- Use reference photos from 16th and 17th century for color and tone
- Flemish and Dutch inspiration
History of Dutch work
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Historical paintings
This category comprises not only paintings that depicted real historical events, but also paintings that showed biblical, mythological, literary and allegorical scenes. Large dramatic historical or Biblical scenes were produced less frequently than in other countries, where religious and noble patrons of art often sought to overawe the viewer. Dutch painters, especially in the northern provinces, tried instead to invoke emotion on the part of the viewer by letting him/her be a bystander on a scene of profound intimacy. As such Rembrandt and Rubens are striking examples of large differences in style between Dutch painters from the northern Low Countries, the Dutch Republic, and Flanders in the south.
Many great Dutch painters were inspired and influenced by Italian painters during their formative years. Copies of Italian masterpieces circulated and suggested certain compositional schemes. Dutch painters became absolute masters of the treatment of light, which could partly be traced back to Italian predecessors, notably Caravaggio. Some Dutch painters also travelled to Italy to make firsthand observations.
Painting
The most famous Dutch painters of the 17th Century were:
* Frans Hals (ca. 1583-1666) portraits, schutterstukken, regent groups, genre pieces (inns, figures)
* Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634) landscapes with snow
* Hendrick Terbruggen (1588-1629) historical and biblical paintings
* Willem Claeszoon Heda (1594-1680) still lifes
* Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) landscapes
* Pieter Jansz Saenredam (1597-1665) church interiors, cityscapes
* Salomon van Ruysdael (ca. 1600-1670) landscapes
* Adriaen Brouwer (ca. 1605-1638) genre pieces (inns)
* Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) historical and biblical paintings, portraits, schutterstukken, regent groups, genre pieces (figures)
* Jan Lievens (1607-1674) historical and biblical paintings, portraits
* Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1684) genre scenes of peasant life
* Willem van de Velde, the elder (ca. 1611-1693) seascapes
* Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613-1670) portraits, schutterstukken, regent groups
* Jan Both (1615-1652) Italian landscapes
* Govert Flinck (1615-1660) historical and biblical paintings, portraits, schutterstukken
* Ferdinand Bol (1616-1680) historical and biblical paintings
* Emanuel de Witte (ca. 1617-1692) church interiors
* Gerard Terborch (1617-1681) portraits, genre pieces (family scenes)
* Philips Wouwermans (1619-1668) landscapes
* Albert Cuyp (1620-1691) Italian and Dutch landscapes
* Carel Fabritius (1622-1654) historical and biblical paintings, genre pieces (figures)
* Paulus Potter (1625-1654) landscapes
* Jan Steen (1626-1679) genre pieces (inns, family scenes)
* Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruysdael (ca. 1628-1682)
* Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667) genre pieces (family scenes)
* Pieter de Hooch (1629-1683) genre pieces (family scenes)
* Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) cityscapes, genre pieces (family scenes)
* Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693) portraits, genre pieces (family scenes, figures)
* Meindert Hobbema (1638-1709) landscapes
Rembrandt
Rembrandt[7] Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. He was the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuytbrouck. [8] His family was quite well-to-do; his father was a miller and his mother was a baker's daughter. As a boy he attended Latin school and was enrolled at the University of Leiden, although according to a contemporary he had a greater inclination towards painting; he was soon apprenticed to a Leiden history painter, Jacob van Swanenburgh, with whom he spent three years. After a brief but important apprenticeship of six months with the famous painter Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden in 1624 or 1625, which he shared with friend and colleague Jan Lievens. In 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, among them Gerrit Dou.[9]
In 1629 Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman Constantijn Huygens, the father of Christiaan Huygens (a famous Dutch mathematician and physicist), who procured for Rembrandt important commissions from the court of The Hague. As a result of this connection, Prince Frederik Hendrik continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt until 1646.[10]
At the end of 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, then rapidly expanding as the new business capital of the Netherlands, and began to practice as a professional portraitist for the first time, with great success. He initially stayed with an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburg, and in 1634, married Hendrick's cousin, Saskia van Uylenburg.[11] Saskia came from a good family: her father had been lawyer and burgemeester (mayor) of Leeuwarden. When Saskia, as the youngest daughter, became an orphan, she lived with an older sister in Het Bildt. They were married in the local church of St. Annaparochie without the presence of his relatives. In the same year, Rembrandt became a burgess of Amsterdam and a member of the local guild of painters. He also acquired a number of students, among them Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck.[12]
Portrait of Saskia van Uylenburg, ca. 1635.
Portrait of Saskia van Uylenburg, ca. 1635.
In 1635 Rembrandt and Saskia moved into their own house, renting in fashionable Nieuwe Doelenstraat. In 1639, they moved to a prominent house (now the Rembrandt House Museum) in the Jodenbreestraat in what was becoming the Jewish quarter; the mortgage to finance the 13,000 guilder purchase would be a primary cause for later financial difficulties.[12] He should easily have been able to pay it off with his large income, but it appears his spending always kept pace with his income, and he may have made some unsuccessful investments.[13] It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought his Jewish neighbors to model for his Old Testament scenes.[14] Although they were by now affluent, the couple suffered several personal setbacks; their son Rumbartus died two months after his birth in 1635 and their daughter Cornelia died at just 3 weeks of age in 1638. In 1640, they had a second daughter, also named Cornelia, who died after living barely over a month. Only their fourth child, Titus, who was born in 1641, survived into adulthood. Saskia died in 1642 soon after Titus's birth, probably from tuberculosis. Rembrandt's drawings of her on her sick and death bed are among his most moving works.[15]
During Saskia's illness, Geertje Dircx was hired as Titus' caretaker and nurse and probably also became Rembrandt's lover. She would later charge Rembrandt with breach of promise and was awarded alimony of 200 guilders a year.[12] Rembrandt worked to have her committed for twelve years to an asylum or poorhouse (called a "bridewell") at Gouda, after learning Geertje had pawned jewelry that had once belonged to Saskia, and which Rembrandt had given her.
In the late 1640s Rembrandt began a relationship with the much younger Hendrickje Stoffels, who had initially been his maid. In 1654 they had a daughter, Cornelia, bringing Hendrickje a summons from the Reformed church to answer the charge "that she had committed the acts of a whore with Rembrandt the painter". She admitted this and was banned from receiving communion. Rembrandt was not summoned to appear for the Church council because he was not a member of the Reformed church.[16] The two were considered legally wed under common law, but Rembrandt had not married Henrickje, so as not to lose access to a trust set up for Titus in his mother's will.[15]
Rembrandt's son Titus, as a monk, 1660.
Rembrandt's son Titus, as a monk, 1660.
Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying art (including bidding up his own work), prints (often used in his paintings) and rarities, which probably caused a court arrangement to avoid his bankruptcy in 1656, by selling most of his paintings and large collection of antiquities. The sale list survives and gives us a good insight into his collections, which apart from Old Master paintings and drawings included busts of the Roman Emperors, suits of Japanese armour among many objects from Asia, and collections of natural history and minerals; the prices realized in the sales in 1657 and 1658 were disappointing.[17] He also had to sell his house and his printing-press and move to more modest accommodation on the Rozengracht in 1660.[18] The authorities and his creditors were generally accommodating to him, except for the Amsterdam painters' guild, who introduced a new rule that no one in Rembrandt's circumstances could trade as a painter. To get round this, Hendrickje and Titus set up a business as art-dealers in 1660, with Rembrandt as an employee.[19]
In 1661 he (or rather the new business) was contracted to complete work for the newly built city hall, but only after Govert Flinck, the artist previously commissioned, died without beginning to paint. The resulting work, The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis, was rejected and returned to the painter; the surviving fragment is only a fraction of the whole work.[20] It was around this time that Rembrandt took on his last apprentice, Aert de Gelder. In 1662 he was still fulfilling major commissions for portraits and other works.[21] When Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany visited Amsterdam in 1667, he visited Rembrandt at his house.[22]
Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje, who died in 1663, and Titus, who died in 1668, leaving a baby daughter. Rembrandt died within a year of his son, on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the Westerkerk.[23]
Jan Steen Jan Havicksz. Steen (1626-1679) is mainly known for the humor in his work. He portrayed mainly fun-loving, partying groups of people. However, he was much more than just a funny man.
Johannes
Vermeer Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is praised for his use of composition and light. Only 35 of his paintings are still in existence. These can be seen in museums and private collections throughout the world.
Vincent van Gogh Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) left the world some 860 paintings. He painted these in eight years and six months. For this reason, Van Gogh is known for his almost obsessed way of working, often neglecting his health.
Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606 - 1669) was a respected artist in his day and received many commissions. Rembrandt is Holland's greatest artist of the Dutch Golden Age and the Dutch school.
Mondrian (1872-1944) Pieter Cornelis Mondrian (1872 - 1944) aimed to portray the essence of reality in this paintings. He resisted all superfluous forms and shapes. Mondrian was one of the pioneers of the abstract art of painting.
Jheronimus Bosch Jheronimus Bosch (ca. 1453 - 1516) painted scenes abounding with demons, monsters and mysterious creatures. Interpretations of his scenes have filled many books. Today, people still speculate about his works.
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