RKD STUDIES

p. 46-50 Govert Flinck, School of Rembrandt

... tands a group of nine men, seven of them with muskets or pikes, and the two main characters in front. One of them, the captain, I assume, Jan Huidekoper, Lord of Maarsseveen, dressed all in black with a blue sash, stands facing forward, his head to the right, one hand resting on a long walking stick, his white-feathered hat in the other hand.276 To...

... men, one of whom is wearing a helmet.285 Behind him in the lower right corner against the frame is a stout figure dressed in gray,286 and, nearby, three other arquebusiers, two of whom are wearing helmets.In the center of the ca...

... ckhout [48]; and Scheltema (2) assumes it was for some competition.296Flinck's painting is about 4 to 5 feet wide ...------(1) Here is a translation of these verses by Jan Vos: "Van Maarsseveen is the first to appear in perpetual peace, just as his father was the first to fly into battle for the fatherland. Genius and bravery, which make free states strong, renounce old hatreds, but without laying down their war clothes. Thus, after the murders and the ravages, one continues to watch over the Y (the Dutch call l'Y – "the Y" – the estuary north of Amsterdam). The wise man may let the sword rest, but not rust".297(2) See Mr. Scheltema's article on Flinck in the Revue Universelle des Arts, vol. VI, p. 501.298...

... ies and is seen in profile. Large white beard. Red coat.310 Jacob is kneeling on the other sid...

... no. 32), titled Portrait of an Unknown, could very well be a self-portrait.314In his real self-portrait, Ferdinand Bol has long hair, a splendid robe with gold motifs and a red coat.315 His left arm rests on a statue of Cupid. Bol undoubtedly had social pretensions. The life-size figure is cut off at the knees.In the portrait of an Unknown, the...

p. 116-120 Jan Steen, Terburg

... of such harmonious and almost indefinable nuance. Smith finds a resemblance to the "fascinating manner" of Correggio!698 How eccentric these Englishmen are: Reynolds compares Raphael to Jan Steen,699 and Smith compares Correggio to Terburg!The truth is that Terburg resembles no one. He is an original master of the first rank. I do not know whether, after Rembrandt, he should not be considered incomparable, ranked on his own, like truly great men....

... by Vaillant,701 is sometimes called. The catalog calls it, "A Gentlewoman dressed in white satin, in conversation with a lord and a lady" (no. 277)....

... in Braamcamp etc.703The woman on her own, in the Satin Dress, could be the original study, in Dresden.704...

p. 31-35 Rembrandt, Van der Helst

... energetic painting, magnifying the contrasts of light and shadow and the abruptness of brushstrokes characteristic of Rembrandt's later period. Drost, who was probably born in 1638, may only have been a pupil of Rembrandt around the time when the master, who had broken with the world after his misfortunes in 1656, surrendered more than ever to the fervor of his talent.200The painting is in portrait format; the life-size figures are cut off at the knees. The tone is stunning, but the middle tones have darkened somewhat.This Drost is very little known and very rare. The Paris catalog does not list him among the pupils and ......

... r, opposite the Colonels' seat,208 and like the Night Watch and the Syndics, it belongs to the city of Amsterdam itself.The scene takes place in the antechamber of the doele of St. George (St. Joris Doele).209 Captain Cornelis Jan Wits or Witsen,210 lieutenant Johannes van Waveren211 and their company of arquebusiers and crossbowmen are gathered there for a banquet in honor of peace.On the right side of the large table spanning the ...------(1) The new cat. devoted three pages to it, with all the necessary details.(2) The new cat. gives: 5.38 by 2.27.212...

... Hall.213 With his right hand, he shakes the hand of his lieutenant, who is sitting next to him, almost in profile. No doubt they are congratulating each other on the peace.Lieutenant Van Waveren is also very richly dressed: pearl-grey doublet and breeches, decorated with gold;214 blue sash, green stockings, cauldron boots215 and spurs. His black hat has brown feathers.Behind them are three men, one of whom, with his body in pr...

... nd of his right hand. His left hand holds the blue flag, on which is a painted image, the top of which is hidden behind the frame. He is dressed entirely in black, with a wide blue sash. In front of him a drum from which hangs a paper on which are written four lines by the ...

p. 121-125 Terburg, Metsu

... dressed in black and wearing a black capuchon. She is drinking from a stemmed glass, which she holds with her right hand and thr...

... on gallery [187].Gaspar Netscher, from Heidelberg, worked under Terburg. One of his best paintings is in the Amsterdam Museum: "A Beautifully Dressed Woman, Arranging the Hair of a Little Boy (no. 201)." [188].5 The woman's costume is indeed very elegant: dark blue satin jacket fringed with ermine, saffron-colored satin skirt with silver borders. Quite a nice tone, but a bit heavy. She combs the hair of a sweet little boy kneeling beside her. Another child stands against a table with a Persian rug; she is making silly faces in a mirror. On the table are a silver box, a plate, and a cup, very finely ......

... red velvet, with a hat and feathers on it. Behind the young woman's chair is a cat. Height, 1 foot 6 inches; width, 1 foot ...

... with the work of the incomparable Jan Steen. True, Smith immediately adds, “But for the tasteful choice of subjects, for the grace of expression and the elegance of form, Metsu is without rival.”12To this grace and finesse, Metsu probably owes the privilege that he was always preferred by Dutch enthusiasts to all the painters of their school, Gerard Dov and Mieris excepted. But today Metsu stands above Mieris, and even above Gerard Dov; and as for the other painters who seemed to have been somewhat scorned by the old Dutch bourgeoisie, such as Cuijp, Steen, Ho...

... ngraved by D. J. Sluijter [194]. Auction Lormier, 1763, 605 guilders.The Old drinker is better preserved and of exquisite quality. He has long gray hair and a short gray beard. Joyful face, lively expression. Does he not hold his pipe in a hand, resting on a barrel, and in the other hand a pewter pot, leaning against his thigh? For those who enjoy life, full hands. He has a warm gray cloak and a beautiful red beret trimmed with brown fur. He lacks ......

p. 6-10 Rembrandt

... t of the figures in the foreground touch the lower edge of the frame, it seems as if the entire bustling crowd is rushing forward, walking into the same space as the viewer, and approaching them.119 After a few minutes, the illusion is so powerful that you think they are real people.It is amazing that this painting, which cannot be compared to anything, is both the most fantastic and the most realistic in the world!All who see Night Watch for the first time, ......

... t this is knight Frans Banning Kok, or Cock, or Coux, lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam, then captain of a company of the civic guard, later colonel, and commander-in-chief of the entire Amsterdam civic guard.122 But he has no military uniform on, and his only weapon is a sword with a long pommel, suspended from a large red sash,123 ...------(1) ''It is perhaps the strangest painting I have ever seen, and I have seen many", says Maxime Ducamp, in the Revue de Paris of October 1857 ... "It amazes you, it makes you pause, it crushes you ... Its color is dazzling, it blinds you, is taken to extremes, etc."124(2) ...

... eutenant of the company, Willem van Ruijtenberg, lord of Vlaardingen.127 He is dressed in a doublet made of a rich lemon-colored fabric embroidered with gold,128 a white sash, breeches with ribbons at the knees, chamois colored cauldron boots with gold spurs and saffron-colored gloves with gray glacis.129 His yellowish felt hat is decorated with a hat band of gemstones and long white feathers that float backward. His right hand rests on his hip; his left hand holds a halberd horizontally. This has blue and white tassels and a handle decorated w...

... ff by the frame; we can see only half of his good-sized head (1), wearing a hat with turned-up brim, ...------(1) Mr. Maxime Ducamp (Revue de Paris), no doubt under the influence of some Italian ideal, does not much like this drummer, "already an old man, with a stricken face, undoubtedly a drinker, not to say a drunkard, ..." nor the captain, "an ugly figure, red and lit despite his slenderness, ... etc."133 – This aversion to the coarseness of Rembrandt's style is anyway endemic among almost all French writers: "The Night Watch suits Rembrandt's realistic and somewhat…...

... t in particular hesitates over which of the two main characters is more important, the heart of the composition is between the captain and the man in red.First, a young musketeer emerges from behind the captain; all we see of him is an elongated leg in profile and part of his ...------… crude genius," says Viardot (Les Musées de Hollande) ... "The subject required only the real truth, no noblesse, no ideal, no expression ... mere representation of material things ... etc."138...

p. 176-180 Flemish School, Van Dyck

... reda, who more than a century later sometimes imitated Breugel and sometimes Wouwerman, a Landscape with Horses.397Peeter Neefs...

... t 1,000 guilders at the Stiers d'Aertselaer auction. – 1,000 guilders, – in Antwerp, in 1822! – This does not indicate that it is an authentic Van Dyck."Life-size, full-length (supposed) portraits of Princess Mary Henrietta Stuart and her brother the Prince of Wallis, children of Charles I, King of England." The little prince appears to be about twelve years old; he is dressed entirely in red silk; in his ...------(1) 72 centimeters by 35 centimeters, according to the new cat.416...

p. 96-100 A. van Ostade, Pieter de Hooch

... ; his figures are solid, simple, and downright plebeian.In one of his paintings, an old man with a white beard sits in front of a spinning wheel; a fisherman, dressed in black and wearing a large hat, enters this interior with his fishing rod in one hand and his fish basket in the other [146].558 The pendant shows an...

... his paintings, some of quite large size.601 He painted horses in some of Kneller's compositions and left a book of hunting drawings.602Now Kalf.603 He studied with Henri Pot; but he seems to have preferred the touch and tone of Adriaan van Ostade to his fine and somewhat meticulous master. His Still Life (no. 152) is a bold painting with warm and energetic colors [152].604PIETER DE HOOCH.605 – This artist&#...

... nd above the chair hangs a man's portrait on the paneling.On the left, in the first room lit by a small window, another door ajar, from which emerges a woman in profile facing right handing a jug to a little girl, in profile opposite. The woman wears a white cap; she has a red shirt with blue sleeves and a Persian blue skirt. The little girl is dressed in pearl gray, with a beautifully embroidered cap.------(1) “J. J. de Bruin, 1765, 450 guilders”, according to the new cat....

p. 66-70 Karel Du Jardin, Paul Potter

... ss the table, with his left arm resting on the back of his armchair,440 talking to the fifth regent, who is standing and leaning against the back of a red velvet armchair.441 All five are dressed in black, with white collars and large black hats. The background, light gray, simulates fluted columns an...

... y: the "Portrait of Mr. Reynst" [94], who was one of Karel's friends and patrons.443 A life-size figure, knee-length, on a canvas 4 feet high and 3 feet 4 inches wide.444 Reynst is bareheaded and has a blond wig that falls over his shoulders.445 He is dressed in purplish gray, an earthy chocolate shade. His right wrist rests on his hip, and we look up against the palm; this inverted hand is very cleverly painted. Landscape and sky in the background. Two greyhounds accompany the figure. Signed, no date (1).There is...

... again in a figure in the Italian Charlatans (no. 243) [98], in "the figure wrapped in a cloak."454 These two paintings in the Louvre are dated 1657, five years before the Amsterdam portrait. Karel would thus have been about thirty years old. We can check whether the supposed portraits correspond to this age, and possibly compare them with the Amsterdam portrait, which is generally considered authentic. Smith, however, has some reservations; but he became confused by these two portraits, which he may not have seen.455...

... is apocryphal [100];458 – a Horseman in front of an Inn; an excellent little painting this time, and worthy of Karel's well-deserved reputation in this kind of subject matter [101].459 The rider, in a blue cloak, on a gray horse, drinks from a glass offered to him by the innkeeper standing by the door; his dog lies behind the horse, for which a boy is preparing rations in a trough. On canvas. 1 foot 5 inches high, 1 foot 4 inches wide (1).PAUL POTTER.460 – Alas! Paul Potter, like Du Jardin, is also in the Ams...

p. 146-150 Poelenburg, Lairesse, Van der Werff, the Landscapists

... 108 – Mars, Venus and Cupid;109 – Diana and Endymion [230],110 rather large figures, very stupid, – two "Symbolic compositions" in grisaille;111 – and "Seleucis surrenders his wife and scepter to his son Antiochus" [231].112Three masterpieces by Adriaan van der Werff:1. A life-size bust of Adriaan himself. He is draped in a cloak of red velvet, over a yellow doublet. Around his neck hangs a chain with a medal from his patron, the Elector of the Palatinate. In his left hand, his palette and ......

... 600 fr; Destouches; 1794, 5,200 fr; Van der Pot, 1808, 5,225 guilders (2). This little panel is less than a foot wide. Since I decline to describe the painter, because of my personal antipathy, I will borrow Smith's description: "The Virgin, dressed in a pale yellow striped vest, and a gray mantle, is bending with maternal affection over the Infant, who lies naked on some drapery, extending its arms, and taking with one hand some cherries from a branch held by Joseph. The latter person is ...

... e other, of superior quality, in my opinion, could be called the Waterfall; for the entire foreground is covered with water and foam. Groups of trees on the left and a tower in the background; hills with a castle on th...

p. 136-140 Adriaan van de Velde

... useum has only two paintings by him: a small "Landscape with Figures and Cattle"[215],63 and another "Landscape with a thatched cottage"[216].64The small landscape, only 1 foot wide and 1 foot 3 inches high, is delightful. Near a fountain stand some peasants with their flocks: a shepherd, seen from behind, on his donkey, a woman in red, on a roan horse, a woman on foot, standing chatting with her. A few sheep and the shepherd's dog. A cow drinks from the fountain in the shade on the left, where a small rocky hill rises. On the right, by the water, with a ferry carrying a flock....

... in the composition, but Adriaan no doubt wanted to make it a kind of small, solitary oasis. This young woman, wearing an azure skirt and half-open bodice, catches sunlight on her half-naked neck. The tightly constricted corset is not fashionable in these rural parts. However, a young neighbor passes by, riding his white horse without a saddle and carrying a basket on his arm. He too is dressed informally: he has bare legs and a reddish ...------(1) The new cat. gives only part of the provenance. The date 1666 on the previous painting is not given....

... t in the manner of Jan Steen.The entire foreground of the landscape is a meadow where sheep and cows are scattered. Near the hut is a large tree without a crown. Beautiful signature: A. V. Velde f, and the year 1671. The f...

... he Netherlands have only thirteen Wijnants: the Amsterdam museum, 4; the Van der Hoop museum, 4; the Hague museum, 2; the Rotterdam museum, 3.70 The Louvre also has only 3; Dresden, 3; Vienna, 2; Munich, 4 or 5; Berlin, none at all.71 In Manchester, there were only two, which were insignificant.72 Smith, however, had 176 in his catalog, most in English collections, and others that, having been auctioned long ago, have disappeared from view.73...