Hi starmorwen-ga,
Here's the information you need for the different Dutch artists. I
hope this meets your needs for the final exam and paper. If you have
any questions, please ask for clarification before rating this answer.
As with the other question I answered, I went to
http://www.artcyclopedia.com and searching for each artist there.
Cheers and good luck on your exam,
tj-ga
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
**Jacob van Ruisdael-"View of haarlem"
There are a few different works of van Ruisdael by this name. One
painting can be seen at
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ariadata/image/SK%5CORG%5CSK-A-351.org.jpg
There a collection of chalk sketches with this title that can be seen
at http://www.museumbredius.nl/tekenaars/ruisdael.htm
Finally, the image and discussion of "Landscape with a View of
Haarlem", 1670-75 can be found at
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/ruysdael/jacob/2/view_hab.html
"...From the elevated position of the dunes to the northwest of
Haarlem, the eye catches sight of the red-tinged roofs of the town,
the mighty structure of Saint Bavo and the other churches, the town
hall and, at the edge of the town, the many windmills on the ramparts.
The cloudy sky, reaching up from a low horizon, is reflected in the
flat countryside in the interplay of strips of light and shadow. Long
linen cloths are spread out to bleach on the meadows in the foreground
- at the time of the painting linen manufacture was an important
industry of the town. Ruisdael accorded the bleaching of linen an
important place in nearly all his 'Haarlempjes', about 20 of which
have survived.
Allegorical interpretations of Landscape with a View of Haarlem, which
go beyond the topographical and refer to the virtue of the purity of
the soul, cannot be excluded. Goethe had already characterized
Ruisdael as a 'poet' and admired the 'perfect symbolism' in his works.
The combination of a composition drawing on nature and an ambitious
statement in terms of content is indeed one of the most important
stylistic features of Ruisdael, in whose art Dutch landscape painting
of the 17th century reached its impressive peak..."
**Jacob van Ruisdael (also known as Jacob Isaackszon van
Ruysdael)-"View of GRainfields" 1670s
There does not appear to be a painting by the name, "View of
Grainfields". However there is a painting called "Wheat Fields",
1670's.
An image and description of the painting can be seen at
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/ruysdael/jacob/3/wheat_f.html
"...In Ruisdael's paintings of the 1670s, like this one, flat
landscape subjects are characteristic, as are the converging lines of
earth and sky and the alteration of shadow and sunlight. The tiny
figures who populate Ruisdael's canvases - indeed, all human
activities - are ultimately dwarfed by the vast canopy of sky and
immense, towering clouds. This vision of nature is impressive and
powerful yet never loses its wistful, melancholic beauty..."
There is also a painting simply called "Grainfields" from 1665-69. It
can be seen at http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/view1.asp?dep=11&full=1&item=32%2E100%2E14
"... This canvas of the mid- to late 1660s depicts a road through
grainfields and, in the distance, a village church. Contemporary
viewers would have understood immediately the relationships between
the rainclouds, the fields, and the mill. The finely detailed painting
was owned by the English painter Sir Joshua Reynolds between 1756 and
his death in 1792...."
General Description of Ruisdael's style
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/bio/a517-1.html
"...Ruisdael's dramatic, naturalistic rendering of landscapes and his
emotional use of color support his reputation as the principal Dutch
landscape painter in the second half of the 1600s. His masterful
compositions, meticulous draftsmanship, and thick impasto made quiet
subjects such as trees or the flat Dutch countryside into deep sources
of contemplation. Though earlier Dutch artists used trees merely as
decorative compositional devices, Ruisdael imbued them with forceful
personalities. Similarly, the vast, clouded skies looming over low,
distant horizons inject tension into his panoramic landscapes..."
**Jacob van Ruisdael-"Jewish Cemetery" mid 1650s
van Ruisdael created two works called "The Jewish Cemetary" during the
mid 1650's.
The first was created between 1655 and 1660. An image of the painting
as well as a description of it can be viewed at
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/ruysdael/jacob/2/jewish.html
"...Ruins sometimes play a prominent role, and gloomy skies set a
melancholy mood. Ruisdael's rare ability to create a compelling and
tragic mood in nature is best seen in his famous Jewish Cemetery at
Dresden. A larger, more elaborate autograph version is at the Detroit
Institute of Arts. These works are moralizing landscapes that were
painted with a deliberate allegorical programme. The combination of
their conspicuous tombs, ruins, large dead beech trees, broken trunks,
and rushing streams alludes to the familiar themes of transience and
the vanity of life and the ultimate futility of human endeavour, while
the burst of light that breaks through the ravening clouds in each
painting, their rainbows and the luxuriant growth that contrasts with
the dead trees offer a promise of hope and renewed life.
The masterliness of the Dresden painting lies in the artist's clear
and concentrated presentation of these ideas. The eye focuses on the
three tombs in the middle distance, where the light is centralized.
They present a truthful picture of the actual, identifiable sarcophagi
as they can still be seen in the Portuguese-Jewish Cemetery at
Ouderkerk on the Amstel River near Amsterdam. Ruisdael made carefully
worked-up drawings of the tombs, one of which he used as a preparatory
drawing for the paintings. But the landscape settings of the Dresden
and Detroit paintings bear no resemblance whatsoever to the site at
Ouderkerk. They are Ruisdael's inventions. The cemetery never had
monumental ruins. Those seen in the Dresden version were transplants
from the shattered remains of Egmond Castle near Alkmaar, a site about
forty kilometres from Ouderkerk; they also are based on a preparatory
drawing. The ruins seen in the Detroit painting are probably derived
from the ruins of Egmond's old Abbey Church. A rushing stream does not
bisect the actual burial ground. (Would anyone in his right mind place
tombs near a vigorous stream which would wreak havoc with the
tombstones and coffins beneath them when it flooded?) The stream was
included as a traditional allusion to the passage of time. Most
remarkable is the barren beech tree in the Dresden picture that
gestures toward the three tombs and heavenwards. If ever a tree was
capable of seducing a viewer to accept the pathetic fallacy of
endowing natural forms with human feelings and emotions it is this
dead beech.
The iconographical programme of Ruisdael's two versions of the Jewish
Cemetery leaves no doubt that they were intended as moralizing
landscapes. He made no others that can be given a similar unmistakable
reading. None of his other existing paintings include tombs; those
done by his contemporaries are rare, and some of them are based on his
depictions of the sarcophagi at Ouderkerk. However, Ruisdael made
numerous pictures that include identifiable or imaginary ruins, dead
and broken trees, rushing streams, rivers, and waterfalls. Were these
motifs invariably intended by the artist as symbols of transience and
the vanity of life, and does the handful of them that include rainbows
allude to hope? It has been argued that this is indeed the case, and
that these motifs not only offer the iconographical essence of
Ruisdael's landscapes but offer the key to the meaning to
seventeenth-century landscape painting. According to this
interpretation they were intended as visual sermons to convey the
biblical message that man lives in a transient world beset by sinful
temptation, but may hope for salvation..."
There's additional commentary available at the PBS site
http://www.pbs.org/ringsofpassion/awe/ruisdael.html
In the second painting, also titled "The Jewish Cemetary" (c. 1657)
can be seen at:
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/ruysdael/jacob/2/jewish_c.html . The
commentary provided is the same as the one for the first "The Jewish
Cemetary".
***Rembrandt-"Syndics of the Cloth Guild" 1662
Photo of image available at
http://www.theartgallery.com.au/ArtEducation/greatartists/Rembrandt/drapers_guild/index.html
Commentary available at
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/rembran/painting/group/guild.html
"...The painting, popularly called The Syndics, Rembrandt's largest
portrait commission during his late years, is an ideal solution of the
principal problem of painting a portrait group. Equal importance has
been given to each of the five officials - their servant, wearing a
skull cap, is in the centre yet the whole is united by ingenious
psychological and formal means. The subtle composition, the glowing
colouristic harmonies, and above all the sympathetic interpretation
and profound psychological grasp of the personalities of the six men
make this Rembrandt's greatest group portrait. The total impression is
of delicately adjusted harmony and tranquillity.
Rembrandt brilliantly exploits horizontals - a classical rather than a
Baroque device - for the unification of the group. Three horizontals
run through the picture at almost equal intervals: the edge of the
table and the arm of the chair at the left mark the lowest one; the
middle one is established by the prevailing level of the heads; and
the upper one runs along the edge of the wainscoting. But here again
Rembrandt avoids all formal rigidity. These repeated horizontals are
broken by sharp deviations on all three levels. The sharpest is in the
group itself, in the strong curve of the head on the left. With a kind
of contrapuntal effect, this movement is echoed by the slight rise in
the upper horizontal on that side.
While this style of composition is similar to the relief-like manner
of grouping favoured by artists who worked in the classical tradition,
there is an increased effect of space and atmosphere by Rembrandt's
use of chiaroscuro and colour. The harmonies are definitely on the
warm side. A flaming red in the rug on the table, which is the most
outstanding accent, is interwoven with golden tints. Golden browns
reappear in the background, in the panels of the wall, and within
these warmly coloured surroundings the strong blacks and whites in the
men's costumes have a noble and harmonious effect.
The traditional interpretation of the painting is that the men were
shown seated on a platform, before the assembly of the Drapers' Guild
and that they are giving to the assembly - unseen by the viewer - an
account of the year's business. The official seated near the centre of
the picture makes a gesture with his right hand which most
seventeenth-century observers understood immediately; the gesture was
a standard one employed by orators demonstrating evidence..."
***Rembrandt-"The three Trees" 1643
Photo of etching can be seen at
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=11633+0+none
Commentary can be seen at
http://st-ives.net/cities/baarn/rembrandt.htm .
"...This is the only state which is known of this Rembrandt etching.
It must have a hidden message, for it is neither a biblical account
nor a is it a registration of a normal landscape, both of which there
are many examples in his work. First of all, it is assumed that he
drew this scene on a plate which had been used by Hercules Seghers, a
contemporary of Rembrandt; and he did not remove all of the original
drawing. It seems to me that this was not on account of his
incapability to remove or successfully camouflage the original
drawing. Art historians claim that they cannot perceive any previous
renderings. But I can distinctly discern parts of human shapes in the
sky, especially in the lower left hand corner.
The rain seems to foretell a less pleasant repose in this seemingly
peaceful landscape - it is coming from the west, which is to the left
when looking from Haarlem to Amsterdam. The West is where the rain
comes from in Holland. That is not where it is going because the
people, portrayed in their activities, would not have been there
anymore. Aside from the fishing man and the woman, on the lower left
and the lovers in the dark thicket on the right edge of the pond, the
three trees are the most obvious element of the work. They pose as a
safe haven for the approaching storm. But what if it is a
thunderstorm?"..."
***Rembrandt-"Conspiracy of Claudius Civilus" 1661-1662
Image and description available at
http://www.nationalmuseum.se/html/en/collections/batavernas.shtml
"...The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis is the name
of Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn's great painting, originally intended
for the new Amsterdam Town Hall. That had already been officially
opened in 1655, but the decorations were still uncompleted. Rembrandt
was awarded the assignment after the artist originally chosen Govaert
Flinck, one of his pupils, had died. Rembrandt and several other
artists were commissioned to complete the decoration of the lunettes
in the great gallery, the central hall of the building. Rembrandt's
painting is dated 1661-62..."
***Rembrandt-"Risen Christ at Emmaus" 1628-30 (1629)
It appears that this earlier version of Christ at Emmaus in currently
at the Musée Jacquemart-André.
http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/jandre/collections/uk_collections_2.htm
There is larger, black and white picture of it at
http://www.veritus.org/rembrandt/chap01/rem749.php complete with dates
and dimensions.
Commentary on the piece as well as other related pieces and artists
can be found at
http://horse-in-art.com/b_t/b_rem.htm
"...The early Rembrandt paintings already reveal the artist's ambition
to rival the leading painters in Europe. Not only did he concentrate
on the most learned and morally serious subjects but he also strove
for the historically plausible settings and costumes that
distinguished the pictures of Lastman and such painters in Rome as the
German emigre Adam Elsheimer. Also evident in these early paintings
are Rembrandt's nascent fascination with dramatic personal responses
and with spotlight effects of light and shadow. If anything, these
elements came to dominate his art in the succeeding decade. In
particular, Rembrandt's exposure to a group of artists from nearby
Utrecht led to an abrupt emulation of their sharply drawn chiaroscuro,
or painting in light and dark. These Utrecht painters, led by Gerrit
van Honthorst, had recently returned from Rome, and their art enjoyed
not only local popularity but also strong favour in the courts of
northern Europe. Hence, when Rembrandt painted such religious works as
"The Presentation in the Temple" (c. 1627-28) or "Christ at Emmaus"
(1628), he sought to emulate the drama of lighting and gesture of
Elsheimer, Caravaggio, and, now, van Honthorst and to place himself
firmly into the international world of art. A measure of the
self-concept of Rembrandt around this time is the small but dramatic
"Young Painter in the Studio" (c. 1629), which shows a full-length
shadowy figure of an artist situated against the back wall and dwarfed
by a massive panel lying on its easel in the foreground. This panel,
seen from behind, lies in shadow, with only its near edge glowing with
light. The overall effect is one of heroic confrontation within the
very act of creation.
That Rembrandt had attained eminence as an artist by the end of the
1620s can be discerned from a famous reference, dating from 1629/30,
in the autobiography of Constantijn Huygens, the secretary of the
Prince of Orange. Huygens singles out Rembrandt as well as his young
Leiden friend and colleague, Jan Lievens (1607-74), for special praise
in terms of their future promise as artists. Rembrandt is lauded for
his penetration to the essence of his subjects and for his effects in
small format. In particular, the 1629 panel "Judas Returning the
Thirty Pieces of Silver" is held up as a model for moving gesture and
emotion, worthy of the finest works of Italy or even of antiquity.
Huygens' chief regret is that Rembrandt and Lievens never traveled to
Italy for further study of the past masters..."
***Rembrandt-"Risen Christ at Emmaus" 1648
Image and commentary can be seen at
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/rembran/painting/biblic2/emmaus.html
"...It is to the biblical pictures that we must turn to see
Rembrandt's greatest contribution during his mature period. The
deepening of the religious content of these works is connected with
some shift in his choice of biblical subjects. During the 1630s
Rembrandt had used the Bible as a source for dramatic motifs; for
example, the Blinding of Samson. In his middle phase he turned to more
calm and intimate subjects, particularly episodes from the life of the
Holy Family. At the beginning of the mature period the figure of
Christ becomes pre-eminent. Scenes taken from the life of Jesus, quiet
episodes of his youth, his preaching and the deeds of his early
manhood, and his resurrection form the main subject of the biblical
representations.
The emergence of the mature style is marked by works like Christ at
Emmaus, in which Rembrandt expresses the character of Jesus without
any concrete action or noisy stage-like effect. A moment before, he
appeared to be merely a man about to break bread with two pilgrims.
Now he is the resurrected Christ whose tender presence fills the room.
Without any commotion, Rembrandt convinces us that we are witnessing
the moment when the eyes of the pilgrims are no longer 'held, that
they should not recognize him'. A great calm and a magic atmosphere
prevail, and we are drawn into the sacred mood of the scene by the
most sensitive suggestion of the emotion of the figures, as well as by
the mystery of light which envelops them. The monumental architectonic
setting lends grandeur and structure to the composition, and the
powerful emptiness of the architectural background is enlivened by the
fluctuating, transparent chiaroscuro and the tender spiritual
character of the light around Christ himself. A simple pathos and a
mild, warm feeling emanate from his figure. Nothing could be farther
from the conspicuous theatricality of the works of the thirties..."
Additional commentary at
http://www.louvre.fr/anglais/collec/peint/inv1739/peint_f.htm
"...The well-known subject of Christ being recognized, during a meal
at Emmaüs, by two of his disciples, was much loved by Rembrandt. The
interpretation he gave it in 1648 is full of solemn grandeur.
Traditional in its composition, which draws on recollections of High
Renaissance masters (Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Veronese), the
picture is striking for its iconographic intensity. The figure of
Christ, which is beautifully displaced away from the central axis of
the composition, is poignantly realistic. His pale, gaunt face is that
of the vanquisher of death. This is alluded to with the empty,
overturned wineglass and the lamb's head chopped in two, symbolising
the Passion of God made Man, as revealed in the Last Supper. In one
picture, Rembrandt renovates a whole tradition of religious painting,
giving it depth and humanity..."
***Rembrandt-" Anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" 1632
Image and commentary from
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/r/rembran/painting/group/anatomy.html
"...Rembrandt began to work as a professional portraitist about 1631.
His earliest existing commissioned portraits (Portrait of a Scholar,
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg; Portrait of the Amsterdam Merchant
Nicholaas Ruts, Frick Collection, New York) are both of that year. The
Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp of 1632 shows how quickly he
surpassed the smooth technique of the fashionable Amsterdam
portraitists. The group portrait of Tulp, appointed 'praelector
anatomiae' of Amsterdam's surgeon guild in 1628, and seven of the
guild's members probably established his reputation immediately. All
potential clients must have been impressed by the new vitality and
pictorial richness he gave to the portraits. The picture still
impresses us today by the dramatic concentration of the figures on
Tulp's demonstration of the dissection of a forearm.
The corpse is the focus of the composition, by its intense brightness.
From here, the eye of the spectator is led to the illuminated heads of
the listeners, whose expressions and attitudes reflect different
degrees of attention, and to the face and hands of Tulp, who is a most
convincing representation of a scholar absorbed in his subject. With
forceps in his right hand Tulp holds the muscles and tendons of the
arm that control the movement of the hand, while the bent fingers of
his left hand demonstrate an aspect of their wondrous action. The
illusionism is enhanced by the vivid characterization of the
individuals as well as by the artist's great power in dramatizing the
moment within a coherent group. Without the strong chiaroscuro and the
fine atmospheric quality that is combined with it, the picture would
lose its intensity, the sculptural quality of the forms, and all the
excitement of the moment. Here, psychological and pictorial tension
combine to create the feeling of an extraordinary event..."
***Jan van Goyen-"Lanscape with Two oaks" 1641
A photo of the painting can be seen at
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ariadata/image/SK%5CORG%5CSK-A-123.org.jpg
The museum does not have a commentary on this particular piece, indeed
I can not find a single commentary on this piece on the web. This is
not too surprising considering the large number of paintings he
produced over his lifetime (over a 1000).
Commentary on Jan van Goyen's contribution to Dutch painting
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/art42day/art0113.shtml
"...Van Goyen developed a strongly individual manner of treating his
subjects, which emphasized perspective and lighting, suffusing his
landscapes in a melancholy gray-green atmosphere. Van Goyen was a
pioneer in naturalistic landscape painting in 17th-century Holland;
his influence on Dutch painting, exercised principally through his
pupils and their contemporaries, was considerable. As the leading
practitioner of the "tonal" phase of Dutch landscape painting, van
Goyen made the nuances of sky and atmosphere his primary concern..."
Additional commentary on the artist's life at
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pbio?13000
"...During the 1630s, Van Goyen, along with the Haarlem artists Pieter
de Molijn (1595-166) and Salomon van Ruysdael (1600/03-1670) developed
a new approach to the representation of landscape that focused on
local subjects and utilized a tonal palette, initiating what has come
to be recognized as the golden age of Dutch landscape painting. Van
Goyen was a highly respected figure in the artistic community of The
Hague. In 1638 and 1640, he was chosen to be hoofdman of the painters'
guild, and received further official recognition in 1651, when he was
commissioned to paint a panoramic view of the city for the
Burgomaster's room in the Town Hall..." |
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