The Standard Galleries - Holland Part 20

=J. Both's Italian Landscape: Evening.=--Johannes Both has another of his pictures here that shows the influence of Claude Lorraine. In the Italian Landscape: Evening, the left foreground is occupied by tall trees; a chariot is drawn by two oxen along a road leading to an old tower; on the horizon is a town on the sea-sh.o.r.e.

=P. Bout's Italian Seaport.=--Pieter Bout (1658-1702) almost always worked in collaboration with N. Boudwijns, for whose landscapes he supplied figures. Works exclusively his own are very rare. He belonged to the Flemish-Italian school, and has here a busy and lively Italian Seaport in the style of J. B. Weenix. It is signed and dated 1669, which hardly agrees with the date given for his birth unless he was very precocious.

=Other Painters in the Same Group.=--In this group also we might include Gerrit Claes Bleecker (d. 1656), whose work recalls Elzheimer and his followers. His Saul on the Road to Damascus is cla.s.sical rather than Biblical in sentiment, and the landscape is Italian.

=Weenix's Tobias Sleeping under a Vine.=--The same may be said of the charming Tobias Sleeping under a Vine by J. B. Weenix. In this there is a house on the right, against the wall of which is a vine under which Tobias is sleeping. A magpie is flying above his head, and beside him are various objects such as this artist loved to paint,--vegetables, a great copper milk pan, a yoke, harness, and other things, including a basket of grapes and an earthen pitcher. In the background a man is mounting a ladder. The picture is signed and dated 1662, two years before the painter's death.

Hendrick Mommers (1623-97) also has an Italian Landscape. He imitated the style of Karel Dujardin, another painter of this school. Frederick de Moucheron has a Mountainous Landscape. His pictures also were peopled by the indefatigable Van de Velde and Lingelbach.

=Landscape Setting for The Good Samaritan.=--Joris van der Hagen is another who makes use of a Biblical episode as an excuse for a landscape, or for the frame of the subject, as in his Landscape Serving as a Frame for the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In the foreground on the left, near two tall trees, the Good Samaritan has dismounted and is stanching the wounds of the traveller; four dogs are near the a.s.s; not far away the brigands are descending a path at the foot of a mountain.

On the right is the Levite, and farther back is the Pharisee, going away in a different direction. In the background is a river crossed by a three-arched bridge, on the other side of which are high buildings surrounded with trees. Mountains close the view.

=Boaz and Ruth in an Italian Setting.=--Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (1621-74), although a pupil of Rembrandt, painted so-called Biblical scenes in much the same spirit. Thus his Boaz and Ruth has an Italian setting. In the foreground Boaz is talking to his servant; Ruth is standing beside the latter with her ap.r.o.n full of wheat. On the left is a barn surrounded with trees; in front of it three harvesters are eating their meal; on the right beside a plough are a straw hat, a game-bag, and a pitcher. In the background is a field of corn which is being reaped and sheafed. Mountains close the scene.

=Balaam, by the Same Artist.=--Again in Balaam, trees and a river, high mountains and ruins, form the background. The prophet is seated on his a.s.s, and beating him with a stick to make him advance; but on the left an angel in white with golden wings stops him, sword in hand. Balaam is followed by two hors.e.m.e.n in Roman costume, and behind them is a chariot drawn by two horses.

=The Flight into Egypt with an Italian Background.=--Pieter Lastman painted an Italian landscape as a background for the Flight into Egypt.

Here we see the Virgin Mary on an a.s.s with the Infant Jesus in her arms, and by her side walks Joseph, carrying his carpenter's tools. A tree is seen on the left; and a cascade, ruins, and rocks in the background on the right.

=Van der Weyden's The Apostle John.=--Rogier van der Weyden (1390-1464) is an early master who painted in this style. In his The Apostle St.

John, the Apostle is seated in the foreground of a landscape, writing on a sheet of paper which lies on his knees. He wears a red robe, and a large red mantle lined with green falls from his shoulders and covers his knees with ample folds. Behind him, a winged demon empties his inkstand. On the left two gentleman are seen on horseback, and the background shows a mountainous landscape traversed by a river and enlivened by a castle and a fortified town.

=Van der Maes and Van der Werff.=--Evert Crijnsz van der Maes (1577-1646) has a St. Jerome in a landscape, signed and dated 1609.

Another picture of a hermit is by B. Matton, who lived a little later.

Pieter van der Werff has a Repentant Magdalen, who is kneeling in a grotto with hands crossed on her breast, while she reads a parchment scroll covered with Hebraic characters.

=Jan van Byler's Picture of Rachel and her Father.=--Jan van Byler, born in Utrecht in the second half of the seventeenth century, and pupil of his father, is rarely met with in either public or private galleries.

Here, however, we find Laban Reproaching Rachel for having Carried off his Household G.o.ds. In the foreground, Rachel is seated holding by one hand a little boy, while with the other she makes a gesture, as if to ward off the reproaches of Laban, who is standing before her. On the right is a young man carrying a basket. A brown and white dog lies in the foreground; and in the distance are seen two men and a camel near a tent attached to the trunk of a tree.

=H. Goltzius.=--H. Goltzius is represented by an interesting picture, Juno Receiving the Eyes of Argus Killed by Mercury. Mercury is seated on a red cloak; in his right hand he holds one of the eyes of Argus, which Juno, descending on a cloud, is about to receive in her robe. Before him are the severed head and corpse of Argus and a naked sword. A rocky landscape extends to the right, and on the left, in the clouds, the chariot of Juno, drawn by peac.o.c.ks.

=Moreelse's Vertumnus and Pomona.=--An interesting mythological picture by Moreelse is called Vertumnus and Pomona. The latter is seated under the trees to the left with her face turned toward the spectator. She wears a yellow silk dress with a blue tunic; her right hand holds a pruning-hook and her left a bunch of white grapes. A little behind her Vertumnus is seen in the guise of an old woman, leaning on a stick and extending the left hand.

=De Vos's Allegory, Crowned by Riches.=--Cornelius de Vos (1585-1651), pupil of David Remens, has an Allegory, Crowned by Riches. On the right, under a red tent fringed with gold, a young woman in a green dress and mantle embroidered with gold, a crown of gold in her right hand and a sceptre in her left, stands majestically. Before her kneels a farmer to be crowned, and he extends his hand to the fruits and vegetables in the foreground. On a table to the right, covered with a crimson cloth, are various objects of gold and silver. Farther back under the tent are two women, a negro, and Love. In the middle distance is Time with his scythe. To the left in the background, a landscape, where people are tilling the soil.

=An Allegory by De Wit.=--Jacob de Wit also has an Allegory. Minerva, in a landscape, is seated with her right hand on her harp; in front of her, four naked children are sporting, and one is playing a harp.

=A Cla.s.sical Scene by Van der Ulft.=--Jacob van der Ulft has a picture, painted in 1674, representing The Betrothed of Allucius Led as Prisoner Before Scipio. Ruins of temples and city walls and gates are seen to right and left. In the foreground are Scipio, the betrothed of Allucius, and other prisoners. Farther back are Roman soldiers with chariots, elephants, camels, and spoils of war. In the background a town is seen at the base of the mountains.

=Achilles Recognized by Ulysses, by Van Limborch.=--Achilles Recognized by Ulysses, by H. van Limborch, shows Achilles kneeling on the ground in the dress of a woman with a blue chalmys, having a sword in his right and the scabbard in his left hand; he is recognized by Ulysses who, with another person, is standing behind him. On the ground lie a helmet, a shield, several precious objects, and some jewels which are being examined and handled by the wives of Lycomedes, King of Scyros. In the background on the left is the peristyle of a palace; and on the right are several persons near a statue and a boat.

=De Vriendt's The Death of Lucrezia.=--The Death of Lucrezia, by Frans Floris de Vriendt, is painted in a similar vein. Lucrezia is on her knees, in a despairing pose, and about to stab herself. In the background several buildings are seen.

=Painters of Purely Dutch Scenery.=--Turning now to painters of purely Dutch scenery and outdoor life, the Boijmans contains many pictures by the followers of Rembrandt, Potter, Ruisdael, and Wouwermans. Some of these display the open country, and others the life by the wayside, in the streets, and in the vicinity of towns. There are many charming pictures of the outdoor life of the gentry, the tradesmen, and the farmers. We have scenes of hunting, hawking, fishing, promenades, and cavalcades, with beautiful landscape surroundings, and several pictures of the farm, pure and simple.

=Three Pictures by Jacob Ruisdael.=--Jacob Ruisdael has one picture, The Corn Field, which represents a hilly landscape. In the foreground brushwood, heath, and moss; on the right two oaks and, on an incline, a wheat-field partly cut, and mowers who are resting. On the horizon, to the left, is the sea with a few sails upon it.

Another picture is called A Sandy Road, and on this, which leads through brushwood and oak-trees, trudge two persons. On the right is a pool partly hidden in shadow.

The third picture by Ruisdael represents The Old Fish-Market at Amsterdam. On the right is the tower of the old church; in the foreground are the fish-venders sitting at their stalls and many promenaders; and in the background is the ca.n.a.l, on which boats are lying and sails spread out to dry. The figures were painted by Gerard van Battem.

=A Wooded Landscape by Izack van Ruisdael.=--Izack van Ruisdael (1628 or 9-1677) is represented by A Wooded Landscape, signed and dated 1665.

Water is seen to the right, as well as in the foreground, and six cows are standing in it. On the left are several tall trees, beneath which are cows and sheep; and far in the distance some men are fishing from the bank.

=A Wooded Landscape by Hobbema.=--A Wooded Landscape and Landscape by Hobbema are characteristic examples. The first shows fine treatment of light. The sun piercing through thick clouds lights the middle distance, while foreground and background are in shadow. Among the tall trees in the background a barn is seen; then a boy and a woman fording the stream; a shepherd and some sheep near a willow tree; then come two tree-trunks and some brushwood; then a winding road, on which a peasant and a boy are walking; then a sheet of water bordered by willows.

=Another Landscape by Hobbema.=--The other Landscape also shows a sheet of water in the foreground where two persons are fishing; then a tree-trunk, half of which is in the water; then some trees on a rising ground. A couple of ducks are swimming in the water. In the background a peasant's house is seen, before which a man is standing; and on the left a second clump of trees, where two persons are walking. The background is brilliantly lighted; but the middle distance and the foreground are in shadow.

=Van Kessel's Landscape near Haarlem.=--Jan van Kessel (1648-98), about whom little is known, and some of whose works follow the style of J. van Ruisdael, has here a Landscape near Haarlem and a View of Amsterdam. The first shows a brightly lighted foreground with a road leading to a village on the right, the ruins of the Castle of Brederode. Huntsmen and dogs, a shepherd and sheep, and some swans in a moat, by Lingelbach, enliven the scene. The middle distance is in shadow, and here we have trees, fields, and dunes. The background shows a brightly lighted landscape stretching away into the distance.

=His View of Amsterdam.=--His View of Amsterdam shows a ca.n.a.l where a man is rowing a boat, a large boat fastened on the right, some swans floating in the water on the left. The ca.n.a.l, shut by the gates, is crossed by a stone bridge, on which some people are walking. In the corner is a quay bordered with trees, and on the horizon a clock-tower.

=One of Isaak van Ostade's Rare Pictures.=--Isaak van Ostade (1621-49), a pupil of his brother Adriaen, usually painted inns and village scenes, now extremely rare. Neither the Mauritshuis nor the Rijks owns an example. Hence the Inn among the Dunes is of great interest. A chariot, drawn by a white horse, is arriving before an inn among the trees on the left. The horse is being fed, and some travellers and children stand in front of the door. A little boy is leading some pigs across the foreground; two hors.e.m.e.n are galloping away in the distance, and the horizon shows the dunes and a clock-tower.

=A. van der Neer's Moonlit Landscape.=--A Moonlit Landscape by Aert van der Neer is a striking picture with simple materials. A road, bordered with trees, is seen in the foreground, with two persons approaching; in the middle distance are some cows on the banks of a ca.n.a.l, and peasants'

houses under the trees, with a clock-tower in the background. The sky is stormy, and the moon is rising and throwing its rays on the water.

=A. van de Velde's Landscape and Blacksmith.=--Adriaen van de Velde has a Landscape with Animals and A Blacksmith. The first shows a flat landscape with a light brown ox, and a little farther away a sheep lying down, and also a cow; in the background a farmhouse is seen beneath the trees, and a vast meadow dotted with cows stretches away to the right.

The Blacksmith is in the background at the door of his forge, before which a boy stands with a gray horse. An a.s.s, a c.o.c.k, and some hens lend additional animation to the little scene.

=Two Norwegian Landscapes by Everdingen.=--Albert van Everdingen is represented by two fine examples of the Norwegian landscape, for which he is famous. The scenes are lively, with human figures in both.

=A Hunting Scene by Keirinckx and Poelenburg.=--Alexander Keirinckx (b.

1600) was a painter of landscapes and views of towns. He painted with much truth to nature, his foliage especially being executed with rare perfection. Poelenburg, as a rule, painted the figures in his pictures, as he did in A Forest, signed and dated 1630. This is a hunting scene, with a gentleman on horseback followed by hounds under tall trees in the foreground. Other figures are a huntsman sounding a call, two other hunters, and a stag in the distance among the trees.

=Verboom's Evening.=--Abraham Hendricksz Verboom (seventeenth century) is represented by Evening, showing trees in the foreground, huntsmen and dogs in the middle distance lighted by the setting sun, and behind a wooden fence a farmhouse. In the background a clock-tower appears on the right, while a rocky landscape extends to the left.

=Nymegen's Swiss Landscape.=--Gerard van Nymegen (1735-1808) was the pupil of his father D. van Nymegen. He visited Germany and Switzerland.

The Boijmans owns a Swiss Landscape, in which a majestic and foaming cascade plunges down the rocks; while, on the left, in the foreground, is a large fallen tree. Shepherds and sheep are crossing a bridge.

=Van der Heyde's Ruined Castle.=--A good example of Jan van der Heyde is A Ruined Castle. The scene is a courtyard with a large tree, under which is seated a shepherd playing a flute; a horseman is in a gateway on the left; and several persons are standing on a stone bridge on the right. A few clouds are floating across the clear sky. The picture is much admired for its light and shadow.

=Donck's Coming Home from Shooting.=--Gerrit Donck has a canvas called Coming Home from Shooting, with a cottage, two gentlemen, a woman, a peasant, and a boy. In the centre, some dead game lies on an inverted tub. One gentleman is seated; he points to the birds and talks to the woman. The other gentleman holds his gun and listens to what the peasant has to say. The boy looks on. Through the open door on the right we see a landscape in the style of J. van Goyen.

=P. Wouwermans's Gentleman on Horseback.=--A Gentleman on Horseback is by Philips Wouwermans. Mounted on a gray horse the rider takes his way through a sandy landscape toward the dunes that are seen on the left. He wears a gray costume embroidered with gold, a black hat with a white feather, and high black boots. In the background are trees, and on the right is a pavilion.

=An Admired Picture by E. van de Velde.=--Esais van de Velde's Cavalier has always been greatly admired. Vosmaer says: "This little figure, seen from behind, sitting so squarely and easily on his horse, seems really a personage of life size; it is almost an equestrian statue. The horse is rearing, and the rider, whose back is turned to the spectator, wears a felt hat, a blue cloak, and high black riding-boots."

=P. Wouwermans's Pillaging Soldiers.=--Philips Wouwermans once again displays the pleasure he takes in painting horses in his Pillaging Soldiers. In a hilly country and on the banks of a river a soldier on a white horse is aiming at the cheek of a peasant who is begging for mercy on his knees; one individual lies stretched out on the ground; and on the right a woman with her child in her arms is being pursued by a soldier. In the middle distance, a horseman is carrying off his booty, and on the left two hors.e.m.e.n are pursuing the fugitives. A village in flames appears in the background.

=Verschuring's Horse-Sh.o.e.r.=--Hendrick Verschuring (1627-90) was a painter of social life, portraits, and figures, and was a pupil of Dirk Govertsz and Jan Both. He visited Italy. His picture here is called A Horse-Sh.o.e.r. Before the steps of the old town hall of Amsterdam (represented also in Beerstraten's picture in this gallery) a man is shoeing a white horse. Farther back stands a man in a red cloak; to the right some beggars with a dog. Among the trees in the background a horseman is disappearing.

=A Spirited Forest Scene by Looten.=--Another landscape painter of this period was Jan Looten, who died in England in 1660. Like so many of his contemporaries, he employed others, especially Nicolaes Berchem, to enliven his scenery with figures. His large picture, A Forest, signed and dated 1658, is a spirited scene of ladies and gentlemen mounted, with hawks on their fists and followed by falconers. The landscape is prettily diversified with woods, streams, and hills.

=The Dunes, by J. Wouwermans.=--Jan Wouwermans (1629-66), pupil of his brother Philips, has a picture of The Dunes. In the middle of the picture is a watercourse, which is crossed by a bridge and loses itself behind a hill over which is seen the roof of a house.

=A Sunny Picture by Molenaer.=--Nicolaas Molenaer (d. 1676) has a sunny picture of a Bleaching Ground. In the foreground is a man in a boat on a stretch of water. To the right is the bleaching ground, in which people are busy spreading out the linen; and on the left are cottages, with tall trees behind.

=P. de Molyn's Farm.=--Pieter de Molyn the Elder (?-1661) has a pretty picture of a farm, where two peasant men are talking to a peasant woman.