The Great Golden Age Book

D

he Great Golden Age Book gives a complete overview of the art

t

from one of the most remarkable periods in Dutch history.

The seventeenth century is often known as the Dutch Golden Age, not only because of the great wealth the country amassed

H

P A

I

N

T

in

g s

t h e g r ea t

book

book

G O L D E N AGE

T C

G O L D E N AGE

t h e g r ea t

U

but also because of the impressive cultural flowering. The art

Previous books in this serie

of painting in particular reached a high point. Throughout the Het Grote 40-45 Boek

After graduating, Jeroen Giltaij

that still evoke our admiration more than four centuries later.

RenĂŠ Kok en Erik Somers

became assistant curator of

Their paintings are the jewels in the collections of museums all

in collaboration with the NIOD

drawings in 1972 at the Museum

over the world.

Boijmans Van Beuningen, where

At the start of the seventeenth century, artists began painting

he wrote the catalogue of the

landscapes, still lifes, scenes from everyday life, marine pictures

drawings of Rembrandt and his

and church interiors in a way that had never been done before. It

school. In 1978, he became head

was as if the artists wanted to record daily life around them, but

curator of old paintings and

they all did this in their studios at their easels. These painters

sculptures, in which capacity he

had a degree of imaginative power that we find difficult to

organised various exhibitions

imagine. Throughout the century, talented new artists continued

including exhibitions on themes

to emerge with their own styles. The art of the Dutch Golden Age

in seventeenth-century painting.

is characterised by ceaseless creativity, huge levels of production

The catalogue of the exhibition on

and a style that was unique and typical of that time. The great

architectural painting was awarded

names of Rembrandt, Vermeer and Frans Hals are world famous

the Prix Minda de Gunzburg

but the paintings of the lesser known old masters are often

in 1991. In 1997 he obtained a

wonderful, splendid, exquisite or imposing.

Sicilian collector Antonio Ruffo,

The Great Golden Age Book was written and put together by Jeroen

who commissioned paintings from

Giltaij, the former head curator of Old Master Paintings at the

Rembrandt. His brief overview of

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies Het Grote Jaren 50 Boek Paul Brood, RenĂŠ Kok en Erik Somers in collaboration with the National

P A I N T in g s

doctorate for his thesis on the

D U T C H

century, countless highly talented artists created masterpieces

Archives of the Netherlands

Het Grote Boerderijen Boek Ben Kooij en Judith Toebast In collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands Het Grote Gouden Eeuw Boek Jeroen Giltaij

t h e g r ea t

the paintings of the Dutch Golden

G O L D E N AGE

Age was published in 2004 and served as the starting point for this book.

book www.wbooks.com

j e ro e n g i lta i j

c on t en t Preface

5

Introduction

6

1

The crucible: Haarlem

15

2 Mannerism and Caravaggism in Utrecht

27

3 The Hague, Delft and Amsterdam at the start of the century

47

4

L andscape painting in the first half of the century

59

5

T he still life in the first half of the century

87

6

Portrait Painters

7 Painters of everyday life in the first half of the century 8

R embrandt and his pupils: emerging and flourishing

105 141 159

9 Rembrandt and his pupils: Late works

187

1 0 Landscape painting in the second half of the century

207

1 1 Italianate landscape painters

223

1 2 A rchitectural painters

243

1 3 Marine painters

259

1 4 History painters

277

1 5 The decoration of the Huis ten Bosch

295

1 6 The still life in the second half of the century

299

1 7 P ainters of everyday life in the second half of the century

315

1 8 Townscapes

341

1 9 Animal painters

357

2 0 Paintings for the Amsterdam town hall

365

2 1 The final years of the Dutch Golden Age

371

Literature

378

Index of artists

382

Colophon

384

A mb rosi u s B o s sc h a ert (1573-1621) Vase with Flowers in a Window, c. 1618 (detail) Panel, 64 x 46 cm. the hague, Mauritshuis

p r e fac e

The seventeenth century is often called the Golden Age of

go and look at the original paintings. After all, that is the only

the Netherlands, and the paintings produced in the Dutch

way to appreciate them properly; the images in the book can

Republic during that period are an impressive aspect of Dutch

never be more than reproductions.

history. The century saw the rise of one artist after another,

The website of the Netherlands Institute for Art History was

often demonstrating incredible creativity and sometimes

used for the spelling of the artists’ names and their dates

producing large numbers of paintings. It has been estimated

of birth and death (rkdartists) and to some extent for the

that there must have been between fifty and a hundred

selection of the paintings (rkdimages). It should be noted that

thousand artists in the period from 1580 to 1800, producing

there are one or two deviations from the spellings on the

between five and ten million paintings in total. Of course

website for various reasons. Other important websites were

these were not just the works of the great masters we know

those of the Rijksmuseum and the Mauritshuis. Quotes from

today, but it does show how deeply painting was embedded

the Bible and the spelling of biblical names are taken from

in the life of the Dutch Republic.

the Good News Bible (1992). The list of references contains

This book looks at those artists and their paintings in the

the literature consulted specifically for this book rather

period from around 1590 to around 1710. The intention was

than being a general overview. The key source for the text

to give a brief overview, making grateful use of the wealth of

and chapters was the book Het Gouden Eeuw Boek (The Golden

literature on the subject. In the course of writing the book, a

Age Book), compiled by the current author and published

good 230 artists were selected, with more than 320 paintings

by Waanders in 2004, with Ronald de Leeuw providing the

— a selection that had to take account of the intended size

introduction and selecting the images.

of the book. The artists and their paintings are discussed

The collaboration with the publishers Henk van de Wal and

and presented in twenty-one chapters in an attempt to

Johan de Bruijn went very smoothly and was a most enjoyable

give a representative impression of the art of the Golden

experience, for which I would like to thank them very much.

Age. The topics covered by these chapters were often more

Finally, I would also like to thank Prof. Volker Manuth of

or less suggested by the paintings themselves, for example

the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, who

a particular movement, paintings of a certain subject or a

knows a great deal about Dutch art and the literature in this

particular project. The result was a diversity of chapters

field, and has published widely on the subject. He was willing

of varying length that allowed the most important artists

to read the draft of this book and made some useful and

to be discussed in a clear overview. It should be noted that

important comments. In putting together this book, I always

not all paintings could be fitted into this scheme so neatly,

found it a great privilege to be so closely involved with the art

and I hope some allowance will be made for the occasional

of the Dutch Golden Age.

expedient solution.

In principle, the paintings in the book have been chosen from the collections of Dutch museums, especially those in

Jeroen Giltaij

Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, as they happen to have the most important paintings. However, in one or two cases it was necessary to look abroad for examples of a work by a particular artist, because there were none in Dutch museums. Once you have read this book, you should really

P ie t er S a e n r eda m (1597-1665) Interior of the Sint-Odulphuskerk in Assendelft, seen from the Choir facing West, 1649 (detail) Panel, 50 x 76 cm. amsterdam, rijksmuseum

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p r efac e

5

314

sc hil der s va n he t dagel ij k s l e v e n i n de t w eede hel f t va n de eeu w

h e t g r ot e g o u d e n e e u w b o e k

17

painters of e v e r y da y l i f e i n t h e s e c ond h al f o f t h e c en t u r y

t

here were painters of everyday life in the second

1

half of the seventeenth century who would win

Ger a r d D ou (1613-1675)

great acclaim for their work. One of them is the

The Quack, 1652

Leiden master Gerard Dou (1613-1675). He spent

Panel, 112.4 x 84.4 cm.

three years from 1628 as an apprentice in Rembrandt’s studio.

Rotterdam, museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

At that time he had a very refined painting technique, as

Dou has used a panel, which surprisingly is made from tropical cedar

could be seen for example in his painting Jeremiah Lamenting

wood, and has painted the quack and his audience with a very fine

the Destruction of Jerusalem, from 1630 (Chapter 8, fig. 3). Dou

brush. The quack is standing on a platform and holding up a small

developed his style to become even finer, establishing a reputation for this. He became the leading member of the group of artists known as the Leiden ‘Fine’ painters, with a large number of pupils. His largest painting, The Quack from 1652, is now in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (fig. 1).

bottle that he is recommending as a medicine. But all sorts of strange things are happening at the same time, such as the boy trying to attract a bird, the woman wiping her child’s bottom next to the pancake dough and the boy stealing the woman’s purse. The artist himself is looking out of the window at us, seemingly saying that the people want to be deceived and that art deceives too.

It shows a man dressed as an actor trying to sell so-called medicines to the people gathered around. The meaning of the picture seems to be that the people want to be deceived. The artist has depicted himself in the window with a palette and brushes; he seems to be saying that art is also deception — it is not real, even though it might look real.

Most of his pictures have just a few figures, as in the painting A Young Woman at her Toilet from 1667, which is also in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (fig. 3). The curtain has been pulled up on the right to give a view of a woman who is having her hair cut by a maid. She is looking in the mirror, which is turned towards us so that we can see her face. The portrayal of the fabrics is so meticulous that you can almost feel the material.

However, the depiction of the fabrics in the work of Gerard ter Borch (1617-1681) is perhaps even more refined. This artist was mentioned earlier in the chapter on portraits (Chapter 6).

His paintings of scenes of everyday life are highly poetic and so detailed that you scarcely notice they are made of paint. A high point in his work is the painting A Mother Combing the Hair of her Child, from around 1652/1653, now in the Mauritshuis (fig. 2). In this painting, a mother sits on a chair and lets

t h e g r e at g o l d e n ag e b o o k

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her child lean back on her between her legs so that she can

2

examine the child’s hair for lice with a comb. The child has long

Ger a r d t er B orc h (1617-1681)

blond hair and would seem to be a boy, going by the clothes.

A Mother Combing the Hair of her Child, c. 1652/1653

This picture is about taking care of others and domesticity.

Panel, 33.5 x 29 cm.

Ter Borch is best known for his interiors featuring elegant

the hague, Mauritshuis

figures. The Rijksmuseum has Gallant Conversation, from about

The mother is sitting on a chair next to the window, with the light

1654 (fig. 4). A young man is sitting on a chair in a room with

entering from the right. Her son is leaning with his back on her

a four-poster bed in the background. He has one leg resting

knees so that she can check his blond hair for lice with a comb. He

on the other and is holding his hat in his lap. He is looking at a woman, whom we see from behind, and gesturing with his hand. A second woman is sitting on a chair and sipping a glass of wine. The nature of the events being portrayed is often

is waiting for her to finish with his eyes to one side. A pitcher and a glass stand on a shelf in the dark in the background. Ter Borch often used his family as figures in his paintings, and the woman could be his stepmother and the boy his seven-year-old half-brother.

rather mysterious in Ter Borch’s works. For instance, we may wonder here what the man is saying to the woman and what

3

this picture means.

Ger a r d D ou (1613-1675)

Working in Rotterdam at that time was an artist named

A Young Woman at her Toilet, 1667

Ludolf de Jongh (1616-1679), who is not so well known. He

Panel, 75.5 x 58 cm.

had studied with Jan van Bijlert in Utrecht (Chapter 2). The

Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Museum Rotterdam has a a remarkable painting by him, Young

The woman is looking in the mirror in such a way that we can see her

Woman at the Virginal from 1651 (fig. 5). The young woman is

face. A curtain is pushed to one side in the richly decorated interior

playing the virginal with her right hand while she holds a rose

and a gilt and silver ewer on a gilt and silver plate stands on the table.

in her left hand and smiles at us. The painting is not a portrait, it shows a moment in everyday life, as does the painting by Metsu of the same subject that is discussed later (fig. 12).

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pa i n t er s of e v ery day l if e i n t he sec on d h a l f of t he c e n t u ry

On the ground is a stone wine cooler on a stand with four lion’s feet.

These objects emphasise the wealth. The painting on the back wall that can just be made out is a self-portrait of the artist from 1663 that has survived to this day.

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4

5

Ger a r d t er B orc h (1617-1681)

Lu d ol f de Jongh (1616-1679)

Gallant Conversation, c. 1654

Young Woman at the Virginal, 1651

Canvas, 71 x 73 cm.

Canvas, 136 x 104.5 cm.

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Rotterdam, Museum Rotterdam

A young man is sitting in a chair with his hat on his lap. He looks

The woman has turned to give us a friendly look as she plays the

at the woman, whom we see on the left from behind, and gestures

virginal with her right hand and holds a rose in her left hand. You

with his hand. She is wearing a splendid white satin dress. Another

might wonder if this might be a portrait but it is not. The smile, the

young woman is sitting in the background drinking from a glass. On

rose and the music make this an attractive subject.

the left is a table with a looking glass that has been opened up and a powder brush. There is a four-poster bed in the background and a dog is walking past on the right. We would like to know what is going on in this painting but, as so often with Ter Borch, we can only guess.

6

Em a n u el de W i t t e (1617-1692) Interior with a Woman at the Virginal, c. 1660 Canvas, 77.5 x 104.5 cm.

Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, on loan from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands

The architectural painter Emanuel de Witte gives a view of various rooms one after another, whereby the floor tiles and light create an intriguing pattern. A woman on the right is playing the virginal; her eyes can be seen in the mirror. On the left, a man has put his clothes on the chair and is lying in the four-poster bed. The maid in the background is sweeping the floor.

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There is a painting of a similar subject by Emanuel de

bucket on her arm has come in to discuss the work on a jacket.

Witte (1617-1692), an artist who was actually specialised in

There is a painting of a river scene in a black frame on the wall.

architectural paintings (Chapter 12). His Interior with a Woman

This is a demonstration of the remark by the English traveller

at the Virginal, which dates from about 1660, is in the Museum

Peter Mundy in 1640 that was mentioned in the Introduction,

Boijmans Van Beuningen (fig. 6). It is clear from this that De

saying that even the butchers and cobblers had paintings on

Witte was primarily an architectural painter, but the focus of

their walls in Holland.

the painting is on the woman playing music, seen from behind

One of the most famous artists of the seventeenth century is

but also from the front in the mirror, making the painting

Jan Steen (1626-1679). He was born and died in Leiden but he

essentially a scene from everyday life.

also lived for a number of years in The Hague, Delft, Warmond

Quiringh van Brekelenkam (after 1622-c. 1669), who was a

and Haarlem. In The Hague, he married the daughter of

pupil of Gerard Dou, had a wonderful specialty: pictures of

the landscape painter Jan van Goyen (Chapter 4) in 1649. In

trades, such as the coppersmith, the cobbler and the tailor. The

Leiden, he became dean of the guild and also ran an inn.

Rijksmuseum has The Tailor’s Workshop from 1661, in which the

The Mauritshuis has the small painting Girl Eating Oysters,

tailor and his two apprentices sit cross-legged on the table to

dating from around 1658/1660 (fig. 8). The girl is smiling at us

prevent the fabric from becoming dirty (fig. 7). A woman with a

seductively as she pours salt on an open oyster. Oysters were

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7

Qu ir i ngh va n B r ek el e n k a m (after 1622-c. 1669)

considered to be an aphrodisiac in the seventeenth century.

The Tailor’s Workshop, 1661

The picture was painted in Warmond, a village close to Leiden

Canvas, 66 x 53 cm.

where his good friend and ‘fine’ painter Frans van Mieris

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

lived, who will be discussed later. Van Mieris may have had

The tailor and his two young apprentices are sitting cross-legged on

some influence on Jan Steen’s fine painting technique. The

the table, working by the light from the window. A woman has entered

equally seductive painting Woman at her Toilet by Jan Steen

and is examining the jacket on the table. There are scissors and a pin

in the Rijksmuseum dates from the same period, namely

on the table, a pin cushion is hanging on the wall and an iron can be seen on the floor. There is a painting of a river scene in a black frame on the wall. So this is what a tailor’s workshop looked like in the seventeenth century.

around 1655/1660 (fig. 9). In it, a woman is sitting on a bed and pulling off her red stocking, lifting her knee right up so that we are able to see under her skirt. She does not seem to be aware of this at all. The Dutch have the expression “a Jan Steen household” for a disorderly house but the large painting “The Way you Hear it, is the Way you Sing it”, from 1665 and in

8

Ja n S t ee n (1626-1679)

the Mauritshuis, is literally a Jan Steen household as the artist

Girl Eating Oysters, c. 1658/1660

has portrayed himself and his family as a merry crowd with

Panel, 20.5 x 14.5 cm.

a great deal of drink and laughter (fig. 10). The old woman

the hague, Mauritshuis

is reading out the painting’s title (“Soo voer gesongen, soo na

The girl looks at us seductively as she sprinkles a pinch of salt on an

gepepen” in Dutch), which means that the young learn from the

open oyster. A jug with a silver lid is standing on the table, as well as a

old. Jan Steen himself is sitting behind the table and laughing

glass of wine, a silver dish with a bread roll, a knife, some salt and a bag

as he passes a pipe to his son Cornelis to smoke, while his son

of peppercorns. More oysters are being opened in the kitchen in the background; they were regarded as an aphrodisiac in the seventeenth century.

Thaddeus plays the bagpipes. His daughter Eva is on the far right. The woman on the left who is holding out her glass for more is his wife Griet. The parents are clearly not setting a good example here. Another saying — “Easy Come, Easy Go” — is shown on a painting from 1661 that is now in the Museum

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10

Ja n S t ee n (1626-1679)

Ja n St ee n (1626-1679)

Woman at her Toilet, c. 1655/1660

“The Way you Hear it, is the Way you Sing it”, c. 1665

Arched panel, 37 x 27.5 cm.

Canvas, 134 x 163 cm.

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

the hague, Mauritshuis

Given the indentations under her knees, the woman must be pulling

The title was a seventeenth-century Dutch saying, meaning that the

her stocking off rather than on. She is getting undressed before retiring

young imitate the old. The old woman is reading the saying out. Jan

for the night. The dog is lying on the pillow now but will have to make

Steen himself is sitting behind the table and laughing as he passes a

way for her. A metal chamber pot can be seen on the ground. Because

pipe to his son Cornelis to smoke, while his son Thaddeus plays the

of how she has placed one leg over another, we can see up her skirt.

bagpipes. His daughter Eva is on the far right. The woman who is laughing and holding out her glass for more is Steen’s wife Griet. The parents are not setting a good example here.

t h e g r e at g o l d e n ag e b o o k

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c olo p h on

t h e g r ea t

G O L D E N AGE b oo k

a

p u b l i c a t i on

o f

WBOOKS, Zwolle, The Netherlands info@wbooks.com www.wbooks.com t e x t

and

c o m p i la t i on

Jeroen Giltaij t r an s la t i on

Tessera Translations, Wageningen de s i gn

Riesenkind, ’s-Hertogenbosch © 2014 WBOOKS/ Jeroen Giltaij All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form of by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The publisher has endeavoured to comply with all statutory provisions regarding the rights to the illustrations. Those who nevertheless wish to assert certain rights may contact the publisher.

The copyright to works by visual artists affiliated with a CISAC organisation has been obtained from Pictoright in Amsterdam. © c/ Pictoright Amsterdam 2014.

ISBN 978 94 625 8027 5 NUR 640

384

c ol op hon

t h e g r e at g o l d e n ag e b o o k

D

he Great Golden Age Book gives a complete overview of the art

t

from one of the most remarkable periods in Dutch history.

The seventeenth century is often known as the Dutch Golden Age, not only because of the great wealth the country amassed

H

P A

I

N

T

in

g s

t h e g r ea t

book

book

G O L D E N AGE

T C

G O L D E N AGE

t h e g r ea t

U

but also because of the impressive cultural flowering. The art

Previous books in this serie

of painting in particular reached a high point. Throughout the Het Grote 40-45 Boek

After graduating, Jeroen Giltaij

that still evoke our admiration more than four centuries later.

RenĂŠ Kok en Erik Somers

became assistant curator of

Their paintings are the jewels in the collections of museums all

in collaboration with the NIOD

drawings in 1972 at the Museum

over the world.

Boijmans Van Beuningen, where

At the start of the seventeenth century, artists began painting

he wrote the catalogue of the

landscapes, still lifes, scenes from everyday life, marine pictures

drawings of Rembrandt and his

and church interiors in a way that had never been done before. It

school. In 1978, he became head

was as if the artists wanted to record daily life around them, but

curator of old paintings and

they all did this in their studios at their easels. These painters

sculptures, in which capacity he

had a degree of imaginative power that we find difficult to

organised various exhibitions

imagine. Throughout the century, talented new artists continued

including exhibitions on themes

to emerge with their own styles. The art of the Dutch Golden Age

in seventeenth-century painting.

is characterised by ceaseless creativity, huge levels of production

The catalogue of the exhibition on

and a style that was unique and typical of that time. The great

architectural painting was awarded

names of Rembrandt, Vermeer and Frans Hals are world famous

the Prix Minda de Gunzburg

but the paintings of the lesser known old masters are often

in 1991. In 1997 he obtained a

wonderful, splendid, exquisite or imposing.

Sicilian collector Antonio Ruffo,

The Great Golden Age Book was written and put together by Jeroen

who commissioned paintings from

Giltaij, the former head curator of Old Master Paintings at the

Rembrandt. His brief overview of

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies Het Grote Jaren 50 Boek Paul Brood, RenĂŠ Kok en Erik Somers in collaboration with the National

P A I N T in g s

doctorate for his thesis on the

D U T C H

century, countless highly talented artists created masterpieces

Archives of the Netherlands

Het Grote Boerderijen Boek Ben Kooij en Judith Toebast In collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands Het Grote Gouden Eeuw Boek Jeroen Giltaij

t h e g r ea t

the paintings of the Dutch Golden

G O L D E N AGE

Age was published in 2004 and served as the starting point for this book.

book www.wbooks.com

j e ro e n g i lta i j