Tales of the City. Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel, 2022
The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Albertina Museum, Vienna. A German catalogue... more The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Albertina Museum, Vienna. A German catalogue will be published on the occasion of the exhibition at the Albertina Museum, Vienna, in. Pages: Detail of Big Fish Eat Little Fish [ ]. Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Albertina Museum, Vienna, .
Tales of the City. Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel, 2022
The City as a Space of Negotiation The sixteenth-century Netherlands were characterized by far-re... more The City as a Space of Negotiation The sixteenth-century Netherlands were characterized by far-reaching transformations that posed a fundamental challenge to conventional value systems. The Reformation and the burgeoning of colonial trade led to a renewed discussion of societal norms, as did the dramatic political upheavals and the rising appreciation of technology and the empirical observation of nature. At this time, Netherlandish cities became central spaces for the renegotiation of moral tenets. This was particularly so for Antwerp, which-as Spanish historian Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella observed in-"con mucha razon se podia llamar plaça d'el mũdo" (could very justi ably be called the capital of the world). 1 The early modern city was not an impenetrable entity, but a permeable milieu in which various individuals, social groups, institutions, practices, or material cultures engaged with one another. 2 The growing, heterogeneous urban middle class played a central role in this sphere. In the sixteenth century, the status of the burger or poorter was not yet clearly de ned, in either the social or the political sense. From af uent merchants to city magistrates, the members of this class varied in many respects, including familial descent, wealth, and profession. Very generally, the terms designated an elite residing within the city walls and appearing on the tax rolls. Common to all burgers was thus a close connection to the city, which not only gained in socioeconomic strength but also increasingly figured in the self-perception of its inhabitants. 3 Unlike Netherlanders from aristocratic, clerical, or peasant backgrounds, these early citizens could not derive their speci c beliefs and codes of conduct from longestablished class identities. Rather, in de ning their moral principles, burgers depended upon their ability to distinguish themselves from existing groups within society-to differentiate themselves from the "others." 4 Amid the scrutiny of traditional pictorial themes for their contemporary relevance, the visual arts became a driving force in the negotiation of a civic identity. Early in the sixteenth century, the favorable Netherlandish economic situation triggered the emergence of a ourishing art market. Alongside the traditional patronage of court and Church, a genuinely urban clientele established itself as a new cohort of collectors and became part of an extensive network for the creation and consumption of art. Affordable, extremely mobile, and with a broad range of practical functions, the graphic medium in particular evolved into a site for the construction of values. 5 Since early Christian times, images of saints as moral exemplars had played a central role in the de ning of ethical norms. Even this long-standing iconography, however, was updated in the context of a nascent civic morality. The Protestant challenge to the cult of the saints and the Catholic response, codied by the Council of Trent in , transformed the devotional image into a controversial religiopolitical subject. 6 Specifically, depictions of the fourteen Holy Helpers, apostles and patron saints who, according to tradition, had fought
Hieronymus Boschs Weltgerichts-Triptychon in seiner Zeit. Publikation zur gleichnamigen internationalen Konferenz vom 21. bis 23. November 2019 in der Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, 2020
In various iconographic fields, Pieter Bruegel was a radical renewer and highly momentous point o... more In various iconographic fields, Pieter Bruegel was a radical renewer and highly momentous point of reference for subsequent generations. Despite his considerable innovations, however, he also aligned himself to a long tradition of important predecessors. In the early sixteenth century, not only Italian artists such as Titian and Domenico Campagnola, but also their contemporaries working north of the Alps, including Quentin Massys, Albrecht Dürer, and Lucas van Leyden, created fundamental prerequisites for his pictorial inventions. In the following, however, the primary goal shall be to investigate how, why, and along which paths of transference the art of Hieronymus Bosch, who died in 1516, had a decisive effect on especially the early artistic vocabulary of the master.
This master thesis deals in principle with the art historical analysis of two tondi, subsumed und... more This master thesis deals in principle with the art historical analysis of two tondi, subsumed under the descriptive term of “Fire Landscape” and presently preserved in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The paintings depict the Temptation of Saint Anthony and Hell. Both rank among the broad succession of Hieronymus Bosch and have until now been attributed to the artist Herri met de Bles. The positioning of the art works against the 16th century’s cultural historical backdrop of which they emerged, allows for an authentic approach and provides the fundamental knowledge to promote a deeper reflection and understanding of the paintings. Based on an in-depth image analysis, stylistic and motivic references to Bosch's oeuvre are determined, which in turn permits an investigation of the quality of the painting’s conceptual relation to the s’Hertogenbosch master. The significant dissimilarities regarding the tondi's nature of recourse to the model lead to the conclusion, that they were undoubtedly created by two different artists. The attribution to Herri met the Bles has therefore been abandoned by the Museum. A schematic categorization of specific groups of the Bosch succession provides a basis for chronological classification and allows to date the creation of the tableaus in the time around 1550. Considering the limited number and quality of art historical studies regarding 16th century diableries in general and the works of the Bosch-succession in particular this paper hopes to further elucidate this often underappreciated section of the so-called “Northern Renaissance”.
Featuring works by Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), Jan Gossaert (c. 1478-1532), Maarten van Heem... more Featuring works by Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), Jan Gossaert (c. 1478-1532), Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569), Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), and others, this book positions drawing in the Low Countries in the sixteenth century as a dynamic, multifaceted practice. Drawings played roles as varied as the artists who made them: they were designs for prints, paintings, stained glass windows, decorative objects, and tapestries, as well as tools for presentation, translation, and the display of knowledge and virtuosity. The artists' diversified urban communities shaped their drawing practices, as did shifting cultural and political circumstances surrounding Protestant Reform and the Eighty Years' War. In addition to the book's four essays, many of the more than eighty catalogue entries--selected from the holdings of The Albertina Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art--present new research.
PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (ca. 1526 /30 – 1569) is considered the greatest Netherlandish draftsman... more PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (ca. 1526 /30 – 1569) is considered the greatest Netherlandish draftsman of the 16th century. Even during his lifetime, his drawings were highly regarded and many were widely distributed as print designs. In an age of political, social, and religious change, Bruegel created an equally complex pictorial world. Humorous and down-to-earth, sharp- witted and deeply critical, he reflected on the society of his day. This catalog illuminates Bruegel’s artistic origins and offers an overview of the many topics in his graphic work.
PIETER BRUEGEL DER ÄLTERE (um 1526/30 – 1569) gilt als größter niederländischer Zeichner des 16. Jahrhunderts. Bereits zu seinen Lebzeiten wurden seine Zeichnungen hoch geschätzt und viele fanden als Vorlagen für Kupferstiche weite Verbreitung. In einer Zeit der politischen, sozialen und religiösen Um brüche entwarf Bruegel eine ebenso komplexe Bildwelt. Humor voll und volksnah, scharfsinnig und zutiefst kritisch reflektierte er die gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse seiner Epoche. Der Katalog beleuchtet Bruegels künstlerische Ursprünge und bietet einen Überblick über alle Themenbereiche seines graphischen Schaffens.
Tales of the City. Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel, 2022
The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Albertina Museum, Vienna. A German catalogue... more The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Albertina Museum, Vienna. A German catalogue will be published on the occasion of the exhibition at the Albertina Museum, Vienna, in. Pages: Detail of Big Fish Eat Little Fish [ ]. Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Albertina Museum, Vienna, .
Tales of the City. Drawing in the Netherlands from Bosch to Bruegel, 2022
The City as a Space of Negotiation The sixteenth-century Netherlands were characterized by far-re... more The City as a Space of Negotiation The sixteenth-century Netherlands were characterized by far-reaching transformations that posed a fundamental challenge to conventional value systems. The Reformation and the burgeoning of colonial trade led to a renewed discussion of societal norms, as did the dramatic political upheavals and the rising appreciation of technology and the empirical observation of nature. At this time, Netherlandish cities became central spaces for the renegotiation of moral tenets. This was particularly so for Antwerp, which-as Spanish historian Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella observed in-"con mucha razon se podia llamar plaça d'el mũdo" (could very justi ably be called the capital of the world). 1 The early modern city was not an impenetrable entity, but a permeable milieu in which various individuals, social groups, institutions, practices, or material cultures engaged with one another. 2 The growing, heterogeneous urban middle class played a central role in this sphere. In the sixteenth century, the status of the burger or poorter was not yet clearly de ned, in either the social or the political sense. From af uent merchants to city magistrates, the members of this class varied in many respects, including familial descent, wealth, and profession. Very generally, the terms designated an elite residing within the city walls and appearing on the tax rolls. Common to all burgers was thus a close connection to the city, which not only gained in socioeconomic strength but also increasingly figured in the self-perception of its inhabitants. 3 Unlike Netherlanders from aristocratic, clerical, or peasant backgrounds, these early citizens could not derive their speci c beliefs and codes of conduct from longestablished class identities. Rather, in de ning their moral principles, burgers depended upon their ability to distinguish themselves from existing groups within society-to differentiate themselves from the "others." 4 Amid the scrutiny of traditional pictorial themes for their contemporary relevance, the visual arts became a driving force in the negotiation of a civic identity. Early in the sixteenth century, the favorable Netherlandish economic situation triggered the emergence of a ourishing art market. Alongside the traditional patronage of court and Church, a genuinely urban clientele established itself as a new cohort of collectors and became part of an extensive network for the creation and consumption of art. Affordable, extremely mobile, and with a broad range of practical functions, the graphic medium in particular evolved into a site for the construction of values. 5 Since early Christian times, images of saints as moral exemplars had played a central role in the de ning of ethical norms. Even this long-standing iconography, however, was updated in the context of a nascent civic morality. The Protestant challenge to the cult of the saints and the Catholic response, codied by the Council of Trent in , transformed the devotional image into a controversial religiopolitical subject. 6 Specifically, depictions of the fourteen Holy Helpers, apostles and patron saints who, according to tradition, had fought
Hieronymus Boschs Weltgerichts-Triptychon in seiner Zeit. Publikation zur gleichnamigen internationalen Konferenz vom 21. bis 23. November 2019 in der Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, 2020
In various iconographic fields, Pieter Bruegel was a radical renewer and highly momentous point o... more In various iconographic fields, Pieter Bruegel was a radical renewer and highly momentous point of reference for subsequent generations. Despite his considerable innovations, however, he also aligned himself to a long tradition of important predecessors. In the early sixteenth century, not only Italian artists such as Titian and Domenico Campagnola, but also their contemporaries working north of the Alps, including Quentin Massys, Albrecht Dürer, and Lucas van Leyden, created fundamental prerequisites for his pictorial inventions. In the following, however, the primary goal shall be to investigate how, why, and along which paths of transference the art of Hieronymus Bosch, who died in 1516, had a decisive effect on especially the early artistic vocabulary of the master.
This master thesis deals in principle with the art historical analysis of two tondi, subsumed und... more This master thesis deals in principle with the art historical analysis of two tondi, subsumed under the descriptive term of “Fire Landscape” and presently preserved in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The paintings depict the Temptation of Saint Anthony and Hell. Both rank among the broad succession of Hieronymus Bosch and have until now been attributed to the artist Herri met de Bles. The positioning of the art works against the 16th century’s cultural historical backdrop of which they emerged, allows for an authentic approach and provides the fundamental knowledge to promote a deeper reflection and understanding of the paintings. Based on an in-depth image analysis, stylistic and motivic references to Bosch's oeuvre are determined, which in turn permits an investigation of the quality of the painting’s conceptual relation to the s’Hertogenbosch master. The significant dissimilarities regarding the tondi's nature of recourse to the model lead to the conclusion, that they were undoubtedly created by two different artists. The attribution to Herri met the Bles has therefore been abandoned by the Museum. A schematic categorization of specific groups of the Bosch succession provides a basis for chronological classification and allows to date the creation of the tableaus in the time around 1550. Considering the limited number and quality of art historical studies regarding 16th century diableries in general and the works of the Bosch-succession in particular this paper hopes to further elucidate this often underappreciated section of the so-called “Northern Renaissance”.
Featuring works by Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), Jan Gossaert (c. 1478-1532), Maarten van Heem... more Featuring works by Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516), Jan Gossaert (c. 1478-1532), Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569), Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), and others, this book positions drawing in the Low Countries in the sixteenth century as a dynamic, multifaceted practice. Drawings played roles as varied as the artists who made them: they were designs for prints, paintings, stained glass windows, decorative objects, and tapestries, as well as tools for presentation, translation, and the display of knowledge and virtuosity. The artists' diversified urban communities shaped their drawing practices, as did shifting cultural and political circumstances surrounding Protestant Reform and the Eighty Years' War. In addition to the book's four essays, many of the more than eighty catalogue entries--selected from the holdings of The Albertina Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art--present new research.
PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (ca. 1526 /30 – 1569) is considered the greatest Netherlandish draftsman... more PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (ca. 1526 /30 – 1569) is considered the greatest Netherlandish draftsman of the 16th century. Even during his lifetime, his drawings were highly regarded and many were widely distributed as print designs. In an age of political, social, and religious change, Bruegel created an equally complex pictorial world. Humorous and down-to-earth, sharp- witted and deeply critical, he reflected on the society of his day. This catalog illuminates Bruegel’s artistic origins and offers an overview of the many topics in his graphic work.
PIETER BRUEGEL DER ÄLTERE (um 1526/30 – 1569) gilt als größter niederländischer Zeichner des 16. Jahrhunderts. Bereits zu seinen Lebzeiten wurden seine Zeichnungen hoch geschätzt und viele fanden als Vorlagen für Kupferstiche weite Verbreitung. In einer Zeit der politischen, sozialen und religiösen Um brüche entwarf Bruegel eine ebenso komplexe Bildwelt. Humor voll und volksnah, scharfsinnig und zutiefst kritisch reflektierte er die gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse seiner Epoche. Der Katalog beleuchtet Bruegels künstlerische Ursprünge und bietet einen Überblick über alle Themenbereiche seines graphischen Schaffens.
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PIETER BRUEGEL DER ÄLTERE (um 1526/30 – 1569) gilt als größter niederländischer Zeichner des 16. Jahrhunderts. Bereits zu seinen Lebzeiten wurden seine Zeichnungen hoch geschätzt und viele fanden als Vorlagen für Kupferstiche weite Verbreitung. In einer Zeit der politischen, sozialen und religiösen Um brüche entwarf Bruegel eine ebenso komplexe Bildwelt. Humor voll und volksnah, scharfsinnig und zutiefst kritisch reflektierte er die gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse seiner Epoche. Der Katalog beleuchtet Bruegels künstlerische Ursprünge und bietet einen Überblick über alle Themenbereiche seines graphischen Schaffens.
PIETER BRUEGEL DER ÄLTERE (um 1526/30 – 1569) gilt als größter niederländischer Zeichner des 16. Jahrhunderts. Bereits zu seinen Lebzeiten wurden seine Zeichnungen hoch geschätzt und viele fanden als Vorlagen für Kupferstiche weite Verbreitung. In einer Zeit der politischen, sozialen und religiösen Um brüche entwarf Bruegel eine ebenso komplexe Bildwelt. Humor voll und volksnah, scharfsinnig und zutiefst kritisch reflektierte er die gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse seiner Epoche. Der Katalog beleuchtet Bruegels künstlerische Ursprünge und bietet einen Überblick über alle Themenbereiche seines graphischen Schaffens.