17th century Dutch Art

In October 2014 the Szépmüvészeti Múzeum in Budapest opened the large and ambitious exhibition Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age, with 195 displays, mainly paintings. It was accompanied by a correspondingly large, magnificently printed 606-page catalogue. Preceding the entries are five essays, one of which I wrote and which with the kind permission of the museum I make available on academia.edu.

Gary Schwartz, "The meanings of Rembrandt," in exhib. cat. Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age, Budapest (Szépmüvészeti Múzeum) 2014, pp. 36-57

Book review of: ‘Ann Jensen Adams, Public Faces and Private Identities in Seventeenth-Century Holland: Portraiture and the Production of Community. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. 398 pp, 73 b&w illus. ISBN 978-0-521-44455-2.’, in: Historians of Netherlandish Art: Newsletter and Review of Books (HNA Newsletter) 28, nr. 1 (apr. 2011), ISSN 1067-4284, pp. 32-33.

Cologne: Walther König, 2015. Rembrandt manipulated his copperplates in unprecedented ways to achieve printed images that were often in flux. That many of the various results were circulated as finished works in their right marked a new moment in the appreciation of printmaking and the collecting of prints in the seventeenth century. Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University.

During the seventeenth century, a small group of wealthy Dutch wives commissioned and curated their own dollhouses as show-pieces which often included hundreds of miniature works of art by prominent local artists and craftsmen. Those that have survived not only to provide valuable insight into the decoration of houses, but also into the concerns, responsibilities, and collecting practices of women during the Golden Age of Dutch Exploration. Mirroring cabinets of curiosities, such dollhouses present colonialist and microcosmic aspirations as knowledge of the world expanded. The miniaturization of household objects fulfilled a possessive and connoisseurial desire that allowed women to own and control something all their own, best seen in three extant seventeenth-century Dutch dollhouses, all coincidentally owned by women named Petronella.

A scrapbook compiled between 1660 and 1687 by Gesina ter Borch (1631-1690), a female artist from the small town of Zwolle in the Netherlands, contains an intriguing painting on paper of a full-length portrait of a young Iranian. Although the figure wears the attributes in vogue at the Safavid court of Isfahan, certain elements seem rather incongruous and peculiar. The general composition appears static and rigid, an impression reinforced by an unusual black painted background. Stylistic differences within the painting were also observed, hinting at alterations to the original painting. To investigate the history of the painting and to reconstruct the original composition and identify the later additions, perhaps made by Gesina herself, the painting was examined with different imaging and analytic techniques available at the Conservation and Science Department of the Rijksmuseum. This allowed the research team to discriminate between pigments used for the original composition and pigments used to conceal damaged areas of the painting and added pictorial elements. After interpreting scientific results, as well as historical findings, it was possible to shed light on the use of specific pigments, namely lead white and smalt, and on the possible misinterpretation of some details, such as the cup held by the young man. The results of macro X-ray fluorescence scanning (MA-XRF) and lead isotope analysis, viewed in the light of information about the economic and cultural exchanges between Iran and the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, fed new theories about the origin and history of this painting. The painting, originally made in Iran in the style of Riza Abbasi, the head of the Emperor Shah Abbas' library, ended up in Gesina ter Borch's workshop and may have been 'restored' by the artist to improve its condition and to match her tastes.

What is liefhebberij? (Amateurism, roughly speaking) and how does the practice of liefhebberij as it's described in 17th-century Netherlandish documents and works of art relate to knowledge and the economy? Chapter 6 in Early Modern Knowledge Societies as Affective Economies, a recent volume edited by Inger Leemans and Anne Goldgar in the Global Knowledge Society Series

Maps, globes or other objects related to the subject of geography are depicted in ten of the 23 extant paintings attributed to Jan Vermeer. What is revealed in those paintings about the early modern use of maps and the ideas and concepts related to them? And is there a moral message in those visual references?

JAN VAN MIERIS was the eldest son and pupil of the renowned Dutch fijnschilder Frans van Mieris I (1635-1681), who in turn had studied under Gerard Dou (1613-1675) and Abraham van den Tempel (1622-1672). Jan and his younger brother Willem (1662-1747) followed in their father’s footsteps by continuing the Leiden fijnschilder tradition. As a consequence distinguishing between their work – and that of other illustrious relatives – can be a challenge. Virtually every painting in the catalog was once attributed to Frans I, or Willem, or even to Willem’s son Frans II (1689-1763). Jan van Mieris, who was also a gifted poet, not only wrote a small oeuvre of poems but also several partially rhymed versions of the pastoral play Aminta by Torquato Tasso (1544-1595) in Dutch. They are preserved in a manuscript in Leiden University Library. In this book Jan van Mieris’ oeuvre finally receives the attention it deserves. The catalogue raisonné contains 41 paintings. portraits, genre pieces and history paintings, seven drawings and three mezzotints after his paintings. This study is helpful in understanding the double talent of the young painter who made Horatius’ device ‘Ut Pictura Poesis’ (as is painting so is poetry) his own.

Map and newsprint publishers Claes Jansz. Visscher and Herman Allertsz. developed a new kind of wall print in the first decade of the seventeenth century that depicted contemporary political executions and which served as 'eternal memory mirror[s]'. These prints evince the high value contemporaries placed on proportionate justice: the desire for visual affirmation that the punishment fit the crime. Visscher was keen to put a good face on things, downplaying disorganization, unflattering or unfortunate aspects of executions, and he emphasized events that suggested divine approval. The success of his early execution prints had a profound impact on the format and variety of Visscher's later military newsprints. The large scale, sophisticated organization of text and image, and superior aesthetic qualities-all strategies borrowed from monumental wall maps-enhanced the commercial and polemical potential of his execution imagery. The article first considers Visscher's early professional relationships and training in cartographic circles. Then, it analyses his multi-plate compositions and the relationship between image and text in his execution prints from 1619 and 1623, which were related to the Truce Conflicts and fights between Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants. Finally, the article considers the implications of viewing execution imagery on the wall.

De zeventiende eeuw in de Nederlanden is een Fundgrube van liefde voor de oudheid. De welopgeleide klasse, die in de steden van Holland, Zeeland en de provinciën aanzienlijk was, deed zich volop tegoed aan klassieke kunst en literatuur. De beeldende kunsten door deze te verzamelen, de literatuur door te lezen en in bibliotheken te vereeuwigen en beide door veelvuldig te imiteren. In de architectuur werden uit de oudheid gedestilleerde voorschriften nagevolgd in nieuwe bouwkunst. Deze beweging kan als het classicisme worden aangeduid, in navolging van de hoge status die de klassieke kunst in de Italiaanse renaissance genoot. In deze bijdrage ga ik in op een zeventiende-eeuwse Amsterdammer die exemplarisch was voor deze verzamel- en imitatiedrift: Jan Six (1617-1700). Behalve door zijn vooraanstaande positie als koopman, bestuurder en burgermeester van Amsterdam in 1691, werd hij ook beroemd door het patronaat van een door anderen in zijn tijd vaak miskende kunstenaar: Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).

熊澤 弘「「レンブラント」ではなく「光琳」――日本近代におけるレンブラント受容の諸相」『レンブラント　光の探求　/　闇の誘惑[論文集]』（幸福輝、熊澤弘編）、国立西洋美術館、2012年3月、pp.73-84
*English edition:
KUMAZAWA, Hiroshi, "Korin, rather than Rembrandt: Various Aspects of the Modern Japanese Reception of Rembrandt", in: Rembrandt: The Quest for Chiaroscuro [Essays] (eds. by Akira Kofuku, Hiroshi Kumazawa), National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2012, pp.145-156
https://www.academia.edu/40080865/Korin_rather_than_Rembrandt_Various_Aspects_of_the_Modern_Japanese_Reception_of_Rembrandt

The article discusses the changes and innovations brought about by Cornelis Saftleven and David Teniers the Younger to the 17th century genre of spoockerijen. By the beginning of the century the representations of monsters and St. Anthony’s temptations had come to form a well defined artistic genre, that reached far beyond the mere imitation of Hieronymus Bosch’s and Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s works. Despite the undeniable link with these painters, the author intends to show that 17th century artists have played an important role in the categorization and evolution of this genre. The most significant innovation was the rising of a new model in Teniers’ temptations, which were imitated by the majority of the Antwerpen artists. The article sheds light on the Dutch painter Cornelis Saftleven, who was one of the most influential spoockschilders and the main source of inspiration for Teniers’ temptations. Finally, it explains why Teniers’ works were so successful and widespread: they were based on a closed iconographic system, therefore easily replicable within the art market.

This article examines how the Dutch classicist painter Nicolaas Verkolje, exploring his artistic possibilities in the category of genre painting from the mid-1690s, made full use of the popularity of Schalcken's candlelight pictures and associated himself with this internationally famous artist. Verkolje not only made prints after Schalcken, but he also adopted subjects and motifs from Schalcken's night scenes in his own paintings and prints, such as the attractive female figure in nighttime attire. Research into eighteenth-century sales catalogues and documents, plus two new proposed attributions, contribute to a clearer picture of Verkolje's succesful strategy toward Schalcken.

Aono considers how Waiboer's Gabriel Metsu illuminate Metsu's skills of artistic adaptation and emulation as a "master at sensing market trends." Waiter's deliberate emphasis on formal analysis eschews the more traditional interpretation of subject matter to convincingly argue that Metsu promptly and diligently adopted a variety of themes, motifs, compositions and painterly technique from the works of contemporary painters active both inside and outside Amsterdam. This versatility is the most important characteristic feature Waiboer establishes for the artist. Aono also analyzes Waiboer's new insight into Metsu's artistic dialogue with Vermeer, which releases Metsu from the hyperbolic reputation of his famous Delft colleagues and successfully re-situates Metsu's life and work within the vibrant artistic context for genre painting in the Golden Age.

The present study approaches Cuyp’s VOC Senior Merchant, his Wife, and Manservant through a post-colonial lens in order to critically examine the complex interactions between the Dutch VOC traders and indigenous peoples through servitude, social hierarchy, and cultural hybridity. The cohabitation of the city’s heterogeneous communities, coupled with the crucial yet threatening economic position of the Chinese, required careful VOC regulation in order to maintain their superior social position. A pajong-bearer depicted in the painting invites investigation into this social hierarchization, as well as the reception of representations of indigenous people and spaces during the era of Dutch globalization. Partially subsumed behind the prominent Dutch couple, yet accented by the large pajong, the figure is depicted as a Europeanized foil to the Dutch commander. Through analysis of the significance of the pajong-bearer, I argue that Cuyp portrayed Dutch culture as superior and all-encompassing in order to reflect optimism in the future success of VOC trade and settlements in Asia.

Series: Northern Lights
Publisher: Lund Humphries

Always recognised as a master print from the moment of its appearance around 1649, the Hundred Guilder Print is one of Rembrandt's most compositionally complex and visually beautiful works.

This book gives a full overview of the fascinating story surrounding this print, from its genesis and market value to attitudes towards it in the present day. Focusing on the tradition of printmaking as well as the reception of the print in Rembrandt's time, Golahny explores the ways the artist made visual references to the work of such masters as Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, while uniquely combining aspects of Christ's ministry.

Placing the work within its wider cultural and historical context, Rembrandt's Hundred Guilder Print offers an original and engaging approach to current Rembrandt scholarship and is essential reading for anyone interested in the work of one of the most famous artists of the Dutch Global Age.

For more info, visit https://www.lundhumphries.com/products/rembrandts-hundred-guilder-print

What unusual materials did Rembrandt paint with? What did his social network and love life look like? And what do we know about his early years? Thanks to the many exhibitions, events and conferences organized in 2019, marking the 350th anniversary of his death, we gained new insights about one of the greatest Dutch painters.

When  'Portrait of a Woman with a Child' came up for auction at Christie’s in London on 9 July 2014, as attributed to Isaack Luttichuys (1616-1673), it independently attracted the
attention of both authors of this essay. Kate Anderson recognised it as the probable pendant to the portrait of 'Sir William Davidson of Curriehill (1615/16-1689) and his son Charles (1661-1666)' in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, where it is on display in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Carla van de Puttelaar was struck by the similarities to the work of Isaack Luttichuys. She believed it to be by him in its entirety and decided to do more research on this portrait and its pendant. The aim of this article is to prove that the paintings are pendant portraits and that they were both painted by Isaack Luttichuys. It is a tribute to Fred Meijer, one of the foremost connoisseurs on Dutch and Flemish Old Master paintings

Het poppenhuis dat Petronella de la Court (1624-1707) samenstelde in de jaren zeventig van de zeventiende eeuw prijkt al bijna 100 jaar in het Centraal Museum Utrecht. Dankzij dit rijk geïllustreerde boek kunnen we terugreizen in de tijd en een bezoek brengen aan de elf kamers van het pronkpoppenhuis. In het boek wordt het pronkpoppenhuis geplaatst binnen de samenhang van Petronella's diverse kunstverzamelingen en haar leven als bewoonster en eigenares van brouwerij De Swaen aan het Singel in Amsterdam. Daar stond het poppenhuis in de grote voorkamer van het woonhuis; een kunstkamer met kabinetten vol porselein, rariteiten en verzamelingen. De kunstkamer in het poppenhuis is hiervan een afspiegeling in miniatuur. Er zijn elf kamers, waaronder een salon, een comptoir (kantoor), een kraamkamer en een tuin waarin bewoners, gasten en personeel verpozen. Zo ontmoeten we in het voorhuis een dienstmeisje, gekleed in Waterlands kostuum, dat een meisje leert lopen. In het comptoir doet de brouwer zijn administratie, terwijl poppen zich vermaken met muziekinstrumenten of met een kaartspelletje in de saletkamer (ontvangstkamer). Van de zestien schilderijen in het poppenhuis hangen er negen in de kunstkamer. De vrouw des huizes maakt haar toilet in de slaapkamer. In de kraamkamer vinden we behalve de kraamvrouw ook de min met de baby, een vroedvrouw en kraamvisite. De kleding van deze poppen is van groot belang voor de kostuumhistorie. De poppenhuis-houding geeft een beeld van hoe een rijke familie destijds leefde. Het boekje bevat prachtige overzichtsfoto's van alle kamers en detailfoto's van de historische kleding van de bewoners en hun personeel. Bestel dit boek en betreed Petronella's pronkpoppenhuis, een tijdcapsule van de zeventiende eeuw.

KUMAZAWA, Hiroshi, "Korin, rather than Rembrandt: Various Aspects of the Modern Japanese Reception of Rembrandt", in: Rembrandt: The Quest for Chiaroscuro [Essays] (eds. by Akira Kofuku, Hiroshi Kumazawa), National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2012, pp.145-156
*Japanese edition:
熊澤 弘「「レンブラント」ではなく「光琳」――日本近代におけるレンブラント受容の諸相」『レンブラント　光の探求　/　闇の誘惑[論文集]』（幸福輝、熊澤弘編）、国立西洋美術館、2012年3月、pp.73-84
https://www.academia.edu/40080833/_%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88_%E3%81%A7%E3%81%AF%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F_%E5%85%89%E7%90%B3_%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%BF%91%E4%BB%A3%E3%81%AB%E3%81%8A%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E5%8F%97%E5%AE%B9%E3%81%AE%E8%AB%B8%E7%9B%B8

In the corner of a dark wine cellar, a boy smiles as he proudly raises a wooden trap to show the viewer the mouse he has just captured. His candle's flame illuminates his excited face and the objects around him while casting shadows onto the floor and walls. The differences in the delicate rendering of brightly lit elements-the boy's face, hair, white collar, and the foreground still life motifs-and the freely brushed shadows simulate the effects of flickering candlelight.