3.2 - Artwork of Dutch paintings Flashcards
By Frans Hals.
A portraitist , an extrovert and his jovial personality comes across in a number of paintings. His sitters appear to be in a good mood, more at home than in a church.
In the jolly toper, differing from the stiff formality of earlier portraiture, is balancing a wine glass and gesturing broadly; maybe caught in a conversation. Hals broke with the fashion of that time, he painted careful contours, delicate modeling and attention to detail. He painted thick impasto to thin fluid glazes and left brushstrokes visible. The spontaneity of technique matched the liveliness of his subject.
By Judith Leyster.
Dutch painter, most important follower of Frans Hals. Their painting styles are very similair. Leyster depicted animated scenes from daily life, like boy playing a flute, painted in 1630-35. Like Caravaggio , she used limited colors and tenebristic lightning, and the figure occupies a shallow space, close to the picture plane. The casual brushwork and composition create an impression of relaxed ease.
By Rembrandt van Rijn.
He took Caravaggio´s Baroque lightning to new heights. He painted the Night Watch in 1642 when his wife died.
It was one of his most important public commissions, paid for by the Amsterdam civic guard. The original title was ´captain frans banning cocq mustering his company´, but it was called the night watch in the 18th century because it had darkened with age.
the composition moves along diagonals. captain coc and his lieutenant were not in the center, but walking toward it. their next steps would have been placed them in the center, because the viewer expects the focal point to be in the center, rembrandt cleverly implies their movement.
The most remarkable aspect of this painting is the light, which creates atmosphere, unifies the composition, links the figures, highlights expressive features an subordinates unimportant details
By rembrandt van rijn.
He recorded his own life in many self portraits, sixty in oil alone. His self-portrait was painted in 1669, the year of his death.
The textured handling of paint is masterful, the colors are luminous and glowing, but the contours are looser and brushstrokes broader, the surface is not as smooth as his earlier paintings. he is weary and disillusioned. Yet he still remains dignified, in not one portrait he seems bitter, resentful or self-pitying.
By Jan Vermeer.
painted only for local patrons. specialized in domestic scenes that document everyday life. Like rembrandt he was fascinated by light, but a different kind. rembrandt´s light is theatrical, vermeer´s is scientific. his use of light reveals every textural nuance.
In young woman with a water pitcher (1664-65) a single female is depicted performing an ordinary action. light comes from a window on the left. his clear and luminous light pervades the space, unlike rembrandt´s light, which falls in shafts. the subtle gradiations across the back wall and reflections of the table rug in the metal basin are not overlooked. his scene of a woman absorbed in household tasks conveys a mood of serenity and peace.
By Rachel Ruysch.
the interest in careful observation, detailed recording done with scientific attention to detail is seen in the work of rachel ruysch. her fame derives from many still lifes of flowers. her ´roses, convolvulus, poppies and other flowers in an urn on a stone ledge´ is an early work from the 1680s. the scientifically accurate record of a variety of flowering plants includes both familiar and exotic species. her interest in variety includes the decorative shapes, colors and textures.
By Peter Paul Rubens [FLANDERS]
artist from antwerp. Marie de Medici commissioned him to create a cycle of 21 large oil paintings portraying her life. His aim was to glorify the queen. A master of narrative, his solution was to dramatize even the ordinary. In ´marie de medici, queen of france, landing in marseilles´ the queen merely arrived in the city of marseilles, yet fame flies above, and neptune accompanied by mermaids welcome her.
the drama of the composition is characteristic of the baroque style, as the love of movement in an open space. everything becomes active even when its not required by the subject.
Rubens painted in terms of rich, luminous and glowing color and light rather than in terms of line.
By Peter Paul Rubens [FLANDERS]
ca. 1638, here he expresses the pleasure of life, with a robust grnandeur approaching animal exuberance. His main interest in this work is in the voluptuous female figure (rubenesque).
By anthony van dyck [FLANDERS]
assistant of peter paul rubens., became painter to the court of charles I in England and perhaps the greaters portrait painter of the age. His ´portrait of charles I at the hunt´ (1635) captures the king´s self-assurance. He contrasts the king with the anxious groom and the pawning, nervous horse behind him, underscoring charles´s command of all situations.
by Clara Peeters [FLANDERS]
still life painter from antwerp, also represented an aspect of flemish painting. her specialty was the depiction of breakfasts or elaborate banquet tables. her ´table with a tart and a white pitcher´ from 1611, records a complex table setting with complete gourmet meal. her technical ability is seen in different textures and surfaces and handling of reflections. (polished metal plate or glass goblet).
behind the beauty of such still life painting lies deeper symbolic meaning, alluding to the brevity of life.
in vanitas pictures, the obvious symbols are a snuffed-out candle, hour glass of skull. More subtle symbols are flowers that are dying or eaten by insects and fruits that are decaying or peeled, as seen here.
By Diego Velázquez [SPAIN]
Philip IV became king of spain in 1621 and appointe diego velázquez to the position of royal painter. he painted many portraits of the royal family and seems to have made his sitters no prettier or more handsome than they actually were. throughout his career his style became richer, the color lusher and the figures more animated.
His most celebrated painting is the ´maids of honor´, painted in 1656. The painting raises the question : is this a formal portrait or a genre scene? In fact it is both. The scene of this every day life is portrayed on a huge scale.
By Nicolas Poussin [FRANCE]
He represents the classicizing and restrained tendency within the usually dramatic baroque.
favoring academic history painting his ´rape of the sabine women´ shows romulus raising his cloak to signal his men to abduct the sabine women to be their wives. the figures make wild gestures and expressions, yet the action is frozen and the effect unmoving. the style intended to appeal more to the mind than to the eye; appreciation of the painting depends on knowing the story. poussin said the goal of painting was to represent noble subjects to morally improve the viewer. his approach to painting was disciplined, organized and theoretical. he worked in terms of line rather than color, the opposite of Rubens.
