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