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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI CHILDREN BORNE ALOFT: NICOLAES MAES'S GANYMEDE PORTRAITURE AND THE CONTEXT OF DEATH AND MOURNING IN THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY NETHERLANDS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University Bv Wendv M. Schaller, M.A. The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Barbara Haeger, Advisor Dr. Francis L. Richardson Dr. Arline Meyer Advisor Department of History of Art UMI Number 3031260 UMI" UMI Microform 3031260 Copyright 2002 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. Ail rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright Text By Wendy Schaller 2001 ABSTRACT This study seeks to explain the function of an unusual group of images péiinted by the seventeenth-century Dutch artist Nicolaes Maes: portraits of children in the guise of Ganymede. Most scholars agree that the youngsters in these portraits represent deceased children, an idea that is based on the Neoplatonic and Christian interpretation of the spiritual associations of the mvth that date back to antiquity. While 1 accept this memorial thesis, my investigation of these paintings in relation to relevant portrait conventions and within the broader culture of death in the Netherlands has revealed that Maes's Ganymede portraits were not simply memorials, but that they would have evoked multiple responses in viewers and thus served a variety of functions. My research of Ganymede portraits and other Dutch images of deceased children within the context of consolatory literature of the period indicates that such images not only reflect attitudes toward death but are also participatory objects. In other words, some images were consoling, others helped to facilitate the grieving process, and some did both. While Maes's Ganymede portraits had the ability to both memorialize the deceased and offer comfort to grieving parents, their staged, artificial style generates other associations. As I argue, aristocratic pretensions underlie these curious paintings. Their theatrical nature. portrait historié format, fanciful style, and use of symbolism allowed sitters to project an idea of elevated social status and link themselves with the intellectual elite. U1 For my grandmother. Vera Abrams IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express sincere appreciation to my advisor, Barbara Haeger, for her invaluable guidance and continuous support throughout the course of this project. I would also like to thank Arline Meyer and Frank Richardson for their enthusiasm for my project as well as their many insightful comments. I am grateful to William Robinson and Marten Jan Bok for patiently answering my inquiries and for sharing their expertise in the field of Dutch art. I also want to thank Harry Vredeveld and Tim McNiven for assisting me with Dutch and Latin translations. A number of institutions were vital to my research and 1 would like to express my gratitude to the curators, curatorial staffs, and other employees who kindly assisted me during my visits. 1 would like to thank in particular: Michiel Jonker at the Mauritshuis, The Hague; Pieter Schoon at the Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht; Michiel van der Mast at the Haags Historisch Museum, The Hague; Annette Welkamp and Foul ter Hofstede at the Groninger Museum, Groningen; S.A.C. Dudok van Heel at the Amsterdam Municipal Archives; J.J.J. van Meerwink at the Utrecht Municipal Archives; Jan Kosten at the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorisches Documentatie; Helena Vieveen at the Iconographisch Bureau; and Frederik Berends at Sotheby Mak van Waay, Amsterdam. 1 am also indebted to my friend and colleague. Sue Hoyt, for the many hours spent discussing my topic and for reading and editing earlier drafts of this document. I am further grateful to Marian Mazzone, Dorothy Habel, Dawn Metcalf, and Dorothy Bokelman all of whom have lent both moral and academic support. 1 also wish to thank Paul Jones and Jeff Chunko for assisting me with various computer problems. Finally, I am especially grateful to my husband, Scott, whose patience, love, and unwavering support have made this project possible. VI VITA March 18,1965..................Bom - Winfield, Illinois 1990....................................B.A., University of Tennessee, BCnoxville 1994....................................M.A., The Ohio State University, Columbus 1991-1999.......................... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University FIELD OF STUDY Major Field: History of Art, area of concentration in Baroque art vu TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract...............................................................................................................ü Dedication .......................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................v Vita................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ................................................................................................. x Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Chapters: 1. Ganymede Portraits ..................................................................................... 8 Literary Tradition ...................................................................................13 Dutch Emblem Books and Literature ....................................................23 Boy Riding the Eagle Type ....................................................................25 Dutch Images......................................................................................... 29 Venus Portraits ...................................................................................... 40 2. Dutch Images of Deceased Children ........................................................... 47 Funerary Portraits ..................................................................................49 Family Portraits ..................................................................................... 66 3. Death, Grief, and Consolation .....................................................................88 Grief and Grieving .................................................................................89 Consolation .............................................................................................93 viii 4. Ganymede Portraits and the Dutch Elite ................................................... 124 The Dutch Elite......................................................................................125 Portrait Historié.......................................................................................130 Ganymede Group Portraits ................................................................... 135 Death and Social Climbing ....................................................................151 De Vicq and Smissaert Families .............................................................154 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 159 Appendix: Ganymede Portraits by Nicolaes Maes .......................................... 165 Bibliography .......................................................................................................171 DC USTOFRGURES Figure Page 1 Nicolaes Maes. Young Boy as Ganymede, n.d.. 66x56 cm. Amsterdam. K.&V. Waterman. (Blankert et al.. p. 199)................................ 190 2 Nicolaes Maes. Young Boy as Ganymede, 1677.43.5x 31.5cm. Location unknown. (Krempel. fig. 283) .........................................191 3 Nicolaes Maes. George de Vicq as Ganymede, n.d.. 99x84.5cm. Cambridge, Fogg Museum. Harvard University. (Bedaux and Ekkart. p. 289) ......................................................192 4 Nicolaes Maes. Child from ihe Ruytenbeecq Family as Ganymede, n.d.. 65.5x56 cm. Location