Great Dutch. Paintings by Dutch artists A short message about outstanding Dutch artists

Main trends, stages of development of painting and iconic painters of Holland.

Dutch painting

Introduction

Dutch painting XVII century is sometimes mistakenly considered art for the middle class, admiring Flemish painting of this period and calling it courtly, aristocratic. No less erroneous is the opinion that Dutch artists deal only with depicting the immediate human environment, using landscapes, cities, seas, and people’s lives for this purpose, while Flemish art is devoted to historical painting, which in art theory is considered a more sublime genre. In contrast, public buildings in Holland, which were expected to have an imposing appearance, as well as wealthy visitors, whatever their religious beliefs or origins, required paintings with allegorical or mythological themes.

Any division of the Netherlandish school of painting into Flemish and Dutch branches up to early XVII V. due to the constant creative exchange between the areas, it would be artificial. For example, Peter Aertsen, born in Amsterdam, before returning to hometown in 1557 he worked in Antwerp, and his student and nephew Joachim Bukelaer spent his entire life in Antwerp. In connection with the signing of the Union of Utrecht and the separation of the seven northern provinces, many residents after 1579–1581. emigrated from the northern Netherlands to the Protestant part of the artificially divided country.

"Butcher shop" Artsen.

Development of art

Impulse to independent development Dutch painting came from Flemish artists. Bartholomeus Spranger, born in Antwerp and educated in Rome, became the founder of a virtuoso, courtly, artificial style, which, as a result of Spranger's temporary residence in Vienna and Prague, became an international "language". In 1583, the painter and art theorist Karel van Mander brought this style to Haarlem. One of the main masters of this Haarlem or Utrecht mannerism was Abraham Bloemaert.

Then Isaiah van de Velde, born in Holland in a family of emigrants from Flanders, and studied in a circle of painters, the center of which were the Flemish artists David Vinkboons and Gillis Koninksloe, in his early paintings worked out realistic style painting, which referred to Jan Brueghel the Elder, with bright color gradations artistic plans. Around 1630, a trend towards unification took hold in Holland artistic space and the merging of colors from different layers. Since then, the multifaceted nature of the things depicted gave way to a sense of space and an atmosphere of airy haze, which were conveyed with a gradually increasing monochrome use of color. Isaiah van de Velde embodied this stylistic revolution in art together with his student Jan van Goen.

Winter landscape. Velde.

One of the most monumental landscapes of the High Baroque, " Big forest", painted by Jacob van Ruisdael, belongs to the next period in the development of Dutch painting. The viewer no longer has to experience the rather amorphous appearance of a sprawling space in gray-brown tones with a few striking motifs; henceforth the impression is made of a fixed, energetically accentuated structure.

Genre painting

Dutch genre painting, which, in fact, can hardly be called just portraiture everyday life, often carrying a moralistic message, is represented in Vienna by the works of all its major masters. Its center was Leiden, where Gerard Doux, Rembrandt's first student, founded a school known as the Leiden School of Fine Painting (fijnschilders).

Figurative painting

Meeting of company officers. Frans Hals.

The three greatest Dutch masters of figurative painting, Frans Hals, Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer of Delft, followed each other within an interval of almost a generation. Hals was born in Antwerp and worked in Haarlem mainly as a portrait painter. For many, he became the personification of the open, cheerful and spontaneous virtuoso painter, while the art of Rembrandt, a thinker - as the cliché goes - reveals the origins human destiny. This is both fair and wrong. What immediately catches your eye when looking at a portrait or group portrait by Hals is the ability to convey a person who is overwhelmed with emotion in movement. To depict a fleeting moment, Hals uses open, noticeably irregular strokes, intersecting in zigzags or cross-hatching. This creates the effect of a constantly shimmering surface, like a sketch, which merges into a single image only when viewed from a certain distance. After the return of Rothschild's "gifts", an expressive portrait of a man in black was acquired for the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein and thus returned to Vienna. The Kunsthistorisches Museum owns only one painting by Franz Hals, a portrait young man, which already appeared in the collection of Charles VI as one of the few examples of “Protestant” art in Holland. Portraits painted in the late period of Hals's work are closer to Rembrandt's works in terms of psychological penetration and lack of posing.

Thanks to subtle transitions of shades and areas of chiaroscuro, Rembrandt's chiaroscuro seems to envelop the figures in a resonant space in which mood, atmosphere, something intangible and even invisible reside. Rembrandt's work in Vienna art gallery represented only by portraits, although "The Artist's Mother" and "The Artist's Son" can also be considered single-figure historical paintings. In the so-called “Large Self-Portrait” of 1652, the artist appears before us in a brown blouse, with his face turned in three quarters. His gaze is self-confident and even defiant.

Vermeer

Vermeer's undramatic art, focused entirely on contemplation, was considered a reflection of the Dutch middle class, now independent and content with what it had. However, the simplicity of Vermeer's artistic concepts is deceptive. Their clarity and calm are the result of precise analysis, including the use of the latest technical inventions such as the camera obscura. "Allegory of Painting", created around 1665-1666, Vermeer's pinnacle work in terms of work with color, can be called his most ambitious painting. The process initiated by Jan van Eyck, a native of the northern Netherlands, passive, detached contemplation of the motionless world, has always remained main theme Dutch painting and in the works of Vermeer reached an allegorical and at the same time real apotheosis.

Dutch painting

updated: September 16, 2017 by: Gleb

I decided to make a selection of Dutch people who, in my opinion, are famous all over the world...

So let's get started:

Oh yes, in first place of course - Vincent van Gogh, not recognized during life, but loved modern world for bright colors and imaginary simplicity. To date this is the most popular artist among thieves.

Rembrandt van Rijn- great Dutch painter and engraver. One of his most famous paintings is Night watch, the picture is reputed to be mysterious. Art critics and art lovers have been scratching their heads over this painting for centuries. Thus, one venerable Dutch art historian of the early 19th century spent years to prove that the detachment goes to parade on the occasion of the arrival of the French Queen Marie de Medici in Amsterdam in 1639. The most alluring among the mysteries of the “Watch” is the image of a strange girl in a golden outfit... Modern Dutch people love and revere this artist very much... Since the beginning of the 20th century, a policy has been pursued of returning the paintings of this artist back to their homeland.

Johannes Vermeer of Delft. He lived for a short time, wrote little, and was discovered late. Vermeer's most famous and "touring" work is "Girl with a Pearl Earring", owned by the Hague Museum. Most of Vermeer's paintings belong to museums and private collectors in the United States. There is not a single work by this Dutch artist in Russia.

Anne Frank– The diary of the Dutch girl Anne Frank is one of the most famous and impressive documents about Nazi atrocities. Anna kept a diary from June 12, 1942 to August 1, 1944. At first she wrote only for herself, until in the spring of 1944 she heard a speech on the radio by the Minister of Education of the Netherlands, Bolkenstein. He said that all the evidence of the Dutch during the occupation period should become public property. Impressed by these words, Anna decided after the war to publish a book based on her diary.

Paul Verhoeven- famous Dutch director. Creator of such films as: the fantastic action film "RoboCop" (1987), which grossed more than 50 million dollars at the box office, the super action movie "Total Recall" (1990) with Arnold Schwarzenegger in leading role. The greatest success was expected in the cult thriller Basic Instinct (1992), starring Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas. The erotic drama Showgirls (1995), which Verhoeven filmed after this, completely failed at the box office. The director managed to partially “rehabilitate himself” by filming the science-fiction action movie “Starship Troopers” (1997). The science fiction thriller “The Invisible Man” (2000) was also partially successful, after the release of which Verhoeven took a six-year creative break.

Mata Hari- the main courtesan of world espionage. Margaretha Gertrude Zelle tied the knot with 38-year-old Rudolf McLeod. The couple, whose age difference was 20 years, met through an advertisement in a newspaper: the lonely officer McLeod wanted romantic communication with the opposite sex, and it was him who Margareta chose as the object of passion. However, some time after the marriage and moving to the island of Java, Margareta became disillusioned with her chosen one: a Dutchman of Scottish origin, McLeod, suffered from alcoholism, took out all his anger and lack of fulfillment in military affairs on his wife and two children, and also kept mistresses. The marriage was failing, and Margareta concentrated on studying Indonesian traditions, in particular local national dances. According to legend, it was in 1897 that she first began performing under the pseudonym Mata Hari, which in Malay means “sun” (“mata” - eye, “hari” - day, literally “eye of the day”). From this time on, the transformation into a spy begins...

Armin Van Buren– For all fans electronic music The name of the Dutchman Armin van Buuren is the name of a true legend. And this is not an exaggeration. It is truly difficult to overestimate the importance of this musician, DJ and simply exceptionally energetic personality for the entire trance industry.

Tiësto– Real name: Thijs Vervest. Tiesto is the number 2 DJ in the world (and often number 1 on DJMag's list). Tiësto broke the world record for drinking Red Bull in 24 hours, he managed to drink 31 cans - almost double the lethal dose, but he doesn't want to take it anymore.

Dirk Nicholas Lawyer– Dutch football player (midfielder) and football coach, former coach of the national teams of the Netherlands, UAE, South Korea, Belgium, Russia, as well as St. Petersburg Zenit, Rangers and other clubs. Having won the 2007 Russian Football Championship with Zenit, Advocaat became the first foreign coach to win this tournament. On May 28, 2008, Dick Advocaat was awarded the title of honorary citizen of St. Petersburg. Moreover, for this, the city parliament had to issue a special law for the coach personally, since the law of St. Petersburg “On the title of “Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg” did not allow Dick Advocaat to be awarded the title of honorary citizen “on a general basis.”

Benedict Spinoza- Dutch rationalist philosopher, naturalist, one of the main representatives of modern philosophy. He was born into a Jewish family, but the Jews excommunicated him. Christians hated him equally. Although the idea of God dominates his entire philosophy, churchmen accused him of atheism. The years of Spinoza's life coincided with the beginning of the modern era. In his work, he carried out a synthesis of scientific ideas of the Renaissance with Greek, Stoic, Neoplatonic and scholastic philosophy.

Which famous Dutch people do you know? Share in the comments)

Fruit and fly

Artist Jan Van Huysum great artist and master of Dutch still life, lived at the end of the seventeenth - beginning of the eighteenth century, and enjoyed enormous popularity among his contemporaries.

Very little is known about the life and work of Jan van Huysum. He was born into the family of the artist Justus van Huysum Sr., his three brothers were also artists. In 1704 Jan Van Huysum married Margaret Schouten.

Portrait of Jan van Huysum by Arnold Bonen, circa 1720

The artist very quickly became famous artist and a recognized master of Dutch still life. Crowned heads decorated their chambers and state rooms with paintings by the master. Jan Van Huysum's works were not available to the rest of the public. The fact is that the master worked on each painting for a very long time. And his work was very expensive - tens of times more expensive than paintings Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Albert Cuyp.
Each painting consists of dozens of layers of transparent paint and meticulously painted details: layer by layer and stroke by stroke. Thus, over the course of several years, this master’s still life was born.

Jan van Huysum's brushes include several quite interesting landscapes, but the artist's main theme is still lifes. Experts divide Jan Van Huysum's still lifes into two groups: still lifes on a light background and still lifes on a dark background. “Light still lifes” require more “mature” skill from the artist - experience and talent are needed for competent light modeling. However, these are already details.

Better look at these works. They are truly wonderful.

Paintings by artist Jan Van Huysum

Fruits, flowers and insects

Mallows and other flowers in a vase

Flowers and fruits

Vase with flowers

Flowers and fruits

Vase with flowers

Flowers and fruits

Flowers in a terracotta vase

Vase with flowers in a niche

Fruits and flowers

Basket with flowers and butterflies

Flemish painting - one of the classical schools in history fine arts. Anyone interested in classical drawing has heard this phrase, but what is behind such a noble name? Could you, without hesitation, identify several features of this style and name the main names? In order to more confidently navigate the halls major museums and be a little less shy about the distant 17th century, you need to know this school.

History of the Flemish School

The 17th century began with an internal split in the Netherlands due to religious and political struggles for the internal freedom of the state. This led to a split in the cultural sphere. The country splits into two parts, southern and northern, whose painting begins to develop in different directions. Southerners who remained in the Catholic faith under Spanish rule become representatives Flemish school, while northern artists art critics refer to Dutch school.

Representatives of the Flemish school of painting continued the traditions of their older Italian colleagues-artists of the Renaissance: Raphael Santi, Michelangelo Buonarroti who paid great attention to religious and mythological themes. Moving along a familiar track, complemented by inorganic rough elements of realism, Dutch artists could not create outstanding works of art. The stagnation continued until he stood up at the easel Peter Paul Rubens(1577-1640). What was so amazing that this Dutchman could bring to art?

Famous master

Rubens' talent was able to breathe life into the painting of the southerners, which was not very remarkable before him. Closely familiar with heritage Italian masters, the artist continued the tradition of turning to religious themes. But, unlike his colleagues, Rubens was able to harmoniously weave features into classical plots own style, gravitating towards the richness of colors, the depiction of nature filled with life.

From the artist's paintings, as from open window as if it's spilling sunlight (« Last Judgment", 1617). Unusual solutions for constructing a composition of classical episodes from the Holy Scriptures or pagan mythology attracted attention to new talent among his contemporaries, and still do. Such innovation looked fresh in comparison with the gloomy, muted shades of the paintings of his Dutch contemporaries.

Characteristic feature steel and models by a Flemish artist. Plump fair-haired ladies, painted with interest without inappropriate embellishment, often became central heroines paintings by Rubens. Examples can be found in the paintings “The Judgment of Paris” (1625), "Susanna and the Elders" (1608), "Venus in front of the mirror"(1615), etc.

In addition, Rubens contributed influence on the formation of the landscape genre. He began to develop in the painting of Flemish artists to the main representative of the school, but it was the work of Rubens that set the main features of the national landscape painting, reflecting the local color of the Netherlands.

Followers

Rubens, who quickly became famous, soon found himself surrounded by imitators and students. The master taught them to use folk characteristics locality, color, to glorify, perhaps, unusual human beauty. This attracted spectators and artists. Followers tried themselves in different genres - from portraits ( Gaspare De Caine, Abraham Janssens) to still lifes (Frans Snyders) and landscapes (Jan Wildens). Household painting Flemish school originally performed Adrian Brouwer And David Teniers Jr.

One of Rubens' most successful and notable students was Anthony Van Dyck(1599 - 1641). His author's style developed gradually, at first completely subordinated to imitation of his mentor, but over time he became more careful with paints. The student had a penchant for gentle, muted shades in contrast to the teacher.

Van Dyck's paintings make it clear that he did not have a strong inclination to build complex compositions, volumetric spaces with heavy figures, which distinguished his teacher's paintings. The gallery of the artist’s works is filled with single or paired portraits, ceremonial or intimate, which indicates the author’s genre priorities that differ from Rubens.

Dutch artists made a great contribution to the work of masters who began their activities in the 17th century and did not stop until the present time. However, they had an influence not only on their colleagues, but also on professionals in literature (Valentin Proust, Donna Tartt) and photography (Ellen Kooi, Bill Gekas and others).

Beginning of development

In 1648, Holland gained independence, but for the formation of a new state, the Netherlands had to endure an act of revenge on the part of Spain, which killed about 10 thousand people in the Flemish city of Antwerp at that time. As a result of the massacre, the inhabitants of Flanders emigrated from the territories controlled by the Spanish authorities.

Based on this, it would be logical to recognize that the impetus for independent Dutch artists came precisely from Flemish creativity.

Since the 17th century, both state and artistic branches have occurred, leading to the formation of two schools of art, separated by nationality. They had a common origin, but were quite different in their characteristics. While Flanders remained under the wings of Catholicism, Holland experienced a completely new prosperity, starting from the 17th century.

Dutch culture

In the 17th century, the new state had just embarked on the path of its development, completely breaking ties with the art of the past era.

The fight with Spain gradually subsided. The national mood began to be traced in popular circles as they moved away from the Catholic religion previously imposed by the authorities.

Protestant rule had a contradictory view of decoration, which led to a reduction in works on religious themes, and in the future only played into the hands of secular art.

Never before now has the real surrounding reality been depicted so often in paintings. In their works, Dutch artists wanted to show ordinary everyday life without embellishment, refined tastes and nobility.

The secular artistic explosion gave rise to such numerous directions as landscape, portrait, everyday genre and still life (the existence of which even the most developed centers of Italy and France did not know).

The Dutch artists' own vision of realism, expressed in portraits, landscapes, interior works and still life paintings, aroused interest in this skill from all levels of society.

Thus, Dutch art The 17th century was nicknamed the "Golden Age of Dutch painting", securing its status as the most outstanding era in painting in the Netherlands.

It is important to know: there is a misconception that the Dutch school depicted only the mediocrity of human existence, but the masters of those times brazenly destroyed the framework with the help of their fantastic works (for example, “Landscape with John the Baptist” by Bloemaert).

Dutch artists of the 17th century. Rembrandt

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn is considered to be one of the largest artistic figures in Holland. In addition to his activities as an artist, he was also engaged in engraving and was rightfully considered a master of chiaroscuro.

His legacy is rich in individual diversity: portraits, genre scenes, still lifes, landscapes, as well as paintings on subjects of history, religion and mythology.

His ability to master chiaroscuro allowed him to enhance the emotional expressiveness and spirituality of a person.

While working on portraits, he worked on human facial expressions.

Due to the heartbreaking tragic events, his later works were filled with dull, revealing deep feelings people with light, as a result of which brilliant works became of no interest to anyone.

At that time, the fashion was for external beauty without attempts to dive into depth, as well as naturalism, which was at odds with frank realism.

The painting "Return" prodigal son"Every Russian lover of fine art can see with his own eyes, since this work located in the Hermitage of St. Petersburg.

Frans Hals

Frans Hals is a great Dutch artist and major portrait painter who helped introduce the genre of free writing into Russian art.

The work that brought him fame was the painting entitled “The Banquet of the Officers of the Rifle Company of St. George,” painted in 1616.

His portrait works were too natural for that time, which was at odds with the present day. Due to the fact that the artist remained misunderstood, he, like the great Rembrandt, ended his life in poverty. "The Gypsy" (1625-1630) is one of his most famous works.

Jan Steen

Jan Steen is one of the most witty and cheerful Dutch artists at first glance. Making fun of social vices, he loved to resort to the art of satire of society. While entertaining the viewer with harmless, funny images of revelers and ladies of easy virtue, he actually warned against such a lifestyle.

The artist also had calmer paintings, for example, the work “Morning Toilet,” which at first glance seemed like an absolutely innocent action. But if you look closely at the details, you can be quite surprised by their revelations: these are traces of stockings that previously squeezed the legs, and a pot filled with something indecent at night, as well as a dog that allows itself to be right on the owner’s pillow.