APAH: Northern Art – Dutch Art

Dutch – Protestant influence in art Reaction to Hapsburg Catholicism – the remained Protestant Iconoclastic Calvinist Lack of religious imagery (some exceptions) Economic prosperity – trade, banking Worldwide trade and colonies No monarchy Rising middle class (urban patricians) New Money = New patronage New patrons = new problems Transition to creating works w/o commission Genre painting, portraits, landscapes and painting Psychological introspection Often allegorical or moralistic Everyday life / Merchant life / Home life Interior scenes of daily life not religious personages

Frans Hals Portraitist Middle class individual portraits Lack of ostentatious scenes Group portraits Commemorative Civic organizations Captures culture Enlivened images

Archers of St. Hadrian Ladies of the Old Men's Poor House Meagre Company

Rembrandt van Rijn Born in moved to Amsterdam Light as ‘hallmark’ of style Psychology of light Compare Renaissance chiaroscuro / tenebrism More nuanced in Probing the human soul Biblical stories in human terms Unique choice of views / facial expression Self-portraits Documents of his life Advertising Playful and serious

Self-portrait with Saskia (1636) Compare to van Eyck’s Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife Etching (soft ground – livelier line) Compare to Gentileschi’s Allegory of Painting Marriage portrait Newly married Artist at work portrait Holds tools Saskia as muse Appears in many works

Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp Commission of the surgeon’s guild Deviates from Hals’ style In action

Night Watch or The Company of Frans Banning Cocq (1642) Misnamed – daytime portrait Varnish & dirt Group portrait in action (compare to Hals) Civic guardsmen – Musketeers Hall Clubhouse portrait Joint commission – 18 members contributed Dynamic, enigmatic Mysterious girl In action – mustering the troops Intentionally trimmed to fit new space (1715)

Jan Vermeer Delft, Netherlands Innkeeper & art dealer 35 paintings Only one real patron Neat, quiet scenes, mostly indoors Opulent interiors Mostly of women Lighting – window Understood color Interaction b/w adjacent colors Shadows w/ color Poetry in painting

Woman Holding a Balance (1664) Connect to Last Judgment of Hu Nefer Scale = judgment Empty and balanced Warning of Wealth Fur trimmed jacket Pearl necklaces, gold chains, coins Orthogonals converge on right hand Mirror advises self-reflection or another vanity Last judgment painting Christ weighing the souls Above her head

Dutch landscapes Connection to the land Reclamation, farming Tradition beginning with Breugel Specific places / views Low horizon

Albert Cuyp Real location – Exacting detail Cows show agricultural foundation of Dutch society Jacob van Ruisdael Quiet, spiritual serenity View of

Still Lifes Accurate & scientific depiction Yet allegorical Demonstrated wealth & piety Display of middle class wealth Derived from trade Pride tempered by reminders of death Peeled fruit, broken glass, dying flowers – transience of life Momento Mori Reminders of death Vanitas Images of worldly pleasures and goods

Rachel Ruysch Fruit and Insects Autumn time of year: squash, corn, chestnuts Autumn of life Christian allegory – grapes and wheat A study of natural world Early scientific pursuits Father was a botanist of curiosities 17th – 18th century fascination with natural world Classification, organization Development of the microscope Natural world may be dangerous