, Heem, de.]
A
Aelst, Evert van, 58, 97, 98
Aelst, Willem van, 96-98, 250
Aertsen, Pieter, 132, 183, 184, 215
Alchemist, The (Wijck), 136
Allebé, 209
Allegory of the Vigilance of the Grand Pensionary (Asselijn), 155
Alma-Tadema, 205, 208
Amalia of Solms, 4, 122
Amateur Musicians (Metsu), 74, 75
Amsterdam, Old Bourse at, 241
Amsterdam, Town Hall at, 241
Anatomy pictures, 11, 115
Anatomy Pictures, Hall of, 114, 127
Anatomy (Rembrandt), 5, 9, 11-13
Antiochus to the Augur, Visit of (Moeyaert), 32
Apol, 205, 208, 238
Architectural pictures in the Boijmans, 241-243, 262
Architectural pictures in the Mauritshuis, 57, 58
Architectural pictures in the Rijks, 187-190
Arquebusiers of Amsterdam (Flinck), 126
Arquebusiers of St. Andrew (Hals), 213
Arrival at an Inn, 50, 51
Artists' portraits of themselves, 122, 140, 145
Artist's Studio (Ostade), 169
Artz, 207, 238
As, Pieter Jansz van, 235
Asselijn, Jan, 46, 146, 155
Ast, Balthasar van der, 98
Avenue of Ash-trees (Hackaert), 132
Avercamp (or Averkamp), H., 149, 244
B
Backer, Adriaen, 215, 260
Backhuysen (or Bakhuysen), L., 52, 55, 122, 149, 150
Bakhuijzen, J. J. van de Sande, 199, 205, 208, 209, 238
Balen, Hendrick van, 186, 204, 224, 246, 250
Balten, Peter, 172
Banning Cock Company, Sortie of the, 115, 116
Barentsz, Dirck, 127
Bas, Elizabeth, Portrait of (Rembrandt), 115, 118
Bassen, Bartholomew van, 57, 104, 172, 261
Batist, Karel, 159
Battle Picture, E. van de Velde, 221
Bavegom, Jan van, 103
Bear Hunt (Potter), 139
Beelt, Kornelis, 188
Beerstraten, A., 188, 233, 241
Beerstraten, Jan, 223, 224
Beest, Osias, 250
Beest, Sybrandt van, 240
Bega, Cornelis, 169, 170, 215
Begeyn, 6
Beijeren (or Beyeren), Abraham van, 6, 98, 157, 252
Beke, Toost van der, 271
Bent, Johannes van der, 220, 224
Berchem, N., 32, 35, 36, 40, 46, 146, 162, 184, 222, 224, 234
Berckheyde (or Berck-Heyde), Gerard (or Gerrit), 58, 188, 215, 216,
242
Berck-Heyde, J. A., 188
Berckheyde, Job, 216, 241
Berckman, Hendrik, 260
Berg, G. J. van den, 260
Berghen, Dirk van, 224
Bernarts, Nicasius, 152
Bertin, Nicholas, 184
Beyerex, Abraham van, 53
Biblical pictures in the Mauritshuis, 8, 32
Biblical pictures in the Rijks, 183-185
Bicker Collection, 113
Bicker's Company Captain (B. van der Helst), 125
Bijlert, J. van, 133, 134
Bilders, 207
Binnenhof, The, 3
Birds, pictures of, 8, 56, 89, 90, 153-162, 250, 254
Biset, C. E., 103, 138
Bisschop, Christoffel, 202, 203, 208, 243, 260
Blanc, quoted, 20, 21, 26, 27, 55, 56, 73, 75, 78, 87, 88, 89-91, 95,
96, 138, 151, 164, 165, 167, 168, 176, 177, 248, 249
Bleecker, G. C., 225
Bles, David, 208
Bloem, Matthys, 155
Bloemaert, Abraham, 30, 34, 37, 133, 143, 172
Bloemaert, Adriaen, 220
Bloemaert, Hendrick, 172
Blommers, B. J., 205, 207, 238
Bloot, Pieter de, 133
Bock, Théophile de, 208, 238
Bode, quoted, 14, 15, 18, 48
Boel, Pieter, 103, 152, 251
Boeyermans, Theodoor, 103
Bol, Ferdinand, 21-23, 126, 255, 260
Bol, Ferdinand, Portrait of, 122
Bolen, van, 102
Bollongier. _See_ Boulengier, Hans.
Boone, Daniel, 137
Boonen, Arnold, 82
Borman, J., 159
Borselen, van, 208
Borssom, A. van, 159
Bosboom, 208
Bosboom, Johannes, 188, 205, 242
Bosch (Hieronymus van Aeken), 184
Bosch, Jerome, 172
Bosch, L. J. van den, 156
Bosschaert, Ambrosius, 156
Bosse, Mevrouw Bilders van, 208
Both, Andreas (or Andries), 31, 34, 146
Both, Jan (or Johannes), 31, 34-36, 46, 145, 146, 220, 224, 233, 246
Boudwijns, N., 225
Boulengier (or Bollongier), Hans, 156, 157, 269
Bourdon, Sebastian, 184
Bourse, Esaias, 137
Bout, Pieter, 220, 225
Bouts, Dierick (or Dirck), 271
Braekeleer, F. der, 188
Brakenburgh (or Brakenburg), Richard, 169, 171, 268
Bramer, Leonard, 185
Brandt, Isabella, 100, 101
Brassauw, Mechior, 185
Breakfast, The (Metsu), 182
Bredael, Pieter van, 103
Bredius, quoted, 10, 18, 21, 42-44, 65, 68, 70, 71, 100, 154
Breenborch, B., 31
Breitner, G. H., 205, 207
Brekelenkam, Q. G., 166, 167
Breughel, Abraham, 251
Breughel, Jan ("Velvet"), 57, 153, 234
Breughel, Jan, the Elder, 36, 102, 184, 186, 190, 234
Breughel, Pieter, III., 104
Bril, Paul, 46
Brisé, C., 157
Broeck, Elias van den, 157,252
Bronckhorst, Jan van, 223
Brouwer, Adriaen, 66, 68, 83, 85, 105, 119, 134, 135, 215
Bull (Paul Potter), 9, 10
Burgh, R. van der, 159
Burgher, quoted, 10, 14, 25-26, 37, 41, 101, 106, 126, 128, 129, 144,
154, 173-174, 175, 177, 180, 243
Burgomasters Deliberating with Regard to the Visit of Marie de Médici
(T. de Keijser), 19-21
Byler, Jan van, 227
C
Campen, Jacob van, 3
Camphuysen, Govert, 237
Candlelight Scenes, 63, 64, 163
Capelle, Jan van de, 55
Carree, M., 235
Cascades (Ruisdael), 41, 42, 129
Cate, Hendrik Gerrit Ten, 188
Cate, Herman Ten, 205, 206
Cattle (A. Cuijp), 143
Cels, Cornelis, 260
Ceulen, C. J. van, 260
Champaigne, P. van, 260
Chase, The (A. van de Velde), 141
Chattel, Du, 208
Chemical laboratories, pictures of, 135
Chinese Boudoir, 191
Civic Guard Banquet (B. van der Helst), 123, 124
Claen, Jacques de, 216
Claez, Pieter, 98, 216
Codde, Pieter, 133, 185
Coene, Constantinus, 188
Coignet, Gilles, 29, 30
Collections in the Rijks, 191
Colonial Museum, 216
Compe, Jan Ten, 188
Conflagrations, pictures of, 149, 190, 236
Coninck, David de, 155, 156
Conversation pictures, 6, 68, 70, 262
Coques, Gonzales, 103, 104, 175
Cornelissen, Jacob, 185
Cornelisz, Cornelis, 28, 29, 33, 156
Corporation pictures, 125-127, 215, 216
Cossiers, Jan, 103
Cows in a Shady Nook (Mauve), 238
Crabeth, Wouter, the Younger, 133
Cradle, By the (Neuhuys), 202
Craeyer, Gasper de, 185
Croos, 188
Crowe, quoted, 36, 39, 40, 51-54, 58, 66, 67, 75, 80, 92, 93, 139,
140, 175, 214, 215
Cuijp, Aelbert, 37, 141-143, 148, 149, 171, 236, 243, 251, 270
Cuijp, Benjamin G., 143, 144, 184
Cuijp, Gerrit Gerritsz, 143
Cuijp, Jacob G., 34, 37, 141, 143, 261
D
Dam, Palace on the, 3, 112, 214
Dead Game and Vegetables (Snyders), 152
Decker, Cornelis, 235
Deelen, Dirck (or Dirk) van, 58, 261, 262
Delff, Cornelis J., 156
Delff, Jacobus, 260
Delft, View of (Vermeer), 43, 44
Despatch, The (Ter Borch), 6, 71
Dietz, 187
Dijck, A. van, 6, 102, 121, 126, 184, 260
Dijk, Philip van, 82
Dinner, Picture of a (Tilborgh), 107
Doctor's Visit, The (Jan Steen), 85
_Doelen_ pictures, 125-127
Donck, Gerrit, 232, 233
Dordrecht, View of (Cuijp), 37, 143
Dordrecht (J. van Goyen), 38
Dou (or Dow), Gerrit (or Gerard), 6, 59-64, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 87,
138, 162-164, 166, 206, 255
Dou, Gerrit, Portrait of, 122
"Dou of Architectural Painters," The, 187
Dreamer, The (Maes), 138
Drinking Horn, Silver, 123, 191
Droochsloot, Joost C., 104, 105, 216, 236, 237
Drost, Cornelis, 183
Dubbels, Jan, 55, 149
Dujardin, Karel, 31, 35, 36, 56, 126, 127, 144, 145, 175, 225
Dupper Collection, 113
Dupper Hall, 114
Dürer, Albrecht, 260
Dusart, C., 170
Dutch artists in Rome, colony of, 31
Dutch buildings, 191
Dutch garden, 191
"Dutch Hogarth, The," 86
Dutch Kitchen in the Stedelijk Museum, 195
Dutch landscapes, 37-44, 55, 128, 146, 229-231, 235, 237
"Dutch Watteau, The," 86
Duval, Robert, 5
Duyster, Willem Cornelisz, 133
Duyts, Jan de, 103
E
Eeckhout (or Eckhout), G. van der (or van den), 23, 155, 183, 226, 260
Eerelman, 209
Ehrenberg, Willem van, 103
Elias, Claes, 11
Elias, N., 127
Elliger, Ottomar, 160
Elsheimer (or Elshaimer, Elzheimer), Adam, 30, 31, 225
Esselens, Jacob, 223
Essen, van, 209
Evening School (Dou), 64, 162, 163
Everdingen, A. van, 46, 55, 129, 216, 231
Eversdijcks, C. W., 254
Eversdijcks, Willem, 254
Eysden, Robbert van, 260
F
Fabricius, Karel, 43, 183, 260
Fantasmagories, 157
Farm-house, The Old (Murant), 187
Fergusson, W. G., 159
Fiddler, The (Ostade), 65
Fish markets, pictures of, 240
Fish, pictures of, 98, 156, 157, 159, 240, 252
Fisherman's Children (Israëls), 197
Flamen, 56
Flemalle, Bertholet, 186
Flemish pictures in the Rijks, 184, 185
Flinck, Govert, 122, 125, 126, 183, 260
Floating Feather, The (M. d'Hondecoeter), 89, 154
Floris, Frans, 28
Flowers, pictures of, 8,91-98, 156-158, 248-253
Fourment, Helena, 99-101, 121
Francken, Frans, the Younger, 57, 104, 262
Francken, Frans, II., 184
Francken, Frans, III., 57
French pictures in the Mauritshuis, 8
French pictures in the Rijks, 191
Fromantiou, de, 50
Fruit, pictures of, 8, 91-98, 156-161, 248-253
Fyt, Jan, 88, 152, 153, 155
G
Gabriël, 208, 245
Gael, Barent, 37, 47, 131, 241
Gaesbeeck, Adriaen van, 133
Gelder, Aert de, 6
Gelder, N. van, 250
German pictures in the Mauritshuis, 8
German pictures in the Rijks, 184,185
Gheyn, de, 28
Gijselaer, Nicolaes de, 185
Gillemans, J. P., 250
Gilpin, quoted, 27
Glauber, Johannes, 186
Goethe, 167
Gogh, Vincent van, 238
Goltzius, H., 28, 29, 186, 216, 227
Golz, Hubert, 28
Gool, Jan van, 235
Goubau, Antoni, 103
Goyen, Jan van, 6, 35,37, 38, 46, 144, 233, 243, 244
Goyen, Jan van, pupils of, 37-39
Goyen, Marguerite van, 38, 84, 179, 180
Graat, Barend, 185
Grebber, Pieter de, 35
Greef (or Gryff, Grif, Grifir, Gryef), Anton, 89
Gréville, quoted, 157
Grimani, H. Jacobs, 132
Grocer's Shop (F. van Mieris the Younger), 173
Grocer's Shop (W. van Mieris), 78, 79
Gysels, Peter, 103
H
Haag, T. P. C., 5
Haanen, G. G., 260
Haarlem, 213
Haarlem Museum, 17
Haarlem, View of (Ruisdael), 41, 42
Haas, J. H. L. de, 208, 238
Hackaert, Jan, 37, 132, 224
Haerlem, C. van, 185
Haerlem, Pieter Claes van, 159
Hagen, Joris van der, 27, 48, 225
Hague Gallery, 5, 8
Hals, Dirck (or Dirk), 119, 249
Hals, Frans, 6, 18, 44, 66, 67, 74, 118, 119, 125, 178,181, 213-215,
260, 270
Hals, Frans, Portrait of Himself and Wife, 119
Hanneman, A., 260
Hanselaere, P. van, 185
Happy Family, The (Jan Steen), 179
Haseleer, Frans, 185
Hauser, 22
Hawking Scene (Wouwermans), 146
Hay-wagon, The (Wouwermans), 91, 249, 250
Heck, C. D. van der, 188, 189
Hecke, J. van den, 103
Hecke, van der, 56
Hecken, A. van der, 133
Heda, G. W., 216
Héda, W. C., 91, 249
Heem, Cornelis de, 92, 249
Heem, David de, 91, 156, 157, 161, 248
Heem, Jan Davidsz (or David) de, 6, 91-94, 156, 157, 248, 249
Heem, Johan de (false signature), 159
Heemskerck, M. van, 184
Heerschop, H., 186
Helst, B. van der, 10, 17, 20, 107, 121-127, 258
Henkes, 208
Herkulens, Mariette, 84
Hermit, The. _See_ Swanevelt.
Hermit, The (Dou), 163
Heusch, Willem de, 220
Heyden (or Heyde), Jan van der, 48, 57, 58, 187, 232
Hilverdink, E. A., 189
History of the Netherlands, pictures of the, 195
Hobbema, Meyndert, 37, 130, 131, 230
Homer Reciting His Poems (Rembrandt), 16
Hondecoeter, G. d', 90, 153, 155, 254
Hondecoeter, Gillis d', 153
Hondecoeter, M. d', 6, 56, 88-90, 142, 153, 154, 254
Hondius, Abraham, 253, 254
Honthorst, 21, 121, 134, 216, 258
Honthorst, Portrait of, 122
Hooch, Pieter de, 20, 25, 26, 75, 82, 137, 171, 175, 177, 198
Hoogstraten, S. van, 26, 64, 177, 184
Hoop, van der, Collection, 113, 114
Horse-pond, The (Wouwermans), 146
Houbraken, 6, 77, 158
Houckgeest (or Hoogest), Gerard, 6, 58
House in the Wood, The, 4, 111
Housekeeper, The Good (Dou), 59, 60
Hove, B. T. van, 238, 239
Hove, Hubertus van, 206, 238
Huchtenburgh, Jacob, 222, 223
Huchtenburgh, Johan, 221, 222
Hulst, Frans de, 239
Huntsman's Present, The (Metsu), 181, 182
Huysum, Jan van, 6, 93-95, 97, 160, 161
Hymans, quoted, 77-78
I
Industrial Art, Museum of, 216
Insects in art, 96, 98, 156, 158, 159, 250, 251
Interiors in the Boijmans, 261-264
"Inventor of Cascades," 130
Isacsz, Isaac, 185
Israëls, Josef, 197-199, 206
Italian influence on Dutch painters, 27-36
Italian Landscapes, 30, 31, 36, 46, 145, 146, 151, 152, 222-227
Italian pictures in the Mauritshuis, 7, 8
Italian pictures in the Rijks, 184, 185
J
Jacobsz, Dirck, 127
Jäger, Gerard de, 238
Jansen, 208
Janson, Johannes, 189
Jester (Hals), 119
Jewish Bride (Rembrandt), 115, 117, 118
Jewish Peddler, Old (Israëls), 197
Jong, Sosselin de, 207
Jongkind, 245
Jordaens, J., 186
Jordaens, Maes's visit to, 24, 25
Jouckeer, 56
K
Kaemmerer, 209
Kalff (or Kalf), Willem, 98, 158, 159, 265
Karssen, K., 189
Kate, Mari Ten, 208
Keijser, Theodor de, 121, 122, 143
Keijser, Thomas de, 11, 18-21, 127
Keirinckx, Alexander, 232
Kessel, Jan van, 159, 230
Key, William, 28
Kicking White Horse (Wouwermans), 147
Kitchen, The Good (Teniers), 6, 106
Kitchen utensils, painted by Kalff, 158, 159
Kitchen, Village, 265
Klinkenberg, J. C. C., 7, 189, 205, 208, 243
Kloster, E., 189
Kobell, 207
Koekkoek, H., 207, 247
Koninck, Jacob, 235
Koninck, Philip, 26, 27, 171
Koninck, Salomon, 23, 24, 32, 266
Korff, Bakker, 208
"Krabbetje." _See_ Asselijn.
Kruseman, C., 185
Kruseman, J. A., 185
Kuyl, G., van der, 133
L
Lachtropius, N., 160
Lady at the Clavecin (Molenaer), 181
Lady with a Parrot (A. de Vois), 165
Laen, D. J. van der, 189
Laer, P. de, 135
Lairesse, G. de, 35, 79, 127, 186
Lamme, Cornelia, 267
Lampson, D., 28
Landscapes. _See_ Dutch Landscapes and Italian Landscapes.
Lastman, Pieter, 33, 185, 226
Leducq, Jean, 56
Leemans (or Leemens), A., 99, 159
Leenhoff, F., statuette of Israëls by, 197
Leeuw, P. van der, 235
Leeuw, S. van der, 235
Leichert, C. H. J., 239, 240
Lemke, quoted, 44
Lievens, Jan, 33
Lijs, Jan, 132, 133
Limborch, H. van, 228
Limborgh, H. van, 186
Lingelbach, J., 51, 52, 55, 56, 222
Lingelbach, J., figures by, 26, 36, 37, 45-47, 57, 131, 148, 220, 224,
225, 230, 241
"Little Van Dijck, The," 104
Loffelt, A. C., quoted, 196
Lombard, Lambert, 28
"Long Peter." _See_ Aertsen.
Looten, Jan, 234
Lorme, A. de, 261
Lorraine, Claude, 33, 34, 45, 224
M
Maartsen, Jan, 220
Maas, Dirk, 220
Maes, Evert C. van der, 227
Maes, Nicholas, 22, 24-26, 44, 122, 137, 138, 257
Man, Cornelus de, 263
Man, L. G., 247
Mans, Fredericus, 247
Marines in the Boijmans, 246-247
Marines in the Mauritshuis, 8, 52, 56
Marines in the Rijks, 149, 150
Marines in the Stedelijk, 203, 204
Maris, J., 200, 201, 208
Maris, Matthys, 202
Maris, Willem, 201, 208
Marius, G. H., quoted, 200-202
Marrel, Jacob, 158
Marseus. _See_ Schrieck.
Marshy Landscape (Roelofs), 199
"Marvel of Her Century, The," 159
"Master of the Half-Length Female Figures," 271
Maurice (or Maurits) of Nassau, Prince, and portraits of, 3, 121, 256
Mauritshuis, The, 3, 112
Mauve, Anton, 195-197, 208, 238
Meer, Jan van der, the Younger, 173
Meer, Van der, 174
Meer, Jan van der, 238, 239
Meer, Madame van der, Portrait of, 118
Memling, 46
Menagerie, A (Jan Steen), 86
Mesdag, H. W., 203, 204, 247, 248
Metsu, Gabriel, 6, 20, 68-75, 77, 78, 82, 83, 85, 181, 182, 258
Michau, Theobald, 236
Michel, Emile, quoted, 13
Mierevelt, Michael, 11, 16, 21, 120, 121, 256
Mieris, F. van, 6, 76-78, 173, 240
Mieris, Willem van, 76, 78-80, 173
Mignon, Abraham, 92, 94, 160, 161, 252
_Mignon au Chat_, 160
Mirrored Cow (Potter), 9, 10
Modern Dutch Art, 205-209, 238
Modern pictures in the Stedelijk, 204, 205
Moeyaert, Nicolas, 32, 133
Molenaer, Jan Miense, 181, 264
Molenaer, Nicolaas, 234
Molyn (or Molijn), Pieter, 55, 234
Mommers, Hendrick, 225
Moni, Louis de, 82, 138
Moonlight Scenes, 149
Moor, K. de, 63
Moreelse, Paulus, 119, 120, 127, 227, 228
Moreelse's portrait of himself, 6, 21
Moro, A., 20, 21
Mostert, Jan, 254
Moucheron, F. R. de, 36, 46, 48, 223
Murant, Emanuel, 187, 234
Musscher, M. van, 169, 170
"Mute of Kampen, The," 149
Muys, N., 266, 267
Mytens, 255
Mythological pictures in the Mauritshuis, 8, 29-34
Mythological pictures in the Rijks, 185-187
N
Nason, Pieter, 256
Neeffs, Pieter, 57
Neeffs, Pieter the Elder, 57, 58, 189, 190, 242
Neer, A. van der, 148, 149, 231
Neer, Eglon van der, 57, 81, 266
Neo-Classic School, French, 205
Netscher, Caspar, 21, 22, 71, 72, 136, 137, 235, 257
Neuhuys, Albert, 202
Night Watch, The (Rembrandt), 112, 115, 116
Noort, Pieter, 156
Nymegen, G. van, 232
O
Ochtervelt, Jacob van, 82, 262
Olis, Jan, 134
Ommeganck, Maria J., 237
Oosterwyck, Maria van, 93
Operator, The (Jan Steen), 269, 270
Opzoomer, Simon, 256
Orange, Princes of, 4
Orley, Bernard van, 272
Orpheus (Potter), 139
Os, Georgius, J. J. van, 162, 237, 252
Os, Jan van, 162
Os, Marie M. van, 162
Os, Peter G. van, 162, 236, 237
Os, Pieter F. van, 236
Ostade, Adriaen van, 47, 64-68, 74, 83, 85, 107, 135, 168, 169, 231,
258
Ostade, Isaak van, 170, 231
Oudenrogge, Johannes van, 134
Overschie in Moonlight (Jongkind), 245
P
Palamedesz, A., 261
Pape, Abraham de, 80
Parrot Cage (Jan Steen), 178, 179
Paternal Advice (Ter Borch), 167
Pavilion Hall, 114
Paviljoen Welgelegen, 112, 216
Peleus and Thetis, Marriage of, (Bloemaert), 34, 35
Pencz, George, 266
Physicians, Jan Steen's, 84, 85
Picture Gallery, picture of a (Coques), 103, 104
Pierson, Christoffel, 98, 99
Pinas, Jan, 33
Poel, Egbert van der, 135, 190, 236
Poelemburg (Poelenburg, or Poelenburgh), Cornelis van, 30, 31, 148,
220, 223, 232
Poll Collection, van der, 113
Poll Hall, van der, 114
Pompe, Gerrit, 244
Pool, Juriaan, 257
Pork Butcher, The (Victors), 182, 183
Portrait of a Girl (Vermeer), 44, 45
Portrait of F. van Mieris and his wife, 6, 76
Portrait of Sieur de Roovere (Cuijp), 37
Portrait of Ter Borch by himself, 71
Portrait Hall in the Rijks, 114, 128
Portraits, F. Hals, 214
Portraits in the Boijmans, 254-261
Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 8, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 37, 71, 75, 76,
80, 99, 100-102
Portraits in the Rijks, 118-122, 145
Post, Frans, 3
Post, Pieter, 3
Pot, Hendrik, 17
Potter, Paul, 9, 10, 138, 139
Potter, Paul, portraits of, 10, 107
Potter, Pieter Symonsz, 10, 156
Pourbus, Pieter, 256
Presentation in the Temple (Rembrandt), 13, 14
Princess, The Little (Moreelse), 119, 120
Pynacker (or Pijnacker), Adam, 36, 46, 145, 222
Q
Quack Doctor (of the school of F. Hals), 270
Quast, Peter J., 135
Queborn, C. van den, 255
Quellinus, E., 265
Quinckhard, Julius, 138
R
"Ramelaer." _See_ Coninck, David de.
Ravesteyn, J. A. van, 16, 17, 21
Realistic School, 207
Reekers, H., 253
Regent pictures, 125-127, 213, 214
Reinst, G., 145
Rembrandt, 11-16, 27, 28, 125
Rembrandt, compared with Dou, 61
Rembrandt, compared with Hals, 215
Rembrandt, masters of, 33
Rembrandt, portraits by, 15, 16
Rembrandt, pupils of, 21, 23, 24, 26, 32
Reptiles, pictures of, 98, 157, 158
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, quoted, 6, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 40, 43, 51, 55,
62, 81, 83, 91, 100, 102, 107, 124, 150, 161, 252
Rijck, Pieter C. van, 132
Rijks Museum, 111-113
Rinder, Frank, 45
Ring, Pieter de, 98, 157
River Scenes, 242-245
_Robe de Satin_ (Ter Borch), 69, 167
Roelofs, Willem, 199, 207, 238
Roepel, Conrad, 162
Roestraeten, Pieter, 98
Romantic School, 205, 206
Ronner-Knip, Henrietta, 208
Roosenboom, Margaretha, 253
Rooses, Max, 205-209
Rubens, 99-102, 121, 185
Rubens, wives of, 99-101
Ruijsch, Rachel, 95, 96, 250
Ruijsch, Rachel, Portrait of, 257
Ruijven, Pieter Jan, 156
Ruisdael, Izack van, 229, 230
Ruisdael, Jacob, 37, 39-43, 128, 229
Ruisdael, Salomon, 37, 39, 130, 243
Ruth and Boaz (Rembrandt), 115, 116
Ruyter, Admiral de, Portrait of (Bol), 23
Ruyter, Engel de, Portrait of (Bol), 23
Ryckaert, D., 266
S
Saenredam, Pieter, 58, 242
Saenredam, Pieter Jansz, 190
Saftleven, Cornelis, 134
Saftleven, Hermann, 39
Saint Nicholas, Eve of (Jan Steen), 180, 181
Saint Nicholas, Feast of (Brakenburgh), 171
Saint Nicholas, Feast of (Jan Steen), 269
Santvoort, Dirk van, 255
Saskia van Ulenborgh, 14, 15
Satin Dress, The (Ter Borch), 167
Savery, Roelandt, 152, 153
Schalcken, G., 63, 64, 163, 164
Scheffer, Arie (or Ary), 267, 268
Scheffer, Hendrik, 268
Scheffer, J. B., 267
Schelfhout, Andreas, 247
Scheveningen, Coast of (A. van de Velde), 150, 151
Schipperus, Pieter A., 237, 238
School, Early Netherlands, 271, 272
Gray, 196
Leyden, 59
Romantic, 205, 206
Utrecht, 34
Schotel, J. C., 246
Schrieck, Otto Marcellis van, 98, 157, 251
Schurman, Anna Maria van, 159
Schuttersmaaltijd (B. van der Helst), 123
Seghers, D., 98, 249
Seghers, F., 250
Sheep on the Dunes (Mauve), 195
Shells, picture of, 98
Shepherds and Flocks (Cuijp), 142
Shepherds and Flocks (Potter), 139
Sick Lady (Hoogstraten), 177
Simeon in the Temple (Rembrandt), 13, 14
Skates, Repairing (Bisschop), 202
Slabbaert, Karel, 136
Slingelandt, P. C. van, 164
Smissaert, H., quoted, 199, 204
Snijders (or Snyders), Frans, 102, 152
"Snuffelaer, De." _See_ Schrieck.
Soap Bubbles (F. van Mieris), 6, 76
Sonjé, Johannes, 244
Sorgh, Hendrik M., 264, 265
Spanish pictures in the Mauritshuis, 8
Spinner, The (Maes), 137, 138
Stedelijk Museum, 195-209
Steen, Jan, 38, 76, 82-86, 178-181, 269, 270
Steen, Jan, family of, 84
Steen, Jan, Portrait of, 122
Steenbergen, A., 253
Steenwyck, Hendrik van, II., 57
Steenwyck, Pieter H. van, 189
Still Life in the Boijmans, 248, 265
Still Life in the Mauritshuis, 8, 98
Still Life in the Rijks, 152, 153, 156-162
Stolker, Jan, 258
Storck, Abraham, 55, 56, 246
Storck, Jan, 246
Straaten, Bruno van, 236
Stry, Abraham van, 270
Sunrise on the Dutch Coast (Mesdag), 248
Susanna (Rembrandt), 14, 15
Swanevelt, Herman, 33
Syndics (Rembrandt), 112, 115, 116, 117, 128
T
Tap Room (Jan Steen), 85, 86
Tavern Interior (Ostade), 169
Tedesco. _See_ Elsheimer, Adam.
Tempel, A. van den, 259
Temptation of St. Anthony (Teniers), 172
Teniers, David, the Younger, 66, 105-107, 171, 172
Ter Borch (or Terburg), 69, 70, 167, 168
Ter Borch, portrait of, 122
Ter Meulen, 208
Teyler Museum, 216
Tilborch, Gilles, 107, 263
Town Hall, Haarlem, 213-216
Toys in the Rijks, 191
Trippenhuis, The, 112, 216
Troost, Cornelis, 86-88, 143, 268
Tulp, Dr. N., 11
Turkey and a Cock, Fight between a (Cuijp), 142
U
Ulft, Jacob van der, 31, 32, 58, 188, 228
Utrecht, Adriaen van, 153
V
_Vache qui se mire_ (Paul Potter), 6, 9, 10
Velde, Adriaen van de, 45, 47-49, 139-140, 231
Velde, Adriaen van de, figures by, 57, 220, 223, 224
Velde, E. van de, 37, 39, 149, 221, 233
Velde, Willem van de, 23, 52-55, 150, 247
Velde, Willem van de, the Elder, 54, 150
Verboom, A. H., 232
Verheijen, Jan H., 242
Verkolje, Johannes, 182, 259
Vermeer of Delft, 43, 44
Verschuier, Lieve, 245
Verschuring, Hendrick, 233, 234
Vertin, P. G., 239
Veth, J., 197-199
Victors, Jan, 182, 183
View on the Y (W. van de Velde), 53
Vijver, The, 3, 6, 7
Vijver, View of the (Klinkenberg), 243
Vinck Boons, D., 104, 105
Vlieger, Simon de, 56
Vliet, Hendrik van, 52, 242
Vliet, H. C. van, 190
Vliet, J. J. van, 259
Vois, Arie de, 80, 165, 166
Vonck, Jan, 155
Vos, C., 228
Vos, Jan de, 258
Vos, Maria, 253
Vos, Simon de, 259
Vosmaer, 233
Vrancx, Sebastian, 221
Vriendt, Frans Floris de, 229
Vries, Jan Vriedeman de, 57
Vrolijk, J., 208
W
Walscapelle, Jacob, 93
Watermills (Hobbema), 130
Weenix, Jan, 90, 91, 155, 252
Weenix, J. B., 151, 152, 225
Weijden (or Weyden), Rogier van, 226, 271
Weissenbruch, J. H., 237
Werff, A. van der, 81
Werff, Pieter van der, 227, 259
Wijck (or Wyck), Thomas, 135, 265
Wijnants (or Wynants), Jan, 37, 43-47, 147-148
Wijngaerdt, A. J. van, 237
Wild Boar Hunt (Berchem), 36
Willaerts, Adam, 245
Willaerts, Isaac, 245
William III., portrait of, 163
William V. of Orange, 5, 111
Windmills, The two (J. Maris), 200
Winghen, Joos van, 132
Winter in Friesland (Bisschop), 202
Wit, Jacob de, 228
Witte, Emanuel de, 58, 190, 240
Wolfert, J. B., 136
Woman Reading (Van der Meer), 173, 174
Wonder, Pieter C., 240
Wouwermans, Jan, 234
Wouwermans, Philips, 47, 49-51, 146, 147, 233
Wouwermans, Pieter, 147
Y
Y at Amsterdam (W. van der Velde), 150
Ykens, F., 250
Young Lady who is Ill (Jan Steen), 84, 85, 180
Z
Zeeman, Reinier, 246
Zilcken, 200
Zimmerman, J. W. G., 260
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's Notes: |
| |
| Obvious punctuation errors repaired. |
| |
| Printer errors corrected. These include: |
| - Page 59, word "foregound" corrected to be "foreground" (in |
| the foreground) |
| - Page 114, word "Musuem" corrected to be "Museum" (Van der |
| Hoop Museum) |
| - Page 117, word "Snydics" corrected to be "Syndics" (The five |
| Syndics) |
| - Page 121, word "Portaits" corrected to be "Portraits" |
| (Portraits by Honthorst) |
| - Page 175, word "juciness" corrected to be "juiciness" |
| (softness and juiciness) |
| - Page 197, word "Zantvoort" corrected to be "Zandvoort" |
| (Zandvoort, near Haarlem) |
| - Page 203, word "Hinloopen" corrected to be "Hindeloopen" |
| (town of Hindeloopen) |
| - Page 256, word "Nienwpoort" corrected to be "Nieuwpoort" |
| (victory of Nieuwpoort) |
| |
| Index entries that do not match their referred text have been |
| corrected (except if the referred text is an obvious typo). |
| These include: |
| - Index entry "Beijren" corrected to be "Beijeren" |
| - Index entry "Binnerhof" corrected to be "Binnenhof" |
| - Index entry "Boreelen" corrected to be "Borselen" |
| - Index entry "Burgomasters ---- Medici" corrected to be |
| "---- Médici" |
| - Index entry "Candlelight" corrected to be "Candle-light" |
| - Index entry "Floating ---- d'Hondécoeter)" corrected to |
| be "---- d'Hondecoeter)" |
| - Index entry "Heda, W. C." corrected to be "Héda, ----" |
| - Index entry "Hove, Huburtus" corrected to be "---- Hubertus" |
| - Index entry "Menagarie" corrected to be "Menagerie" |
| - Index entry "Polemburg (Polenburg, Polenburgh, or |
| Poelenburg)" corrected to be "Poelemburg (Poelenburg, or |
| Poelenburgh)" |
| - Index entry "Portraits ---- Boijmars" corrected to be "---- |
| Boijmans" |
| - Index entry "Reeckers" corrected to be "Reekers" |
| - Index entry "Ruisdael, Isack" corrected to be "---- Izack" |
| - Index entry "Schelthout" corrected to be "Schelfhout" |
| - Index entry "Sonje" corrected to be "Sonjé" |
| - Index entry "Sorg" corrected to be "Sorgh" |
| - Index entry "Watermills" should be "Water Mill" |
| - Index entry "Weijden ---- Roger" corrected to be "---- |
| Rogier" |
| - Index entry "Zilchen" corrected to be "Zilcken" |
| |
| The book's variable spelling has been kept. This includes: |
| (Note: Where the variable spelling has been described in the |
| text or Index, it is omitted from the below list.) |
| - Both "bare-headed" and "bareheaded" |
| - Both "chimney-piece" and "chimney piece" |
| - Both "farm-house" and "farmhouse" |
| - Both "fish-wives" and "fishwives" |
| - Both "halberds" and "halberts" |
| - Both "Heeren-Gracht" and "Heerengracht" |
| - Both "merry-making" and "merrymaking" |
| - Both "Oude Hoofdpoort" and "Oudehoofdpoort" |
| - Both "sea-shore" and "seashore" |
| - Both "table-cloth" and "tablecloth" |
| - Both "town-hall" and "town hall" |
| - Both "water-mill" and "water mill" |
| - Both "Aart" and "Aert" van der Neer |
| - Both "Albert" and "Albrecht" Dürer |
| - "Albert," "Aldert," and "Allart" van Everdingen |
| - "Bartelmees," "Bartholomew," and "Bartholomeus" van Bassen |
| - Both "Boijmans" and "Boijman's" Museum |
| - Both "Carel Fabritius" and "Karel Fabricius" (or vice versa) |
| - Both Dirk van "der Waeijen" and "Walijen" |
| - "Dr. J. Deyman," "Dr. J. Deyment," and "Prof. Deeman" |
| - Both "Esais" and "Esaias" van de Velde |
| - Both "Eversdijck" and "Eversdijcks" |
| - Frans "Snijders," "Snyders," "Snyder," and "Synders" |
| - Both "Frederik Hendrik" and "Frederick Henry" (or vice versa)|
| - Both "Gabriël" and "Gabriel" (NOT Metsu) |
| - Both "Gérard" and "Gerard" de Lairesse |
| - Both "Helena Fourment" and "Eleanor Forman" |
| - Both "Henricus" and "Hendrik" Goltzius |
| - Both "Hondecoeter" and "Hondekoeter" |
| - Both "Isaac" and "Izack van" Ruisdael |
| - Both Jacob "Gerritz" and "Gerritsz" Cuijp |
| - Both Jan "Vredeman" and "Vriedeman" de Vries |
| - Both "Lievens" and "Lievensz" |
| - Both "Ludolf" and "Lodewijk" Backhuysen/ Bakhuysen |
| - Both "Marguerite" and "Margarita" van Goyen |
| - Both "Matthys" and "Thys" Maris |
| - Both "Michelangelo" and "Michael Angelo" |
| - Both "Moeyaert" and "Moijaert" |
| - Both "Nicholas Eliasz" and "Nicolaes Elias" |
| - Both "Nicholas" and "Nicolaes" Berchem |
| - "Nicholas" and "Nicholaes" de Helt "Stocade," "Stokade," and |
| "Stockade" |
| - Both "Otho Marcellis" and "Otto Marseus" (or vice versa) van |
| Schrieck |
| - Both "Peter Gerhardus" and "Pieter Gerardus" van Os |
| - Both "Quinkhard" and "Quinckhard" |
| - Both "Rottenhamer" or "Rottenhammer" |
| - Both "Ruisdael" and "Ruysdael" |
| - Samuel van "Hoogstraten," "Hoogstraaten," and "Hooghstraten" |
| - Both "Slingelandt" and "Slingerlandt" |
| - Both "Tilborch" and "Tilborgh" |
| - "Van de Velde," "Van der Velde," and "Vandervelde" |
| - "Van der Heyden," "Van der Heyde," and "Venderheyden" |
| - "Vanhuysum," "Van Huysum," and "Huysum" |
| - "Wijck," "Wyck," and "Wijk" |
| - Both "William" and "Willem" de Poorter |
| - Both "William" and "Willem" Roelofs |
| - Both "Wouvermans" and "Wouwermans" |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
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