Why Black? a Dutch Desire for the Colour Black Between 1675-1725
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LEIDEN UNIVERSITY Why Black? A Dutch desire for the colour black between 1675-1725 Why Black? A Dutch desire for the colour black between 1675-1725 Author: C.A.E. ter Laak Student number: s1423754 Email address: [email protected] Master Thesis Educational program: MA Arts and Culture, Museums and Collections Educational institution: Leiden University First reader: Prof. dr. A.T. Gerritsen Second reader: Dr. M.E.W. Boers-Goosens The Netherlands, Utrecht, August 23, 2016 2 Preface Who would have thought that a discovery in sifting the art depot of the town Vianen would lead to one of the most turbulent times of my life? I certainly did not. Nevertheless the small black platter with a very high value immediately drew my attention. The beauty and sophistication of the little platter is hard to describe. I had never seen something like this before with its black colours and shininess. A research out of pure interest appeared to be more complicated than I expected. There was little known about this black pottery. This probably was the reason for my interest and why black Delft pottery eventually ended up as the main subject of my MA thesis. I wish to thank my First Examiner, the very kind Prof. dr. A.T. Gerritsen for her insightful comments, encouragement and for ‘adopting me as a student’. I also wish to thank Dr. A.E. Visser for her comments, suggestions and other assistance. Finally my gratitude also goes to those who offered encouragement in any other possible way: my dear family and friends. Cathérine ter Laak 22 August 2016 3 Abstract This study has shown why the difficult to make and very expensive black fond was made on Delft black pottery between 1675-1725. This has been done by looking at different sources from the seventeenth century as well as recent studies about this subject. The most recent sources are explaining how Delft black pottery was produced to make pottery that looked like Japanese black lacquerware and Chinese black porcelain. Sources form the seventeenth century are telling us that people in Japan as well as in de Dutch Republic were very fond of and fascinated by the colour black. In Japan black was seen as a gentlemen’s colour, and in Europe it was so rare that only the richest people of the Republic were able to afford black clothing. Because of the costs, the many problems the potters faced when manufacturing Delft black and the old sources, the contemporary ideas about the underlying meaning of this pottery seem too farfetched. Based on other sources from the seventeenth century, such as inventory lists and paintings, research has been done after collecting black objects before and in the years Delft black was made. When looking at the inventories and paintings, a remarkable increase is visible in the number of black objects that people possessed. Besides the increase of these black objects which shows us how fashionable it was around 1700, black was also a formal colour to wear, even when people possessed the coloured clothing that were much newer in fashion. Although Japan did not influence the Republic in their thought about ‘black as a gentlemen’s colour’, in both countries it was a status symbol. The colour black was in fashion in the Dutch Republic, which was the reason for the best potters of Delft to attempt to produce Delft black pottery. 4 Table of Contents Preface p. 3 Abstract p. 4 Table of Contents p. 5 List of Illustrations p. 6 Introduction p. 8 I.The prevailing collecting culture in the Republic p. 12 Sources of inspiration for Delft black p. 15 Simon de Vries p. 16 Various examples of what Delft black exactly looks like p. 18 II.Black coloured possessions p. 20 The two so called inspirations for Delft black pottery p. 21 Ebony p. 23 Frederik Hendrik van Oranje and Amalia van Solms p. 25 Henriëtte Amalia van Anhalt p. 27 III.Black possessions captured in paint p. 31 Portraits and clothing p. 32 Interior pieces and furniture p. 35 Conclusion p. 41 Bibliography p. 42 Apendix 5 List of Illustrations Figure on Titlepage: De Grieksche A, Teapot, c. 1705-1720, Tin-glazed earthenware, 13 x 17,3 x 11 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, no. BK-NM-12400-265. Figure 1.1: Jacob Wemmersz. Hoppesteijn, Delft blue jar, 1675-1686, Delft pottery/tinglazed, 21,2 x 17,9 cm, Arnhem, Museum Arnhem, no. AB 8284. Figure 1.2: De Metaale Pot (Lambertus van Eenhoorn), Ewer and basin, circa 1691-1724, Tin-glazed earthenware, 17 x 26 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, no. EV 259 A-B. Figure 1.3: Pieter Adriaensz Kocks, Ewer, 1687-1701, Tin-glazed earthenware, 32 x 21 cm, Private Collection. Figure 1.4: Anonymous, Jar (one from a pair), probably Kangxi period (1662-1722), Porcelain covered with black and green enamels on biscuit, 57 x 25,5 cm, Calouse Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon, no. 2376 A. Figure 2.1: Anonymous, Tea Bowl with Inscription, 12th of 13th century, glazed stoneware painted with gold, Jian ware, 6,7 x 11,6 cm, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill (North Carolina), no. unknown. Figure 2.2: Anonymous, Trunk, c. 1600, wood, lacquer, mother-of-pearl and copper, 47,5 x 93,8 x 40,1 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, no. AK-RAK-2009-1. Figure 2.3: Pieter de Hooch, Interior with Women beside a Linen Cupboard, 1663, oil on canvas, 70 x 75,5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, no. SK-C-1191. Figure 2.4: Herman Doomer, Cupboard, c. 1635-45, oak wood, ebony, rosewood, mother-of- pearl, ivory, 220,5 x 206 x 83,5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, no. BK-1975-81. Figure 3.1: Frans Hals, The Anatomy Lesson, 1632, oil on canvas, 169,5 x 216,5 cm, Mauritshuis, The Hague, no. 146. Figure 3.2: Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a women, Possibly Maria Trip, 1639, oil on panel, 107 x 82 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, no. SK-C-597. Figure 3.3: Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt, Theodora van Duvenvoorde, 1620, oil on canvas, 63 x 51 cm, Musea del Prado, Madrid, no. P02976. Figure 3.4: Anonymous, Family portrait, 1627, oil on panel, 122 x 191 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdamm, no. SK-A-4469. Figure 3.5: Juriaen Jacobsz., Michiel de Ruyter and his family, 1662, oil on canvas, 269 x 406 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, no. SK-A-2696. Figure 3.6: Osias Beert I, Still-life with oysters, 1610, oil on panel, 72 x 103.5 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, no. 6303. Figure 3.7: Jan Breughel (1568-1625), Still-life with garland and bowl, 1618, oil on panel, 47,5 x 52,5 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, no. 5013. Figure 3.8: Simon Renard De Saint-Andre, A vanitas still-life, c. 1650, oil on canvas, 38,1 x 45,7 cm, Private collection. 6 Figure 3.9: Frans van Mieris I, The Lacemaker, 1658, oil on panel, 77,47 x 41,91 cm, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, no. 836.4.39. Figure 3.10: Pieter de Hooch, Leisure time in an elegant setting, 1664, oil on canvas, 58 x 69 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, no. 1975.1.144. Figure 3.11: Jan van der Heyden, Still-life, 1669, oil on panel, 62 x 49,5 cm, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, no. GG-722. Figure 3.12: Samuel van Hoogstraten, Two Women by a cradle, 1670, oil on canvas, 66 x 55 cm, Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, no. 58.10. Figure 3.13: Ludolf Backhuysen, Godard Verdion, c. 1685, oil on canvas, 46,5 x 55,5 cm, Johannes a Lasco Library, Emden, no. unknown. Figure 3.14: Roelof Koets II, Dutch Family Taking tea, c. 1680, oil on canvas, unknown, National Trust Collections?, Unknown. Figure 3.15: Jan van der Heyden, Still-life with rarities, 1712, oil on canvas, 74 x 63,5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, no. 201. Figure 3.16: Anonymous, Cognoscenti in a Room hung with Pictures, c. 1620, oil on oak, 95,9 x 123,5 cm, National Gallery, London, no. NG1287. 7 Introduction In the summer of 2014 during my Masters degree in Museums and Collections at the University of Leiden, I worked on an inventory at the art depot of the municipality of Vianen. The inventory was the art collection of the community and my task was to arrange and digitalise the art collection. Amongst all kinds of art and curiosa such as paintings, furniture, silver objects and pottery, I came across a single black plate with a diameter of 22,5 centimetre, estimated to have a value of 50.000 Euros in 2002.1 An extraordinarily high amount, especially in comparison with the other plates in the Vianen collection. The small plate was a small flat plate [pannenkoekje]. The plate was black enamelled and decorated with a colourful Chinoiserie decor and described in 1989 by Christiaan Jörg as Delft black [Delfts zwart], and as being “a highlight of the collection”.2 Enamel is the smooth and durable coating that was covering the pottery. It was made of melted and fused glass powder. A well known example are the white and blue enamels, used on Delft bleu. Even today Delft blue pottery has an established reputation, contrary to its black equivalent, which is only known by a few specialists and collectors. The fact that there are only about sixty pieces of Delft black known to exist contributes to its unfamiliarity.