GLGLASSASS ININ PPAINTINGSAINTINGS Dutch, Flemish and German

by Sofia Jennifer Teodori

Simon Luttichuys, oils on wood, 1650-1660 The period ranging between the beginning of the seventeenth and the end of the eighteenth centuries can be considered the “golden era” for featuring everyday objects, vases, flowers, fruit… in other words, still life. This term was born around the end of the seventeenth century to give a name to a new means of figurative expression which was mainly developed in the , where artists were commissioned to paint tableware and splendid vases by the nobility. Here we look into some of the most beautiful pieces by Dutch, Flemish and German artists of that period. It is notable how glass has a special place in many paintings, and how often the mastery of the painters could be judged by the way they managed to catch the lightness, transparency and fragility of the glass objects.

ntroduction The refined style of Flemish painters. Many of the latter, and Dutch painters is Jan Davidz. commonly believed to be Three cultural areas are quite characterized by the intensity of de Heem, oils German, were in actual fact Isimilar from a stylistic point of on wood, the visual stimulus, the richness Flemish, and for religious view, and these include the of effects, the ability to capture 1640-1645 motives were refugees, whilst southern and northern regions and express the sophisticated others were their immediate of the Netherlands and the colours and plays of light on descendants (Binoit, Soreau, German areas that were mostly models. Dutch and Flemish Marrel, Mignon). Others had influenced by Flemish and masters also influenced the work come into direct contact with . of German artists, and court Flemish travelling painters

Glass Style 1/98 137 colours and the overall effect are its pureness and compositional such that it is impossible not to freshness, so in , the see the superiority of the real originals show the full expressive masters. Often, confusion arises ability of the artist, with a much due to the fact that pupils were stronger effect than a copy could actually encouraged to copy ever achieve. And this is true their teachers, so as to learn although centuries may divide us their style and technique: at from the production of these times, the hand of the master masterpieces, and time may have can be recognized only in withered the canvas and faded or had studied in Holland. certain details of the paintings, the colours. The author’s Mattheus But let’s consider the origins where he corrected his student message still comes through to Whitmans, of this kind of painting. Why oils on wood, or helped him resolve a feature us. would artists want to paint still 1670 - 1680 of the work. Some relatively unknown life? A text by Bergström says Details. The real secret lies painters are also mentioned that various artists slowly started here. The master’s brush picks here, especially those who to extract common, everyday out the contrast between the reached considerable results in symbolic objects that used to various elements with great painting glass objects, such as (and still do) accompany fluidity (see painting by Simon Luttichuys, with his still religious functions, to give these Mattheus Wytmans - note the life painted in oils on wood, articles a self-sufficient role, as style of the extremely wide- produced between 1650 and symbolic still life. However, in rimmed goblet), and the coming 1660: a superb example of glass late medieval times, artists were together of the various single in painting. forced to follow certain elements which make up the theological themes, such as for painting into a frescoes and altars: the still life sole suggestive they painted was always whole makes it consistent with the religious possible to feel topic in question. the immediacy Slowly, many artists started and real turning away from religious intention of the subjects and, on commission, work. This is began to create more decorative what pieces, which were intended for distinguishes homes. Glass objects such as the original vases, glasses and carafes were from the copy - among these. A large number of just like in painters dedicated their entire music the lives to the art of still life. composer’s Great artists such as Daniel original score Snyders, de Heem, Seghers, oils should be and Kalf were often copied by on copper, perceived in all their pupils, and through the before 1637 centuries many paintings which had been considered original were then revealed as mere reproductions made by skillful students. But when closely examined and compared to the originals, the difference in texture, the use of light and

138 Glass Style 1/98 Flemish masters Starting around the end of the 1500s, What is surprising about the in the there works of Flemish masters - and was a growing amongst the first we find Pier interest in collecting Paul Rubens, one of the greatest works featuring baroque artists of all time (who, flower compositions however, found his main arranged in vases, inspiration in portraits and animals, seashells; in religious themes), Jordaens, short, in Snyders and Fyt - is their representations of spontaneousness, and the nature. The subjects freshness of their pictorial style. were grouped What’s notable in their paintings together in series, is the chromatic disposition of according to the kind the brush-strokes and the of objects fluidity of the oil paints; these represented, the seasons or page, we can see a masterpiece are almost self-sufficient other criteria. There started to painted on copper by a member elements. The apparent Ambrosius be numerous requests from of the Jesuit Order, Daniel casualness of a light shining Bosschaert courts and nobility for this kind Seghers, who was a pupil of the from the side and a streaked the Young, of painting, which was famous Jan Brueghel the Old. brush-stroke give the oils on wood, continued in the 1600s by many 1635-1640 The painting is signed, and is composition a sense of motion, Flemish masters who made estimated to have been produced and create a great sense of detailed reproductions of the before 1637. This painting was spontaneity. The usually low, natural world. As mentioned copied by Willem van Haecht, close perspective, and the before, the painting of tableware, and is an excellent example of accentuated contrasts strengthen fruit, flowers, etc. began in the importance of details. The the general impression of religious settings; in the same simplicity of the glass vase is transience, of casualness. painting featuring made precious by the way the a Madonna and author catches the light Gerrit reflections with tiny brushstrokes angels, at a certain Willemsz, oils point objects of on wood, (see close-up). The clean everyday use, or 1644 transparency of the vase reveals decorative the stillness of the water and the elements began to different hues of green in the appear. Many stems and leaves. The chromatic studios would gradations of the flowers are simultaneously be enhanced by the very dark working for background, a recurring churches and for characteristic of this artist’s private collectors. paintings. Authors such as The latter would Veerendael, Ykense and de hang the Heem followed Seghers’ models, masterpieces in with very decorative works of their dining rooms various kinds, which gradually to be admired by give up any symbolic references their guests, and to to theology or cosmology, to be give a sense of transformed into sumptuous festivity to their signs of festivity, with reunions. prevailingly aesthetic themes. On the previous We can appreciate how

Glass Style 1/98 139 Gillit Jacobsz van Hulsdonck, oils on wood, 1645 - 1650

hunting scenes, great, beyond the frame itself, showing elaborate plates of food, the limits of visual experience. marketplaces and kitchens. A We can only imagine what lies growing number of painters beyond the frame line. specialized in these themes, since they were more and 17th century more requested by princes and paintings in the nobility; many of their northern Holland private collections have reached us. In these works, we Slowly, painters started to find a systematic order of the become more independent, and represented animals and fruit, did not work only on always shown in some sort of commission anymore, or on cycle. For example, the particular themes which were set animals were grouped into a “cycle” pattern. Yet, for according to species, such as many years, artists in the North fish, birds or terrestrial of the Netherlands had a marked creatures. It is thus very clear preference for the representation de Heem captures the beauty why still life painting was so of vases of flowers or banquets, and delicacy of the wine glass, popular: princes and courts for instance. This was especially the painting on page 137, which received hundreds of guests at a due to the fact that buyers were is an example of the tableware time, and liked to show off their mostly interested in this kind of style in vogue in the Flanders splendour and power not only art. Often, the interest of the between 1640-1645. The same through their generosity at the people buying the paintings was Floris Claesz kind of translucent light dances table, but also with the beauty of restricted to a single subject, a van Dyck, oils off the multicoloured grapes. their surroundings, which had to sole figurative element. on wood, Other sources of inspiration The contemporaries of artists 1613 reflect their everyday lifestyle. for still life painting were game, The paintings of still life were such as Jan Brueghel and not only meant for big dining rooms, though; they were commissioned for Jan Jansz van galleries and long, der Velde, oils illuminated castle on canvas, corridors. 1653 Another feature which emerges in the seventeenth century is that of incomplete objects at the margins of paintings, where the imagination of the onlooker is put to work. Frames do not bring a particular moment in time to a stop anymore, but suggest a spatial continuity that goes

140 Glass Style 1/98 Ambrosius Bosschaert the Young than half-filled with white wine, weren’t very concerned with the seems tangible, touchable in its content of their paintings - they simplicity and clear hardness. were more preoccupied with the The holes and signs left by form and the actual realistic worms on the pears and apples, reproduction of objects - and the flies, are typical features something today we can easily of Bosschaert’s school. It is obtain with photographs. This is interesting to note that the split a totally different approach to walnut, with its hard shell and that which we find nowadays; soft inside, is a reference to now the “reproduction” aspect is Christ: “soft meat on hard almost totally ignored. An wood”. example of Ambrosius It took a long time for the Bosschaert’s work shows the specialization in drawing objects “real”, natural world of fruit of everyday life to be considered together with “real”, everyday as self-sufficient. It took even tableware, and yet, the painter longer for it to be known as endows this masterpiece with a stilleven, or still life. In fact, this surreal atmosphere which is term was used for the first time enhanced by the grey-brown in the Netherlands in 1650, background. The chromatism is whilst in that same century it quite limited, whereas the single does not appear in any Flemish objects stand out clearly, like the documentation. The flowers, difference in the style of the two melon with its golden light and fruit and other objects were at glasses; on the left, the painter the glass, where the reflections first painted on small or Willem Claesz depicts a typical, early are so bright you can almost medium-sized wooden panels, Heda, oils on seventeenth century cut with wood, “see” the windows (and imagine then on copper, and later on, precious, jewel-like decorations 1648 what lies beyond them, in that more and more often on canvas. in relief on the stem. This is a seventeenth century world) On page 139, we can view a recurring style, to be found in a which illuminate the models. It masterpiece by Gerrit Willemsz great number of paintings of the is remarkable how the very Heda in which glass has a very period. In contrast, on the right, pureness of the glass itself, more important role. There is a great a tall, slim and elegant design in more subdued tints. This Clara Peeters, painting seems to reveal the oils on wood, vainness and transience of 1611 sensuality and human pleasures. The painting by Gillis Jacobsz van Hulsdonck, on page 140, shows two glasses in a similar style to that on the left of Heda’s work - note the way the stems are worked, and the concave bottom of the glass resting on its side. In a detail of a painting by Floris Claesz van Dyck, dated 1613 (see previous page), we can view another typical wine glass which the artist studies very carefully through the use of different tonalities; unfortunately, some parts

Glass Style 1/98 141 particular artist Other painters’ “real” jobs because many were the most varied; some were paintings are musicians who played at anonymous, or weddings, some were unsigned, and shopkeepers, and Jan van der many, instead, Heyden was actually a captain of come from the fire brigade. studios, meaning In the Netherlands of the that they may 1600s, for the first time some have been women, too, made a profession produced by of painting, and it was still life in different hands. which they specialized. The of the painting, including the Another consideration is the previous page shows a painting glass, were restored by an Georg Flegel, fact that for many, even famous by Clara Peeters, signed and inexperienced hand, taking away oils on wood, artists, painting was a secondary dated 1611. As with other some of its spontaneity. 1610 - 1620 activity, a second job, if not a pieces, this work gives us an Beer, which is still the most hobby. For instance, one of the idea as to the tableware and popular drink in Holland and greatest Dutch masters, vases then in vogue; the glass is Germany, was drunk in tall Rembrandt (who was mainly tall and elaborately modelled, the glasses such as that in the dedicated to painting portraits puffed stem gilded - an example painting by Jan Jansz van de and landscapes), and painters of Venetian glassware. Velde, on page 140, which has a like Ambrosius Bosschaert and very masculine feel and again Vermeer, were art dealers, as depicts the transitory pleasures Germany’s call well as Picart, a Flemish master, of life. In direct contrast, the Towards the end of the and Willem Kalf, a major delicacy of the glass carafe in a seventeenth century, painters of exponent of Dutch still life detail of a painting by Willem still life began to achieve painting who was also an expert Claesz Heda (see previous page) international appreciation. in art. Others were merchants of is a further example of the style Artists such as Rachel Ruysch various sorts; some dealt in in vogue in the seventeenth and Jan van Huysum were wine, others in cork, and others century. chosen as court painters, as well yet in tulips! Not only painters Throughout the seventeenth century, there is a growing attention to shading, a new sense of perception. The tiniest Jacob Van changes in lighting, perspective Es, oils on and appearance of surfaces and copper, objects are caught, the slightest 1640 - 1650 nuances are captured and immortalized; the painting of still life is thus one of the best examples of how details acquire a great importance of their own. As mentioned before, it is sometimes very difficult to attribute a painting to a Abraham van Beyeren’s Pieter Claesz, masterpiece, shown below, is yet oils on wood, another example of the 1651 importance of glass in still life painting. The gold-rimmed, gold-stemmed goblet on the far right is an authentic, fragile jewel showing the magnificence of the style then in vogue. This piece is in direct contrast with the glass on the very edge of the table, which has a much heavier appearance. Another glass yet, with an elaborate stem, stands behind the music score and the flute (top left). The painting gives us a feel of the baroque period, where the magnificence as others such as Jacob Elliger, born in Cologne; others yet had of the tableware and food is Hendrik de Fromantiou, Frans studied in Holland, like Hinz. combined with the idea of a de Hamilton, Adrien van der musical background, making us Spelt and Willem van Royen, Glass models: taste, “hear” and breathe in a who were all still life specialists sumptuous moment of the virtual “jewels” Abraham van and were called to Berlin by the seventeenth century. We will mention another few Beyeren, oils Prince Elector of Brandenburg. masterpieces here which virtually on canvas, Van Royen became a member of 1650-1655 speak for themselves. The the Berliner Akademie when it multiple reflections on the glass was founded in 1696; in 1698 in the detail of the painting by he was nominated rector of the Van Es (see previous page) school, and after that he was make the glass itself stand out in principal for five consecutive the painting when viewed as a years. whole. This element catches the The Netherlands’ subtle eye in the sobriety of the overall paintings spread throughout effect, also due to the northern Europe. This is unreflecting surfaces of the zinc testified by the fact that painters plate and the “perspiring” pieces were called abroad to work, and of ham. by the numerous requests from Another painting, where the German-speaking and glasses are important features Scandinavian areas, as well as but assume a completely from London. In fact, there were different role, is one of Pieter very few native German Länder Claesz’s later masterpieces still life painters in the (1651) (see above). Although seventeenth century; most of the the various elements in the artists were of Dutch origins and painting form strong contrasts were called to work in Frankfurt when picked out as details, the and Hanau. Others were pupils shaded contours against the of Flemish masters, such as background make the single Georg Flegel (see previous elements blend into the work page), and Wedig, who was harmoniously.

Entire content © 1998 by Artech Publishing S.r.l.