Chapter 25 Northern Europe 1600 - 1700

What years did the 30 year war take place?

1618 - 1648

Versailles

A hunting lodge that Louix XIV decided to convert to a great palace. Under the direction of Charles Le Brun, army of architects, decorators, sculptors, painters and landscape artists the lodge became the greatest architectural project of the age.

What is still life?

A picture depicting an arrangement of inanimate objects.

What is vanitas?

A term describing paintings that include references to death.

Fleur-de-lis

A three-petaled iris flower; the royal flower of France.

Rembrant va Rijn, The company of Frans Banning Coq (Night watch) 1642, Oil on Canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Amplified energy of group. Though called Night Watch, it's not nocturnal scene. The painting's darkness is due to the varnish which darkened over time, more than the treatment of the subject. Two officers, Captain Cocq and Ruytenburch with 16 of their militia portrayed. Shows frenetic activity and showed the loading firing and readying wean for re-firing. This is one of the six paintings commissioned for the banquet room of the Musketeer's Hall. The painting was moved to the town hall and cropped it on all sides.

Who had the highest per capita income in the 17th century?

Amsterdam due to creation of bank in 1608 and acuity on the sea. By 1650 trade routes extended to North America, South America, west coast of Africa, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and much of the Pacific.

Inigo Jones, Banqueting House at Whitehall, London, England 1619-1622

Architect used two orders columns in the center and pilasters near the end. Used a balustraded roofline uninterrupted in its horizontal sweep which predates the Louvre's by 40 years.

Frans Hals, Archers of Saint Hadrian, 1633, Oil on canvas, Frans Halsmuseum, Harrlem.

Art commemorates participation of Dutch burgers in civic organizations. Many sitters versus one. Shows civic militia group liberating D.R. from Spanish. Each man is equally visible. Each has own expression.

Jan Vermeer, Allegory of the Art of Painting, 1670-1675, Oil on Canvas,

Artist appears in painting with back to viewer dressed in historical gear. The model is holding a wreath, trumpet and book, attributes of Clio, the muse of history. Map in back serves as another reference to history. Allegory to the art of painting.

Rembrandt, Christ with the Sick around Him, Receiving the Children, 1649, Etching, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.

Artist used both etching and engraving on this 100 guilder print. Print imbued with humility and humanity of Christ. Christ preaching and blessing the blind, lame and young. Rich young man in elegant garments with head in his hand lamenting that he needs to give his possessions to the poor to get into heaven. Those closer to city on right are in dark, those at left are bathed in light coming from Christ. Another source of unknown light comes from left.

Jan Vermeer, The Letter, 1666, Oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Artist uses mirror and camera obscura to depict opulent 17th century Dutch domestic interiors. Curtain drawn back reinforces outsider gaining glimpse into private scene. One woman wears elegant attire, one drab. Maid delivers love letter with is represented by lute.

Rembrandt, Self-Portrait, 1659 - 1660. Oil on canvas, Kenwood House, London.

Artist's interest is revealing soul evident in this work. Light that shines from upper left creates soft light on face and body in shadow. Brushwork shows a quiet confidence. Non-specific setting contributes to focus. Shown as working artist wearing studio garb. Circles in background may represent artistic talent associated with drawing perfect circle freehand. Reveals artist's connection to his craft.

Francois Girardon, Apollo attended by the Nymphs, Grotto of Thetis, Versailles, France, 1666-1672.

Artist's study of ancient sculpture and Poussin's figure compositions influenced the design of this mythological group in a grotto about a dramatic waterfall in the gardens of Versailles. Group refers to the "sun god" which is what Louis XIV referred to himself as.

What brought prosperity to the Dutch Republic?

Banking and world-wide trade.

Where did Rubens first paint?

Became master in 1598 and departed for Italy in 1601 staying there until 1608.

Anthony Van Dyck, Charles the I Dismounted, 1635, Oil on Canvas, Louvre, Paris.

Charles the I is depicted the absolutist Monarch painted at a sharp angle so that the King, a short man appears to be looking down at the viewer. Thames river is in the background. Stylish image of related authority.

What beverages become popular in 17th Century.

Coffee and Tea.

England

Common law and Parliament kept royal power in check. Religion wasn't as contentious as on the continent. English were Catholic, Protestant, and Puritanical (English version of Calvinism). Like Dutch Republic took advantage of oversea trade due to it's large Navy. Architecture was where art was most prominent.

What were the original roots of the 30 year war?

Conflict between militant Catholics and militant Protestants, but then changed to dynastic, nationalistic, secular concerns.

Jauques Callot

Conveyed military life in etchings. Developed a hard surface for copper plate. Produced panoramas that shoed the details of life and death. In the Miseries of war he detailed scenes he must have seen in Lorraine. Created the first pictorial records of human disaster of armed conflict.

Etching

Copper plate covered wax or varnish, design etched into surface with pointed tool exposing the metal but not cutting into it, them immersed into acid which eats away exposed areas. Rembrandt often reworked his plates to create new prints.

What is Treaty of Westphalia?

Created religious freedom throughout Europe.

Camera obscura

Dark Room, a tiny pinhole, acting as a lens, projects and image on a screen, wall of a room, or the ground-glass wall of a box, used in 17th century to aid in drawing.

Light of Rembrandt

Depiction of real light versus idea of light used in Renaissance. By manipulating the direction, intensity, distance and surface texture he could render subtle nuances of character and mood. The theatre and photography have used these discoveries to great effect. Used psychology of light, reconciling dark and light to create quietness.

Jauques Callot, Hanging Tree, from the Miseries of War series, 1629 - 1633. Etching,

Depicts a mass execution of thieves noted in text below picture. The event takes place in front of an army on parade with banners, muskets and lances, their tents are in the background. Hanged men swing in clusters fro the branches of a cross-shaped tree. A monk climbs the ladder holding a crucifix. Under the tree, men roll dice for the belongings of those to be executed. In the foreground, a hooded priest consoles a bound man.

Peter Paul Ruben, Consequences of War, 1638 - 1639, oil on canvas, Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Depicts the 30 year war. In a letter Rubens explains the painting. Mars opens the temple of Janus which is to remain closed during times of peace. He pays little attention to Venus, his mistress, who with Amors and Cupids, strives to hold him back. Mars is dragged forward Fury Alekto with a torch in her hand. Monsters personifying Pestilence and Famine, the partners of war. On the ground lies a woman with a broken lute, representing harmony. Another woman with a child represents that fecundity, charity and procreation are destroyed by war. A man with architectural tools lies there, too which would have been used to ornament the city had it not been for war. Under the foot of Mars is a book and drawing to imply he treads on them. An unbound group of arrows if bound would represent concord, and the olive branch is cast aside. The woman in black is robbed of her jewels represents Europe who has suffered plunder. Europe is also represented by the Globe held by a cherub, surmounted by the cross.

Claude Perraule, Louis Le Vau, and Charle Le Brun, east facade of the Louvre, Paris, France. 1667 -1670

Design is a synthesis of Frnch and Italian classical elements, including a central pavilion that resembles an ancient temple front with a pediment. Even roofline, balustraded and broken only by the central pediment, over the traditional french pyramidal roof of the Louvre's west wing. Horizontal sweep brushed aside all Gothic verticality. This was an expression of new official French taste and a symbol of centrally organized authority.

Landscape painting of Dutch Art

Dutch had unique relationship to land. After gaining independence from Spain embarked on reclamation project that lasted almost a century. Dikes and drainage systems were undertaken. The marshy land inhibited the feudal land system that operated elsewhere in Europe. Most Dutch worked their own farm.

Art patronage of Dutch Republic

Dutch middle class wanted to announce their success and started collecting paintings, tapestries, and porcelain, but Calvinistic influence led the collections to be of smaller, low key items. Genre paintings were inexpensive. Most art produced for anonymous patron. Artists frequently paid off tavern debts with their paintings. Today's open art market owe their establishment to 17th century middle class in the Dutch Republic.

Christopher Wren

England's most renowned architect. Mathematical genius and engineer. Became a professor of astronomy at 25. Mathematics led to architecture and Charles II asked him for a plan for restoring the old Gothic church of St. Paul. When church burnt down in 1666, he had he opportunity. He was influenced by Jones but also traveled to France and studied Baroque architecture in Italy.

Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Royal Chapel with ceiling decorations by Antoine Coypel, palace of Louis XIV, Versailles, France, 1698 - 1710.

Essentially rectangular because its apse is as high as the nave. The central space takes on a curved Baroque quality although light coming in through clerestory windows isn't as dramatic. Pier supported arcades carry a row of corinthian columns that define the royal gallery. Royal pew is in the rear, accessible from the King's quarters. Only the illusionistic ceiling paintings added in 108 by Coypel suggest Italian Baroque Art. Physics of Sir Isaac Newton and mathematical philosophy of Descartes utilized in mastery of human intelligence over disorderliness of nature.

France

Europe's largest and most powerful country in the 17th century.

Claude Lorrain, Landscape with Cattle and Peasants, 1629

Figures in right foreground chat in animated fashion. In the right foreground cattle relax. Atmospheric and linear perspective to transform rustic countryside into idealized classical landscape.

The Louvre

First architectural project Louis and Colbert undertook. They closed the east side of Louvre's Cour Carre that was left incomplete by Pierre Lescot. King asked Bernini to submit plan but he wanted to demolish what was there and build a monumental Italian palace. Louis then asked Perrault, Vau, and le brun for a design.

Was the art in Flanders like Northern Europe or Baroque Art of Italy?

Flanders was still under control of Spain and Catholic, so the art was more closely tied to Baroque of Italy.

Rachel Ruysch, Flower Still Life, after 1700, Oil on Canvas,

Flowers are typical in a vanitas painting, but flower painting also became a genre. This arrangement is so full the blossoms seem to be spilling out of vase. She positions flowers to create a diagonal which offsets the opposing diagonal of the table edge.

Louis Le Nain

French artist that really compares to Dutch, but treated subjects to somber stillness. Painted peasants as dignified and subservient despite their living conditions, so may have been painting for wealthy patrons.

Frans Hals, The Women Regiments of the Old Men's Home at Haarlem, 1664, Oil on Canvas,

Group portrait of Calvinist women doing charity work. Educated women were regents of orphanages, hospitals, old-age homes, and houses of correction. A stern, puritanical atmosphere prevails. Painted with a monochromatic palette.

What made Ruben so influential?

He had an aristocratic education, courtier's manner, diplomacy, tact, facility for language. Court painter to dukes of Mantua, friend and art advisor of Philip IV of Spain, painter to Charles I of England, and Marie de' Medici of France, and permanent court painter to Spanish governors of Flanders. Became art dealer

What are the features of Rubin's art?

He painted robust, moving and foreshortened features in swirling motion.

Claude Lorrain

He used a softer style than rational style of Poussin. His figures don't tell a dramatic story. His figures seem to be mere excuses for the landscape itself. Main theme - the beauty of a broad sky with light glowing through a hazy atmosphere.

Jan Steed

His work provided a counterpoint to Vermeer's charm and beauty. He frequently used children's activities to comment n foolish adult behavior.

When did the Dutch Republic reach independence from Spain?

In 1648 with the treaty of Westphalia.

When did the Dutch Republic receive official recognition?

In 1648, many border skirmishes until then.

What is economic situation in Europe during the 17th Century?

Increased competition, voyaging, geographic exploration, improved cartography, and advances in ship building along with birth of banking system. Triangular trade allowed for larger pool of goods. Exposure to number of goods affected European diets and lifestyles. With the growth of disposable income, number of patrons grew for art.

Gerrit Van Honthorst, Supper Party, 1620, Oil on Canvas, Galleria deli Uffuzi, Florence.

Informal gathering of non-idealized humans. Artist interested in nocturnal lighting, and placed hidden light source in his paintings. This scene can be read as warning against the sins of gluttony and lust or perhaps the companions of the Prodigal sons.

Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Late Ming Ginger Jar, 1669 Oil on Canvas

Items painted reveal wealth of Dutch and the painter's skill. This showed the breadth of maritime trade with the Indian floral carpet and Chinese jar used to store ginger (luxury item) and venetian and dutch glassware and silver dish. Painting also included a watch and peeled lemon, which suggests it's a vanitas painting.

Who was the foremost Dutch painter of interior scenes?

Jan Vermeer who made living through innkeeping and art dealing. He used mostly women idealizing social values of Dutch burghers. His quality of color are so true that they suggest Vermeer was ahead of his time in color science. He realized that shadows contain color. He painted reflections of of surfaces and used "circles of confusion" (out of focus) which if a viewer steps back becomes clear.

Georges De La Tour

Known for his religious imagery. His use of light suggests familiarity with Caravaggio. Created supernatural calm in his paintings by eliminating methane and emotive gesture. Uses stylistic traits of classical composure and renaissance trait of fervent spirituality and genre realism.

Nicolas Poussin, Burial of Phocion, 1648, Oil on Canvas, Louvre, Paris

Landscape is idealized setting for noble theme. This is based on Phocion an Athenian general who was unjustly put to death for treason. The beers are isolated in the landscape expressing the hero being abandoned at death. The light is even. The terraces are carefully arranged. Nature is subordinated to the rational plan.

What is Memento mori?

Latin, reminder of death, In painting a reminder of human mortality, usually represented by a skull.

Poussin

Leading proponent of classicism in 17 th Century Rome versus Baroque of his contemporaries. He left notes stating that these things were necessary for a grand painting: Subject matter, thought, structure, and style. Preparation should include:arrangement(relative position of parts), measure(size) and aspect or form (lines and colors).

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701, Oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris

Looks directly out at viewer, with elegant ermine flour di lis coronation robes creating air of hastiness. pulls back robe to display his legs as he was a ballet dancer when he was young. Placed so that he looks down on viewer.When the King was not present, this picture hung in it's place. No one was allowed to run their backs on the painting.

Who maintained workshop of artists, each with a specialization, faces, fabrics, architecture, landscapes, armor or fur. Which sometimes his paintings were a collaboration of his various artists.

Louis XIV

Georges De La Tour, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1645 -1650, Oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris

Makes use of the night setting, the light source is hidden by the man's hand. Without the title this could be a genre piece. Nothing in the environment establishes them as scriptural Virgin Mary, Joseph, Christ Child or Shepherds. Light illuminates group in trance due to the miracle they are witnessing. No emotion, only the light is dramatic. Suppresses surface detail, and simplifies body volume

Peter Paul Ruben, Arrival of Marie de Medici at Marseilles, 1622 - 1625, oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris

Marie disembarks in France after her trip from Italy. An allegorical personification of France draped in fabric with the fleur-de-lis(symbol of French royalty) greets her. The sea and the sky rejoice at her safe arrival. Neptune and Nereids salute her, and Fame hovers overhead. The commander stands underneath the Medici coat of arms, the only immobile figure in the composition.

Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Eglise du Dome, Church Invalides, Paris France, 1676 - 1706

Marriage of Italian Baroque and French Classical styles. Two firmly separated levels. Compact facade is low and narrow in relation to the vast drum and dome, seeming to serve simply as a base for them. Dome conspicuous on the parisian skyline is expression of Baroque drama. Dom is three shells, the last is cut-off so a visitor looks up through it to the one above. Charles do La Fosse painted the interior of the second dome in 1705 with representation of heavens opening up to receive St. Louis, patron of France.

Ruben's art reflects the influence of what artists?

Michelangelo, Titian, Carracci, and Caravaggio.

Jones

Most notable architect in England. He spent considerable time in Italy. Admired Classical authority and restraint of Palladio's structures.

Louis Le Nain, Family of Country People, 1640, Oil on canvas. Louvre, Paris

Paining reflects French Social Theorists that celebrated peasants. He paints drab country folks who have little reason for merriment.

Nicolas Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego, 1655, Oil on Canvas, Lourve, Paris

Painting draws on rational order and stability of Raphael's paintings. and on antique statuaries. Landscape provides the setting. In the foreground are three shepherds living in idyllic Arcadia. They study the inscription on a tomb as woman places hand on shoulder. She may be the spirit of death reminding them that even in Arcadia there is death. The female statues of Italy supplied the models and the posture of the youth with his foot on the boulder are from Greco-Roman statues of Neptune. Balanced figures,even light and reserved mood complement classical figures.

Christopher Wren, St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England, 1675 - 1710.

Palladian, French and Baroque features incorporated into design. Two foreground towers act as foils to the great dome. Influence of Borromini appears in the upper levels and lanterns of the towers and Palladio in the lower levels. Superposed paired columnar porticos are like Louvre's facade.

Camera Obscura

Passing light though a pinhole to project an image on a screen or wall of a room.

Which Flanders artist was not only an artist but a confidant of Kings and Queens?

Peter Paul Rubens.

Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait, 1630, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.

Picture is accurate and imbued with a spontaneity found in Hals work. Artist depicts herself as an artist and that she is the artist of the picture in the painting. Her self-assurance is reflected in her smile and relaxed pose. Her elegant attire shows she is a member of a wealthy family.

What types of art were popular in the Dutch Republic

Portraits, genre scenes, landscapes and still lifes.

What was the religion of the Dutch Republic and how did that affect the art.

Predominantly Protestant. Calvinism demanded puritanical rejection of art in churches, so very little religious art was produced.

Louis XIV

Preeminent French Art Patron. Master of political strategy and propaganda. Granted nobility enough benefits to keep the pacified, but under control so as to avoid an insurrection. Anchored rule in divine right(King's power is God's will). Adopted the title of "Sun King". He strove to organize art and architecture in the service of the state. Understood the power of art for propaganda. He and Colbert sought to standardize classical style in the French manner and founded the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648.

What is the religion of the Dutch Republic

Protestant

Dutch still life painting

Reflected pride in their accomplishments, their belongings.

Pieter Claesz, Vanitas Still Life, 1630s,

Reflects pride in material possessions but is tempered with Calvinistic morality through the incorporation of references to death, the skull, the timepiece, the tipped glass and the cracked walnut. Indicate something or someone is gone. Emphasized time by putting self-portait in globe. Immortalizes the artist.

What is one aspect of the significance of still and genre art?

Religious art was against the Calvinistic values.

Hendrick ter Brugghen, Calling of Saint Matthew, 1621, Oil on canvas, The Hague.

Same topic as Caravaggio, painted after artist returned from Italy. Homage to Caravaggio with naturalistic presentation of figures, but didn't use contrast of dark and light, used colorful palette of soft tints. Characters are compressed into a small space that creates a more intimate effect.

Jan Steen, Feast of Saint Nicholas, 1660-1665, Oil on Canvas, Rjksmuseum, Amsterdam

Scene of chaos, children in uproar as they search for their shoes for Christmas gifts, unwilling to share and disappointed. An allusion to selfishness, pettiness and jealousy.

Anthony Van Dyck

Studied under Ruben, left Antwerp so not overshadowed by Van Dyck and went to Genoa and then London and was court portraitist to Charles I. He specialized in portraits.

Rembrandt va Rijn, Anatomy lesson of Dr. Tulp, Oil on canvas, Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Subjects are clustered versus versus spread on canvas like Hals. The surgeon's guild on left side, in the foreground is the corpse that Dr. Tulp is dissecting. Corpse placed diagonally and foreshortened. Each subject has distinct treatment, one looks out at viewer.

What goods became popular during 17th Century that were based on slave labor.

Sugar, tobacco, and rice.

What happened due to Philip II repressive measures against the protestants?

The Northern colonies broke away from Spain to set up the Dutch Republic. Modern Holland and Belgium reflect this original separation.

Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Charles Brun, Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), palace of Louix XIV,

The hall looks over Versailles park from the second floor. Hundreds of mirrors providing illusion that the room is wider. Once reflected gilded and jeweled furnishings. Mirror was a favorite element in Baroque interior design.

Jacob Van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem fro the Dunes at Overveen, 1670, Oil on canvas, Mauritshuis, Hague

The specificity of the image, the church, the the windmills refer to the land reclamation and the figures in the foreground shows pride in activities of fellow citizens. The horizon is low in this painting. Shows a quiet serenity that is almost spiritual.

Aerial view of the palace and gardens of Versailles, France 1669

This became a satellite city whose three radial avenues intersect in the king's bedroom. It was to house all officials, military, guards, courtiers,and servants. Probably to keep them all under the King's control. The town is laid to the east of the palace.

Versailles Park

This helps palace from not feeling unbearably ostentatious. It was designed by Andre Le Notre and ranks among world's greatest artworks. Designer used vistas for maximum effect. Only true way to appreciate gardens is to walk through it.

What is Flanders?

This is the southern Spanish Netherlands. Catholic Baroque Art remained popular.

Clara Peters, Still Life with Flowers, Goblet, Dried Fruit, and Pretzels, Oil on panel, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

This painting reflects a variety of objects convincingly and was a precursory to many Flemish paintings of still life.

Aspects of portraiture of Dutch Artists

Typically relied on specific poses, settings, attire, accoutrements to convert the since of the sitter. More difficult for Dutch because patrons wore dark clothing with little ornamentation which drove Hals to produce lively portraits with spontaneity and seem to be instantaneously created.

Albert Cuyp, Distant View of Dordrecht, with a Milkmaid and Four Cows and Other Figures, late 1640s, Oil on Canvas

Unlike idealized Italian Renaissance landscapes, this is a real locale. The items in the work refer to the Dutch Republic's diary industry.

Rembrandt, Return of the Prodigal Son, 1665, Oil on canvas, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.

Use of light and shade into finer nuances. Technique is closer to actual appearances. Spiritual stillness shows inward contemplation.

What was political situation in Dutch Republic?

With the absence of an absolute ruler, power passed into hands of urban merchants and manufacturers, especially Amsterdam, Haarlem, and Delft. All of these were located in Holland, the largest of the United Provinces.

Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross, St. Walburga, Antwerp, 1610, oil on wood.

Work shows straining forces and counter-forces, shows foreshortened anatomy and the contortions of violent action like those of Michelangelo. Strong modeling in light and dark heightens the drama.