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International Art Treasures Web Magazine October 2005 |
Dutch Golden Age
Rembrandt, Frans Hals and other 17th Century Masters
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Flemish native Frans Hals is considered among the best portraitists ever. His unfortunate reputation is that of a drunken brawler, which may be guilt by association. |
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It was his second wife that was arrested at least twice for brawling not her painter husband. Like many artists he was oft short of funds and in his last few years was given a small allowance by the city of Haarlem.
Hals' remarkable works usually caught a fleeting expression in his subject bringing them to life in a way few have echoed and none surpassed. His subjects were often found to be in high spirits perhaps hoisting a full tankard of ale. Dutch realists choose to mask their paint strokes to add to the realistic image on the canvas. Hals took this a step further to a style known as 'alla prima' or at first. The Haarlem native did not use an undercoat on the canvas but applied the paint directly rather than building successive layers.
Pieter de Hooch
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Genre painter Pieter de Hooch is associated mostly with the city of Delft. It was a brief albeit profound time with many of his most noted master works, peaceful wealthy country life, completed during 1665-1661. |
He moved to Amsterdam and his artwork changed to sumptuous interiors scenes rather than the tranquil images for which he is best remembered. His life ended, sadly, during a stay in an insane asylum.
Judith Leyster
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It is believed that Judith Leyster studied with Frans Hals. She shared her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer's, studio using his models and props in her own works. |
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She used a star in her monogram a play on words using her maiden name Leyster meaning Lode Star.
Jan Steen
Title: Winter Landscape, 1651
Artist: Jan Steen (Dutch 1625-1679)
Medium: Oil on Wood
Dimensions: 96 x 66 cm
Photographer: Samuel Uhrdin
Permanent Collection: Skoklosters Slott
Image Courtesy: The National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm
Jan Steen painted humorous or interactive scenes of daily life such as in the busy activity of Winter Landscape.
Hendrick Terbrugghen
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Caravaggio was an inspiration to countless artists particularly those in 17th Century Holland. Hendrick Terbrugghen is considered among the finest exponents of those who fell under the influence after trips to Italy to view the masterpieces. Rubens was an admirer of Terbrugghen. |
Jan Davidsz de Heem
Title: Still Life with Flowers, Fruit Bowl and Oysters
Artist: Jan Davidsz de Heem (Dutch 1606-1683)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 72.5 x 66.5 cm
Photographer & ©: The National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm
Image Courtesy: The National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm
Flemish Baroque still life involving fruit was the favored subject of Jan Davidsz de Heem. It is his works that link the Dutch and Flemish Baroque still life movements.
Frans Post
Title: Landscape in Brazil, 1660
Artist: Frans Post (Dutch 1612-1680)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 87 x 113 cm
Photographer & ©: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
Image Courtesy: The National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm
Haarlem native Frans Post was mainly a landscape artist and a member of the Dutch West Indies Company's Brazil colonization of 1637-1644. Even after his return home he continued to paint only of his memories of the South American country. If Post painted any other themes the works didn't survive and were not noted.
Willem Kalf
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Willem Kalf is considered to be among the finest Still-Life painters. His arrangement placed fruit with decorative arts likely aided with his career as an art dealer. He would have been able to use items he had at hand in his studio as models for his canvases. |
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Bartholomeus van der Helst
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Following the decline of Rembrandt it was van der Helst that became the most popular portraitist in Amsterdam. |
Nicolaes Maes
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Rembrandt's pupil Nicolaes Maes was influenced bringing the rich colors favored by the master into his works. By the end of his career his paintings were closer in style to Van Dyck than Rembrandt. |
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Rembrandt van Rijn
Title: The Artist's Studio
Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch 1606-1669)
Medium: Pen and Ink Wash
Dimensions: 20.5 x 19 cm
Photographer & ©: The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Image Courtesy: The National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm
An exhibition of 17th century Dutch masters cannot be complete without the inclusion of the incomparable Rembrandt. Portraitist, etcher, perfectionist all have been used to describe the prolific painter whose influence transcends time.
The Dutch Golden Age exhibit of over 300 works is mainly from the Nationalmuseum's permanent collection with loans from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.