Baroque - Dutch

Question 1

Dutch Baroque painting - background and characteristic

Answer 1

1. seven northern provinces got independence and founded the Dutch Republic in 1648
2. Protestant culture - relatively little religious art
3. affluent economy built on banking and seatrade with Africa, Asia and Pacific
4. birth of an open art market - private commissions from prosperous middle class favored portraits, genre scenes, landscape and still life
5. retained elements of flemish paintings but also surpassed it -> dutch golden age
6. centers - Utrecht, Haarlem, Amsterdam, Delft

Question 2

Utrecht Caravaggism

Answer 2

1. adopted Caravaggio’s realism and tenebrism
2. people from daily life used in religious and genre scenes
3. dramatic lighting, strong chiaroscuro in composition

Question 3

Hendrick Ter Brugghen

Answer 3

1. Dutch Baroque painters - The Utrecht School

Question 4

Hendrick Ter Brugghen - Calling of St. Matthew

Answer 4

1. caravaggesque theme reinerpreted

Question 5

Gerrit van Honothorst - Supper Party

Answer 5

1. Specialized in night scenes of light-hearted gatherings
   — mundane tavern setting, nocturnal light - candles as light sources
2. might have moral lesson

Question 6

2. Gerrit (Gerard) van Honthorst

Answer 6

1.both came across Caravaggio’s works at first hand when staying in Italy
2. Dutch

Question 6

2. Gerrit (Gerard) van Honthorst

Answer 6

1.both came across Caravaggio’s works at first hand when staying in Italy
2. Dutch

Question 7

2. Gerrit (Gerard) van Honthorst

Answer 7

1.both came across Caravaggio’s works at first hand when staying in Italy
2. Dutch Baroque painters - The Utrecht School

Question 8

Frans Hals

Answer 8

1. mainly active in Haarlem
2. worked on all kinds of portraiture and merged group portraits with history painting

Question 9

Rembrandt van Rijn

Answer 9

1. excelled in portraiture, dealt also with biblical and literary subjects
2. tried to reform portraiture but was not accepted

Question 10

Frans Hals - Archers of Saint Hadrian

Answer 10

1. tried to represent each individual in group portrait; retained action and variety in dynamic composition
   — one of the civic militia groups - fought for the independence of the country

Question 11

Frans Hals - The Laughing Cavalier

Answer 11

1. influenced by Antwerp school - rosy flesh colour
2. meticulous details of costume

Question 12

Frans Hals - Malle Babbe

Answer 12

1. portrait of a drunkard with devilish vivacity
2. proverb: drunk as an owl
3. in free-flowing and broad brushstrokes

Question 13

Rembrandt van Rijn - Anatomy lesson of Dr. Tulp

Answer 13

1. dynamic group portrait done in meticulous style of his early years

Question 14

Rembrandt van Rijn - night watch

Answer 14

1. Amsterdam civic militia is about to depart for a festive parade for the visit of Maria de’ Medici
2. layering of light and shadow in composition
3. trimmed on four sides in 18th century
4. captain frans banning cocq is inviting Lieutenant willem van Rutyemburg to line up the company for the parade

Question 15

Rembrandt van Rijn - return of the Prodigal Son

Answer 15

1. Spiritual stillness evokes inward-turning contemplation
2. profound sympathy for human affliction towards the end of the painter’s life
3. used a more subdued palette in his old age
4. thick paint, impressionistic brushstrokes

Question 16

Rembrandt van Rijn

Answer 16

1. produced nearly 80 self- portraits
2. experimented with drama of lighting in his early work

Question 17

Rembrandt van Rijn - Self-portrait at age 34

Answer 17

1. painted during prime time of his career
2. presents himself as Renaissance gentleman - compared himself with Durer, Titan and Raphael

Question 19

Rembrandt van Rijn - self-portrait with two circles

Answer 19

1.lifelong pursuit - reviews human soul through expressive face
2. “rembrandt lighting”
3. confident and self-assurance of a painter despite his broken financial situation

Question 20

Jan Vermeer

Answer 20

1. dutch interior painting
2. based in delft, innkeeper and art dealer
3. created only 36 paintings - small scale, slow execution
4. typical exquisite, domestic interior scenes of ordinary life with allegorical meanings
5. friend of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, inventor of microscope

Question 21

Jan Steen

Answer 21

1. dutch interior painting
2. active in Leiden and Haarlem
3. lively indoor scenes with satirical meanings

Question 22

Jan Vermeer - Girl with a Pearl earring

Answer 22

1. Vermeer’s work are often compared to photographs

Question 23

Jan Vermeer - the Milkmaid

Answer 23

1.mature work: restricted palette, colour in logical sequence
2. complete silence and stillness gives the figure a sense of dignity
3. balanced geometric composition lends the figure monumentality

Question 24

Jan Vermeer- Young woman with a water Jug

Answer 24

1. typical flemish domestic interior with a window 2. complex composition in contrasts of figures and of horizontals and verticals 3. map of holland -> pride for new country

Question 25

Jan vermeer - The love letter

Answer 25

1.dark foreground, looking into a room with a hidden light sources 2. use of mirrors, camera obscura and other optical aids

Question 26

Jan Steen - Feast of Saint Nicholas

Answer 26

1. Saint Nicholas just brought christmas presents to the family 2.chaotic household 3. alludes to selfishness, pettiness and jealousy

Question 27

Jacob van Ruisdael

Answer 27

1. dutch landscapes and seascapes 2. active in Haarlem, then Amsterdam 3. specialized in landscapes, though also produced seascapes and town scenes 4. typical composition with low horizon

Question 28

Jacob van Ruisdael - view of haarlem with bleaching grounds

Answer 28

1. low horizon - sky fills 2/3 of the painting -> "sky-scape" 2. landscape imbued with a quite serenity and spirituality 3.saint bavo church and windmills stand in background

Question 29

Jacob van Ruisdael - vessels in a fresh breeze

Answer 29

1. captured the ever-changing character of nature with realistic skies and subtle light

Question 30

pieter claesz

Answer 30

1. dutch still life painting 2. active in haarlem 3. life-long pursuit - accuracy of reflected light

Question 31

willem kalf

Answer 31

1. dutch still life painting 2. active in rotterdam and amsterdam 3. renowned for "ostentatious style" for still life - included lavish luxury in the paintings

Question 32

PieterClaesz - Vanitas still life with violin and glass ball

Answer 32

1. memento mori refer to worldly accomplishments 2. all is vanity - fleeting existence of human beings 3. self portrait of painter reflected in the glass ball

Question 33

willem kalf - still life with a late ming ginger jar

Answer 33

1. material affluence in Holland - prosperous maritime trade brings opulent objects - indian carpet and chinese jar - to the country 2. combined in a vanitas painting - includes a watch, a peach and a peeled lemon