Dutch painters of the 17th century. Paintings by Dutch artists. Picturesque dishes and dishes
Dutch painting - 17th century paintings
A significant feature of Dutch art was the significant predominance in all its types of painting. Representatives of the highest echelons of power, poor burghers, artisans and peasants, decorated their homes with paintings. They were sold at auctions and fairs; artists sometimes even used them as a means to pay bills.
Road in the Forest, Meindert Hobbema, 1670
There was an abundance of painters, and there was quite fierce competition, since the artist’s profession was widespread. Not many people could earn their living by painting. Most artists had to do the most various jobs: Jacob van Ruisdael was a doctor, Meindert Hobbema worked as an excise official, and Jan Steen was an innkeeper.
In the 17th century, Dutch painting developed rapidly not only due to the growing demand for those wishing to decorate their homes with paintings, but also due to the fact that they began to be viewed as a commodity, a means of speculation and a source of profit. The artist was completely dependent on market trends, freeing himself from such direct customers as influential patrons (feudal lords) and Catholic Church. The paths of development of Dutch society were determined, and artists who opposed them and defended their independence in terms of creativity became isolated and died prematurely in loneliness and poverty. In most cases these were just the most talented artists, such as Rembrandt and Frans Hals.
Dutch painters mainly depicted the surrounding reality, which artists of other schools of painting did not depict so fully. The main place in strengthening realistic trends was occupied by portraits, everyday life, still lifes and landscapes, as artists turned to various aspects of life. They so deeply and truthfully depicted what was unfolding before them. real world, so impressive were their works.
Jan Steen, Meeting with Revelers, 1679
Each genre had its own movements. Among those depicting landscapes were marine painters and painters who preferred plains or forests; there were also masters winter landscapes and views depicting moonlight. Among the genre artists, those who depicted bourgeois and peasants, scenes of domestic life and parties, bazaars and hunting stood out. There were also artists who specialized in church interiors and various types still lifes, such as: “bench”, “dessert”, “breakfast”, etc. The number of tasks performed was influenced by this feature Dutch painting like limitation. However, the painter's virtuosity was facilitated by the fact that each artist focused on a specific genre. Only the largest Dutch artists wrote to various genres.
The development of realistic Dutch painting took place in the fight against mannerism and a direction that imitated the Italian classical art. Formally borrowed from Italian artists, representatives of these directions, the techniques were extremely unnatural for the traditions of national Dutch painting. Realistic trends were more clearly manifested in everyday genre and portraits during the development of Dutch painting, which covers 1609-1640.
Jacob van Ruisdael(1628-1682) was an outstanding master in the landscape genre (he painted the classic Dutch landscape - desert dunes, the famous windmills, boats with canals, skaters, and not nature in general), an artist of boundless imagination (“Waterfall”, “Forest Swamp”, “Jewish Cemetery”). By diligently sketching nature, Ruisdael at the same time achieves monumentality.
Windmill in Wijk bei Dyrsted. 1670. Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam, Jacob van Ruisdael
One of the most talented portrait painters of this era can be called Frans Hals(ca. 1585-1666). He created many group portraits, such as images of rifle guilds (an association of officers for the protection of cities and defense). The burghers wanted to capture themselves, and the artist had to remember to respect each model. What is attractive in these paintings is the display of the ideals of the young republic, camaraderie, equality and a sense of freedom. People who are confident in themselves and tomorrow, full of energy, look at the viewer from the canvases (“Streltsy Guild of St. George”, “Streltsy Guild of St. Adrian”). Naturally, they are depicted at a friendly feast. Thanks to individual style artist - broad, confident, with rich, bright colors(red, yellow, blue, etc.) - these individuals make up the artistic document of the era.
Portrait of Stefan Gerads, 1652, Royal Museum, Antwerp
There is a lot of reckless zeal, pressure, irrepressible energy in individual portraits with the outlines of a genre painting. This disappears in later portraits. For example, in the Hermitage portrait of a man the sadness and fatigue of the hero Hals is visible, despite all his impressiveness and even swagger. These features are further enhanced in another portrait (an image of a man in a wide-brimmed hat). In that late period Hals reaches the highest level of skill, the tones in his works become monochromatic (usually dark, black clothes, with a white collar and cuffs, and a dark olive background color). Despite the laconicism of the pictorial palette, it is based on extremely subtle gradations.
Creation Rembrandt van Rijn(1606-1669) became the final achievement of Dutch art of the 17th century and the pinnacle of its realism.
From: Artemenko Alena, 25698 views
"Burgher" Baroque in Dutch paintingXVII V. – depiction of everyday life (P. de Hooch, Vermeer). "Luxurious" still lifes by Kalf. Group portrait and its features by Hals and Rembrandt. Interpretation of mythological and biblical scenes by Rembrandt.
Dutch art of the 17th century
In the 17th century Holland has become a model capitalist country. It conducted extensive colonial trade, had a powerful fleet, and shipbuilding was one of the leading industries. Protestantism (Calvinism as its most severe form), which completely supplanted the influence of the Catholic Church, led to the fact that the clergy in Holland did not have the same influence on art as in Flanders, and especially in Spain or Italy. In Holland, the church did not play the role of a customer of works of art: churches were not decorated with altar images, for Calvinism rejected any hint of luxury; Protestant churches were simple in architecture and not decorated inside at all.
The main achievement of Dutch art of the 18th century. - in easel painting. Man and nature were the objects of observation and depiction by Dutch artists. Household painting is becoming one of the leading genres, the creators of which in history received the name “Little Dutchmen”. Painting on the Gospels and biblical stories is also represented, but not to the same extent as in other countries. In Holland there were never connections with Italy and classical art did not play such a role as in Flanders.
The mastery of realistic trends, the development of a certain range of themes, the differentiation of genres as a single process were completed by the 20s of the 17th century. History of Dutch painting of the 17th century. perfectly demonstrates the evolution of the work of one of the largest portrait painters in Holland, Frans Hals (circa 1580-1666). In the 10-30s, Hals worked a lot in the genre of group portraits. From the canvases of these years, cheerful, energetic, enterprising people look out, confident in their abilities and in the future (“The Shooting Guild of St. Adrian”, 1627 and 1633;
"Rifle Guild of St. George", 1627).
Researchers sometimes call Hals's individual portraits genre portraits due to the special specificity of the image. Hulse's sketchy style, his bold writing, when the brushstroke sculpts both shape and volume and conveys color.
In the portraits of Hals of the late period (50-60s), the carefree prowess, energy, and intensity in the characters of the depicted persons disappear. But it was in the late period of creativity that Hals reached the pinnacle of mastery and created the most profound works. The coloring of his paintings becomes almost monochrome. Two years before his death, in 1664, Hals again returned to the group portrait. He paints two portraits of the regents and regents of a nursing home, in one of which he himself found refuge at the end of his life. In the portrait of the regents there is no spirit of camaraderie of previous compositions, the models are disunited, powerless, they have dull looks, devastation is written on their faces.
Hals's art was of great importance for its time; it influenced the development of not only portraits, but also everyday genres, landscapes, and still lifes.
Landscape genre of Holland XVII century especially interesting. Holland is depicted by Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) and Salomon van Ruisdael (1600/1603-1670).
The heyday of landscape painting in the Dutch school dates back to the middle of the 17th century. The greatest master of realistic landscape was Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/29-1682). His works are usually full of deep drama, whether he depicts forest thickets (“Forest Swamp”),
landscapes with waterfalls (“Waterfall”) or a romantic landscape with a cemetery (“Jewish Cemetery”).
Ruisdael's nature appears in dynamics, in eternal renewal.
The animalistic genre is closely related to the Dutch landscape. Albert Cuyp's favorite motif is cows at a watering hole (“Sunset on the River”, “Cows on the Bank of a Stream”).
Still life achieves brilliant development. Dutch still life, in contrast to Flemish, is a painting of an intimate nature, modest in size and motifs. Pieter Claes (c. 1597-1661), Billem Heda (1594-1680/82) most often depicted so-called breakfasts: dishes with ham or pie on a relatively modestly served table. Kheda’s “breakfasts” are replaced by Kalf’s luxurious “desserts.” Simple utensils are replaced by marble tables, carpet tablecloths, silver goblets, vessels made of mother-of-pearl shells, and crystal glasses. Kalf achieves amazing virtuosity in conveying the texture of peaches, grapes, and crystal surfaces.
In the 20-30s of the 17th century. The Dutch created a special type of small small-figure painting. The 40-60s were the heyday of painting, glorifying the calm burgher life of Holland, measured everyday existence.
Adrian van Ostade (1610-1685) initially depicts the shadowy sides of the life of the peasantry (“The Fight”).
Since the 40s, satirical notes in his work have increasingly been replaced by humorous ones (“In a village tavern”, 1660).
Sometimes these small paintings are colored with a great lyrical feeling. Ostade’s “Painter in the Studio” (1663), in which the artist glorifies creative work, is rightfully considered a masterpiece of Ostade’s painting.
But main theme The life of the “small Dutch” is, after all, not a peasant one, but a burgher one. Usually these are images without any fascinating plot. The most entertaining narrator in films of this kind was Jan Stan (1626-1679) (“Revelers”, “Game of Backgammon”). Gerard Terborch (1617-1681) achieved even greater mastery in this.
The interior of the “little Dutch” becomes especially poetic. The real singer of this theme was Pieter de Hooch (1629-1689). His rooms with a half-open window, with shoes accidentally thrown or a broom left behind, are often depicted without a human figure.
A new stage of genre painting begins in the 50s and is associated with the so-called Delft school, with the names of such artists as Carel Fabricius, Emmanuel de Witte and Jan Wermeer, known in art history as Wermeer of Delft (1632-1675). Vermeer's paintings seem to be in no way original. These are the same images of frozen burgher life: reading a letter, a gentleman and a lady talking, maids doing simple housework, views of Amsterdam or Delft. These paintings are simple in action: “Girl Reading a Letter”,
"The gentleman and the lady at the spinet"
“The Officer and the Laughing Girl”, etc. - are full of spiritual clarity, silence and peace.
The main advantages of Vermeer as an artist are in the transmission of light and air. The dissolution of objects in a light-air environment, the ability to create this illusion, primarily determined the recognition and glory of Vermeer precisely in the 19th century.
Vermeer did something that no one did in the 17th century: he painted landscapes from life (“Street”, “View of Delft”).
They can be called the first examples of plein air painting.
The pinnacle of Dutch realism, the result of the pictorial achievements of Dutch culture in the 17th century, is the work of Rembrandt. Harmens van Rijn Rembrandt (1606-1669) was born in Leiden. In 1632, Rembrandt left for Amsterdam, the center of artistic culture in Holland, which naturally attracted young artist. The 30s were the time of his greatest glory, the path to which was opened for the painter by a large commissioned painting of 1632 - a group portrait, also known as “The Anatomy of Doctor Tulp”, or “Anatomy Lesson”.
In 1634, Rembrandt married a girl from a wealthy family, Saskia van Uylenborch. The happiest period of his life begins. He becomes a famous and fashionable artist.
This entire period is shrouded in romance. Rembrandt’s worldview of these years is conveyed most clearly by the famous “Self-Portrait with Saskia on her Knees” (circa 1636). The whole canvas is permeated with frank joy of life and jubilation.
The Baroque language is closest to the expression of high spirits. And Rembrandt during this period was largely influenced by the Italian Baroque.
The characters in the 1635 painting “The Sacrifice of Abraham” appear before us from complex angles. The composition is highly dynamic, built according to all the rules of the Baroque.
In the same 30s, Rembrandt first began to seriously engage in graphics, primarily etching. Rembrandt's etchings are mainly biblical and evangelical subjects, but in his drawings, as a true Dutch artist, he often turns to the genre. At the turn of the early period of the artist’s work and his creative maturity, one of his most famous paintings appears before us, known as “The Night Watch” (1642) - group portrait Captain Banning Coke's rifle company.
He expanded the scope of the genre, presenting rather a historical picture: upon an alarm signal, Banning Cock's detachment sets out on a campaign. Some are calm and confident, others are excited in anticipation of what is to come, but all bear the expression of general energy, patriotic enthusiasm, and the triumph of the civic spirit.
The group portrait painted by Rembrandt developed into a heroic image of the era and society.
The painting had already become so dark that it was considered to be a depiction of a night scene, hence its incorrect name. The shadow cast by the captain's figure on the lieutenant's light clothes proves that it is not night, but day.
With the death of Saskia in the same 1642, Rembrandt’s natural break with the patrician circles alien to him occurred.
The 40s and 50s are a time of creative maturity. During this period, he often turns to previous works in order to remake them in a new way. This was the case, for example, with “Danae,” which he painted back in 1636. By turning to the painting in the 40s, the artist intensified his emotional state.
He rewrote the central part with the heroine and the maid. Giving Danae a new gesture of a raised hand, he conveyed to her great excitement, an expression of joy, hope, appeal.
In the 40-50s, Rembrandt's mastery grew steadily. He chooses for interpretation the most lyrical, poetic aspects of human existence, that humanity that is eternal, all-human: maternal love, compassion. Gives him the most material Holy Bible, and from it - scenes of the life of the holy family, Rembrandt depicts simple life, ordinary people, as in the painting “The Holy Family”.
The last 16 years are the most tragic years of Rembrandt's life; he is ruined and has no orders. But these years were full of amazing creative activity, as a result of which picturesque images were created, exceptional in their monumental character and spirituality, deeply philosophical works. Even the small-sized works of Rembrandt from these years create the impression of extraordinary grandeur and true monumentality. The color acquires sonority and intensity. His colors seem to radiate light. Portraits of late Rembrandt are very different from portraits of the 30s and even 40s. These are extremely simple (half-length or generational) images of people close to the artist in their inner structure. Rembrandt achieved the greatest subtlety of characterization in his self-portraits, of which about a hundred have come down to us. The final piece in the history of group portraits was Rembrandt’s depiction of the elders of the cloth workshop - the so-called “Sindics” (1662), where, with meager means, Rembrandt created living and at the same time different human types, but most importantly, he was able to convey a sense of spiritual union, mutual understanding and interconnections between people.
During his mature years (mostly in the 50s), Rembrandt created his best etchings. As an etcher, he has no equal in world art. In all of them the images have a deep philosophical meaning; they tell about the mysteries of existence, about the tragedy of human life.
He does a lot of drawing. Rembrandt left behind 2000 drawings. These include sketches from life, sketches for paintings and preparations for etchings.
In the last quarter of the 17th century. the decline of the Dutch school of painting begins, the loss of its national identity, and from the beginning XVIII century The end of the great era of Dutch realism is coming.
In the 17th century Dutch school painting has become one of the leading in Europe. It was here, for the first time in the history of world art, that objects of the surrounding reality turned out to be a source of creative inspiration, and artistic design. IN Dutch art At this time, the formation of a whole system of genres, which began in the Renaissance, was completed. In portraits, everyday paintings, landscapes and still lifes, artists with rare skill and warmth conveyed their impressions of the surrounding nature and simple life. They reflected the collective image of Holland - a young republic that defended its independence in the war with Spain.
"Morning of a young lady." 1660 France Miris the Elder. Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
Paintings by artists on household topics(or genre paintings) depicting a person in a familiar, everyday setting, reflected established forms of life, behavior and communication of people belonging to various classes of Dutch society. Intended to decorate the interiors of the houses of merchants, artisans or wealthy peasants, paintings by Dutch artists were small in size. Artists made money by selling paintings that were painted with the possibility of detailed viewing at close range in mind. This, in turn, gave rise to a particularly careful, subtle style of writing.
"Society on the Terrace" 1620 Esais Van De Velde. Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
Throughout the 17th century, genre painting Holland has undergone significant evolution. During its formation, at the beginning of the century, plots on the themes of leisure, entertainment of young rich Dutchmen, or scenes from the life of officers were common. Such paintings were called “banquets”, “societies”, “concerts”. Their painting was distinguished by its variegation of color and highly joyful tone. Works of this kind include the painting “Society on the Terrace” by Esaias van de Velde.
By the beginning of the 30s, the formation of the Dutch genre painting was completed. Crowded “societies” gave way to small-figured compositions. The image of the environment surrounding a person began to play a large role. There has been a division of genre painting along social lines: subjects on themes from the life of the bourgeoisie, and scenes from the life of peasants and the urban poor. Both paintings were intended to decorate the interior.
"Fight". 1637 Adrian Van Ostade. Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
One of the most famous artists who worked in the “peasant genre” was Adrian van Ostade. IN early period creativity, the depiction of peasants in his paintings was distinguished by an emphasis on comedy, sometimes reaching the point of caricature. Thus, in the painting “Fight”, those fighting, illuminated by harsh light, seem not to be living people, but to puppets, whose faces are like masks, distorted by grimaces of anger. The juxtaposition of cold and warm colors, sharp contrasts of light and shadow further enhance the impression of grotesqueness in the scene.
"Village Musicians". 1635 Adrian Van De Ostade 1635 Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
In the 1650s, changes occurred in Adrian Ostade's painting. The artist turned to calmer subjects, depicting a person during his usual activities, most often in moments of rest. This is, for example, the interior painting “Village Musicians”. Ostade skillfully conveys the concentration of the “musicians” who are passionate about their work, depicting with barely noticeable humor the children watching them through the window. The variety and softness of the play of light and shadow, the greenish-brown color scheme unite people and their environment into a single whole.
"Winter View". 1640 Isaac Van Ostade. Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
Adrian’s brother Isaac van Ostade, who died early, also worked in the “peasant genre.” He depicted the life of rural Holland, in whose nature a person felt at home. The painting “Winter View” presents a typical Dutch landscape with a gray sky hanging heavily over the ground, a frozen river, on the banks of which a village is located.
"The patient and the doctor." 1660 Jan Steen. Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
The genre theme of the art of the Ostade brothers was continued by Jan Steen, a talented master who, with a sense of humor, noticed the characteristic details of life and relationships characters in his paintings. In the painting “Revelers,” the artist himself looks at the viewer cheerfully and slyly, sitting next to his wife, who fell asleep after have a fun feast. In the film “The Sick Woman and the Doctor,” Jan Steen skillfully reveals the plot of an imaginary illness through the facial expressions and gestures of the characters.
"Room in a Dutch House." Peter Janssens. Canvas, oil. State Hermitage Museum
In the fifties and sixties of the 17th century, the themes of genre paintings gradually narrowed. The figurative structure of the paintings changes. They become calmer, more intimate, more lyrical contemplation and quiet thoughtfulness appear in them. This stage is represented by the work of such artists as: Pieter de Hooch, Gerard Terborch, Gabriel Metsu, Peter Janssens. Their works embodied a poetic and somewhat idealized image of the everyday life of the Dutch bourgeoisie, which once fought for its rights and independence, and has now achieved sustainable prosperity. Thus, in the interior painting “Room in a Dutch House” by Pieter Janssens, a flooded sunlight cozy room with games on the floor and walls sunny bunnies, in the painting “The Old Lady by the Fireplace” by Jacob Vrel, there is a room with a fireplace immersed in soft twilight. The choice of composition in the works of both artists emphasizes the unity of man and his environment.
"A glass of lemonade." 1664 Gerard Terborch. Host (transfer from tree), oil. State Hermitage Museum
During these years, Dutch genre artists for the first time tried to reflect the depth in their works. inner life person. In what happens daily life situations they found the opportunity to reflect the diverse world of subtle experiences. But this can only be seen with a careful and thorough examination of the picture. Thus, in Gerard Terborch’s painting “A Glass of Lemonade,” the subtle language of gestures, hand touches, and eye contact reveals a whole range of feelings and relationships between the characters.
"Breakfast". 1660 Gabriel Metsu. Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
The objective world begins to play a big role in genre paintings this period. It no longer only characterizes the material and emotional environment of a person’s life, but also expresses the diversity of relationships between a person and the outside world. A set of objects, their location, a complex system symbols, as well as the gestures of the characters - everything plays a role in creating the figurative structure of the picture.
"Revelers." 1660 Jan Steen. Wood, oil. State Hermitage Museum
Dutch genre painting was not distinguished by a wide variety of subjects. Artists limited themselves to depicting only a certain range of characters and their activities. But, with their help, Dutch genre painting was able to convey a reliable image of morals, customs, and ideas about human life in the 17th century.
In preparing the publication, materials from open sources were used.
In the meantime, this is a special area worthy of more detailed study European culture, which reflects the original life of the people of Holland at that time.
History of appearance
Prominent representatives artistic arts began to appear in the country in the seventeenth century. French culturologists gave them a common name - “little Dutch”, which is not related to the scale of talents and denotes attachment to certain themes from Everyday life, opposite to the “big” style with large canvases on historical or mythological stories. The history of the emergence of Dutch painting was described in detail in the nineteenth century, and the authors of works about it also used this term. The “Little Dutch” were distinguished by secular realism, turned to the surrounding world and people, and used painting rich in tones.
Main stages of development
The history of Dutch painting can be divided into several periods. The first lasted from approximately 1620 to 1630, when national art realism was established. Dutch painting experienced its second period in 1640-1660. This is the time when the real flowering of the local art school. Finally, the third period, the time when Dutch painting began to decline - from 1670 to the beginning of the eighteenth century.
It is worth noting that cultural centers changed during this time. In the first period, leading artists worked in Haarlem, and the main representative was Khalsa. Then the center shifted to Amsterdam, where the most significant works were carried out by Rembrandt and Vermeer.
Scenes of everyday life
When listing the most important genres of Dutch painting, it is imperative to start with everyday life - the most vivid and original in history. It was the Flemings who revealed to the world scenes from everyday life ordinary people, peasants and townspeople or burghers. The pioneers were Ostade and his followers Audenrogge, Bega and Dusart. In Ostade's early paintings, people play cards, quarrel and even fight in a tavern. Each painting is distinguished by a dynamic, somewhat brutal character. Dutch painting of those times also talks about peaceful scenes: in some works, peasants talk over a pipe and a glass of beer, spend time at a fair or with their families. Rembrandt's influence led to the widespread use of soft, golden-colored chiaroscuro. Urban scenes inspired artists such as Hals, Leicester, Molenaar and Codde. In the middle of the seventeenth century, masters depicted doctors, scientists in the process of work, their own workshops, chores around the house, or Each plot should have been entertaining, sometimes grotesquely didactic. Some masters were inclined to poeticize everyday life, for example, Terborch depicted scenes of playing music or flirting. Metsu used bright colors, turning everyday life into a holiday, and de Hooch was inspired by simplicity family life, flooded with diffused daylight. Later representatives of the genre, which include such Dutch masters of painting as Van der Werff and Van der Neer, in their quest for elegant depiction, often created somewhat pretentious subjects.
Nature and landscapes
In addition, Dutch painting is widely represented in the landscape genre. It first emerged in the works of such Haarlem masters as van Goyen, de Moleyn and van Ruisdael. It was they who began to depict rural areas in a certain silvery light. The material unity of nature came to the fore in his works. Separately worth mentioning seascapes. The 17th century Marinists included Porsellis, de Vlieger and van de Capelle. They did not so much strive to convey certain sea scenes as they tried to depict the water itself, the play of light on it and in the sky.
By the second half of the seventeenth century, more emotional works arose in the genre with philosophical ideas. Jan van Ruisdael revealed the beauty of the Dutch landscape to the maximum, depicting it in all its drama, dynamics and monumentality. Hobbem, who preferred sunny landscapes, continued his traditions. Koninck painted panoramas, and van der Neer created night landscapes and rendered moonlight, sunrise and sunset. A number of artists are also characterized by the depiction of animals in landscapes, for example, grazing cows and horses, as well as hunting and scenes with cavalrymen. Later artists They also began to become interested in foreign nature - Bot, van Lahr, Wenix, Berchem and Hackert depicted Italy bathing in the rays of the southern sun. The founder of the genre was Sanredam, whose best followers can be called the Berkheide brothers and Jan van der Heijden.
Image of interiors
A separate genre that distinguished Dutch painting in its heyday can be called scenes with church, palace and home rooms. Interiors appeared in paintings of the second half of the seventeenth century by the masters of Delft - Haukgeest, van der Vliet and de Witte, who became the main representative of the movement. Using Vermeer's techniques, artists depicted scenes bathed in sunlight, full of emotions and volume.
Picturesque dishes and dishes
Finally one more characteristic genre Dutch painting - still life, especially the image of breakfasts. It was first taken up by Haarlem residents Claes and Heda, who painted laid tables with luxurious dishes. The picturesque chaos and special conveyance of a cozy interior are filled with silver-gray light, characteristic of silver and pewter. Utrecht artists painted lush floral still lifes, and in The Hague, artists were especially good at depicting fish and sea reptiles. In Leiden, a philosophical direction of the genre arose, in which skulls and hourglass, designed to remind you of the transience of time. Democratic kitchen still lifes distinctive feature art school Rotterdam.
Main trends, stages of development of painting and iconic painters of Holland.
Dutch painting
Introduction
Dutch painting of the 17th century is sometimes mistakenly considered art for the middle class, worshiping Flemish painting this period and calling it courtly, aristocratic. No less erroneous is the opinion that Dutch artists are engaged only in depicting the immediate human environment, using for this purpose landscape, cities, sea, people's lives, while Flemish art is dedicated to historical painting, which in art theory is considered a more sublime genre. In contrast, public buildings in Holland, which were expected to have an imposing appearance, as well as wealthy visitors, whatever their religious beliefs or origins, required paintings with allegorical or mythological themes.
Any division of the Netherlandish school of painting into Flemish and Dutch branches up to early XVII V. due to the constant creative exchange between the areas, it would be artificial. For example, Peter Aertsen, born in Amsterdam, before returning to hometown in 1557 he worked in Antwerp, and his student and nephew Joachim Bukelaer spent his entire life in Antwerp. In connection with the signing of the Union of Utrecht and the separation of the seven northern provinces, many residents after 1579–1581. emigrated from the northern Netherlands to the Protestant part of the artificially divided country.
« Butcher shop" Artsen.
Development of art
The impetus for the independent development of Dutch painting came from Flemish artists. Bartholomeus Spranger, born in Antwerp and educated in Rome, became the founder of a virtuoso, courtly, artificial style, which, as a result of Spranger's temporary residence in Vienna and Prague, became an international "language". In 1583, the painter and art theorist Karel van Mander brought this style to Haarlem. One of the main masters of this Haarlem or Utrecht mannerism was Abraham Bloemaert.
Then Isaiah van de Velde, born in Holland into a family of emigrants from Flanders, and studied in a circle of painters, the center of which was Flemish artists David Vinkboons and Gillis Koninksloh, in their early paintings developed a realistic painting style that referred to Jan Brueghel the Elder, with vibrant color gradations artistic plans. Around 1630, a trend towards unifying artistic space and merging colors from different layers established itself in Holland. Since then, the multifaceted nature of the things depicted gave way to a sense of space and an atmosphere of airy haze, which were conveyed with a gradually increasing monochrome use of color. Isaiah van de Velde embodied this stylistic revolution in art together with his student Jan van Goen.
Winter landscape. Velde.
One of the most monumental landscapes of the High Baroque, " Big forest", painted by Jacob van Ruisdael, belongs to the next period in the development of Dutch painting. The viewer no longer has to experience the rather amorphous appearance of a sprawling space in gray-brown tones with a few striking motifs; henceforth the impression is made of a fixed, energetically accentuated structure.
Genre painting
Dutch genre painting, which, in fact, can hardly be called just portraits of everyday life, often carrying a moralistic message, is represented in Vienna by the works of all its main masters. Its center was Leiden, where Gerard Doux, Rembrandt's first student, founded a school known as the Leiden School of Fine Painting (fijnschilders).
Figurative painting
Meeting of company officers. Frans Hals.
Three Greatest Dutch masters figurative painting, Frans Hals, Rembrandt and Jan Vermeer of Delft, followed each other with an interval of almost a whole generation. Hals was born in Antwerp and worked in Haarlem mainly as a portrait painter. For many, he became the personification of the open, cheerful and spontaneous virtuoso painter, while the art of Rembrandt, a thinker - as the cliché goes - reveals the origins human destiny. This is both fair and wrong. What immediately catches your eye when looking at a portrait or group portrait by Hals is the ability to convey a person who is overwhelmed with emotion in movement. To depict a fleeting moment, Hals uses open, noticeably irregular strokes, intersecting in zigzags or cross-hatching. This creates the effect of a constantly shimmering surface, like a sketch, which merges into a single image only when viewed from a certain distance. After the return of Rothschild's "gifts", an expressive portrait of a man in black was acquired for the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein and thus returned to Vienna. The Kunsthistorisches Museum owns only one painting by Franz Hals, a portrait young man, which already appeared in the collection of Charles VI as one of the few examples of “Protestant” art in Holland. Portraits painted in the late period of Hals's work are closer to Rembrandt's works in terms of psychological penetration and lack of posing.
Thanks to subtle transitions of shades and areas of chiaroscuro, Rembrandt's chiaroscuro seems to envelop the figures in a resonant space in which mood, atmosphere, something intangible and even invisible reside. Works of Rembrandt in Vienna art gallery represented only by portraits, although "The Artist's Mother" and "The Artist's Son" can also be considered single-figure historical paintings. In the so-called “Large Self-Portrait” of 1652, the artist appears before us in a brown blouse, with his face turned in three quarters. His gaze is self-confident and even defiant.
Vermeer
Vermeer's undramatic art, focused entirely on contemplation, was considered a reflection of the Dutch middle class, now independent and content with what it had. However, simplicity artistic concepts Vermeer is deceptive. Their clarity and calm are the result of precise analysis, including the use of the latest technical inventions such as the camera obscura. "Allegory of Painting", created around 1665–1666, pinnacle piece Vermeer, in terms of working with color, can be called his most ambitious painting. The process initiated by Jan van Eyck, a native of the northern Netherlands, passive, detached contemplation of the motionless world, has always remained the main theme of Dutch painting and in the works of Vermeer reached an allegorical and at the same time real apotheosis.
Updated: September 16, 2017 by: Gleb
