The Story of Dutch PaintingCaffin, Charles H. (Charles Henry)
History
The Story of Dutch Painting
Caffin, Charles H. (Charles Henry)
Painting, Dutch
THE great nursery of Holland landscape was the city of Haarlem. Van
Goyen, it is true, belonged to Leyden, while Amsterdam, which produced
Seghers and Koninck, in course of time claimed many others. But the
majority were citizens of Haarlem or at least spent a portion of their
working life in that city. They include Salomon van Ruisdael and his
nephew Jacob; Pieter Molyn, Jan Wynants, Allart van Everdingen, and the
painters of landscape with animals and figures, Philips Wouwerman,
Adriaen van de Velde, and Nicolaes Berchem.
* * * * *
SALOMON VAN RUISDAEL (about 1600-1670), it has been conjectured, may
have been a pupil of Van Goyen’s because of a similarity between the
early work of both, that has lead to their pictures being attributed to
each other. But later the similarity disappears, Van Goyen displaying an
ampler and more poetic style, while Salomon van Ruisdael continues to be
the industrious painter of landscapes that, while admirably faithful to
the appearance of nature, are comparatively prosaic in feeling. While he
was a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem and lived there
continuously, he visited other cities, for some of his pictures exhibit
views of Leyden, Dordrecht, and Nimwegen. The characteristic of his work
is a quiet, homely dignity, that, while it gives a pleasant record of
the Holland of his day, seldom stirs one to enthusiasm. Perhaps his
chief claim to recognition is that he was the teacher of Jacob van
Ruisdael.
* * * * *
PIETER MOLYN (about 1600-1661) was a successful teacher, who had the
capacity to foster the individuality of his pupils. Among these the most
famous was Gerard Terborch, who occasionally collaborated with his
master by introducing figures into his landscapes. Molyn’s own pictures
were inclined to be meager in composition, and dryly precise in
execution.
* * * * *
JAN WYNANTS (about 1605-1679), again, was fortunate in having a
collaborator, for more than one hundred and fifty of his pictures were
enlivened with figures by that skilful and attractive artist, Adriaen
van de Velde. They add brilliance and animation to landscapes that in
themselves are painstaking but apt to be monotonous.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account