seCtion 7 | fishing

seCtion 7 fisHing

“ ... now drawing in the drag nets full of fish, now sitting on a rock, casting, with rod and line. ”

(ovid, Metamorphoses, bk xiii: 898–968, glaucus tells scylla of his transformation. trans. A. s. kline)

86

HendriCk JACobsZ. dubbels (Amsterdam, 1621 – Amsterdam, 1707) The Coast near Scheveningen, with Fishermen

ca. 1660 oil on oak panel, 49 × 75.5 cm signed lower left: H. Dubbels transferred from the Municipal picture gallery, 1953 inv. no. 53.441 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

for the dutch, the sea was both a blessing and a curse: there was a constant threat of storm surges, but maritime trade and fishing provided a livelihood and even prosperity. from the beginning of the seventeenth century, the popularity of seascapes increased, with many excellent landscapists, including Jan van goyen and salomon van ruysdael, depicting the coastal dune lands. the maritime landscape and its chief exponents defined the whole of Hendrick dubbels ’ s career: his early works were painted in the manner of Jan porcellis, and from 1650, he was active as a collaborator in the workshop of simon de Vlieger and later that of Jan van der Velde the elder. the blissful tranquillity of Vlieger’ s paintings of “still waters ” (Stille watertie), the wide horizon, and the legacy of Van goyen’ s landscape painting, with its evocation of light and atmospheric effects, are echoed in dubbels ’ s budapest work. towards the end of the 1650s, dubbels depicted dunes in several of his paintings, in which the recurring motifs are flat-bottomed fishing boats pulled up on the shore, fishermen gathering on the banks, and fishmongers offering their wares. the tower in the background of this work suggests that the location may not be the coast near scheveningen, as traditionally believed, egmond aan Zee, some ninety kilometres further north.

CsAbA Hertelendy

literAture: pigler 1967, 197; bol 1973, 116–17, fig. 223; Middendorf 1989, 34–35, 141–42, cat. no. 85; Summary Catalogue 2000, 46.

224

87

Attributed to AdAM piJnACker (schiedam, 1620/1621 – Amsterdam, 1673) Rocky Landscape with Waterfall

1650s oil on panel, 55 × 46 cm signed lower left, on the rock: Apynacker (Ap in ligature) Acquired in 1949 inv. no. 9783 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

Adam pijnacker was a wine merchant before he became artist: he was almost thirty when he painted his first known picture. during his short career, he worked in schiedam and neighbouring delft, as well as in Amsterdam, and he was employed at the court of brandenburg from 1654 to 1655. He painted mostly riverside landscapes, using warm, light-infused colours, combining rich detail with subtle harmony. Contrary to the claims made by Arnold Houbraken, the eighteenth-century art biographer, it is unlikely that pijnacker ever visited italy. in developing his own style, he drew inspiration from the work of dutch italianate painters (Jan both, Jan Asselijn, Herman saftleven). this painting, with a mountain stream running through vast rocky crags, bears a resemblance to a painting in the rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, but here the colours are more sombre, the lights sharper and the shadows deeper, which, together with the wildness of the water, give the painting an expressive power. rocky landscapes with waterfalls feature in several of the artist’ s paintings from the 1650s, and he may have painted this one around the same time, although the chronology of pijnacker’ s work is uncertain, due to the limited number of dated works. below, fishermen are catching trout with small nets and sticks. the fish, living in cold and clear mountain streams, were highly prized prey and a tasty dish in the cuisine of the aristocracy.

CsAbA Hertelendy

literAture: pigler 1967, 562; Harwood 1988, 132, cat. no. C29, table 148; Summary Catalogue 2000, 137.

226

88

wolfgAng köpp (kismarton [eisenstadt, Austria], 1738 – Vienna, 1807) Mountain Landscape with a Lake and Fishermen

1780s watercolour and indian ink on limestone (scagliola), 45.5 × 65 cm gift of Mihály keszt, 1863 inv. no. 3158 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of old Hungarian paintings and sculptures

born in kismarton (eisenstadt, Austria), wolfgang köpp graduated from the Academy of fine Arts in Vienna and became widely known and appreciated for a type of decorative scagliola (stucco marble) he experimented with, which earned him membership of the academies in Vienna, florence and berlin. on a plaster base, which he coloured and then sanded, he scratched and inked the outlines of the motifs, and after further colouring the details, he finished the surface with additional sanding and then polishing. He began to work with this technique in the 1770s, and while he could also use it to create large altarpieces (solymár parish church, 1782), he more commonly produced italianate landscapes on a smaller scale. He is also known for a series of scenes representing the months (Hungarian national gallery, budapest) which were based on pre-drawings of italian, french and flemish engravings. this technique is a unique and effective synthesis of the genres of marbling and watercolour engraving, two otherwise disparate materials and processes. this is also reflected in this fantasy landscape, coloured in subtle tones of blue and yellow, with a watercolour-like effect; the foreground is populated with genre figures catching and selling fish.

ZsuZsAnnA bodA

literAture: Mojzer 1982, cat. no. 521; duschanek 1994–1995, 204–5.

228

89

kÁroly MArkó tHe elder (lőcse [levoča, slovakia], 1791 – florence, 1860) Fishermen

1851 oil on canvas, 110 × 165 cm signed lower middle: C. Markó p. App. 1851 from the bequest of Count Jenő Zichy, 1911 inv.no. fk 1588 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

in the last period of his career, károly Markó the elder worked in italy, and in his paintings he portrayed the hazy, sun-drenched atmosphere of his natural Mediterranean surroundings. in Fishermen the idealised landscape is illuminated from behind by the light of the setting sun, with the aerial perspective formed using delicate tones of colour. the fishermen and the swaying boats are outlined in the shady foreground by the dying rays of sunlight still penetrating across the bay. Markó’ s painting originates from the bequest of Count Jenő Zichy, who in 1902 established Hungary ’ s first private museum in budapest. He inherited mostly seventeenth-century german, french, italian, flemish and dutch works from his father, edmund Zichy, and he continued to expand the collection. As a generous patron of the arts, Jenő Zichy made most of his purchases from nineteenth-century Hungarian artists, and besides Markó, he also owned works by Antal ligeti, József borsos, gyula benczúr and géza Mészöly.

Adrienn prÁgAi

literAture: Budapest 2011; soós in Marosvásárhely 2017, 29–33.

230

90

August Von pettenkofen (Vienna, 1822 – Vienna, 1889) River Landscape (By the Tisza)

early 1850s oil on canvas, 18.5 × 28.3 cm signed lower left: Pettenkofen gift of Móric Heim, 1920 inv. no. 381.b Museum of fine Arts, Collection of Art after 1800

the discovery in the mid-nineteenth century of the great Hungarian plain by Austrian painters, including August von pettenkofen, was no accident: having tired of the constraints of academicism, they turned towards nature. for them, the Hungarian plains were already part of the “exotic east” , and the lights and impressions of the great plain landscape made the town of szolnok even more attractive in their eyes, a location which became easily accessible with the construction of the railway. their art and choice of subject were also significantly influenced by french landscape painting and the barbizon school. pettenkofen also visited both paris and barbizon; the pictures he created there may also be considered ethnographic recordings. His work entitled River Landscape, painted in the early 1850s, is based on the contrast between the lonely figure of an angler and the endless Hungarian lowlands surrounding him. the view of the spacious horizon of the river bank is interrupted only by a towering tree. the swampy landscape depicted in the painting is also special because this natural environment on the banks of the tisza, a diverse source of inspiration for artists at the time, disappeared permanently with the river regulations of the 1870s.

biAnkA bodA

literAture: rózsaffy 1905, 386–99; Cifka 2000, 34.

232

91

Mór tHAn (óbecse [bečej, serbia], 1828 – trieste, 1899) Fishing

1880s oil on canvas, 25 × 32 cm signed lower middle: Than M. purchased, 1916 inv. no. 5023 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

Mór than was known mainly for his historical scenes, but his oeuvre also includes a good number of portraits, wall paintings and some folk genre scenes. long after he became famous, he painted this small-scale genre painting of fishermen and their families working on a riverbank. the dusk scene is dominated by the dark colours of the bank, contrasted by the lighter greyish sky reflected in the meandering river, and by the white clothes of the fishermen. than illustrates the exhausting work of lifting the net. the mother, sitting on the left of the painting, points this out to the child on her lap, and this gesture also directs the viewer’ s gaze towards the action. the figures on the barge and sitting in front of the hut represent other aspects of the fishermen’ s trade. than, who grew up on the banks of the river tisza, would have witnessed such scenes many times in his life. He probably also recalled some of his childhood memories in this small sketch from the 1880s.

ildikó bACsA

literAture: wilhelmb 1953, 78; Cennerné wilhelmb, 1982, 46–47; kalapis 1982, 8; losonci 1984, 31.

234

92

Augustin feyen-perrin (bey-sur-seille, 1826 – paris, 1888) Fisher Women of Cancale

1881 oil on canvas, 118 × 158 cm signed lower right: A. Feyen Perrin purchased, 1882 inv. no. 80.b Museum of fine Arts, Collection of Art after 1800 Augustin feyen-perrin, an artist who is now somewhat forgotten, became popular in the last quarter of the nineteenth century as a painter of the women in Cancale. the small town on the breton coast, home to oyster farming and fishing, inspired many compositions that usually depict the everyday lives of local women. His painting held by the Museum of fine Arts, many variations of which are known, was very successful in 1881 at the salon exhibition in paris and at the autumn exhibition of the Hungarian national fine Art society. its theme is the so-called pêche à pied, meaning the collecting of fish and seashells in shallow water at low tide. the composition focuses on three Cancale “graces ” walking barefoot in simple, unadorned attire in the wet sand, gracefully returning home with their baskets full. their attractive, slender, yet noble and radiant figures emerge in front of a cloudy sky, the slight worm’ s-eye view lending a kind of monumentality to their appearance. true to the poetic naturalism characteristic of him, feyen-perrin did not depict the strain and fatigue of physical labour, but rather conjured up an idealised picture of traditional fishing life.

AnnA ZsófiA koVÁCs

literature: Paris Salon 1881, p. xx, cat. no. 879; Budapest 1881, cat. no. 51; Balatonfüred 2019, 12, 22, 55.

236

93

HerMAnn bAisCH (dresden, 1846 – karlsruhe, 1894) Shrimp Fishing

1890 oil on canvas, 102 × 154 cm signed lower right: Hermann Baisch 1890 purchased, 1890 inv. no. 117.b Museum of fine Arts, Collection of Art after 1800

the german artist Hermann baisch was best known for his village genre-paintings, rural landscapes, and animal depictions, combining realistic and romantic elements, although he also produced a smaller quantity of more naturalistic works in katwijk, on the coast of Holland. the fishing village (which probably also inspired his painting in budapest) attracted a large number of painters in the last quarter of the nineteenth century: the special lighting, the simple fishing life, and the local clothing and customs provided them with new and attractive themes. the fishermen on the beach are collecting shrimps using horse-drawn nets while the women are waiting for the fresh produce. what first captures the viewer’ s attention is the bright sunshine; baisch brilliantly depicted the special light effects of the cloudy sky, the shadows on the shore, and the wet texture of the sand. the tension in the composition derives from the fact that, while the artist depicted the scene with photorealistic precision encompassing every detail, we still cannot see what the attention of all the characters is focused on: the fishermen turn away from the viewer, and the horse-drawn carriage obscures the goods that are laid out.

AnnA ZsófiA koVÁCs

literAture: Budapest 1890, cat. no. 19; tóth 2012, 158.

238

94

ÁrpÁd fesZty (ógyalla [Hurbanovo, slovakia], 1856 – lovran, 1914) Swamp Fisherman-Forager

1880s watercolour, white heightening and pencil on cardboard, 357 × 246 mm signed lower left: Feszty Árpád transferred from the Ministry of finance, 1902 inv. no. 1902-930 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of prints and drawings

this work by Árpád feszty is a reminder of a now forgotten activity. living in the marshy regions in the east of Hungary (ecsed, nagy- and kis-sárrét, bodrog), the swamp fishermen-foragers (known in Hungarian as pákász) lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering plants. they came from the poorest strata of the peasantry and were forced to adapt their way of life to the geographical conditions in the marshy, floodprone areas. they lived in huts made of mud and straw, and used a moor stick and reed soles attached to their sandals to navigate on the uneven ground. they were excellent fishermen, catching their prey with fish-weirs and spears. feszty depicts a pákász standing on his rickety boat, preparing to strike with his five-pronged harpoon at the fish hiding in the swamp. the precisely drawn background is almost entirely occupied by the lush vegetation of the marshlands that these fishermen called home. feszty ’ s drawing was published in a volume describing the great Hungarian plain, part of a series of books entitled The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Words and Pictures.

Ágnes ferenCZi

literAture: nyakas 1985, 12; selmeczi kovács 2009, 11–15.

240

95

willeM orMeA (utrecht, 1611 ? – utrecht, 1673) and AdAM (?) willAerts (Antwerp, 1577 – utrecht, 1664) Still Life of Fish on a Seashore

1650s oil on oak panel, 51.5 × 74 cm purchased from Mrs. istván fehér, budapest, 1969 inv. no. 69.52 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

from the mid-sixteenth century, netherlandish masters began to depict fish in pictures of markets and kitchens, and later in still lifes. within this genre, fish still lifes became an increasingly popular type from the 1630s onwards. in the compositions by willem ormea of utrecht, the fish still life in the foreground is complemented by a background of coastal scenery, as in this budapest painting. the master depicted the characteristic shapes and details of the diverse fish species, the light glistening on their flat, wet bodies, with the same care as he rendered their glassy eyes and gaping mouths. this unemotional objectivity emphasises the traditional moral overtones of the fish still life, as the dead animals, snatched from their natural element, offer a reminder of mortality. the diagonal coastline echoes the writhing bodies of the fish, and this dynamic composition is completed by the thrashing waves of the sea and the billowing clouds above. the landscape background was painted by Adam willaerts, or perhaps by his son Abraham. they and the other willaerts brother, isaac, worked with ormea on several occasions. the contrast between the foreground and the background is not merely stylistic: in contrast to the stark fatalism suggested by the still life of the fish, the tiny figures emerging from the shore and the boats struggling against the wind remind us of the presence of life.

CsAbA Hertelendy

literAture: ember in Bulletin 1973, 84–85; ember 1979, 140–43, fig. 99; Wausau 1989, 150, cat. no. b29; Summary Catalogue 2000, 128; ember 2011, 193–95, cat. no. 61.

242

96

isAAC VAn duynen (dordrecht, 1608 – the Hague, 1679/1681) Still Life with Fish

1673 oil on canvas, 58 × 72 cm signed and dated lower right: J van Duynen 1673 purchased in Amsterdam from A. goudstikker, 1908 inv. no. 3826 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

Art writers in the seventeenth century ranked still life as the lowest in the hierarchy of painting genres. still lifes of fish were, if anything, regarded as even less important: “we shall pass these over: ” , wrote the dutch painter-theorist gérard de lairesse, “anyone who likes them can take himself off to the market” , where they were often sold and were in great demand in the netherlands of the period. the painter, isaac van duynen, came from a family of fishmongers in dordrecht. the master, who specialised in still-life painting, was initially influenced by the flemish artists Adriaen van utrecht (1599–1652) and Jan davidsz. de Heem (1606–1684), and after his move to the Hague (1657), by the style of Abraham van beijeren (1620/1621–1690), the most outstanding exponent of the still life. Van beijeren’ s influence was so strong that Van duynen was long believed to have been his pupil. in Van duynen’ s painting, it is as if the scored cod, the rhine salmon fillets, and the large lobster were just about to be cooked. the delicious kitchen ingredients, set against a dark background, are nevertheless rendered with an objectified firmness, underscored by the meticulous, geometric pyramidal composition. the strong light and shade add plasticity to the forms and give the work overall a rustic vigour. this is also enhanced by the restrained colouring: the silvery shimmer of fish and the brownish mass of lobster surround the blood-red slices. the latter, with its raw realism, is a recurring element in Van duynen’ s fish still lifes.

CsAbA Hertelendy

literAture: pigler 1967, 200; Wausau 1989, 60–61, cat. no. 10; Summary Catalogue 2000, 52; ember 2011, 75–78, cat. no. 21.

244

97

JACob gillig (utrecht, ca. 1636 – utrecht, 1701) Fish Still Life

1679 oil on canvas, 56.5 × 66 cm signed and dated lower right: Jgillig 1679 purchased from gyula göbölyös, budapest, 1980 inv. no. 80.12 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

like his father, Jacob gillig of utrecht initially earned his living as a merchant and warden of the town hall prison. it was not until he was about twenty-five that he began painting, his master probably being willem ormea, who worked in the city; gillig’ s first wife, Hester, was the daughter of the painter Adam willaerts. Adam and his sons Abraham and isaac were known for their seascapes, and they also painted the seascape backgrounds in fish still lifes by several masters of utrecht. they may also have collaborated with gillig, who over time became the most distinguished local painter of fish still lifes. As described by Arnold Houbraken, the seventeenth-century dutch biographer of painters, gillig “painted all kinds of fish, especially freshwater fish, which is most characteristic of utrecht” , and his works were “lifelike and witty ” . this painting is not lacking in painterly ingenuity either: it is as if the catch from the river (carp, pike, perch) is pouring out of a basket that has been tipped over. so fresh is the catch that the fish are still surrounded by seaweed. gillig often also shows fishing gear, for example, the rolled-up net in this painting. the artist clearly derived pleasure from painting the details with bravura; his fish still life captures the spectacle without any moralistic message and without any symbolic evocation of memento mori.

CsAbA Hertelendy

literAture: ember 1979, 145–46, 307, fig. 102; Wausau 1989, 70–71, cat. no. 15; Summary Catalogue 2000, 73; ember 2011, 97–98, cat. no. 28.

246

98

istVÁn iZbigHy Vörös (izbég?, ca. 1698 – kassa [košice, slovakia], 1758) Table Still Life with Crayfish, a Haban Jug, a Glass, Bread and a Mouse

1740s signed lower middle: St: Mich: Ibighy oil on canvas, 42 × 53 cm exchanged, 1989 inv. no. 89.2M Hungarian national gallery, Collection of old Hungarian paintings and sculptures

istván izbighy Vörös was a citizen and landowner in kassa (košice, slovakia) and a member of the city assembly. in the first half of the eighteenth century, he undertook a variety of works as a painter in and around the city, such as painting statues, towers and flags, and renewing the city ’ s coat of arms. He created the illusionistic fresco ceiling decoration of the dominican church in the kassa the 1750s and, according to the most recent research, the mural paintings of the pilgrimage church in Máriapócs in 1748–1749. He is, however, primarily known as an excellent still-life painter, on the basis of a small number of exceptionally high-quality paintings, which he probably created for noble patrons as decorations for their castles. in this painting, which still retains the influence of seventeenth-century still lifes, river crayfish are piled on a plate, cooked bright red and ready to be consumed; beside them are a glass of wine and a blue Haban ceramic jug, the latter of which also indicates the Hungarian origin of the painting. the items depicted are lined up in the foreground, barely concealing each other; there is no space behind them, and the composition ends in a “dark wall” . the painting is meticulous and naturalistic. the intimate discipline of the simple objects is relieved by the amusing elements in the still life: a mouse scurries off the table and a loaf of bread is about to fall in its wake.

ZsuZsAnnA bodA

literAture: Székesfehérvár 1993, cat. no. A44.

248

99

JóZsef MArAstoni (Venice, 1834 – Vienna, 1895) Still Life with Lobster

1853 oil on canvas, 56 cm × 78 cm purchased, 1940 inv. no. fk 4978 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

József Marastoni began his studies at the first Hungarian painting Academy, founded by his father, Jakab Marastoni, in 1846. He later attended the Academy of fine Arts in Vienna, and it was around this time that he painted his Still Life with Lobster, which was probably first shown at one of the exhibitions of the pest Art society in 1853. Marastoni painted the fine fare at a splendid banquet, with lobster, shellfish, wine, lemons and oils, all typical of Mediterranean fishing and gastronomy. the fly on the tankard is painted in the illusionistic tradition of trompe l’ oeil, while the type of still life originates from an anecdote by pliny the elder about Zeuxis and parrhasius. this painting once hung in the dining room in the nádasdladány palace of Count ferenc nádasdy, a passionate and dedicated hunter. the palace was also decorated with another painting by Marastoni, the Fishing Boy now held by the Hungarian national gallery, and with ede spiró’ s painting entitled Praying Girl.

Adrienn prÁgAi

literAture: sisa 2000, 51–53; eörsi 2001, 7–22; radványi 2018, 53–54.

250