ABSTRACT Title of Document: HOE SCHILDER HOE WILDER: DISSOLUTE SELF-PORTRAITS IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DUTCH AND FLEMISH ART Ingrid A. Cartwright, Ph.D., 2007 Directed By: Professor Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., Department of Art History and Archaeology In the seventeenth century, Dutch and Flemish artists presented a strange new face to the public in their self-portraits. Rather than assuming the traditional guise of the learned gentleman artist that was fostered by Renaissance topoi , many painters presented themselves in a more unseemly light. Dropping the noble robes of the pictor doctus, they smoked, drank, and chased women. Dutch and Flemish artists explored a new mode of self-expression in dissolute self-portraits, embracing the many behaviors that art theorists and the culture at large disparaged. Dissolute self-portraits stand apart from what was expected of a conventional self-portrait, yet they were nonetheless appreciated and valued in Dutch culture and in the art market. This dissertation explores the ways in which these untraditional self- portraits functioned in art and culture in the seventeenth century. Specifically, this study focuses on how these unruly expressions were ultimately positive statements concerning theories of artistic talent and natural inclination. Dissolute self-portraits also reflect and respond to a larger trend regarding artistic identity in the seventeenth century, notably, the stereotype “ hoe schilder hoe wilder ” that posited Dutch and Flemish artists as intrinsically unruly characters prone to prodigality and dissolution. Artists embraced this special identity, which in turn granted them certain freedoms from social norms and a license to misbehave. In self- portraits, artists emphasized their dissolute nature by associating themselves with themes like the Five Senses and the Prodigal Son in the tavern. These playful, inventive and sometimes challenging self-expressions present a unique vision that broadens our perception of what it meant to be an artist in the Dutch Golden Age. HOE SCHILDER HOE WILDER: DISSOLUTE SELF-PORTRAITS IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DUTCH AND FLEMISH ART By Ingrid A. Cartwright Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2007 Advisory Committee: Professor Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., Chair Professor Renée Ater Professor Anthony Colantuono Professor Meredith J. Gill Professor Norbert Hornstein © Copyright by Ingrid A. Cartwright 2007 Acknowledgements My greatest thanks and appreciation go to my advisor, Arthur Wheelock, for his unfailing kindness and true patience in seeing this disseration completed! I am indebted greatly to his wisdom and support, both of which have shaped and deepened my appreciation and love for Dutch art. I offer my gratitude to the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Maryland for the opportunity to study with such knowledgeable faculty. I would also like to express my appreciation to my faculty committee for their time, energy and interest in my topic. ii The dissertation document that follows has had referenced material removed in respect for the owner’s copyright. A complete version of this document, which includes said referenced material, resides in the University of Maryland, College Park’s library collection. iii Table of Contents Table of Contents......................................................................................................... iv List of Illustrations....................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: The Problem of the Dissolute Self-Portrait................................................. 1 Introduction to the Problem ...................................................................................... 1 Defining the Parameters: Methodology.................................................................... 7 Existing Interpretations of Dissolute Self-Portraits ................................................ 12 Dissolute Self-Portraits and the Art Market............................................................ 20 The Spirit of Satire.................................................................................................. 24 This Dissertation: Goals and Perspective ............................................................... 29 Chapter 2: How to Behave: Positive Modes of Artistic Conduct, Character and Self- Portrayal in the Renaissance and Baroque Periods..................................................... 32 The Artist’s Status in the Classical and Medieval Eras .......................................... 36 An Artist’s Renaissance: Refiguring a Role ........................................................... 40 1. The New Artist: Intellectual................................................................................ 45 The Intellectual Artist in the Renaissance .......................................................... 45 The Intellectual Artist in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art ................................. 49 2. The New Artist: Divine Genius, Melancholic Mind........................................... 54 Genius and Melancholy in the Renaissance........................................................ 54 Natural Inclination in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art ...................................... 59 Verscheydenheden ............................................................................................... 61 Zoo de man was, was zyn werk ........................................................................... 63 Non-Conformity in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art.......................................... 68 3. The New Artist: Gentleman of Renown ............................................................. 77 Renaissance Gentlemen ...................................................................................... 77 Uomini Illustri and the Role of Biographers....................................................... 80 Becoming a Gentleman....................................................................................... 89 The Famed, Gentleman Artist in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art..................... 95 Famous Gentlemen: Artists’ Portraits in Demand and in Print ........................ 102 Chapter 3: How Not to Behave: Dissolute Conduct and the Dutch Artist................ 112 Good Advice, Bad Artists..................................................................................... 112 1. How Not to Behave: Smoking .......................................................................... 115 2. How Not to Behave: Drinking .......................................................................... 120 Dutch Drinking ................................................................................................. 122 Artists Characterized as Heavy Drinkers.......................................................... 127 The Power of Drink .......................................................................................... 136 Bacchanalia and the Schildersbent.................................................................... 139 3. How Not to Behave: Prodigality....................................................................... 145 The Prodigal Son in Holland............................................................................. 149 iv Chapter 4: Dissolute Self-Portraits ........................................................................... 155 The Five Senses .................................................................................................... 157 Artists and the Five Senses ................................................................................... 161 Group 1: Single-Figured Self-Portraits with Pipe................................................. 162 Smoking, the Senses, and Artistic Inspiration .................................................. 164 The Nature of Smoke, the Nature of Art........................................................... 167 Group 2: Single-Figured Self-Portraits with Drink .............................................. 170 Low-Life Drinker: Van Craesbeeck.................................................................. 175 Wine and the Gentleman Artist......................................................................... 177 Group 3: Self-Portraits within Multi-Figured Compositions with Smoking, Drinking, Carousing and Other Unruly Behaviors ............................................... 179 Rembrandt and Metsu’s Prodigal Selves .......................................................... 180 Role Reversal: Leyster, Schalcken and Molenaer ............................................ 185 The Party Guests That Never Leave: Steen and Van Mieris ............................ 193 Peasant Prodigals: Brouwer and His Circle...................................................... 202 Pictor Gryllorum ............................................................................................... 205 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 212 Bibliography..............................................................................................................215 v List of Illustrations 1. Rembrandt, Satire on Art Criticism . 1644, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 2. Rembrandt, Self-Portrait . 1658. Frick Collection, New York. 3. Rembrandt, Self-Portrait . 1629. Alte Pinakothek, Munich. 4. Adriaen Brouwer, The