Faith and Dutch Pride
Dutch cities swelled with the influx of immigrants from the south taking refuge in religiously tolerant, albeit strongly Protestant, urban environments. Protestant churches in the Netherlands were largely devoid of religious imagery. Instead, artists painted images of biblical figures and contemporary religious structures such as Jan van der Heyden’s View of the Westerkerk, Amsterdam for display in people’s homes as expressions of their piety and affluence.
Prosperous Dutch Burghers
Successful merchants, powerful politicians, influential scholars and other prominent individuals often commissioned portraits of themselves, their spouses, and sometimes their children. Rembrandt’s portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh, the unquestionable jewel of the Van Otterloo collection, is one ofthe finest portraits by Rembrandt in private hands. Although the artist painted it when he was only twenty-six, Rembrandt sensitively rendered the effects of age and tenderly captured his subject’s soft cheeks, bright eyes, and crisp linen cap.
The Art of Daily Life
The daily lives of the rich and poor became a new subject for painting during the Dutch Golden Age. These sometimes humorous genre scenes also contain allegorical symbolism. The importance of frugality and modesty, and the fleeting nature of life, were especially popular themes in a society grappling with how to express its new-found prosperity while maintaining a pious and humble lives In this scene by Nicolaes Maes, a woman deftly picks the pockets of a sleeping man while coyly inviting the viewer’s silence. A beautiful and perhaps cautionary still life of glasses, jars, pipes and tobacco alludes to the sources for the man’s drowsy vulnerability. Maes studied with Rembrandt and is regarded as one of his most important pupils.
Allegories of Myth and Morality
Intrigued by new translations of ancient Greek myths, many Dutch artists incorporated classical imagery in their work. In this monumental canvas by Aelbert Cuyp, Orpheus plays the violin for an enchanted menagerie of animals from Europe and around the globe. Cuyp’s ambitious paintings not only highlight his skills as a landscape and animal painter, but also the era’s lively exchange of artistic, literary and scientific ideas. Cuyp, who never left Europe and would not have seen many of these animals firsthand, drew upon prints and stuffed specimens in aristocratic “cabinets of curiosities” to depict them. Allegorical imagery was not limited to paintings in 17th-century Dutch households. The owner of this stunning four-door cupboard could display it and avoid the criticism of ostentation because the cupboard served as a daily reminder of his religious obligations — a veritable “sermon in wood.”
Land and Water
The Dutch Republic dramatically expanded its influence and financial prospects through voyages around the globe, becoming the dominant international maritime power in the 17th-century. Accordingly, Dutch artists were the first to paint the sea in its own right — a reflection of the importance of water in the nation’s psyche. Maritime views are often characterized by precise depictions of ships and atmospheric rendering of the weather. The fertile landscape was similarly a favorite new subject. Cloud-filled skies billowing over a narrow stretch of earth or sea emphasize the flat horizons for which the Netherlands is known.
Still-Life: A Table-Top World>
The carefully balanced compositions in Dutch still lifes are often visual odes to prosperity and pleasure with elements of moralistic symbolism. As the nation emerged as a powerful mercantile force, Dutch artists filled their canvases with the staples and luxuries of the trades they dominated — Dutch cheese, French wine, Baltic grain, South American tobacco, and Asian porcelain and pepper.
When painting seemingly informal assemblages, Dutch artists played with balance and depth to enhance the drama and intimacy ofthe scene. In Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s Glass Vase with Flowers on a Stone Ledge, the artist used light in innovative ways, spotlighting the intensely colored flowers against a deep black background. The vase contains flowers that bloomed at different times ofthe year, somehow enhancing their beauty by combining faithful representation with impossibility.
The Collectors
Eijk van Otterloo was born in the Netherlands and Rose-Marie in Belgium. They met and married in the United States, where they developed deep ties with New England. The couple enjoys living with their collection, but they are also dedicated to sharing it with others, generously lending to institutions around the globe.
The Van Otterloos have said, “We are delighted to have this opportunity to share the entire collection with the American public. Within these works of art lie a world of beauty, meaning and even humor. We hope that visitors to the exhibition receive as much pleasure, inspiration and delight from them as we do.”
Over the last two decades, the Van Otterloos have assembled a Dutch and Flemish collection reflecting their cultural heritage and rivaling any of its kind in the world. With expert guidance from Dr. Simon Levie, former director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and Dr. Frederik J. Duparc, former director of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Van Otterloos established clear goals and criteria, making the choices — sometimes to acquire, sometimes to decline or sell — that hone a connoisseur's discerning eye.
Painting credits:
1. Glass Vase with Flowers on a Stone Ledge, c. 1655–60; Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606–1683/84); Oil on panel; The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection; Image courtesy Peabody Essex Museum.
2. Portrait of a Young Woman, 1633; Rembrandt van Rijn. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, image from Wikipedia.
3. Winter Landscape Near a Village, c. 1610–15; Hendrick Avercamp (1585–1634); Oil on panel; The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection; Image courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
4. Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh, 1632. Oil on panel. The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection, on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
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