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 commondegree; 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."
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 commondegree; 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 followedhis 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.
A. CUIJP Fight between a Turkey and a CockA. CUIJPFight 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.
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.
A. CUIJP Shepherds with their FlocksA. CUIJPShepherds with their Flocks
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.—JacobGerritszCuijp (1594-1651?), father of Aelbert, is a painter whose pictures are very scarce. His Portrait of a Woman is dated 1651; and a very fineScène 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 triedto 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.
JAN VAN GOYEN View of DordrechtJAN VAN GOYENView 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 squaregravepicture, of an extreme sonority in the deepest register, and my notes addmerveilleux dans l'or."
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 squaregravepicture, of an extreme sonority in the deepest register, and my notes addmerveilleux 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 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 isbareheaded, 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 ofEsaiasvan 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.
PhilipsWouwermans'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 ofwhich 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 withWouwermans, who is sospiritueland clever, to find a richer, more animated, more varied, and more brilliant composition.
A Landscape with Water belongs to the first period whenWouwermansfollowed 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, PieterWouwermans(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 PhilipsWouwermans, 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. Hewas 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, Adriaenvan de Velde(as in the case of the above-mentioned Landscape in the Dunes), Lingelbach, Wouwermans, HeltStokade, 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."
"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 isAartvan 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.
Esaisvan 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 taughtLudolfBakhuysen (1631-1708), who was also a pupil ofAllartvan 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 Willemvan 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 in1840); 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 ofVandervelde's most capital pictures: it is about twelve feet long; a view of the port of Amsterdam with an infinite quantity of shipping."
"At the office of the Commissary of the Wharfs is one ofVandervelde's most capital pictures: it is about twelve feet long; a view of the port of Amsterdam with an infinite quantity of shipping."
W. VAN DE VELDE The Ij or Y at AmsterdamW.VAN DE VELDEThe 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 fishermanwalks 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 landscapesà la mode, andvice 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 ofSnyders, 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."
"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 inSnyders'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.
FRANS SNYDERS Dead Game and VegetablesFRANSSNYDERSDead 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, whilethe 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'Hondecoetercan 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 withFigures, 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.
M. D'HONDECOETER The Floating FeatherM. D'HONDECOETERThe 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 oflèse-peinture.Hondecoeterhas 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."
Burger's Criticism of The Floating Feather.—"To make a pilgrimage to Amsterdam without admiring The Floating Feather, would be committing the crime oflèse-peinture.Hondecoeterhas 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 approachHondecoeterin this respect."
"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 approachHondecoeterin 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, areHondecoeters of the most admirablequality, 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 withHondecoeter's Floating Feather.
ASSELIJN The SwanASSELIJNThe 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 inRuisdael'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 paintedlandscapes, 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 hisdéjeunersspread 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 Orientaltable-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."
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 Orientaltable-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 Marseusvan Schrieck (1619-78) was nicknamed De Snuffelaer (the ferreter), by the Dutchart 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 thatlodge 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 thisgenre, 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." Hergreat 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: