The Standard Galleries - Holland Part 11

=Van der Helst, a Great Portrait-painter.=--Bartholomew van der Helst (1613-70) was considered the greatest portrait-painter of his time, and received more money for his portraits than any other Dutch painter; yet, notwithstanding his industry and the money that he received, he died poor. He is thought to have been a pupil of Nicholas Eliasz Pickenoy at Amsterdam, where he fell under the influence of Rembrandt.

=Description of The Civic Guard Banquet.=--Bartholomew van der Helst's great work, The Schuttersmaaltijd (Civic Guard Banquet), held June 18, 1648, in the upper hall of the Cross-bow, or St. George Company House, at the Singel, in celebration of the Peace of Munster, always fascinates.

The twenty-five figures are all portraits. At the head of the table Captain Wits is seated in a chair of black oak with a velvet cushion. He is dressed in black velvet, his breast covered with a cuira.s.s, and on his head is a broad-brimmed black hat with white plumes. His left hand, supported on his knee, holds a magnificent silver drinking-horn ornamented with a St. George and the Dragon,--which valuable piece of silver, by the way, is on permanent exhibition with other beakers and drinking-horns of the old guilds in the Rijks. The good-humored Captain is cordially grasping the hand of Lieutenant Van Waveren, who wears a handsome pearl-gray doublet richly brocaded with gold, and lace collar and cuffs. His feet are crossed, and he wears boots of yellow leather with large tops and gold spurs. His hat is black, with dark brown plumes. Behind him, in the centre of the picture, is the standard-bearer, Jacob Banning, in easy, martial att.i.tude, hat in hand, his right hand on his chair, his right leg on his left knee. He holds the flag of blue silk, on which the Virgin is embroidered. The banner covers his shoulder, and he looks out toward the spectator frankly and complacently. The man behind him is probably a sergeant. He wears a cuira.s.s, yellow gloves, gray stockings, and boots with large tops and kneecaps of cloth. On his knee is a napkin, and in his hands a piece of ham, a slice of bread, and a knife. The old man behind him is thought to be William the Drummer. In one hand he holds his hat, and in the other a gold-footed winegla.s.s filled with the most marvellously painted white wine. He wears a black satin doublet slashed with yellow silk, and a red sash. Behind him are two matchlock men seated at the end of a table.

One, with a napkin on his knee, is eating with his knife; the other holds a long gla.s.s of white wine, also a marvel of the painter's skill.

Four musketeers, with differently shaped hats, stand behind; one holds a gla.s.s, the others have their guns on their shoulders. Between the standard-bearer and the Captain several guests are placed: one is carving a fowl; another, with his hat off and hand uplifted, is talking to his neighbor; a third is filling a cup from a silver flagon; and a fourth holds a silver plate. Behind the Captain are two other figures, one of whom is peeling an orange. Two others with halberts are standing, and one holds a plumed hat. Between Banning and the Captain there are three others, one of whom holds a pewter pot, engraved with the name Poc.o.c.k, the landlord of the Hotel Doele. At the back a maidservant is bringing in a pasty on which rests a turkey. The _facades_ of two houses are seen through the panes of the window in the background. In the left-hand corner stands a very handsome wine-cooler.

=Reynolds's Opinion of this Picture.=--"The best picture in this house is painted by Van der Helst. It represents a company of trained bands, about thirty figures, whole-length, among which the Spanish Amba.s.sador is introduced shaking hands with one of the princ.i.p.al figures. This is perhaps the first picture of portraits in the world, comprehending more of those qualities which make a perfect portrait than any other I have ever seen: they are correctly drawn, both head and figures, and well colored; and have great variety of action, characters, and countenances, and those so lively and truly expressing what they are about, that the spectator has nothing to wish for. Of this picture I had before heard great commendations; but it far exceeded my expectations." ...

=A Portrait Group by Rembrandt, and another by Van der Helst.=--"A Frieze over one of the doors in chiaroscuro by De Witt, is not only one of the best deceptions I have seen, but the boys are well drawn; the ceiling and side of the room are likewise by him, but a poor performance. The academy of painting is a part of this immense building: in it are two admirable pictures, composed entirely of portraits,--one by Rembrandt, and the other by Bartholomew van der Helst. That of Rembrandt contains six men dressed in black; one of them, who has a book before him, appears to have been reading a lecture; the top of the table not seen. The heads are finely painted, but not superior to those of his neighbor. The subject of Van der Helst is the Society of Archers bestowing a premium: they appear to be investing some person with an order. The date on this is 1657; on the Rembrandt 1661."

=Van der Helst's Masterpiece.=--Captain Roelof Bicker's Company, painted in 1639, has been termed Van der Helst's masterpiece. It is the largest picture of its cla.s.s in the gallery and contains thirty-two figures.

Captain Bicker and Lieutenant Jan Blaeu have brought their men from their headquarters, and are welcoming a new ensign before the Brewery de Haen (the c.o.c.k) on the corner of the Lastaadje (Geldersche Kade and Bloomsloot), in 1639. The picture is remarkable for its wonderful display of color and the vitality that every figure possesses.

[Ill.u.s.tration: B. VAN DER HELST Company of Captain R. Bicker]

=Regent, Doelen, and Corporation Pictures.=--In every gallery in Holland the traveller will come across the life-size groups known as "Regent,"

"Doelen," and "Corporation" pictures. These are always portraits of members of shooting, charitable, and medical civic societies and guilds of merchants, and were painted at the order of these various companies to hang in their guild halls, shooting galleries (_doelen_), and hospitals. Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Bartholomew van der Helst brought these pictures to their highest expression and made of them artistic compositions. Hals's great works of this cla.s.s are in Haarlem; but the Rijks owns, as we have seen, the celebrated Night Watch and The Syndics, and B. Van der Helst's masterpieces, Schuttersmaaltijd and Company of Captain Roelof Bicker.

=Similar Pictures by Govert Flinck.=--Next in importance are the works of Govert Flinck (1615-60), a pupil and close imitator of Rembrandt, who devoted his energies to portraits and historical and religious subjects.

Three "Corporation" or "Doelen" pictures by his hand hang in this gallery; also Isaac Blessing Jacob, dated 1638; and three portraits, including one of J. van den Vondel, who thought so highly of Flinck that he compared him to the Greek Apelles.

=His Greatest Work.=--His most important "Corporation" picture depicts the same scene as Van der Helst's. This, called Arquebusiers of Amsterdam at a Banquet Celebrating the Signing of the Peace of Munster in 1648, is considered this artist's greatest work; it is particularly interesting from the fact that it contains a portrait of the painter himself standing in the doorway. This picture is in two groups: on the left, nine men are coming from the St. Jorisdoele, led by Captain Jan Huidecoper van Maa.r.s.eveen, dressed in black velvet, with a blue sash; and the other group, consisting of eleven figures, is led by Lieutenant Frans van Waveren, also dressed in black velvet with a blue sash, who is congratulating the Captain.

The two other "Regent" pictures are: Four Chief Masters of the Arquebusiers' Shooting Company and The Company of Captain Bas and Lieutenant Conyn.

=Bol's Pictures of this Cla.s.s.=--Burger, however, when looking at Ferdinand Bol's pictures of this cla.s.s in the Rijks, especially The Regents of the Leprozenhuis in Amsterdam, and its companion The Lady Patronesses of the Leprozenhuis, placed the artist second to none but Rembrandt, and even the superior of B. van der Helst.

=Description of the First of These.=--The first picture (8 by 6 feet) represents the Regents of the establishment, among whom are the Burgomaster Hofdt and the Receiver of Amsterdam, Pieter van Uitenbogaard, Rembrandt's friend. All are dressed in black, with large hats, and are seated around a table covered with a Persian carpet. The _custos_ is bringing before them a little bare-headed leper. The figures are life-size, and "have the distinction of Van Dijck's personages,"

writes Burger, "and the solidity and depth of Rembrandt's."

=Dujardin's Regents of the House of Correction.=--Karel Dujardin's Regents of the House of Correction in Amsterdam, painted in 1669, is another remarkable work and very unusual in style for this artist. The canvas is no less than 12 feet 8 inches by 7 feet 8 inches, and represents the five Regents. Of natural size, these are grouped around a table with a violet velvet cover. (Violet, it may be noted, was Karel Dujardin's favorite color.) One of the Regents, his body turned to the left and his head three-quarters, is seated in front, with his right hand on the table; he holds a paper with a coat-of-arms dated February, 1669, and signed "Medelman"; his left hand rests on his hip. Another holds out his hand to a servant, who is bringing him a paper. One only is standing. All are dressed in black, with large black hats and white neckbands. Some white marble columns in the style of G. de Lairesse are seen in the background, where a servant with her hands crossed over her waist is entering the open door and turning her head to listen to a young man. Heads, hands, faces, and costumes are all remarkably depicted.

=Other Pictures of the Same Cla.s.s.=--Before dismissing the Corporation pictures we may mention J. van Sandrart's Captain van Swieten's Company Preparing to Escort Queen Dowager Marie de Medici, painted in 1638, and considered the artist's chief work; P. Moreelse's Amsterdam Arquebusiers; N. Elias's Banquet of Captain J. Backer's Company; B. van der Helst's Presidents of the Voetboog-doelen and Presidents of the Handboog-doelen.

One of the earliest pictures of this cla.s.s is Cornelis Teunissen's Banquet of the Civic Guards of the Cross-bow Company, painted in Amsterdam in 1533. Another by the same artist, Guards of the Cloveniers-doelen, was painted in 1557. A still earlier one, Dirck Jacobsz's Civic Guards of the Cloveniers-doelen, was painted in 1529.

This artist is also represented by Civic Guards of the Arquebusiers, which hangs near Dirck Barentsz's Civic Guards and Civic Guards of the Cross-bow Company. A number of Regent pictures also hang in the Hall of Anatomy Pictures, including Lessons in Anatomy, by Thomas de Keijser, Nicolaes Elias, Dr. J. Deyment, and Rembrandt (the latter a fragment).

It is unlikely, however, that the visitor will care to linger in this lugubrious hall.

=The Portrait Hall.=--We now pa.s.s into the Portrait Hall, which contains two portrait collections, consisting of portraits bequeathed by the Bicker family of Amsterdam, and twenty-six pictures purchased in 1895 from the descendants of the great Admiral de Ruyter. Here we again find a number of Corporation and Regent pictures, chief among which is Rembrandt's Syndics of the Guild of Clothmakers, which has been described.

=Abundance of Dutch Landscapes in the Rijks.=--The Rijks is rich in landscapes of every period of Dutch art. Ruisdael is particularly well represented. His pictures are The Torrent, Chateau de Bentheim, Winter, The Forest, View of Haarlem, Landscape, Wooded Landscape, Landscape in Norway, and View of the Rhine near Wijk bij Duurstede.

=Description of Ruisdael's View of the Rhine near Duurstede.=--Burger thought that the picture of the banks of the Rhine taken from Wijk near Duurstede deserved to be placed by the side of the superb Tempest in the Louvre; for it has "the same original grandeur of execution and the same depth of sentiment." This is almost a marine. The water occupies almost all the left foreground, where you note a sail-boat. A large boat, the masts of which you see only, has taken refuge in the little bay in the centre. On the right, upon a tongue of land that juts out and is bordered by piles, stands a windmill; behind this is a house, and on the horizon a steeple. A little to the left of the mill and far distant is a castle with turrets. On the road that leads to the mill come three peasant women in white ap.r.o.ns. One wears a white head-dress; the two others have yellow ones. You can also distinguish some other tiny figures by the little bay where the boat lies. The incomparable sky is gray, and the clouds are of the same hue.

=Burger on the Same Picture.=--"Earth, water, sky, all are so beautifully combined in a harmony so strong and dominating, so simple and magnificent, that you are impressed with that strange--almost terrible--effect produced, and you can't tell why. Indeed, there is only a large mill with a round, tower-like base in the ordinary fashion of the country, and three women who are returning to the village. There is nothing to excite the imagination. Yet, notwithstanding, you are filled with an irresistible melancholy. The character and nature of the people are so strongly marked that you are taken out of yourself and transported by the force of the artist's heart and creation."

Another picture represents a mill with its wheel in the water; and on the right some wood-cutters at work. This is a strong picture, but a little sombre.

=Burger on The Cascade.=--"The Cascade [6 feet long by 4 feet high]

seems to have been composed with various elements of Nature herself.

The water bounds and foams in the foreground and over the entire canvas. Above this great torrent on the right are tall trees, beneath which are four little figures; and on the left, a clump of shrubs, in the shadows of which a flock of sheep is pa.s.sing by the brook. In the background, behind the meadows, a belfry is seen on the horizon. It is very rich, very vigorous, very beautiful."

=Influence of Everdingen.=--The Norwegian Landscape (about five feet long) is also a large picture. Here the cascade tumbles over little rocks, and on the right are rocks, trees, a house, and one tall, isolated tree. This is cleverly painted, but the composition is not happy. The true accents of nature are lacking; for it is certain that Ruisdael never was in Norway, and that he devoted himself to cascades and rocks on account of his intimacy with Van Everdingen, whose bold landscapes, so different from Holland, surprised and delighted the Dutch. Everdingen had suffered shipwreck in Norway, and had been greatly taken with its bold, savage scenery. His favorite subject was a waterfall in a glen with sombre fringes of pines mingled with birch, and log huts at the base of rocks and craggy slopes. The prevalence of falling water in his pictures, when others could paint only the monotonous Dutch lowlands, gained for him the name "Inventor of Cascades."

Salomon Ruisdael (?-1670) has two fine landscapes, The Halt, dated 1660, and The Village Inn, dated 1655.

=Description of Hobbema's Water Mill.=--Hobbema is represented by two Water Mills and a Landscape. The picture in the Van der Hoop Collection shows a wooden mill with red-tiled roof in the centre of the picture; and behind it a background of tall trees. Hollowed-out-tree-trunks supported by boards carry the water to the mill wheel, over which it falls. The foreground is occupied with water in which ducks are swimming. In the shadows of the door of the house, a tiny figure of a man appears; and a small figure of a woman in bright red bodice, upon which the sunlight falls, is busy washing clothes in a copper. On the right, an old peasant in brown is holding by the hand a little boy who wears a red cap. The Landscape is diversified with trees and thickets.

The sky is full of clouds, between which the rays of sunlight issue to gild the verdure. Delicate tones of olive and gray distinguish this beautiful picture.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOBBEMA The Water Mill]

=Description of Hobbema's Landscape.=--In the Landscape, which by some is thought superior to the Water Mill, a house and barn are seen on the right; two small figures are in front of the house, a man in black, standing, and a woman in red, bending over; and there are a group of trees, a large elm, and a hedge. All this is beautifully reflected in a sheet of water in the foreground,--a reflection that seems to tremble.

This picture is only one foot five inches long by one foot high.

=Hobbema and his most Frequent Scenes.=--Meyndert Hobbema (1638-1709), supposed to have been a pupil of Jacob Ruisdael, or of Jacob's brother Salomon, was long neglected, and died in penury. He is now regarded second to none but Ruisdael and his works are worth their weight in gold. His most frequent scenes are villages surrounded by trees, such as are frequently met with in Guelderland, with winding pathways leading from house to house. A water mill occasionally forms a prominent feature,--so prominent, indeed, as to give its name to the picture.

Again, he paints a slightly uneven country diversified by trees in groups or rows, wheat fields, meadows, and small pools; occasionally a view of a town with gates, or ca.n.a.ls with sluices and quays; and more rarely the ruins of an old castle or a stately residence in the far distance.

=Hobbema, a Master of the Still Life of Woods and Waters.=--"It is doubtful whether any one ever mastered so completely as he did the still life of woods and hedges, or mills and pools. Nor can we believe that he obtained this mastery otherwise than by constantly dwelling in the same neighborhood, say in Guelders or on the Dutch Westphalian border, where day after day he might study the branching and foliage of trees and underwood embowering cottages and mills, under every variety of light, in every shade of transparency, in all changes produced by the season. Though his landscapes are severely and moderately toned, generally in an olive key, and often attuned to a puritanical gray or russet, they surprise us, not only by the variety of their leaf.a.ge, but by the finish of their detail as well as the boldness of their touch. With astonishing subtlety light is shown penetrating cloud, and illuminating--sometimes transiently, sometimes steadily--different portions of the ground, shining through leaves upon other leaves, and multiplying in an endless way the transparency of the picture. If the chance be given him he mirrors all these things in the still pool near a cottage, the reaches of a sluggish river, or the swirl of a stream that feeds a busy mill. The same spot will furnish him with several pictures. One mill gives him repeated opportunity of charming our eye. And this wonderful artist, who is only second to Ruisdael because he had not Ruisdael's versatility and did not extend his study equally to downs and rocky eminences or torrents and estuaries,--this is the man who lived penuriously, died poor, and left no trace in the artistic annals of his country. It has been said that Hobbema did not paint his own figures, but transferred that duty to Adriaen van de Velde, Lingelbach, Barent Gael, and Abraham Storck. As to this, much is conjecture."[25]

=Hackaert's Pictures.=--Jan Hackaert is perfect when he is simple and inspired by the character and style of his own country. The Rijks owns his beautiful Avenue of Ash-trees; a Clearing in the Forest; a Landscape with Cattle; and a Landscape, which is full of light and delicacy, and recalls the manner of Wijnants, although the arrangement follows the pseudo-Italians.

=Hackaert's Avenue of Ash-trees.=--The Avenue of Ash-trees is a charming picture, representing a park from which a hunting-party is about to set forth in the early morning. The light shines on the trunks of the trees that border the park, to the right of which is a large sheet of water.

Huntsmen accompanied by dogs, one of which is barking at two swans in the pool, ladies and gentlemen on horseback, servants, and dogs, all issue forth with good wishes from the master of the _chateau_ at the gate. All of these elegantly painted little figures are the work of A.

van de Velde.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JAN HACKAERT Avenue of Ash-trees]

=Joos van Winghen.=--Joos van Winghen (1544-1603) travelled to Rome, where he lived for four years; and, on his return, was appointed Court Painter to the Prince of Parma. He painted portraits, interiors, and Biblical subjects. A Banquet and Masquerade at Night is one of his best-known pictures.

=Pieter Aertsen.=--This artist has a picture called The Egg Dance, which claims attention by its life and spirit.

=Jan Lijs.=--Jan Lijs (d. 1629) was a pupil of Goltzius; and then visited France and Italy, where he executed large works under Caravaggio's influence. His Music Party is signed and dated 1625; and therefore belongs to his last and not his first period, as the catalogue informs us.

=Pieter van Rijck.=--Pieter Cornelisz van Rijck (1568-1628) painted interiors, especially kitchens, and landscape. He was a pupil of H.

Jacobs Grimani, whom he accompanied to Italy; he remained there fifteen years. The big picture in the Rijks representing a kitchen interior was described in enthusiastic terms by Van Mander.

=Willem Duyster.=--Willem Cornelisz Duyster (1599-1635) was a pupil of Pieter Codde. His picture of Backgammon Players is matched by a similar subject in St. Petersburg, and another in Dresden. Another picture in the Rijks, variously attributed to J. v. Bijlert, Jan Lijs, P. Codde, Jan Miense Molenaer and others, has by recent discoveries been finally recognized as the work of Duyster. The subject is The Marriage of Adriaen Ploos van Amstel, Lord of Oudegein and Tienhoven, to Agnes van Bijler, widow Broekhuysen. A contemporary of whom little is known, Abraham van der Hecken (fl. 1650), has a Butcher's Shop, painted with much truth and spirit.

=Pieter de Bloot.=--Pieter de Bloot (1600-52) was a pupil of Jordaens; he painted, however, more closely after Teniers, with fine grasp of chiaroscuro and perspective, with a soft and agreeable coloring. He copied nature so faithfully as to reproduce his subjects in all their ign.o.bleness. _Kermesses_ and interiors chiefly occupied his brush. The Lawyer's Office is signed and dated 1628; it is a fine specimen of the work of this artist in his prime.

=Van Gaesbeeck and Van der Kuyl.=--Adriaen van Gaesbeeck (?-1650), of the same period, was probably one of G. Dou's pupils. He painted _genre_ pictures of small dimensions. His Young Man in a Study is full of the feeling found in his master's work. Another painter of _genre_, who is represented here by two charming pictures, is Gysbert van der Kuyl (?-1673). He was a pupil of the famous Wouter Crabeth the Younger, and like his early master, spent many years in France and Italy. Later in life he modelled himself on Honthorst and Abraham Bloemaert. His Ruse Surpa.s.ses Force and The Music Party are worth more than a pa.s.sing glance.

=Nicolas Moeyaert.=--Nicolas Cornelisz Moeyaert was a forerunner of Rembrandt in his treatment of light and shade. His powers of portraiture are exemplified here in a group of Regents; and another side of his art is charmingly displayed in the Choice of a Lover.

=Jan van Bijlert.=--Jan van Bijlert (1603-71) was a painter of _genre_, mythological, and historical subjects. Almost all his known pictures were ordered by foreign rulers. The Guitar Player is a small example of his work, for he usually painted his figures life-size. His style so much resembles that of G. Honthorst that his pictures have frequently been confounded with those of the latter.

=Adriaen Brouwer.=--Adriaen Brouwer studied with Adriaen van Ostade and under Hals; and afterwards adopted the Flemish style when he returned to Antwerp in 1631. However, he remained true to one ideal,--the striving after true action and physiognomy, and the feeling for character and expression. No finer examples of his powers in this field exist than The Village Orgy and The Peasant Combat. These both belong to the days when he was under the influence of Hals.