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Chapter 22: Baroque in the North
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THE ART OF OBSERVATION
The Secular Baroque in the North
The Netherlands
Holland
CanalsCanals
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Dams, Dikes and Windmills
Tulip fields
Calvinist Amsterdam: City of Contradictions
• Highly commercial – acquisition of all kinds of goods a fundamental preoccupation
• Center of commerce in European north
• Goods traded from throughout the globe
• Rigidly religious – austere in doctrine and in church decoration
The Dutch Empire in the 1600’s
Where do the objects in this painting come from?
Do you think it would be easy to get these items in Europe in the 1600s?
Who would have had these objects available in their home?
Why are these objects in a Dutch/ Flemish painting?
Find in the painting:
•2 exotic birds,•10 insects• 3 glasses•4 containers of wine•11 kinds of fruit
Still Life with Parrots,
c. 1645, Jan Davidsz. de HeemDutch, 1606-1683/84
The Dutch EmpireMany of the fruits and animals in this painting would have seen exotic to a Northern European viewer. They come from distant lands ruled by the Dutch or visited by Dutch merchants.
Can you match the fruits and animals in the painting with their likely place of origin?
The Dutch Empire
Scarlet macaw from Brazil
Grapes from Southern climates(France, Italy?)
Shells from the West and East Indies
Grey parrot from West and Central Africa
The Netherlands
Lemons from the Southern Mediterranean (Spain?)
The Dutch Empire in the Ringling Museum
Exotic lands
A RURAL LANDSCAPE IN BRAZIL,Frans Jansz PostDutch, 1612-1680, Ringling Museum
Amsterdam’s Independence
• Calvinist resistance to Spanish dominion in 16th century• 1567 Dutch flood their lands rather than submit to the
Spanish Duke of Alba• 1576 Spanish Fury – leads to death of 7,000 citizens in
Antwerp. • 1581 northern provinces declare their independence
from Spain• Amsterdam becomes the most important port in the
North displacing Antwerp.• The Netherlands become a republic.
The Dutch Reformed Church
• Proclaimed by Calvinist leaders in 1571
• Although not an official state religion in the Netherlands, any person in public service had to belong to this church.
• Strictly Calvinist in doctrine• Strong belief in the
predestination of salvation• Good works were useless
in gaining salvation
• Interior of churches devoid of ornamentation – reflecting the purity and propriety of the congregation
The Dutch Reformed Church
The Science of Observation
• In the 17th century Amsterdam was the most scientifically advanced city in the world.
• Inventions:• Lens• Telescope• Microscope
The Science of Observation
• Astronomy:• Kepler perfects
Copernicus’ heliocentric theory of the Universe.
• Galileo improves the microscope and discovers gravity.
• The Church authorities persecute, incarcerate, and/or execute scientists.
Dutch Painting
Marked by intricate attention to detail, Dutch paintings of the 17th century can be grouped in several categories:
LandscapesStill lifes:
Dutch Painting
Portraits: either individual or group
Genre scenes: images of everyday life
Still Life
• Flowers in a Wan-li Vase with Blue-Tit by Johannes Goedaert, c. 1660
• Example of vanitas painting – reminder that earthly pleasures do not last
• Reflects righteous Protestant principles
• It evolves into a display of the wealth of the patron: exotic objects and flowers.
• Attention to detail: virtuosity of the painter.
Some still life paintings, called vanitas (vanity, emptiness), use symbols to communicate religious messages.
Food and luxury are portrayed to show the brevity of life and the worthlessness of earthly possessions.
Some common symbols in vanitas paintings are:
■ Symbols of power: crowns, scepters, jewels, coins■ Symbols of the Earth: insects, snails■ Symbols of the shortness of life: hourglasses, clocks, candles, smoke, soap bubbles, flowers, butterflies■ Symbols of eternal life: wheat, laurel, ivy■ Symbols of death: skulls, toads, shells, flower petals■ Symbols of the Eucharist: cornstalks, bread, wine, grapes■ Symbols of Christianity: apples, pomegranates, nuts
Still Life Symbols
Museum of Fine Arts (Saint Petersburg)
Symbols of power: crowns, scepters, jewels, coins■ Symbols of the Earth: insects, snails■ Symbols of the shortness of life: hourglasses, clocks,candles, smoke, soap bubbles, flowers, butterflies■ Symbols of eternal life: wheat, laurel, ivy■ Symbols of death: skulls, toads, shells, flower petals■ Symbols of the Eucharist: cornstalks, bread, wine, grapes■ Symbols of Christianity: apples, pomegranates, nuts
Still Life with Parrots,
c. 1645, Jan Davidsz. de HeemDutch, 1606-1683/84
Jacob Fopsen van Es, Flemish, c. 1596-1666Still Life with Oysters
Can you find any hidden messages here?■ Symbols of the Eucharist: cornstalks, bread, wine, grapes■ Symbols of Christianity: apples, pomegranates, nuts■ Symbols of lust: oysters■ Symbols of sin: oranges and apples
How realistic is this painting? How much attention has the painter given to the details? (Notice the reflection of the pewter dishes.)
Frans Snyders, attributed toFlemish, 1579-1657, active in AntwerpStill Life with Fighting Monkeys, 1630s
Can you find exotic animals and fruits in this painting as well?
Do they have an attractive appearance? Why?
Does this painting remind you of death?
Still Life with Dead Game, Frans Snyders and Workshop, Flemish, 1579-1657
How many animals can you identify? Are some of them exotic? Is there any fruit or other foods in the painting? Are they exotic?
Types of Still Life Paintings
■ Kitchen - food that is about to be prepared■ Banquet - expensive food and serving pieces
with luxury items like lobsters and exotic fruits■ Breakfast - simple food often with a bread roll
and a glass■ Game - dead game, fruit, and hunting articles■ Flower - big floral arrangements that are often
symbolic■ Fruit - local or exotic fruits and vegetables■ Vanitas - symbols are used to represent the
fragility and shortness of life.
Technical Mastery
The extraordinary technical skill of still life painters earned them the admiration of later artists.
Savador Dalí, Basket of Bread (1926), Dali Museum, Saint Petersbug, Florida
Jacob Fopsen van Es, Flemish, c. 1596-1666Still Life with Oysters, Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida.
Landscape
May reflect Dutch national pride at reclaiming extensive lands from the sea (similar to God’s re-creation of the world after the Flood)
Much emphasis on the infinite reaches of the heavens in such pictures
Portraits
• Seek to convey the sitter’s vitality and personality• Beginning with Frans Hals (1581-1666), group portraits depict
dynamic social relationships, involved in activities of their organization, with subtle indications of rank, prestige, or power
Calvinist Portraits
Attention to Detail
Genre Paintings
• May be boisterous, fun-filled scenes or quiet domestic interiors
• Depict the everyday, commonplace world of Dutch life
• Remarkably detailed – new aspects emerge upon repeated viewing
• Johannes Vermeer was a notable artist in this genre.
Veermer and the Northern Tradition
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)
Johannes Vermeer
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
• Pre-eminent painter of portraits – group, individual, self-portraits
• Highly dramatic use of light
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Anatomy Lesson
Rembrandt (1606-1669)The Nightwatch
Features of Baroque Art in the North
•Northern Baroque art is characterized by high levels of attention to detail.
•It reflects both scientific discovery of the era and religious conviction.
•Visual detail was understood as the earthly manifestation of the divine.•Absence of religious themes•Private demand rather than religious art commissioned by the Church
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