Rivalry in Rendering Horror 1 Rembrandt, Rubens and Tragedy Philadelphia, October 16, 2015
Eric Jan Sluijter
Universiteit van Amsterdam , [email protected] 2
Rembrandt, The Blinding of Samson, 1636, 205 x 272 cm. Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum 3
Christopher Atkins, The Wrath of the Gods, Masterpieces by Rubens, Michelangelo and Titian, (112 pp., 50 ill. in color) 4
Peter Paul Rubens, Prometheus Bound, begun 1611-1612, completed 1618, 242.5 x 209.5 cm. Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art 5 Karel van Mander in Het Schilder-Boeck (The Book of Painting), Haarlem 1604:
“Painters from the Netherlands receive praise by making landscapes, the Italians by painting well men and gods, [...] the Italian has brains in his head [...] the Netherlandish painter has ingenuity in his hand [...].”
...
titlepage Michiel Cocxie, The Death of Abel, 1539, 151 x 125 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado
Maarten van Heemskerck, Christ on the Cross, and scenes from The Passion, 1538-1541, Linköping, Cathedral
6
Frans Floris, Fall of the Rebel Angels, 1554, 310 x 220 cm. Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts
Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, The Massacre of the Innocents, 1591, 268 x 257 cm. Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum 7
Hendrick Goltzius after Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, Tantalus, Tityus, Icarus, Dirck Volckertsz Coornhert after Maarten van Phaeton, 1588, 31 à 34 cm (diameter). Engravings Heemskerck, The Dangers of Human Ambition, 1549, 28.7 x 43.6 cm. Engraving
Hendrick Goltzius, Titus Manlius Torquatus and Horatius Cocles, 1586, from a series of 8 Roman Heroes, 35.3 x 23.5 cm. Engravings
Hendrick Goltzius, Hercules and Cacus, 1588, 40.7 x 33.4 cm. Chiaroscuro woodcut 8
Peter Paul Rubens, Prometheus Bound, Rembrandt, The Blinding of Samson, 1636, 205 x 272 cm. begun 1611-1612, completed 1618, Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum 242.5 x 209.5 cm. Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) 9 Joost van den Vondel (1589-1679) the most important Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century
For example: in the introduction of one of his plays, Joseph in Dothan (1640), Vondel wrote that he was inspired by a painting (see below), and in the last scene of his play : “[...] tried to follow with words the painter’s colors, drawing and rendering of the passions as closely as possible.”
Theodoor Matham after Joachim von Sandrart, Joost van den Vondel, 1641 Jan Pynas, The Sons of Jacob Showing Joseph’s Bloody Coat, 1618, St. Petersburg, Hermitage 10
Peter Paul Rubens, Prometheus Bound, begun 1611-1612, completed 1618, 242.5 x 209.5 cm. Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art 11
Michelangelo, The Punishment of Tityus, 1532, black chalk on paper, 19 x 33 cm. London, The Royal Collection
Nicolas Béatrizet after Michelangelo, (in reverse) The Punishment of Tityus, 29.1 x 42.0 cm. Engraving 12
Michelangelo, Haman Crucified Vatican, The Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel
Peter Paul Rubens after Michelangelo, Paris Louvre 13
Michelangelo, Haman Crucified Vatican, The Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel (in reverse)
Peter Paul Rubens after Michelangelo, Paris Louvre 14
Peter Paul Rubens after Michelangelo, Paris Louvre 15
(in reverse) The Laocoon Group, Roman copy (1st century CE), perhaps after Agesandros of The Laocoon Group, as it looked Rhodos, Athanodoros of Rhodos and Polydoros between c. 1540 and 1957 (the of Rhodos. Vatican, Vatican Museums outstretched arm was added in 1532). . (as the sculpture looks since a restoration in the 1980s)
16 17
Peter Paul Rubens, The Laocoon Group, c. 1606-1608, black and white chalk, bistre wash on paper, 47.5 x 47.5 cm. Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana 18
Peter Paul Rubens, The Elevation of the Cross, 1610-1611, 462 x 341 cm. Antwerp, Cathedral of Our Lady ‘exemplum doloris’ 19
Peter Paul Rubens, Christ on the Cross, c. 1610-1616, 107 x 78.2 cm. Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection 20
Paulus Pontius after Peter Rembrandt, Christ on the Cross, Paul Rubens, Christ on the Cross, 1631, 100 x 73 cm. Le Mas 1631, 60.5 x 38.3 cm. Engraving d’Agenais, Église St-Vincent “Father, into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
“My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me.” (Matthew 27:46) 21
Peter Paul Rubens, Prometheus Bound, Titian, The Punishment of Tityus, 1548-1549, begun 1611-1612, completed 1618, 253 x 217 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado 242.5 x 209.5 cm. Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art 22 MiguelMiguel Falomir,Falomir, LasLas Furias.Furias. AlegoríaAlegoría políticapolítica yy desafíodesafío arartístico,tístico, MadridMadrid 20142014
Titian, The Punishment of Tityus, 1548-1549, 253 x 217 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado Peter Paul Rubens, Prometheus Bound, begun 1611-1612, completed 1618, 242.5 x 209.5 cm. Philadelphia, Philadelphia Cornelis Cort after Titian, Prometheus Museum of Art Bound (Tityus changed into Prometheus by adding a torch at the lower right). 38.3 x 31.4 cm. Engraving. 23 AnAn excellentexcellent bookbook onon Titian’sTitian’s paintingspaintings withwith ‘tragic’‘tragic’ subjects:subjects:
ThomasThomas Puttfarken,Puttfarken, TitianTitian && TragicTragic Painting.Painting. Aristotle’sAristotle’s PoeticsPoetics andand thethe RiseRise ofof thethe ModernModern ArtistArtist,, NewNew HavenHaven andand LondonLondon 20052005
24 25
Achilles Tatius (2nd century AD):
‘[...] he, in agony is all drawn up, twisting himself on to his side, and lifts up his thigh [...] the other leg is stretched out straight down to his feet, and the tension of it can be seen actually into the toes. His torture is shown in the rest of the representation of him: his eye- brows are arched, his lips drawn up, his teeth shewn; you cannot help feel pity even for what you know is only a picture.’ 26 27
Franciscus Junius, De Schilderkonst der oude, Middelburg 1641 (English edition: The Painting of the Ancients, London 1638):
“[...] in my opinion, the artists who surpass all others are those who diligently pursue the old art with a new argument, thus adroitly bestowing their paintings with the pleasurable enjoyment of dissimilar similarity.” 28
The eagle was painted by Frans Snyders 29 Theodoor Rombouts Dirck van Baburen
Peter Paul Rubens 30
Luca Giordano Jusepe (José) de Ribera Gioacchino Assereto Giovanni Battista Langetti (attributed) 31
“grâce et véhémence”
(in a letter of 1621 to Sir Dudley Carleton about another gruesome painting, a Lion Hunt)
Jeffrey Muller, “Rubens’s Theory and Practice of the Imitation of Art,” Art Bulletin 114 (1982), 229-247 32
Guilliam van Nieulandt (1584-1635)
Painter, poet and most successful playwright of ‘Senecan’ tragedies in Antwerp
Livia, Antwerp 1617 Saul, Antwerp 1617 Nero, Antwerp 1618 33 34
Dominicus Baudius (1581-1613) neo-latin poet, scholar and historian, professor at the University of Leiden the last lines of his Latin poem on Rubens’s Prometheus (1612):
[…….] Blood flows from the chest and every part where his claws leave their mark, and his piercing eyes dart savage flames. You might think that he moves, that his feathers tremble. Horror holds captive those who stand before it. 35
Amsterdam The Hague Leiden
The Netherlands (The Low Countries) Antwerp after the revolt: de facto since 1609 officially since 1648 Brussels brown: The Northern Netherlands (Republic of the Seven Provinces) – approximately the present Netherlands
yellow: The Southern Netherlands (remained part of the Habsburg empire) – approximately the present Belgium and Luxemburg 36
circle of Leiden humanists who ‘promoted’ Rubens’s fame in the Republic:
Dominicus Baudius (1581-1613)
Petrus Scriverius (1576-1660) (based on research by Marloes Hemmer, PhD candidate Daniël Heinsius (1578-1655) Universiteit Utrecht)
Sir Dudley Carleton (1573-1632), English ambassador in The Hague 1616-1625.
Leiden humanists who probably spotted the talent of Rembrandt:
Petrus Scriverius (and possibly Daniël Heinsius and Gerardus Vossius), plus
Theodorus Schrevelius (1570-1652)
Jan Orlers (1570-1646)
Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) 37
Rembrandt van Rijn born in Leiden 1606 c. 1614-1620 Latin school in Leiden c. 1620-1621 University of Leiden c. 1621-1623 pupil in Leiden of Jacob van Swanenburg c. 1623-1624 pupil in Amsterdam of Pieter Lastman 1625-1632 Leiden 1633-1669 Amsterdam The Latin school in Leiden died 1669 in Amsterdam 38
Paulus Pontius after Anthony van Dyck, engraving
Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) One of the greatest Dutch poets, humanist, composer, and diplomat; wrote in Dutch, Latin, Greek, French, Italian and English. Thomas de Keyser, Constantijn Huygens In 1618 secretary to Sir Dudley Carleton, and his clerk, 1627, as of 1630 secretary to the stadholder London, The National Gallery Prince Frederick Henry of Orange Nassau 39
Rembrandt, Judas Repentant, Returning the Thirty Pieces of Siver, 1629, panel 79 x 102.3 cm. Great Britain, Private Collection “... who raves, wails, begs forgiveness ...; his countenance wild, the hair pulled out, the clothes torn, the arms twisted, the hands pressed together until they bleed; in a blind impulse, he has fallen on his knees, his whole body contorted in pitiful hideousness.” 40
“This I compare with all beauty that has been produced through the ages. This should be a lesson for all those nitwits who say that nothing is being created or expressed nowadays that has not already been done better in antiquity.” The Resurrection, c. 1638
The Entombment, c. 1638
Munich, Alte Pinakothek
“[…] these two are the ones in which the strongest and the most natural motion and emotion is observed […]”
“[…] deesen twe sijnt daer die meeste ende die naetuereelste beweechgelickheijt in geopserveert is […]”
Letter to Constantijn Huygens of January 1639, when Rembrandt sent these two paintings (part of the Passion series - 5 paintings - for Prince Frederick Henry).
41 H. Perry Chapman, ‘Reclaiming the Inner Rembrandt: Passion and the Early Self- Portraits,’ in: Stephanie Dickey and Herman Roodenburg (eds.), The Passions in the Arts of the Early Modern Netherlands, Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art 60 (2010), pp. 261-283.
42 43
Rembrandt, The Stoning of St. Stephen, 1625. Lyon, Museé des Beaux-Arts 44
Descent from the Cross, c. 1633 Raising of the Cross, c. 1633-34 Munich, Alte Pinakothek Christ Chasing the Money-Changers from Bileam and the Ass, the Temple, 1625 1626 Susanna Startled, 1636 rage and terror fear (of an Samson Threatening his Father-in- rage 45 Law, 1635 intimidation innocent victim)
Judas Repentant, c. 1629 Andromeda Chained The Feast of Belshazzar. c. 1635 despair to a Rock, c. 1630-61 terror Samson and Delilah, 1628 betrayal The Rape of Proserpina, c. 1631 rape
46
Abraham and Isaac, c. 1635 violent killing The Stoning of St. Stephen, 1625
The Blinding of Samson, 1636 mutilation “One should only depict an oogenblikkige beweeging (= an instantaneous motion and emotion that takes place at one single moment) [....] so that the depicted scene unequivocally involves the viewer as if he were one of the bystanders, frightening him [...], or moving him with compassion […].”
Samuel van Hoogstraten, Inleyding tot de Hooge Schoole der Schilderkonst, Rotterdam 1678
47 48 Title print of Jan Vos’s Aran and Titus of 1641, the absolute box-office hit of the Amsterdam theatre of the 17th century, full of the most gruesome murders (eleven!), mutilations, rape, et cetera, meant to be edifying. 49 Pieter Soutman after Rubens, The Rape of Proserpina, 21.6 x 32.7 cm. Etching
Rembrandt, The Rape of Proserpina, c. 1631, 84.4 x 79.7 cm. Berlin, Gemäldegalerie
50 51
Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens, Descent from the Cross, 1620, 56.7 x 43.0 cm. Engraving Rembrandt, Descent from the Cross, c. 1632-1633, panel 89.4 x 65.2 cm. Munich, Alte Pinakothek. 52
Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rembrandt, Susanna Startled by the Elders, 1636 Rubens, Susanna and the Elders,1620, Panel, 47.4 x 38.6 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis 38.5 x 37.7 cm. Engraving 53 54
Rembrandt, The Blinding of Samson, 1636, 205 x 272 cm. Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum Abraham and Isaac, 194 x 133 cm
The Feast of Belshazzar, 168 x 209 cm
The Rape of Ganymede, 177 x 130
1635-36
55
The Blinding of Samson, 205 x 272 cm Danaë, 185 x 205 Internationally oriented connoisseurs with 56 great collections of Italian and Antwerp paintings (and antiquities) in Amsterdam (the huge collections of Van Uffelen and Reynst arrived in the early 1630s when these merchants returned from having lived in Venice for a long time):
- Lucas van Uffelen - Gerard Reynst - Balthasar I, Balthasar II and Jan Coymans - Nicolas Sohier - Alfonso Lopez
Keizersgracht 123 built for Nicolas Sohier by Hendrick and Pieter de Keyser in 1623.
Keizersgracht 177, built for the brothers Coymans by Jacob van Campen in 1625 57 58 Peter Paul Rubens, Samson and Delilah, 59 Canvas 185 x 205 cm.. London, The National Gallery
Rembrandt , Samson and Delilah, Jacob Matham after Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1628-29, panel 61.3 x 50.1 cm. Samson and Delilah, c. 1613. Engraving Berlin, Gemäldegalerie 60
Jacob Matham after Peter Paul Rubens, Samson and Delilah, c. 1613. Engraving 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 Published in Amsterdam 1635
69 70
Louis Finson (?) after Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes (original c. 1607), Naples, Banco Intesa San Paolo 71
Caravaggio, Madonna of the Rosary, 1607, 364.5 x 249.5 cm. Louis Finson (?) after Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes Vienna, Kunsthistorisches (original c. 1607), Naples, Banco Intesa San Paolo Museum In 1616 Louis Finson brought four works by Caravaggio from Naples to Amsterdam: - Judith and Holofernes - The Madonna of the Rosary - The Crucifixion of St. Andrew - Mary Magdalen Louis Finson was famous for his copies after Caravaggio 72 73
Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Lucas van Uffelen, 1622, 124.5 x 100.6 cm. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art Jusepe [José] de Ribera, The Punishment of Tityus, 1632, 216.5 x 239 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado 74 75 76 77 78
Caravaggio, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew, 1599-1600, 323 x 343 cm. Rome, San Luigi dei Francesi, Contarelli Chapel 79
Pieter Lastman, Odysseus and Nausicaa, 1609, panel 87 x 124 cm. Braunschweig, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum. Caravaggio, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew, 1599-1600, 323 x 343 cm. Rome, San Luigi dei Francesi,Contarelli Chapel 80
Copy after Titian, The Death of St. Peter Martyr, Venice, SS. Giovanni e Paolo (The original from 1520-30, Martino Rota after Titian, was destroyed in 1887) The Death of St. Peter Martyr, Engraving 81
Martino Rota after Titian, The Death of St. Peter Martyr, Engraving (detail) 82
Rembrandt, The Blinding of Samson, 1636, 205 x 272 cm. Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum 83 84 85 Don Antonio Ruffo, Sicilian nobleman and fervent collector, ordered this painting in 1653. After its arrival in Messina in 1654 Ruffo asked other painters to make paintings with half- figures to measure them against Rembrandt’s work:
- Guercino - Mattia Preti - Salvator Rosa - Giacinto Brandi.
Rembrandt, Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer, 1653, 137.5 x 104.5 cm. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art 86 Giacinto Brandi wrote to Antonio Ruffo that he painted for him:
“[...] a painter, half naked, who is painting a vulture which tears the body of Tityus, done in skilful competition with the painting that was made by the Dutchman Rembrandt.” The painting has been lost; below an example of Giacinto Brandi’s work (1621-1691)
Rembrandt, Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer, 1653, 137.5 x 104.5 cm. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Giacinto Brandi, St. John the Baptist 87
Rembrandt, The Blinding of Samson, 1636, 205 x 272 cm. Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum