Dutch still life 17th century symbols. Still life in 17th century Holland

Dutch still life of the 16th–17th centuries - a unique intellectual game, in which the viewer was asked to unravel certain signs. What was easily understood by contemporaries is not clear to everyone today and not always.

What do the objects depicted by the artists mean?

John Calvin (1509-1564, French theologian, church reformer, founder of Calvinism) taught that everyday things have hidden meanings, and behind every image there should be a moral lesson. Objects depicted in still life have multiple meanings: they were endowed with edifying, religious or other connotations. For example, oysters were considered an erotic symbol, and this was obvious to contemporaries: oysters allegedly stimulated sexual potency, and Venus, the goddess of love, was born from a shell. On the one hand, oysters hinted at worldly temptations, on the other, an open shell meant a soul ready to leave the body, that is, it promised salvation. Of course, there were no strict rules on how to read a still life, and the viewer guessed exactly the symbols on the canvas that he wanted to see. In addition, we must not forget that each object was part of the composition and could be read in different ways - depending on the context and the overall message of the still life.Floral still life

Until the 18th century, a bouquet of flowers, as a rule, symbolized frailty, because earthly joys are as transitory as the beauty of a flower. The symbolism of plants is especially complex and ambiguous, and books of emblems, popular in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, helped to grasp the meaning, where allegorical illustrations and mottos were accompanied by explanatory texts. Flower arrangements it was not easy to interpret: the same flower had many meanings, sometimes directly opposite. For example, the narcissus indicated narcissism and was at the same time considered a symbol of the Mother of God. In still lifes, as a rule, both meanings of the image were preserved, and the viewer was free to choose one of the two meanings or combine them.

Floral arrangements were often supplemented with fruits, small objects, and images of animals. These images expressed the main idea of ​​the work, emphasizing the motif of transience, decay, the sinfulness of everything earthly and the incorruptibility of virtue.

Jan Davids de Heem.
Flowers in a vase.

In the painting by Jan Davids de Heem, at the base of the vase, the artist depicted symbols of mortality: withered and broken flowers, crumbling petals and dried pea pods. Here is a snail - it is associated with the soul of a sinner. In the center of the bouquet we see symbols of modesty and purity: wildflowers, violets and forget-me-nots. They are surrounded by tulips, symbolizing fading beauty and senseless waste (growing tulips in Holland was considered one of the most vain activities and, moreover, expensive); lush roses and poppies, reminiscent of the fragility of life. The composition is crowned with two large flowers that have a positive meaning. The blue iris represents remission of sins and indicates the possibility of salvation through virtue. The red poppy, which was traditionally associated with sleep and death, changed its interpretation due to its location in the bouquet: here it signifies the atoning sacrifice of Christ.

Other symbols of salvation are ears of bread, and a butterfly sitting on a stalk represents the immortal soul.

Jan Bauman.
Flowers, fruits and a monkey. First half of the 17th century.

Jan Bauman's painting “Flowers, Fruits and a Monkey” is a good example of the multi-layered meaning and ambiguity of a still life and the objects on it. At first glance, the combination of plants and animals seems random. In fact, this still life also reminds us of the transience of life and the sinfulness of earthly existence. Each depicted object conveys a certain idea: the snail and lizard in this case indicate the mortality of all earthly things; a tulip lying near a bowl of fruit symbolizes rapid fading; shells scattered on the table hint at an unwise waste of money; and the monkey with the peach indicates original sin and depravity. On the other hand, a fluttering butterfly and fruits: bunches of grapes, apples, peaches and pears speak of the immortality of the soul and the atoning sacrifice of Christ. On another, allegorical level, the fruits, fruits, flowers and animals presented in the picture represent four elements: shells and snails - water; butterfly - air; fruits and flowers - earth; monkey - fire.

Still life in a butcher shop

Peter Aartsen.
The Butcher Shop, or the Kitchen with the Flight to Egypt Scene. 1551

The image of a butcher shop has traditionally been associated with the idea of ​​physical life, the personification of the element of earth, as well as gluttony. Painted by Peter Aertsen

Almost the entire space is occupied by a table laden with food. We see many types of meat: killed poultry and dressed carcasses, liver and ham, hams and sausages. These images symbolize excess, gluttony and attachment to carnal pleasures. Now let's turn our attention to the background. On the left side of the picture, in the window opening, there is a gospel scene of the flight to Egypt, which contrasts sharply with the still life in the foreground. The Virgin Mary hands the last loaf of bread to a beggar girl. Note that the window is located above the dish, where two fish lie crosswise (symbol of the crucifixion) - a symbol of Christianity and Christ. On the right in the background is a tavern. A cheerful group sits at a table by the fire, drinks and eats oysters, which, as we remember, are associated with lust. A butchered carcass hangs next to the table, indicating the inevitability of death and the fleeting nature of earthly joys. A butcher in a red shirt dilutes wine with water. This scene echoes the main idea of ​​the still life and refers to the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The scene in the tavern, as well as the butcher shop full of dishes, speaks of an idle, dissolute life, attachment to earthly pleasures, pleasant for the body, but destructive for the soul. In the scene of the flight to Egypt, the characters practically turn their backs to the viewer: they move deeper into the picture, away from the butcher shop. This is a metaphor for escape from a dissolute life full of sensual pleasures. Giving up them is one of the ways to save the soul.

Still life in a fish shop

The fish still life is an allegory of the water element. Works of this kind, like butcher shops, were often part of the so-called cycle of primordial elements and, as a rule, were created to decorate palace dining rooms. In the foreground of Frans Snyders's painting "The Fish Shop" there are many fish depicted. There are perches and sturgeon, crucian carp, catfish, salmon and other seafood here. Some have already been cut up, some are waiting their turn. These images of fish do not carry any subtext - they glorify the wealth of Flanders.

Frans Snyders.
Fish shop. 1616

Next to the boy we see a basket with gifts that he received for St. Nicholas Day. This is indicated by the wooden red shoes tied to the basket. In addition to sweets, fruits and nuts, the basket contains rods - as a hint at education with “carrot and stick”. The contents of the basket speak of joys and sorrows human life, which constantly replace each other. The woman explains to the child that obedient children receive gifts, and bad children receive punishment. The boy recoiled in horror: he thought that instead of sweets he would receive blows with rods. On the right we see a window opening through which we can see the city square. A group of children stands under the windows and joyfully greets the puppet jester on the balcony. Jester - essential attribute folk holiday celebrations.

Still life with a set table

In numerous variations of table settings on the canvases of Dutch masters we see bread and pies, nuts and lemons, sausages and hams, lobsters and crayfish, dishes with oysters, fish or empty shells. These still lifes can be understood depending on the set of objects.

Gerrit Willems Heda.
Ham and silverware. 1649

In Gerrit Willems Heda's painting we see a dish, a jug, a tall glass goblet and an overturned vase, a mustard pot, a ham, a crumpled napkin and a lemon. This is Heda's traditional and favorite set. The arrangement of objects and their choice are not random. Silver utensils symbolize earthly riches and their futility, ham symbolizes carnal pleasures, an attractive-looking but sour inside lemon represents betrayal. An extinguished candle indicates the frailty and fleetingness of human existence, a mess on the table indicates destruction. A tall glass “flute” glass (in the 17th century such glasses were used as a measuring container with marks) is as fragile as human life, and at the same time symbolizes moderation and a person’s ability to control his impulses. In general, in this still life, as in many other “breakfasts,” the theme of vanity and the meaninglessness of earthly pleasures is played out with the help of objects.

Peter Claes.
Still life with a brazier, herring, oysters and a smoking pipe. 1624

Most of the objects depicted in Peter Claes's still life are erotic symbols. Oysters, pipe, wine refer to brief and dubious carnal pleasures. But this is just one option for reading a still life. Let's look at these images from a different angle. Thus, shells are symbols of the frailty of the flesh; a pipe, with which they not only smoked, but also blew soap bubbles, is a symbol of the suddenness of death. Claes's contemporary, the Dutch poet Willem Godschalk van Fockenborch, wrote in his poem “My Hope is Smoke”:

As you can see, being is akin to smoking a pipe,
And I really don’t know what the difference is:
One is just a breeze, the other is just a smoke.

The theme of the transience of human existence is contrasted with the immortality of the soul, and signs of frailty suddenly turn out to be symbols of salvation. The bread and glass of wine in the background are associated with the body and blood of Jesus and indicate the sacrament of the sacrament. Herring - another symbol of Christ - reminds us of fasting and Lenten food. And open shells with oysters can change their negative meaning to the exact opposite, denoting the human soul, separated from the body and ready to enter into eternal life.

Different levels of interpretation of objects subtly tell the viewer that a person is always free to choose between the spiritual and eternal and the earthly transitory.

Vanitas, or "Scientist" still life

The genre of the so-called “scientific” still life was called vanitas - translated from Latin it means “vanity of vanities”, in other words - “memento mori” (“remember death”). This is the most intellectual type of still life, an allegory of the eternity of art, the frailty of earthly glory and human life

Jurian van Streck.
Vanity. 1670

The sword and helmet with a luxurious plume in the painting by Jurian van Streck indicate the fleeting nature of earthly glory. Hunting horn symbolizes wealth that cannot be taken with you into another life. In “scientific” still lifes there are often images of open books or carelessly lying papers with inscriptions. They not only invite you to think about the objects depicted, but also allow you to use them for their intended purpose: read open pages or play music written in a notebook. Van Streck sketched a boy's head and open book: This is Sophocles' tragedy Electra, translated into Dutch. These images indicate that art is eternal. But the pages of the book are curled and the drawing is wrinkled. These are signs of the beginning of corruption, hinting that after death even art will not be useful. The skull also speaks of the inevitability of death, but the ear of grain entwined around it symbolizes the hope of resurrection and eternal life. By the middle of the 17th century, a skull entwined with an ear of grain or evergreen ivy would become a mandatory subject for depiction in still lifes in the vanitas style.

Along with landscape painting, still life, which was distinguished by its intimate character, became widespread in 17th-century Holland. Dutch artists chose a wide variety of objects for their still lifes, knew how to arrange them perfectly, and reveal the characteristics of each object and its inner life, inextricably linked with human life.
The 17th century Dutch painters Pieter Claes (c. 1597 - 1661) and Willem Heda (1594-1680/1682) painted numerous versions of “breakfasts”, depicting hams, ruddy buns, blackberry pies, fragile glass glasses half filled with wine on the table, with amazing masterfully conveying the color, volume, texture of each item. The recent presence of a person is noticeable in the disorder, the randomness of the arrangement of things that have just served him. But this disorder is only apparent, since the composition of each still life is strictly thought out and found. A restrained grayish-golden, olive tonal palette unites objects and gives a special sonority to those pure colors that emphasize the freshness of a freshly cut lemon or the soft silk of a blue ribbon.
Over time, the “breakfasts” of the still life masters, painters Claes and Heda give way to the “desserts” of the Dutch artists Abraham van Beyeren (1620/1621-1690) and Willem Kalf (1622-1693). Beyeren's still lifes are strict in composition, emotionally rich, and colorful. Throughout his life, Willem Kalf painted in a free manner and democratic “kitchens” - pots, vegetables and aristocratic still lifes in the selection of exquisite precious objects, full of restrained nobility, like silver vessels, cups, shells saturated with the internal combustion of colors.
In its further development, still life follows the same path as all Dutch art, losing its democracy, its spirituality and poetry, its charm. Still life turns into decoration for the home of high-ranking customers. With all the decorativeness and skill of execution, the late still lifes anticipate the sunset Dutch painting.
Social degeneration and the well-known aristocratization of the Dutch bourgeoisie in the last third of the 17th century gave rise to a tendency towards convergence with the aesthetic views of the French nobility, leading to the idealization of artistic images and their reduction. Art is losing connections with the democratic tradition, losing its realistic basis and entering a period of long-term decline. Severely exhausted in the wars with England, Holland is losing its position as a great trading power and a major artistic center.

The work of Frans Hals and the Dutch portrait of the first half XVII century.

Frans Hals(Dutch Frans Hals, IPA: [ˈfrɑns ˈɦɑls]) (1582/1583, Antwerp - 1666, Haarlem) - an outstanding portrait painter of the so-called golden age of Dutch art.

• 1 Biography
• 2 Interesting facts
• 3 Gallery
• 4 Notes
• 5 Literature
• 6 Links

Biography

"Family portrait of Isaac Massa and his wife"

Hals was born around 1582-1583 to the Flemish weaver François Frans Hals van Mechelen and his second wife Adriantje. In 1585, after the fall of Antwerp, the Hals family moved to Haarlem, where the artist lived his entire life.

In 1600-1603, the young artist studied with Karel van Mander, although the influence of this representative of Mannerism is not traced in Hals’ subsequent works. In 1610, Hals became a member of the Guild of St. Luke and begins to work as a restorer at the city municipality.

Hals created his first portrait in 1611, but fame came to Hals after creating the painting “Banquet of the officers of the rifle company of St. George" (1616).

In 1617 he married Lisbeth Reyners.

“The early style of Hals was characterized by a predilection for warm tones and clear modeling of forms using heavy, dense strokes. In the 1620s, Hals, along with portraits, painted genre scenes and compositions on religious themes"("Evangelist Luke", "Evangelist Matthew", circa 1623-1625)".

"Gypsy" Louvre, Paris

In the 1620-1630s. Hals wrote whole line portraits depicting splashing vital energy representatives common people(“Jester with a Lute”, 1620-1625, “Merry Drinking Companion”, “Malle Babbe”, “Gypsy”, “Mulatto”, “Fisherman Boy”; all - around 1630).

The only portrait the full-length portrait is the “Portrait of Willem Heythuissen” (1625-1630).

“During the same period, Hals radically reformed the group portrait, breaking with conventional systems of composition, introducing elements of life situations into the works, ensuring a direct connection between the picture and the viewer (“Banquet of officers of the St. Adrian rifle company,” circa 1623-27; “Banquet of rifle officers company of St. George", 1627, "Group portrait of the rifle company of St. Adrian", 1633; "Officers of the rifle company of St. George", 1639). Not wanting to leave Haarlem, Hals refused orders if this meant going to Amsterdam. The only group portrait he began in Amsterdam had to be completed by another artist.

In the years 1620-1640, the time of his greatest popularity, Hals painted many double portraits of married couples: the husband on the left portrait, and the wife on the right. The only painting where the couple are depicted together is “Family Portrait of Isaac Massa and his Wife” (1622).

"Regents of the Home for the Elderly"

In 1644 Hals became president of the Guild of St. Luke. In 1649 he painted a portrait of Descartes.

« Psychological characteristics delve into portraits from the 1640s. (“The Regents of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital”, 1641, portrait young man, circa 1642-50, "Jasper Schade van Westrum", circa 1645); In the coloring of these works, a silver-gray tone begins to predominate. Hals's later works are performed in a very free manner and are composed in a spare manner. color scheme, built on contrasts of black and white tones (“Man in black clothes", around 1650-52, "V. Cruz", around 1660); some of them showed a feeling of deep pessimism (“The Regents of the Home for the Aged,” “The Regents of the Home for the Aged,” both 1664).”

“In his old age, Hals stopped receiving orders and fell into poverty. The artist died in a Haarlem almshouse on August 26, 1666.”

Most large meeting The artist's paintings are owned by the Khalsa Museum in Haarlem.

The founder of the Dutch realistic portrait was Frans Hals (Hals) (about 1580-1666), whose artistic legacy, with its sharpness and power of capturing the inner world of a person, goes far beyond the national Dutch culture. An artist with a broad worldview, a brave innovator, he destroyed the canons of class (noble) portraiture that had emerged before him in the 16th century. He was not interested in the person depicted according to his social status in a majestically solemn pose and ceremonial costume, but a person in all his natural essence, character, with his feelings, intellect, emotions. In Hals's portraits all layers of society are represented: burghers, riflemen, artisans, representatives of the lower classes; his special sympathies are on the side of the latter, and in their images he showed the depth of a powerful, full-blooded talent. The democracy of his art is due to connections with the traditions of the era of the Dutch revolution. Hals portrayed his heroes without embellishment, with their unceremonious morals and powerful love of life. Hals expanded the scope of the portrait by introducing plot elements, capturing those portrayed in action, in a specific life situation, emphasizing facial expressions, gestures, poses, instantly and accurately captured. The artist sought emotional intensity and vitality of the characteristics of those portrayed, conveying their irrepressible energy. Hals not only reformed individual commissioned and group portraits, but was the creator of a portrait bordering on everyday genre.
Hals was born in Antwerp, then moved to Haarlem, where he lived all his life. He was a cheerful, sociable person, kind and carefree. The creative personality of Khalsa took shape by the early 20s of the 17th century. Group portraits of officers of the St. George's rifle company (1627, Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum), and the St. Adrian's rifle company (1633, ibid.) gained him wide popularity. Strong, energetic people who took Active participation in the liberation struggle against the Spanish conquerors, are presented during the feast. A cheerful mood with a touch of humor unites officers of different characters and manners. There is no main character here. All those present are equal participants in the celebration. Hals overcame the purely external connection of characters characteristic of the portraits of his predecessors. The unity of the asymmetrical composition is achieved by lively communication, relaxed freedom of arrangement of figures, united by a wave-like rhythm.
The artist's energetic brush sculpts the volumes of forms with brilliance and strength. Streams of sunlight slide across faces, sparkle in lace and silk, sparkle in glasses. The colorful palette, dominated by black suits and white collars, is enlivened by the sonorous golden-yellow, purple, blue and pink officer's baldrics. Full of self-esteem and at the same time free and relaxed, gesticulating, the Dutch burghers appear in the portraits of Hals, conveying an instantly captured state. An officer in a wide-brimmed hat, arms akimbo, smiles provocatively (1624, London, Wallace Collection). They are captivated by the naturalness and liveliness of the pose, the sharpness of the characteristics, highest craftsmanship using the contrast of white and black in painting.
Hals's portraits are varied in themes and images. But those portrayed are united by common features: integrity of nature, love of life. Hals is a painter of laughter, a cheerful, infectious smile. With sparkling joy, the artist brings to life the faces of representatives of the common people, visitors to taverns, and street urchins. His characters do not withdraw into themselves; they turn their gazes and gestures towards the viewer.
The image of “The Gypsy” (circa 1630, Paris, Louvre) is filled with a freedom-loving breath. Hals admires the proud position of her head in a halo of fluffy hair, her seductive smile, the perky sparkle of her eyes, her expression of independence. The vibrating outline of the silhouette, sliding rays of light, running clouds, against which the gypsy is depicted, fill the image with the thrill of life. Portrait of Malle Babbe (early 1630s, Berlin - Dahlem, Art Gallery), the owner of the tavern, not accidentally nicknamed the “Harlem Witch,” develops into a small genre scene. An ugly old woman with a burning, cunning gaze, turning sharply and grinning widely, as if answering one of the regulars of her tavern. An ominous owl looms in a gloomy silhouette on her shoulder. The artist’s sharpness, vision, gloomy strength and vitality of the image he created is striking. The asymmetry of the composition, the dynamics, and the richness of the angular strokes enhance the anxiety of the scene.
By the mid-17th century, the shifts that had taken place in Dutch society were clearly visible; as the positions of the bourgeoisie, which had lost ties with by the masses, it is becoming increasingly conservative. The attitude of bourgeois clients towards realist artists has changed. Khals also lost its popularity, democratic art which became alien to the degenerating bourgeoisie, rushing after aristocratic fashion.
The life-affirming optimism of the master was replaced by deep thought, irony, bitterness, and skepticism. His realism became more psychologically in-depth and critical, his skill more refined and perfect. The color of the Khalsa also changed, acquiring greater restraint; in the predominant silver-gray, cold tonal range, among black and white, small, accurately found spots of pinkish or red color acquire a special sonority. The feeling of bitterness and disappointment is palpable in “Portrait of a Man in Black Clothes” (circa 1660, St. Petersburg, Hermitage), in which the subtlest colorful shades of the face are enriched and come to life next to the restrained, almost monochrome black and white tones.
Hals's highest achievement is his last group portraits of the regents and regents (trustees) of a nursing home, executed in 1664, two years before the death of the artist, who ended his life alone in the shelter. Full of vanity, cold and devastated, power-hungry and arrogant, the old trustees sitting at the table from the group “Portrait of the Regents of a Home for the Elderly” (Harlem, Frans Hals Museum. The hand of the old artist unerringly accurately applies free, swift strokes. The composition has become calm and strict. Sparsity of space , the arrangement of the figures, the even diffused light, equally illuminating all those depicted, contribute to focusing attention on the characteristics of each of them. The color scheme is laconic with a predominance of black, white and gray tones. The late portraits of Hals stand next to the most remarkable creations of world portraiture: with their psychologism they are close to the portraits of the greatest of Dutch painters - Rembrandt, who, like Hals, experienced his lifetime fame by coming into conflict with the bourgeois elite of Dutch society.

Frans Hals was born around 1581 in Antwerp into a weaver's family. As a young man, he came to Haarlem, where he lived almost constantly until his death (in 1616 he visited Antwerp, and in the mid-1630s - Amsterdam). Little is known about Hulse's life. In 1610 he entered the Guild of St. Luke, and in 1616 he entered the chamber of rhetoricians (amateur actors). Very quickly Hals became one of the most famous portrait painters in Haarlem.
In the XV–XVI centuries. in the painting of the Netherlands there was a tradition of painting portraits only of representatives of the ruling circles, famous people and artists. Hals's art is deeply democratic: in his portraits we can see an aristocrat, a wealthy citizen, an artisan, and even a person from the very bottom. The artist does not try to idealize those depicted; the main thing for him is their naturalness and uniqueness. His nobles behave as relaxed as representatives of the lower strata of society, who in Khals’s paintings are depicted as cheerful people who are not devoid of self-esteem.
Group portraits occupy a large place in the artist’s work. The best works Portraits of officers of the rifle company of St. George (1627) and the rifle company of St. Adrian (1633) became this genre. Each character in the paintings has its own distinct personality, and at the same time, these works are distinguished by their integrity.
Hals also painted commissioned portraits depicting wealthy burghers and their families in relaxed poses (“Portrait of Isaac Massa,” 1626; “Portrait of Hethuisen,” 1637). Hals’s images are lively and dynamic; it seems that the people in the portraits are talking to an invisible interlocutor or addressing the viewer.
Representatives of the popular environment in Khals’s portraits are distinguished by their vivid expressiveness and spontaneity. In the images of street boys, fishermen, musicians, and tavern visitors, one can feel the author’s sympathy and respect. His “Gypsy” is remarkable. The smiling young woman seems surprisingly alive, her sly gaze directed at her interlocutor, invisible to the audience. Hals does not idealize his model, but the image of a cheerful, disheveled gypsy delights with its perky charm.
Very often, Hulse's portraits include elements of a genre scene. These are the images of children singing or playing on musical instruments("The Singing Boys", 1624–1625). The famous “Malle Babbe” (early 1630s) was performed in the same spirit, representing a well-known tavern owner in Haarlem, whom visitors called the Haarlem Witch behind her back. The artist almost grotesquely depicted a woman with a huge beer mug and an owl on her shoulder.
In the 1640s. The country is showing signs of a turning point. Only a few decades have passed since the victory of the revolution, and the bourgeoisie has already ceased to be a progressive class based on democratic traditions. The truthfulness of Hals painting no longer attracts wealthy clients who want to see themselves in portraits better than they really are. But Hulse did not abandon realism, and his popularity plummeted. In the painting of this period, notes of sadness and disappointment appear (“Portrait of a Man in a Wide-brimmed Hat”). His palette becomes stricter and calmer.
At the age of 84, Hulse created two of his masterpieces: group portraits of regents (trustees) and regents of a nursing home (1664). These latest works by the Dutch master are distinguished by their emotionality and strong individuality of images. The images of the regents - old men and women - emanate sadness and death. This feeling is also emphasized by the color scheme in black, gray and white.
Hals died in 1666 in deep poverty. His truthful, life-affirming art has had big influence on many Dutch artists.

Painting by Rembrandt.

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn(Dutch Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn[ˈrɛmbrɑnt ˈɦɑrmə(n)soːn vɑn ˈrɛin], 1606-1669) - Dutch artist, draftsman and engraver, great master of chiaroscuro, the largest representative of the golden age of Dutch painting. He managed to embody in his works the entire spectrum of human experiences with such emotional richness that fine art had never known before. Rembrandt's works, extremely diverse in genre, reveal to the viewer the timeless spiritual world of human experiences and feelings.

• 1 Biography
• 1.1 Years of apprenticeship
• 1.2 Influence of Lastman and the Caravaggists
• 1.3 Workshop in Leiden
• 1.4 Developing your own style
• 1.5 Success in Amsterdam
• 1.6 Dialogue with Italians
• 1.7 "Night Watch"
• 1.8 Transition period
• 1.9 Late Rembrandt
• 1.10 Recent works
• 2 Attribution problems
• 3 Rembrandt's students
• 4 Posthumous fame
• 5 At the movies
• 6 Notes
• 7 Links

Biography

Years of apprenticeship

Rembrandt Harmenszoon (“son of Harmen”) van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606 (according to some sources, in 1607) in the large family of the wealthy mill owner Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn in Leiden. Even after the Dutch Revolution, the mother's family remained faithful to the Catholic religion.

"Allegory of Music" of 1626 - an example of Lastman's influence on the young Rembrandt

In Leiden, Rembrandt attended the Latin school at the university, but greatest interest showed interest in painting. At the age of 13, he was sent to study fine art with the Leiden historical painter Jacob van Swanenburch, a Catholic by faith. Rembrandt's works of this period have not been identified by researchers, and the question of Swanenbuerch's influence on the development of his creative style remains open: too little is known today about this Leiden artist.

In 1623, Rembrandt studied in Amsterdam with Pieter Lastman, who had trained in Italy and specialized in historical, mythological and biblical subjects. Returning to Leiden in 1627, Rembrandt, together with his friend Jan Lievens, opened his own workshop and began to recruit students. Within a few years he had gained considerable fame.

Today we will meet one of the best masters of Dutch luxurious still life, WILLEM KALF 1619-1693

Willem Kalf was the sixth child in the family of a wealthy Rotterdam cloth merchant and member of the Rotterdam city council. Willem's father died in 1625, when the boy was 6 years old. The mother continued the family business, but without much success.

There is no information about which artist Kalf studied with; perhaps his teacher was Hendrik Poth from Haarlem, where the Kalfs' relatives lived. Shortly before the death of his mother in 1638, Willem left his hometown and moved to The Hague, and then in 1640-41. settled in Paris.

There, thanks to their " peasant interiors", written in the Flemish tradition, close to the work of David Teniers and other artists of the 17th century, Kalf quickly gained recognition.

In his rustic interiors, human figures were more in the background, and all the viewer's attention was concentrated on well-lit, colorful and artfully laid out fruits, vegetables and various household items.

Here he created a new form of artfully grouped still life with expensive, richly decorated objects (mostly bottles, plates, glasses) made of light-reflecting materials - gold, silver, tin or glass. This artist’s skill reached its peak in the Amsterdam period of his work in the mesmerizing “ LUXURY STILL LIFE»

Still life with a drinking horn belonging to the Guild of Archers of St. Sebastian, a lobster and glasses - Willem Kalf. Around 1653.

This still life is one of the most famous.

It was created in 1565 for the guild of Amsterdam archers. When the artist worked on this still life, the horn was still in use during guild meetings.

This wonderful vessel is made of buffalo horn, the fastening is made of silver, if you look closely, you can see miniature figures of people in the design of the horn - this scene tells us about the suffering of St. Sebastian, patron of archers.

The tradition of adding peeled lemon to Rhine wine came from the fact that the Dutch considered this type of wine too sweet.

The lobster, the wine horn with its sparkling silver filigree rim, the clear glasses, the lemon and the Turkish carpet are rendered with such amazing care that the illusion arises that they are real and can be touched with your hand.

The placement of each item is chosen with such care that the group as a whole forms a harmony of color, shape and texture. Warm light enveloping objects gives them the dignity of precious jewelry, and their rarity, splendor and whimsicality reflect the refined tastes of Dutch collectors in the 17th century - a time when still life paintings were extremely popular.

Still life with a jug and fruit. 1660

In 1646, Willem Kalf returned to Rotterdam for some time, then moved to Amsterdam and Hoorn, where in 1651 he married Cornelia Plouvier, daughter of a Protestant minister.

Cornelia was a famous calligrapher and poetess, she was friends with Constantijn Huygens, the personal secretary of the three stadtholders of the young Dutch Republic, a respected poet and probably the most experienced expert on world theater and musical art of its time.

In 1653, the couple moved to Amsterdam, where they had four children. Despite his wealth, Kalf never acquired his own home.

Still life with a teapot.

During the Amsterdam period, Kalf began to include exotic objects in his perfect still lifes: Chinese vases, shells and hitherto unseen tropical fruits - half-peeled oranges and lemons. These items were brought to the Netherlands from America; they were favorite objects of prestige for the wealthy burghers, who flaunted their wealth.

Still life with nautilus and Chinese bowl.

The Dutch loved and understood a good interior, a comfortable table setting, where everything you need is at hand, convenient utensils - in the material world that surrounds a person.

In the center we see an elegant nautilus cup made from a shell, as well as a beautiful Chinese vase. On the outside it is decorated with eight relief figures representing the eight immortals in Taoism, the cone on the lid is the outline of a Buddhist lion.
This still life is complemented by a traditional Kalfa Persian carpet and a lemon with a thin spiral of peel.

The pyramid of objects drowns in a haze of twilight, sometimes only light reflections indicate the shape of things. Nature created a shell, a craftsman turned it into a goblet, an artist painted a still life, and we enjoy all this beauty. After all, being able to see beauty is also a talent.

Still life with a glass goblet and fruit. 1655.

Like all still lifes of that time, Kalf’s creations were intended to express the iconographic idea of ​​frailty - “memento mori” (“remember death”), to serve as a warning that all things, living and inanimate, are ultimately transitory.

Still life with fruit and a nautilus cup.1660g

For Kalf, however, something else was important. All his life he had a keen interest in the play of light and light effects on various materials, from the texture of woolen carpets, the bright shine of metal objects made of gold, silver or tin, the soft glow of porcelain and multi-colored shells, and ending with the mysterious shimmer of the edges of the most beautiful glasses and vases in Venetian style.

Still life with a Chinese tureen.

Dessert. Hermitage.

Before entering the Hermitage in 1915, the painting “Dessert” was part of the collection of the famous Russian geographer and traveler P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, a great connoisseur and lover of Dutch and Flemish art.

A bright beam of light pulls out from the semi-darkness a bowl of fruit, a peach on a silver tray and a crumpled white tablecloth. The glass and silver goblets still reflect the light, and the thin flute glass filled with wine almost blends into the background.

The artist masterfully conveys the texture of each item: a glass, a painted faience plate, a gilded goblet, an oriental carpet, a snow-white napkin. The painting shows the strong influence that Rembrandt’s painting had on Kalf: objects are shown against a dark background, bright light as if it revives them, enveloping them in the warmth of golden rays.

Still Life with a Porcelain Vase, Silver-gilt Ewer, and Glasses

Pronk Still Life with Holbein Bowl, Nautilus Cup, Glass Goblet and Fruit Dish

The composition of Kalf's still lifes, thought out to the smallest detail, is ensured not only by specific rules, but also by unique and complex directionSveta.

Valuable objects—cut goblets, often half filled with wine—appear from the darkness of the background gradually, after some time. Often their shape is only surprisingly guessed in the reflection of rays of light. No one except Kalf managed to show the light penetrating through the nautilus shell so realistically. Absolutely rightly, Kalf is called the “Vermeer of still life painting,” and in some places Kalf surpassed him.

Since 1663 Kalf wrote less, he took up the art trade and became a sought-after art expert.

Willem Kalf died at the age of 74, injured in a fall on the way home while returning from a visit.

Thanks to his unique visual abilities, coupled with his excellent education and extensive knowledge of the natural sciences, he significantly expanded the illusionistic possibilities of still life. His creations are unsurpassed examples of this art.

Elena Konkova is a bright representative of the modern intellectual elite, which the Spirit of the age (or, if you prefer, Zeitgeist) puts into glamorous forms, not forgetting about the inner content.

In this film, she will talk about the mystical aspects of European painting, reveal the secret meaning encrypted in the frightening, funny and simply unusual attributes of Dutch still lifes, and gracefully invite everyone to start collecting this type of painting. visual arts, or painting as such...


Below is material that will slightly complement the visual series created by Ms. Konkova in the printed word.

So, in 1581, the inhabitants of the Northern Netherlands, after many years of war for liberation from Spanish rule, proclaimed the independent Republic of the United Provinces. Among them, Holland was the leader economically and culturally, so the whole country soon began to be called that. Social structure The new Netherlands changed little compared to the 16th century, but significant changes followed in spiritual life. Calvinism became the state religion. This doctrine did not recognize icons and church art in general (this movement in Protestantism is named after its founder, the French theologian John Calvin (1509-1564).

Dutch artists inevitably had to abandon religious themes and look for new ones. They turned to the reality around them, everyday events that happened day after day in the next room or on the next street. And the customers—most often not nobles, but poorly educated burghers—mostly valued works of art for the fact that they were “just like life.”

Paintings became market goods, and the painter’s well-being depended entirely on his ability to please the customer. Therefore, the artist spent his whole life improving in a certain genre. The mood that permeates the works Dutch school, and even their small, as a rule, format suggests that many of them were not intended for palaces, but for modest living rooms and were addressed to the common man.

Dutch still life of the 17th century. amazes with its richness of themes. In every artistic center of the country, painters preferred their own compositions: in Utrecht - from flowers and fruits, in The Hague - from fish. In Haarlem they wrote modest breakfasts, in Amsterdam - luxurious desserts, and in the university of Leiden - books and other objects for studying science or traditional symbols of worldly vanity - a skull, a candle, an hourglass.

In still lifes dating back to the beginning XVII century, objects are arranged in strict order, like exhibits in a museum showcase. IN similar paintings details are endowed symbolic meaning. Apples are reminiscent of Adam's fall, and grapes are reminiscent of Christ's atoning sacrifice. A shell is a shell left behind by a creature that once lived in it; withered flowers are a symbol of death. A butterfly born from a cocoon means resurrection. Such are, for example, the paintings of Balthasar van der Ast (1590-1656).

For artists of the next generation, things are no longer so much reminiscent of abstract truths, but rather serve to create independent artistic images. In their paintings, familiar objects acquire a special, previously unnoticed beauty. Haarlem painter Pieter Claes (1597-1661) subtly and skillfully emphasizes the uniqueness of each dish, glass, pot, finding the ideal neighborhood for any of them. The still lifes of his fellow countryman Willem Claes Heda (c. 1594 - c. 1680) are filled with picturesque disorder. Most often he wrote “interrupted breakfasts.” A crumpled tablecloth, mixed up serving items, food that has barely been touched - everything here reminds of the recent presence of a person. The paintings are enlivened by diverse spots of light and multi-colored shadows on glass, metal, and canvas (“Breakfast with Crab,” 1648).

In the second half of the 17th century. Dutch still life, like landscape, became more spectacular, complex and multicolored. The paintings of Abraham van Beyeren (1620 or 1621-1690) and Willem Kalf (1622-1693) depict grandiose pyramids of expensive dishes and exotic fruits. Here you can find chased silver, white-and-blue earthenware, goblets made of sea shells, flowers, bunches of grapes, and half-peeled fruits.

We can say that time acted like a camera lens: with a change in focal length, the scale of the image changed until only objects remained in the frame, and the interior and figures were pushed out of the picture. Still life “still life” can be found in many paintings by Dutch artists of the 16th century. It is easy to imagine the set table from the “Family Portrait” by Martin van Heemskerck (c. 1530) as an independent painting. State museums, Kassel) or a vase with flowers from the composition of Jan Brueghel the Elder. Jan Brueghel himself did something like this, writing at the very beginning of the 17th century. the first independent flower still lifes. They appeared around 1600 - this time is considered to be the date of birth of the genre.

At that moment, there was no word to define it. The term “still life” originated in France in the 18th century. and literally translated means “dead nature”, “dead nature” (nature morte). In Holland, paintings depicting objects were called “stilleven,” which can be translated both as “still nature, model,” and as “quiet life,” which much more accurately conveys the specifics of Dutch still life. But this general concept came into use only from 1650, and before that time the paintings were called according to the subject of the image: blumentopf - a vase with flowers, banketje - a set table, fruytage - fruits, toebackje - still lifes with smoking accessories, doodshoofd - paintings depicting a skull . Already from this listing it is clear how great the variety of objects depicted was. Indeed, the entire objective world around them seemed to spill out onto the paintings of the Dutch artists.

In art, this meant a revolution no less than the one that the Dutch made in the economic and social sphere, winning independence from the power of Catholic Spain and creating the first democratic state. While their contemporaries in Italy, France, Spain were focused on creating huge religious compositions for church altars, canvases and frescoes on subjects ancient mythology for palace halls, the Dutch wrote small paintings with views of corners of the native landscape, dancing at a village festival or a home concert in a burgher’s house, scenes in a rural tavern, on the street or in a meeting house, laid tables with breakfast or dessert, that is, a “low” nature, unpretentious, not overshadowed by antiquity or the Renaissance poetic tradition, except perhaps for contemporary Dutch poetry. The contrast with the rest of Europe was stark.

Paintings were rarely created to order, but were mostly freely sold in markets for everyone and were intended to decorate rooms in the houses of city residents, and even rural residents - those who were richer. Later, in the 18th and XIX centuries, when life in Holland became more difficult and scarce, these home painting collections were widely sold at auction and eagerly purchased for royal and aristocratic collections throughout Europe, from where they eventually migrated to largest museums peace. When in mid-19th V. artists everywhere turned to depicting the reality around them, the paintings of the Dutch masters XVII V. served as a model for them in all genres.

A feature of Dutch painting was the specialization of artists by genre. Within the still life genre, there was even a division into separate themes, and different cities had their own favorite types of still life, and if a painter happened to move to another city, he often abruptly changed his art and began to paint those varieties of the genre that were popular in that place.

Haarlem became the birthplace of characteristic appearance Dutch still life - “breakfast”. The paintings of Peter Claes depict a laid table with dishes and dishes. A tin plate, a herring or ham, a bun, a glass of wine, a crumpled napkin, a lemon or a branch of grapes, cutlery - the meager and precise selection of items creates the impression of a table set for one person. The presence of a person is indicated by the “picturesque” disorder introduced into the arrangement of things, and the atmosphere of a cozy residential interior, achieved by the transmission of a light-air environment. The dominant gray-brownish tone unites objects into a single picture, while the still life itself becomes a reflection of a person’s individual tastes and lifestyle.

Another Haarlem resident, Willem Heda, worked in the same vein as Klas. The coloring of his paintings is even more subordinated to tonal unity; it is dominated by a gray-silver tone, set by the image of silver or pewter utensils. For this colorful restraint, the paintings began to be called “monochrome breakfasts.”

In Utrecht, lush and elegant floral still life developed. Its main representatives are Jan Davids de Heem, Justus van Huysum and his son Jan van Huysum, who became especially famous for his careful writing and light coloring.

In The Hague, the center of marine fishing, Pieter de Putter and his student Abraham van Beijeren brought to perfection the depiction of fish and other inhabitants of the sea, the color of their paintings is shimmering with the shine of scales, in which spots of pink, red, blue colors. The University of Leiden created and improved the type of philosophical still life "vanitas" (vanity of vanities). In the paintings of Harmen van Steenwijk and Jan Davids de Heem, objects embodying earthly glory and wealth (armor, books, attributes of art, precious utensils) or sensual pleasures (flowers, fruits) are juxtaposed with a skull or an hourglass as a reminder of the transience of life. A more democratic “kitchen” still life arose in Rotterdam in the work of Floris van Schoten and Francois Reykhals, and its best achievements are associated with the names of the brothers Cornelis and Herman Saftleven.

In the middle of the century, the theme of modest “breakfasts” was transformed in the works of Willem van Aalst, Jurian van Streck and especially Willem Kalf and Abraham van Beyeren into luxurious “banquets” and “desserts”. Gilded goblets, Chinese porcelain and Delft faience, carpet tablecloth, southern fruits emphasize the taste for grace and wealth that established itself in Dutch society in the middle of the century. Accordingly, “monochrome” breakfasts are being replaced by a juicy, colorfully rich, golden-warm flavor. The influence of Rembrandt's chiaroscuro makes the colors in Kalf's paintings glow from within, poeticizing the objective world.

The masters of depicting “hunting trophies” and “poultry yards” were Jan-Baptiste Wenix, his son Jan Wenix and Melchior de Hondecoeter. This type of still life became especially widespread in the second half - end of the century in connection with the aristocratization of the burghers: the establishment of estates and the entertainment of hunting. The painting of the last two artists shows an increase in decorativeness, color, and a desire for external effects.

The amazing ability of Dutch painters to convey the material world in all its richness and diversity was appreciated not only by contemporaries, but also by Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries; they saw in still lifes, first of all and only this brilliant mastery of conveying reality. However, for the Dutch themselves in the 17th century, these paintings were full of meaning; they offered food not only for the eyes, but also for the mind. The paintings entered into a dialogue with the audience, telling them important moral truths, reminding them of the deceitfulness of earthly joys, the futility of human aspirations, directing thoughts to philosophical reflections on the meaning of human life.

A unique cultural phenomenon XVII century is called the Dutch floral still life, which had a significant influence on the entire further development of painting in Europe.

Lovingly and carefully, artists discovered the beauty of nature and the world of things, showing their richness and diversity. Bouquets of roses, forget-me-nots and tulips by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, who became the founder of floral still life painting as an independent movement, charm and attract the eye.

ABROSIUS BOSCHART THE ELDER 1573-1621

Bosschaert began his career in Antwerp in 1588. From 1593 to 1613 he worked in Middelburg, then in Utrecht (from 1616) and in Breda.

On Bosshart's canvases, butterflies or shells are often depicted next to bouquets of flowers. In many cases, flowers are touched by withering, which introduces an allegorical motif of the frailty of existence into Bosshart’s canvases ( vanitas)

Tulips, roses, white and pink carnations, forget-me-nots and other flowers in a vase.

At first glance, the bouquets seem to be painted from nature, but upon closer inspection it becomes obvious that they are made up of plants that bloom at different times. The impression of naturalness and verisimilitude arises due to the fact that the images of individual colors are based on individual natural “studies”

An enlarged fragment of a sketch by Jan Van Huysum, which is kept at the Met.

Jan Baptiste von Fornenbruch. Sered. 17th century

This was the usual working method for flower still life painters. Artists made careful drawings in watercolor and gouache, drawing flowers from life, from different angles and under different lighting, and these drawings then served them repeatedly - they repeated them in paintings.

Jacob Morrel. "Two Tulips"

Drawings by other artists, engravings from printed collections and botanical atlases were also used as working material.

Customers, nobles and burghers, appreciated in still lifes that the depicted flowers were “as if they were alive.” But these images were not naturalistic. They are romantic and poetic. Nature in them is transformed by painting.

Still life with flowers in a vase 1619

“Portraits” of flowers, painted on parchment in watercolor and gouache, were created for floristic albums in which gardeners sought to immortalize strange plants. Images of tulips are especially numerous. Almost every Dutch still life contains tulips.

Ambrosius Bosshart "Flowers in a Vase". 1619.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

In the 17th century There was a real tulip boom in Holland; sometimes a house was mortgaged for a rare tulip bulb.
Tulips came to Europe in 1554. They were sent to Augsburg by the German ambassador to the Turkish court, Busbeck. During his travels around the country, he was fascinated by the sight of these delicate flowers.

Soon tulips spread to France and England, Germany and Holland. The owners of tulip bulbs in those days were truly rich people - people of royal blood or those close to them. In Versailles, special celebrations were held in honor of the development of new varieties.

Still life with flowers.
Not only Dutch nobles, but also ordinary burghers could afford to own beautiful still lifes.

The number of Dutch flower still lifes is huge, but this does not detract from their artistic value. After the auctions, when the economic situation of Holland became less than brilliant, picturesque collections from the houses of burghers ended up in the palaces of European nobles and kings.

Bouquet of flowers 1920

In the center of this bouquet we see a crocus, but it is huge. A little information about this flower that is familiar to us.

Crocus is a medicinal plant, aphrodisiac and dye. Its stamens are used to make an excellent spice - saffron, which is added to oriental sweets. The birthplace of the crocus is Greece and Asia Minor. Just like hyacinths and lilies, the crocus became a hero of the myths of the ancient Greeks and was depicted in the subjects of palace paintings.

According to ancient legend, the earth was covered with hyacinths and crocuses for the wedding and first wedding night of Hera and Zeus.

Another legend describes the story of a young man named Crocus, who with his beauty attracted the attention of a nymph, but remained indifferent to her beauty. Then the goddess Aphrodite turned the young man into a flower and the nymph into a bindweed, thereby creating an inseparable union.

Flowers in a glass vase.

The desire of artists to diversify the composition of their bouquets forced them to travel to different cities, and make life drawings in the gardens of flower lovers in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Brussels, Haarlem, Leiden. Artists also had to wait for the changing seasons to capture the desired flower.

Flowers. 1619

Flowers in a Chinese vase.

Flowers in a basket.

Still life with flowers in a niche.

Flowers in a niche.

In fruit and flower still lifes, a seemingly random combination of apparently unrelated representatives of flora and fauna indirectly embodied ideas about the perishable sinfulness of all earthly things and, on the contrary, the incorruptibility of true Christian virtue.

Almost every “character” of the still life in a complex language of symbols denoted a certain idea: the mortality of everything earthly (for example, a lizard or a snail), the stupid sinfulness and frailty of human life, which a tulip, in particular, could symbolize.

Flowers in a glass vase.1606

According to the ideas of the Flemings and Dutch, this delicate flower was not only a visible embodiment of quickly fading beauty, but its cultivation was perceived by many as one of the most vain and selfish professions);

Exotic overseas shells, once a fashionable collectible, hinted at unwise spending of money; a monkey with a peach has traditionally been considered a symbol of Original Sin.

Still life with flowers in a green glass bottle.

On the other hand, a fly on the same peach or rose usually evoked associations with the symbolism of death, evil and sin; grapes and broken walnuts - hinted at the Fall and, at the same time, the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross, Red berries ripe cherries- a symbol of Divine love, while a fluttering butterfly personifies the saved soul of the righteous.

Basket.

The artistic direction of Ambrosius Bosschaert was continued to be developed by his three sons - Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger, Abraham Bosschaert and Johannes Bosschaert, as well as his son-in-law Balthasar van der Ast. Their works, generally quite numerous, are invariably in demand at art auctions.

Sources.