RKD STUDIES

13.3 The Gottorf Peace Party and its Artistic Connections

... ds painting. Gottorf peace party shows that Ovens brought a new, modern style to the court and introduced the high baroque in Northern German painting. With Ovens, Frederick III was able to engage an artist with knowledge of the achievements of contemporary painting in the Low Countries. Ovens had the technical capability to convincingly depict and unite allegorical figures with real persons, and to create a realistic atmosphere through his rendering of light. A comparison with Portrait of Duke Frederick III of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf with his family and some courtiers in the garden of Castle Gottorf from circa 1639 [12] by Julius Strachen (died 1648), up to a certain extent the precursor of Ovens’ Gottorf peace party, makes clear that he attempts to elevate the ducal couple by depicting them in a gate-like architecture and having them blessed by a beam of an angel, but that the character of his work is rather stiff.33...

... regard to the monochrome painting of Van de Venne and the colours of Ovens’ small Gottorf peace party [14] from 1652, which is almost an exact copy of his large work.37 It does not seem likely, however, that Ovens tried to introduce a style to Gottorf which was inspired by Van de Venne. For Ovens, painting in yellow, brown and ochre tones was an exception, whereas Van de Venne executed hundreds of such works....

... n 1651. Perhaps both artists used a (now unknown) common example.39The facial expression of Mars in the small Gottorf peace party could have been derived from that of the lying Fury at the bottom of the Triumph of Frederik Hendrik from 1652 by Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) in the Oranjezaal in Huis ten Bosch near The Hague [16].40 Jordaens’ picture might also have served Ovens as an example of the glorification of a ruler in the ...

13.5 A Self-Portrait in Assistenza

... ss part of the scene; thus his inclusion could be considered, albeit somewhat freely, as a self-portrait in assistenza.61 The painting stages the beginning of the reign of the duke. It was the first work that Ovens created for the new ruler. He had received privileges from duke Frederick III, which Christian Albrecht renewed two years after the completion of the Glorification. Including Ovens’ self-portrait served both parties well: the duke could tighten his bonds with Ovens and Ovens showed his allegiance to the ducal court and proved he was the privil...

... nd the bearded old man at the left in Justice [29] and at the right behind the black man in the history painting Dithmarschen surrenders to Duke Adolf I of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf, Frederick II of Denmark and John II of Schleswig-Holstein-Hadersleben in 1559.67 In these works the supposed face of Ovens is either barely, or only partly visible. The difference betwee...

13.2 Ovens’ Self-Portrait (c. 1652) : between Rembrandt and Van Dyck

... 30 years old, so the Hamburg painting was likely created in the first half of the 1650s.16 In 1651, Ovens left Holland for several years. He received privileges from duke Frederick III of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf in the following year, which might have tempted him to paint this self-portrait.17 Therefore, in this essay it is assumed the pain...

... self-portraits.23 However, he ‘modernized’ the early 16th-century dress of Rembrandt, Flinck and Bol and left out their beret. As fo...

7.3 The Series for Bensberg Castle

... uring the Seven Coalition Wars with France (1792-1815) with France, Bensberg served as a hospital and in 1795 the paintings were removed and brought to Munich. They are now in the Bavarian State Picture Collection. The 12 paintings in the Bensberg series that remain are immense in scale, most of them measuring over three meters in height, with varying widths. The 1712 piece alone measures about 3 ½ by 5 ½ meters and is installed for space reasons, high up on the walls in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich [14].A manuscript kept in the Munich museum library deals with the subjects and distribution of the paintings in three palace rooms. According to the document the paintings for one room were finished in 1712, 1714 and 1716.11 The large-scale works do not smoothly and pictorially line up in a continuous narrative may be due to an ‘accidental’ resizing of the canvases. When the French invaded Germany, the paintings were hastily cut from the stretchers and stored for safekeeping. There is, however, the overall theme of the hunt, and the consistencies in the landscapes, show specific domains of the patron.These large paintings have been rolled up and kept in storage since about the 1950s and have not been seen nor photographed since. The Game on a Parapet near a Seaport with Mercury Statue of 1714 [15] refers to the prince’s mercantile connections and the treasures brought from afar. The southern landscapes and harbor views recall his wife’s Tuscan homeland.12The painting called ‘Halali’, a term derived from a bugle call announcing the end of the hunt, measures over 3 by 4 ½ meters [16]. It shows some old traces of conservation to prevent paint loss. Recently a small oil sketch for this painting was found in a private collection [17]. It is a rare example of a preparatory sketch in oil by Jan Weenix. It is very close to this Bensberg painting, though in reverse.13...

... ed, the funding for the project ended. Four paintings were never delivered. We learn this from an advertisement in a 14 August 1737 newspaper in The Hague for an Amsterdam sale, where they are erroneously listed as by his father Jan Baptist Weenix. Mentioned are ‘four Capital pieces for wall coverings of a room, formerly painted for the Elector Prince von der Pfaltz, in his best time, being three pieces depicting a wild Horse Hunt, of which two pieces are wide seventeen feet [518 cm wide], and one piece six feet wide [183 cm wide]; and a garden view with a company making music, wide seventeen feet and high thirteen feet [reversed, high 396 x 518 cm wide]’.15 The measurements listed are similar to the ones delivered to the Palace. The outcome of the sale is not known, and the paintings may have been unsellable because of their extremely large dimensions and would hardly have fit in other locations. Perhaps they were reduced in size by a buyer, or otherwise dispersed.In conclusion, the Bensberg painting series can be viewed as a moving Baroque culmination in Jan Weenix’ career and, in Goethe’s words, ‘he surpassed nature’. He never made a quality concession to size. Central is the Hunting Still Life with Bensberg Castle in which the Schloss is enthroned on a hill as a distant vision, crowning the landscape like a seat of the gods [21]....

4.4 Maerten de Vos's Menagerie

... presumed in earlier literature, is out of the question. Six of these square panels, measuring about 140 cm, are still extant [30-35].21 The four lost panels showed an ostrich, a peacock, two hunting dogs and a black horse with a red mane. They must have been commissioned by the duke and shipped to Schwerin and were part of the rebuilding of the castle that was so central to the duke's efforts of princely representation....

... t ever since it was installed in Schwerin a predilection for the depictions of animals see...

3.2 Dutch Art and Artists in Florence

... y works of art and so ultimately many precious items made their way to Florence thanks to the good services of the Düsseldorf Elector, Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz (1658-1716), who was his son-in-law.5Cosimo’s predecessors had been great art lovers, too, and it is more than likely that one or other of the Dutchmen returning home put their stopover in Florence to good use. Unfortunately, very little can be gleaned from ...

... stay in Italy swelled his ego to such an extent that he subsequently signed his works ‘Guill mo van Aelst’.22 The Pitti Gallery has two of his paintings, which Cosimo may have commissioned in Holland in 1668 [14-15].23 Cosimo certainly brought back with him from his travels the two still lifes by Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606-1684) and Maria van Oosterwijck (1630-1693) (now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence) [16-17], whose works were also offered to him.24 Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) still worked for the Florentine court in 1711. When Uffenbach visited her in Amsterdam, she was working on two pictures for the Grand Duke [18-19].25...

... Tuscany [20] for his daughter, Anna Maria Luisa (1667-1743),27 who had married the ruler of the Palatinate [21]. On this or some other occasion he brought pictures from Germany with him, little paintings in keeping with contemporary taste, such as that of the Electoral couple in fancy-dress costume [22] 28 and others of the Electoral Highnesses [23]29 and, last but not least, by special request a self-portrait of the artist [24] (paintings in Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi Gallery). After the death of Elector Johann Wilhelm he painted his widow with her deceased husban...

... de engravings not only of Flemish and Italian paintings but also of Rembrandt’s Man with His Hands Folded (Palazzo Pitti) [28].During his sojourn in the Netherlands Cosimo III had endeavoured to acquire portraits of famous men, military commanders and naval heroes such as De Ruyter, Maerten Tromp [29],37 Prince Willem III, Johan Maurits and outstanding scholars like Johann Graevius – works which even today are still scattered in the many corridors and portals of the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti.38 Nicolaes Heinsius (1620-1618) gave him the portrait of Sophia van Nassau painted by Pieter Nason (1612-1688/90) which must still be hidden away somewhere in Florence [30]. Cosimo’s collection of portraits would have been incomplete without the finest society ladies of The Hague. Cosimo expected portraits of both daughters of Admiral van Wassen...

... 681) [36], Adriaen van der Werff (1659-1722) [37], Gerard ter Borch II and Godfried Schalcken (1643-1706) [38].42 Cosimo III will undoubtedly have acquired some of them during his stay in Holland, such as the self-portraits of van der Helst and Koninck, which are dated 1667. It is evident from an exchange of letters that Cosimo preferred a certain type of portrayal: the artist holding a little painting in his hand, as is clear from the portraits of Adriaen van der Werff, Eglon van der Neer, Frans van Mieris and Bartholomeus van der Helst, for example. Other consignments from the Prince of Orange will have enlarged the collection between 1677 and 1684.43...

... to various patricians and collectors who owned works by Rembrandt.44 Cosimo may have acquired one of the two Florentine self-portraits in the course of this journey (Hofstede de Gr...

... of them works with candlelight illumination which had been popular in Florence since Honthorst’s day. Cosimo was so interested in the artist that he visited Dou’s studio in Leiden.48 Here Cosimo may well have acquired Pieter van Slingelandt’s Soap Bubbles painted in 1661 (Hofstede de Groot no. 123).49...

... red a series of genre paintings in the course of his travels. He possessed two superb paintings by Gabriel Metsu (...

... re painting for which he offered 3,000 guilders but to no avail. Of the eight pictures now in the Uffizi Gallery The Quack (an early work; Hofstede de Groot no. 33) [59] could have been acquired on Cosimo’s first journey and perhaps also The Soldier and the Serving Girl (Hofstede de Groot no. 94) [60]. Cosimo will have taken The Young Beauty [61] with him on his second journey. Its companion piece The Old Lover (Hofstede de Groot 223; according to Mieris it depicts the lovesick Brederode) [62] was only shipped in 1674 by way of ‘compensation’, because the Music Scene (Hofstede de Groot no. 171) [63], which the artist had been commissioned to paint in 1672, was still not finished. Many letters were sent back and forth between the Grand Ducal Court and Guasconi, the resident agent in Amsterdam. After repeated admonitions and warnings and a few advances the painting was finally finished in 1675 and dispatched to Florence. All told, Mieris received 2,600 gui...

... rtrait of the Elector (or only the copies by Douwen which are still there today?) were the very first paintings van der Werff delivered to Düsseldorf (for the modest sum of 3,000 guilders!). The self-portrait of the artist will have arrived some time later, since ...

... dio of Willem van de Velde I (c. 1611-1693), from whom he later acquired many paintings through the good services of Pieter Blaeu. Some of...

... red a souvenir of Amsterdam: a view of the town hall painted by Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712) which the a...

2.2 The First Generation of Landscape Painters in Rome

... (1560-1609). In 1600 the brothers Bril were joined in Rome by Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610), whose small landscapes with their mythological and biblical staffage evoked intense admiration. Whereas Matthijs Bril , who died as early as 1583, adhered to Mannerist landscapes, his younger brother Paul Bril (1553/54-1626), who was fortunate enough to be able to express himself in both frescoes and cabinet paintings, initiated a move towards naturalistic landscapes. The frescoes in Santa ...

... settled in Amsterdam.4 We are familiar with a number of his charming drawings in pen and wash of Roman ruins, the layered composition of which was a feature characteristic of his teacher [4-5].5 These topographically fascinating sketche...

... th that he produced as an old man in Holland in 1653 and 1658 [17-18].15More important for our purposes and of greater significance is the graphic oeuvre of Cornelis van Poelenburch (1594/5-1667)16 and Bartholomeus Breenbergh. Poelenburch was in Rome from 1617 to 1622, although he spent some time during those years in Florence [19], where he must have met Jacques Callot. It can be assumed that Poelenburch also learned from Elsheimer and he will definitely have admired Bril’s works. However, he was probably the first Dutch landscape painter whose works attracted attention in Rome because of their artistic and not their topographical character and consequently found their way into Italian collections.17 Poelenburch’s charming cabinet pieces featuring dancing putti and rejoicing angels [20] as well as a peaceful flight into Egypt [21] are more graceful than the mythological images of Francesco Albani (1578-1660) from Bologna, w...

... ot until he was back in Holland that Poelenburch produced most of his vedute, for like all his contemporaries he naturally invented other compositions at home that were based on his abundant memories of Italy. When he was in the country he seems to have preferred red chalk for his drawings.18...

... ossible to monitor his progress from Mannerism to the natural rendering of nature from a predominantly aerial perspective. In all probability the older Poelenburch nudged him in th...

... o around 1600, was in Rome when he met Paulus Bril, whose works made a great impression on him.23 Evidence of this is provided by Tassi’s coastal views in Palazzo Lancellotti [29-30] and Palazzo Doria Pamphili [31-32]. In these scenes, which date to the second half of the 1630s, Tassi moves beyond Bril’s layered composition. Could it be that he, too, perceived something in the loose and airy renderings of the Dutch landscape painters? It was not given to the Dutch artists to try out this style in frescoes, but Tassi, who copied one of Bril’s cabinet paintings, will also have been familiar with the paintings and d...

... range, however, that the 60 landscapes and 14 gouaches recorded in the collection of the Gaspar Roomer (1595-1674) should have disappeared entirely.25Be that as it may, the Dutch played an active part in the formation of the Romantic image of Italy, which Claude would l...

1.2 Mannerists from the Netherlands in Italy

... tion established by their Romanist predecessors.1 Some of them made thei...

4.2 Civil Genre Painting in Munich

... middle of the century can best be considered a result of the upcoming middle-class....

... e other hand limited themselves to genre-like interpreted portrait studies of old men, that were dressed up in a Rembrandt way. Johann Baptist Baader (1717-1780) [14]4 and Conrad Mannlich (1700-...

3.6 The Zick Dynasty

... ption. Already in the early paintings with biblical content [8], made under the eyes of his father, he delighted in Rembrandt-like, spooky chiaroscuro, which cuts across a concentrated beam of light. To strengthen the uncannily impression, he dressed his figures with preference in fanciful, Oriental costumes. David before Saul (Trier) [9]7 and the Arrest of Christ (Church of Our Lady, Coblenz) [10] are telling examples of this.8 His style formed itself on the early Rembrandt and on...

... of 1776 (collection Ernst von Claer)14 [25] can best be compared with the work of Johann (John) Zoffany. Free from reveling in Dutch light, they stand as realistically captured and greatly conceived figures at the beginning of the new Classicsm....

... nd Trautmann of Frankfurt?The influence of Rembrandt is by no means limited to the two personalities of father and son Zick. Anonymous paintings like the Liberation of Saint Peter and the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in Frankfurt [26-27] show a similar style, in this case clearly following the Rembrandt pupil Aert Jansz. Marienhof.17The Mannheim collection offered the artists of this circle a rich choice of pictures by Rembrandt, Rubens and other Netherlandish and Venetian painters. Especially the etchers, such as Andreas Ludwig Bissel (1773-1847), Johannes Pieter de Frey (1770-1834),18 Heinrich Sintzenich (1752–1812) and others, got their inspiration here....