NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI I "Beschildert met een Glans": Willem van Aelst and Artistic Self-Consciousness in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Still Life Painting Tanya Paul Falmouth, MA B.A. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1998 M.A. University of Virginia, 2002 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Art History University of Virginia May, 2008 UMI Number: 3312159 Copyright 2008 by Paul, Tanya All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3312159 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 © Copyright by Tanya Paul All Rights Reserved May 2008 Volume I Ill Abstract: In his 1718 biography of the still life painter Willem van Aelst (1627-1683), Arnold Houbraken describes the artist's grand disposition and his great pride. It is this somewhat biased biography which begins to intimate the nature not only of van Aelst's personality, but also of his work. The career of van Aelst began with an early and extended stay in France and in Italy, where he worked for the Medici. In 1656 he returned to Amsterdam, where he continued to produce his elegant paintings until his death in 1683. The paintings of van Aelst are executed in a highly refined style, with elegant contents and artful compositions. These works suggest an artist with a keen awareness of his own artistic abilities. Moreover, as he undoubtedly learned from his experience working in France and at the Medici court, the refined style and elegant contents of his paintings were precisely geared to appeal to the tastes of an elite audience. However, van Aelst's paintings were not purely well crafted objects to adorn the voorsael, they were complex statements of artistic virtuosity and artistic self-consciousness. Chapter one introduces the subject, situating it in the context of existing scholarship. Chapter two presents a biography of the artist, a significant addition both because it does not exist in any substantial form in any other text, and because it lays the groundwork for van Aelst's artistic development. Chapter three considers his production, the different types of still life he painted, how his work conformed to existing standards and how his work was innovative. Chapter four discusses his work in light of the patrons and collectors of his paintings. Finally chapter five draws together the strands present throughout the previous IV chapters and discusses van Aelst's work in light of the concepts of artistic virtuosity and artistic self-consciousness. V For Mom and Dad VI Acknowledgements It gives me great pleasure to thank the many people who have generously given of their time and energy to help me with this process. As I sit down to write this, and look back on just how many have assisted me, in both large and small ways, I am humbled. Funding for my research came from a number of different sources. My final year, tying together the results of all of my research, was funded by a University of Virginia, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Year Fellowship. It gave me the focus and the luxury of uninterrupted time necessary to finish, and I am grateful for the committee's faith in my work. The American Friends of the Mauritshuis generously provided me with research travel funding. With their support I was able to make some of the most important discoveries and connections present in this dissertation. After I completed my doctoral coursework and field exams, I was also able to spend a year in Los Angeles as a curatorial intern at the J. Paul Getty Museum Paintings Department. Through travel funding provided by the internship program, and a generous addition from the Paintings Department, I was able to embark on my first months of research travel. I also remember the Getty fondly as a place that, because of the tremendous joy I felt working in such a unique environment, enabled me to refocus my dissertation topic on van Aelst. Finally, the Mclntire Department of Art, which has been my home here at UVA, consistently and generously supported me when outside funding was lean, a fact I appreciate deeply. VII My home here at UVA also provided me with the colleagues and faculty members who make up my committee. One member of the faculty, who started out as one of my readers, but who could not continue as such formally because of scheduling conflicts, is Paul Barolsky. I mention him first because his Renaissance Art and Poetry seminar was one of the first I took when I came to graduate school. The challenge he set for me in my writing for that course is one that he continued to pose throughout the writing of this dissertation and I grew to enjoy his frequent and lively encouragement and relish his insightful commentary. Matthew Affron kindly stepped in to take Paul's place and I am grateful for his generosity with his time and for his reliably clear and constructive editing. Francesca Fiorani has been a constant and encouraging member of the committee and I still remain in her debt for her skills at deciphering seventeenth-century Italian handwriting. Duane Osheim, as my outside reader, gave me sage advice before my initial foray into the Florence Archives and has remained supportive and generous with his time. Finally I come to the chair of my committee, Larry Goedde. It seems insufficient to use the word "gratitude" to describe my feelings towards the role he has played these many years. Needless to say, for his patience, insight, good humor, kindness, perspective and friendship I remain forever in his debt. A number of scholars have helped me along the way, but I must first of all mention Sam Segal, who kindly welcomed me into his home and allowed me to consult his rich, personal archives. I remain most grateful for the generosity with which he shared his research and his extensive knowledge of still life painting. VIII At the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie I am most grateful for the help of Fred Meijer. His willingness to share his opinions about paintings and to discuss van Aelst in general was exceedingly helpful to me. Likewise, I am grateful for the insights of Marten Jan Bok who met with me about van Aelst and was willing not only to extend his good advice, but also his own personal research. Moreover, he put me in touch with his colleague Koenraad Jonckheere who shared with me information on van Aelst from his own personal database of auction records. I also would like to thank the staffs at the RKD, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the Stadsarchief Amsterdam for all of their assistance with my research. In Italy, I also extend these thanks to the staff at the Archivio di Stato di Firenze. Other friends and colleagues who have helped me in various ways throughout this process include Marianne Berardi, Jim Clifton, Tiarna Doherty, Charlotte Eyerman, Doug Hildebrecht, Mary Morton, Otto Naumann, Michelle Packer, Deborah Parker, Leslie Scattone, Scott Schaefer, Jon Seydl, Arthur Wheelock and Anne Woollett. The number of museums I visited to complete my dissertation research is quite overwhelming to consider. I was consistently welcomed and helped with great patience and kindness, for which I am most grateful. In particular I would mention the receptions I met with in Schwerin at the Staatliches Museum, in Dresden at the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunst in Antwerp, The Royal Collection at Hampton Court Palace, The Gemaldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Kiinste in IX Vienna, the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Particular mention should also be made of the efforts of Jana Pluharova at Zamek Vizovice in the Eastern Czech Republic. She not only offered me assistance in studying their lovely early van Aelst, but she also acted as a travel guide, assisting me in my solo travels, a fact for which I remain most grateful. I also would like to mention the numerous private collectors who showed me great hospitality in allowing me to study their paintings, as well as the dealers who provided me with photographs and transparencies. To all of these individuals, I extend my thanks. My family has perhaps been the most patient of all throughout this whole process and it is to them that I would express my most personal thanks. My sister Natasha, who has been through the process herself, has been a constant and understanding source of encouragement and support. She and her husband Chris were my home away from home when I was out in Los Angeles. My family in the Netherlands, in particular my Tante Nollie and Arnoldien van Berge took excellent care of me while I was abroad and made sure I didn't get too homesick. Likewise my cousin Klaus Walther and his wife Ivi frequently hosted me during my travels in Germany. Finally, I thank my parents Ruth and Walter, whose support and faith in me has been unflagging, even through all of the difficult patches when it seemed like the end would never come.