Flemish, Netherlandish and Dutch Painting in the collection
The Annunciation Diptych
In the first half of the 15th century the painter Jan van Eyck worked in the city of Bruges in Flanders, which was at that time one of the wealthiest and most prosperous in Europe due to its flourishing commercial activities.
Painted on panel using the recently invented technique of oil painting that allowed for tonal gradations and precise detail, this work reveals the artist’s remarkable ability to model the volumes of the figures through contrasts of light and shade.
Portrait of a Stout Man. Robert de Masmines (?)
Together with van Eyck, Robert Campin was one of the great pioneers of Flemish painting. This sitter is depicted in a life-like manner devoid of any type of idealisation, reflecting the artist’s desire to offer a faithful reproduction of reality.
The technique of oil painting allowed Campin to represent the hair and the fur of the coat in a highly detailed manner and to model the face through subtle tonal gradations.
Portrait of a Young Man praying (recto)
Hans Memling represents the evolution of portraiture in the Low Countries, where depictions of sitters evolved from images of the face alone to include the bust and arms.
The inclusion of an open window giving onto a landscape, which creates a sense of depth in the composition, is characteristic of Netherlandish painting.
Flowers in an Jug (verso)
On the reverse of the panel is a vase of irises and lilies, symbols of the Virgin Mary.
The panel was part of a diptych which originally had a depiction of the Virgin on one panel and this praying donor on the other.
Adam and Eve
Jan Gossaert, also called Mabuse, was one of a group of painters known as the Romanists who introduced the aesthetic of the Italian Renaissance into the Low Countries. Like many of the artists of this group Gossaert travelled to Rome where he studied and drew the city’s classical ruins and its buildings and monuments.
Gossaert’s interest in classicism is evident in both the composition of this work and in his interest in depicting the nude, a subject that he was the first Netherlandish artist to depict.
Landscape with the Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Considered the first landscape painter, Joachim Patinir used this element in his works as more than a background for a religious scene, conceding it a degree of importance that results in it being more important and on occasions occupying more space than the principal subject.
A high viewpoint and distant horizon allow the painter to depict the trees, mountains and other elements in the landscape in great detail and within a sweeping panoramic view. The use of successive receding planes, starting with a grey-brown one in the foreground followed by green tones in the middle ground and subtly graduated shades of blue in the background increase the sense of space and pictorial depth.
Portrait of Jacques Le Roy
Together with Rubens, Anthony van Dyck is one of the great masters of Baroque painting. Although Flemish, in the last years of his life he worked in England as court painter. This portrait is a good example of the dignity and elegance with which he presented his sitters, among whom Jacques Le Roy was a leading citizen in the wealthy city of Antwerp.
Van Dyck’s style follows that of his master Rubens and the great Venetian painters such as Titian, who used vivid colours and a loose brushstroke.
Venus and Cupid
Rubens is the great painter of the Baroque age. He trained in Italy, where he developed a passionate interest in Titian, executing a number of copies of his works. Rubens went on to develop a highly individual style characterised by the opulent concept of beauty for which he would become so celebrated.
In this work the rich contrasts of colour applied with loose brushstrokes and a brilliant type of lighting that illuminates Venus’s body are characteristic of his distinctive style. The Museum’s collection has three further works by this Flemish artist.
Self-portrait wearing a hat and two Chains
Rembrandt was the leading dutch painter of the 17th century. While he worked in a wide range of genres, it is portraiture that best reveals his remarkable technique and powers of observation. Rembrandt painted himself on numerous occasions throughout his life. This image was painted after the death of his wife at a time when his career in Amsterdam had begun to decline.
Rembrandt looks at the sitter with a serious, melancholy expression while the intense light illuminates his face so that it stands out against the dark background.
Still Life with a Chinese Bowl, Nautilus Cup and Other Objects
Willem Kalf’s still lifes are celebrated for their enormous refinement and sophistication. In order to achieve this effect the artist made use of costly, exquisite objects such as the Middle Eastern carpet, rare pieces of porcelain and an extremely valuable nautilus cup seen here, which also appears in the other two works by Kalf in the Collection.
We also see a watch, symbolising the passing of time and the fleeting nature of life. The highly detailed and meticulous technique and the interplay of light reveal the different textures of the objects depicted.
The Naughty Drummer
Maes trained in Rembrandt’s studio where he learned to make full use of the effects of chiaroscuro. He specialised in portraits and genre scenes that offered realistic depictions of daily life in 17th century Holland.
This small format work was intended to decorate the house of a middle-class mercantile client. It depicts a mother chastising her son in an interior flooded with light that enters through the window. In the mirror we see the reflection of the artist himself, suggesting that the painting may depict his own family.
Panoramic Landscape with a City in the Background
Philips Koninck specialised in panoramic landscapes with a high viewpoint. The horizon line divides the scene so that the sky occupies most of the composition. The dark clouds that contrast with the areas of blue sky cast shadows on the fields, which, in turn, create the impression of depth through their alternation with lighter areas.
Together with genre scenes and still lifes, landscape was one of the subjects most favoured by Dutch painters of this period.
Les Vessenots in Auvers
In 1886 the dutch painter Vincent van Gogh moved to France where he would die four years later. During his lifetime Van Gogh’s art was not appreciated and he only sold one painting. The support of his brother enabled him to continue painting in his highly unique style, interpreting reality through colour as a projection of his state of mind.
Van Gogh applied the pigment with short, rapid and heavily charged brushstrokes. He painted this canvas a few weeks before committing suicide.
New York City, 3 (unfinished)
Together with Theo van Doesburg and Bart van der Leck (also represented in the collection) Piet Mondrian founded the De Stijl group during World War I. They published their theory on art in the magazine of the same name, proposing the creation of a universal art based on order and harmony with the aim of regenerating war-torn society.
Through the opposition of horizontal and vertical lines and the use of primary colours (blue, red and yellow) Mondrian aimed to achieve balance and order.
The Key of the Fields (La Clef des champs)
The belgian painter René Magritte was associated with the Surrealists although he chose not to focus on the world of the subconscious. His works depict visual enigmas painted in a realistic manner that confuse the viewer. In the broken shards of glass here we see the landscape that is outside the window.
In a letter to the Surrealist André Breton, Magritte wrote, “The principal aim was to eliminate the difference between what can be seen inside and outside the window.”