Seeing and Describing: The Dutch Baroque

Jacob van Ruisdael Landscape with the Ruins of the Castle at Egmond (early 1650s)
- medieval castles used by Dutch to store ammunition.
- Spanish blow up these castles and destroyed them
- However, the tower still rises up majestically
- emphasizes Dutch pride
- powerful, beautiful red brick against sky
- glassy surface of water reflects castle

Hendrik Avercamp Winter Scene with Skaters by a Village (1609)
- artists have own niches - Avercamp's = winter scenes
- small paintings, go in middle class homes
- life on frozen canal in Holland - panorama of leisure life, of interest to Dutch
- did many different sketches and put them together in studio
- man tying lady's skates, cute couple skating freely, ice hockey (invented in Holland)
- outhouse

Jan van Goyen Thunderstorm (1641)
- creates reality effect
- illusion you are looking at actual spot
- depiction of landscapes in Dutch Baroque were indicative of the Dutch struggles against the Spanish and North Sea
- choppy waters
- look of trees bending
- sfumato

Jacob van Ruisdael Bleaching Fields Near Haarlem (1640s)
- clothing industry brought great wealth to country
- bleached fields (lay fabrics out to be bleached by sun)
- not always sunny, but sun does break through the clouds
- dramatic action to landscape setting
- climate variable in Holland - element of time
- light and shadows always shifting
- low horizon point because Holland very flat, focus on sky

Pieter Claesz Still Life with Herring (1641)
- herring, bread, and beer - patriotic foods
- these could get Dutch through anything
- concern w/ depicting reality
- objects on edge protrude in viewers space
- light moves across space giving objects life
- tonal paintings, minimum # of colors
- attention to shape and form
- educates viewer about form
- "to know is to see, knowledge gained through sight" Des Carte
- not from reason but from sensation
- still lives are instruction booklets on how to see

Willem Claesz. Heda Breakfast Still LIfe (1640)
- concern w/ depicting reality
- objects on edge protrude in viewers space
- light moves across space giving objects life
- tonal paintings, minimum # of colors
- attention to shape and form
- educates viewer about form
- "to know is to see, knowledge gained through sight" Des Carte
- not from reason but from sensation
- still lives are instruction booklets on how to see
- lemon peel - can see inside and outside
- oval platter

Willem Kalf Still LIfe with Wine Glass and a Bowl of Fruit (1663)
- Banquet places show wealth
- Turkish carpet, silver platter
- dark lighting
- transparency of glass, opacity of bowl
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- illusion of reality makes it seem like you can almost touch these objects
- selective light reveals textures and quality of colors

Jan Davidsz. De Heem Still Life with Parrots (1650s)
- not indigenous to Europe
- tribute to luxury goods that come from exotic places - Africa, South Pacific, South America
- representation of objects and how light moves across them

Jan Davidsz. De Heem Vase of Flowers (1645)
- painting of vase w/ flowers
- life size
- flowers from different times of the year
- studies flowers individually
- uses dead flowers but they look alive.
- appear animate b/c of their placement
- look like they're moving/turning,
- insects jumping around in image also suggest life
- alive w/ blazing colors and moving light
- precise representation of forms
- present w/in viewer's space
- breaks barrier between art and life outside

Jacob Marrel Tulips (1643)
- study of tulips
- brought great wealth and prosperity to Holland
- tulip brings great prosperity
- incredible blazes of color
- color changes year to year
- speculators would bet on what color the tulip bulbs would be each year
- Dutch craze over tulips - spend lots of money on them
- tulips appear frequently in Dutch flower paintings

Jan Vermeer Maidservant Pouring Milk (1660)
- painting was his hobby
- simple common/ordinary activity
- maidservant in act of pouring milk shows concern w/ time
- renders items in room w/ meticulous care
- covered w/ dabs of light
- uses camera obscura - ancestor of camera
- as people move, you can beads of light, which vermeer records in painting

Jan Vermeer A Lady and Man at the Virginals (1665)
- foreground distorted due to use of camera obscura
- Holland artists eager to use camera - obsession w/ vision and want to record what eye sees
- light comes in room, floods wall
- textures recorded with great accuracy - softness of carpet, shiny platter
- doing proper adult duties
- figures pushed to the background
- light becomes the subject of the painting

Pieter de Hooch At the Linen Closet (1663)
- doesn't have exaggerated foreground like Vermeer - does not use camera obscura
- Dutch concern w/ cleanliness
- figure of mercury above doorway (god of commerce) symbolizing man's place in the world is outside of house
- women roles in the house
- child play compared to proper female behavior and cleanliness
- that's what leads to commerce and men

Jan Steen The Dissolute Household (1663)
- not only material goods, but lust represented too
- very detailed
- unsavory/improper activities
- painting made for wealthy patrons who could laugh at it b/c opposite the houses they run
- highlights importance of mother - she fell asleep which results in chaos
- everything in disrepair
- monkey fiddling w/ clock - time stops when folly ensues
- moralizing content in good humor
- key on wall points down on mother - moral represented revolves around her

Adrian Brouwer Fight over Cards (1631-5)
- emphasizes low quality of life
- fight over game of cards: loss of senses and reason
- single moment in time: man about to bop another on the head, as others try to stop him
- out of control
- rough brush strokes and earthly/warm tones communicate roughness of existence
- down to earth
- concern with time and reality

Adrian Brouwer The Smokers (1635)
- worked in Holland
- spent time in seedy run down taverns - drank and did drugs
- man making obscene gesture
- stuffing tobacco in pipe
- all men high on tobacco
- mocks sensibility of viewer - inspires shock from viewer that these men would lead this kind of lifestyle
- they're loosing their senses
- concern with time and reality
- figures off the vertical axis, loss of their senses

Judith Leyster Self-Portrait (1635)
- lively
- in midst of painting
- open mouth shows she's in the process of communicating with figures outside picture space
- reality effect except wouldn't have worn that dress while painting
- fancy dress ennobles painting profession - honors craft
- attention to fact she's a women engaging in painting career
- brushstrokes give a sense of liveliness

Frans Hals Laughing Boy (1630)
- big brush strokes - imposto
- used butt of brush to reveal under-drawing and create depth
- gives sense of liveliness - in the midst of laughing
- realistic - not very clean teeth, wide open mouth, curly wild hair

Frans Hals Laughing Cavalier (1624)
- animate/playful
- oblique in picture space
- pride, self confidence
- sweep of body brings eye to his face
- gives sense of dynamism - active man, wearing officer's uniform
- symbols embroidered on his clothing showing he's a lady's man: decorated in torches/flames, Mercury's hat with wings
- adds to his sense of pride

Frans Hals Banquet of the Officers of St. Hadrian Company (1627)
- not a typical group portrait
- Hals jumbles up the group, splits it into 2
- sets up visual energy in composition with diagonal accents
- amidst their company amidst banquet
- lots of drinking
- temporary gestures, in midst of speaking
- brilliant colors
- fully animate - as if taking place right before our eyes
- artist captures moment in time

Anthonisz. Banquet of the Civic Guard (1533)
- typical group portrait
- arranged in horizontal line allowing each figure to be identified, indicates military rank
- doesn't say what it's like to be part of this group

Rembrandt van Rijn The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp (1632)
- professor in hat, students hatless
- artist seeking reality effect
- viewer is there at presentation
- teaching how to see/recognize parts of human anatomy
- trust sight, learn through movement, textbook left on the side
- theatrical/dramatic composition - white cadaver vs. dark apparel
- set obliquely in space inviting viewer in
- figures life size
- details of features
- pyramidal composition unifies the figures

Rembrandt van Rijn The Night Watch (1642)
- the marching out of the shooting company of Capt. Banning Cocq
- represents marching out of captain in center
- tumbling out of base to streets of Amsterdam to greet queen of France at parade
- moment right before they get in formation
- chaos coming into order
- spears in hand, active energy
- move out of picture space
- woman has chicken - chicken claw = logo of company
- daylight comes in from above, not nocturnal
- shifting light/shadow
- vivid/lively color

Rembrandt van Rijn Christ with the Sick around Him (100 Guilder Print) (1643)
- etching
- depiction of shadow
- old man - light strikes hands
- many figures built in pyramidal composition, inside picture space
- from book of Matthew
- unifies many stories from the Bible
- Christ in center - pulls all scenes together
- rays emanate from Christ's head, he's amongst the sick, weak, and wounded
- every figure rendered with great detail - convincing expression
- constantly moving group

Rembrandt van Rijn Self Portrait (1665)
- reality effect
- shows his age
- Probing deeply into himself
- psych study of himself
- lonely life, not very happy, darkened eyes, dark jowels, dark shadows
- at work in studio
- contrasts and similarities w/ early etching self portraits
- etchings: held up mirror and captured different expressions
- physiological studies of facial expression (anger, surprise)