The Age of Rembrandt

The commercial prominence of the Netherlands in the seventeenth century made Amsterdam the major market place for the sale of world art. It also provided the nutrient for the greatest flowering of Dutch culture.

Great patrons like the Medici, the Catholic Church, and the French monarchs, had no counter-part in the Netherlands, and hence almost no monumental works were commissioned. But unlike anywhere else in Europe, the popularity of art among Dutch artisans and merchants supported a large number of artists producing small works in great abundance and variety. Englishman Peter Mundy, visiting Amsterdam in 1640, wrote:

"As for the Art off Painting and affection off the people to Pictures, I thincke none other goe beeyond them, ... All in generall striving to adorne their houses ... with costly peeces, Butchers and bakers ... yea many tymes Blacksmiths, Coblers, etts. [etc], will have some picture or other by their Forge and in their stalle. Such is the generall Notion, enclination and delight that these Countrie Native[s] have to Paintings."

Ideally, an exhibition of seventeenth century Dutch art would represent not only the three great masters--Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Jan Vermeer--and the artists who influenced them, but also the breadth and abundance of high quality painting done in the Netherlands at that time. Such an exhibition would show Hals, Rembrandt, and Vermeer against a backdrop of Mannerist, Caravagguesque, and Italianate paintings; it would include a representation of the best still lifes, biblical and historical paintings, genre scenes, landscapes, marine paintings, and portraits.

The Age of Rembrandt, currently on display in of the period have immense appeal. But the reluctance of Museum directors to loan their most popular showpieces makes the exhibition a disappointment. The exhibition contains no Vermeers and only nine Rembrandts (eight of insignificant quality). The seven paintings by Hals, though over-emphasizing his later work, succeed exceptionally well. The late Portrait of a Woman from the Saint Louis Museum, and the small Portrait of a Man are exceptionally beautiful. They both have the characteristic dark background of Hals' late canvasses, and they demonstrate the virtuosity--particularly in Portrait of a Man--of the abbreviated brush stroke of his later period, and his incredible ability to capture the personality of his subject in paint.

Rembrandt's The Rape of Europa, painted in 1632, beautifully exemplifies the powerful Baroque dramatization, the juxtaposition of rich golden browns with cool tones of blue, and the intricate articulation of the detail which characterize the mythological paintings of his early years. The rest of the Rembrandts are mediocre at best. The two portraits of Joannes Elison and Maria Bocknelle are flat and uninteresting. The Portrait of Young Titus has gained wider acclaim from its price than from its quality. This washed-out portrait--which fetched $2.25 million may even be misnamed. It is the only painting which portrays Rembrandt's son with grey-blue eyes, and the facial features of the child in this portrait do not fully correspond with other representations of Titus. The Man with the Red Cap, though of minor quality among Rembrandts, gives some indication of the deep emotional feeling and the expressive, abstracted brush stroke of Rembrandt's late paintings. The other three portraits and the landscape are of even less note.

The Head of an Old Man by Carel Fabritius, Rembrandt's most talented pupil, is one of this exhibition's outstanding pieces. The tiny square panel radiates deep emotional expression and contemplative moodiness. The heavy impasto (thickness of paint), the bold brush strokes, and the warm brown palette are reminiscent of Rembrandt portraiture at its best.

The pale colors and excited forms of the Mannerists are well represented in this show by the paintings of Bloemaert, Cornelis Van Haarlem, and Honthorst and Terbrugghen--with rich colors and deep chiaroscuro effects (contrasts of light and dark) are also fairly well sampled, as are the Italianate canvasses, including paintings by Poelenburgh and Nicolaes Berchem. The influence of these three styles is very marked in seventeenth century Dutch paintings, particularly in the Rembrandts, but the range of Rembrandt paintings in this exhibition is not adequate to demonstrate this clearly.

One of the gaping holes in this show is the presentation of still life. The piece by Willem Kalf stands out among the nine still lifes in the exhibition. His rich colors and intricate brushwork, with a complete attention to detail and a skillful rendering of textures and density make this piece exceptionally exciting. But the nine paintings convey none of the Dutch passion for collections of little objects or the broad range of subjects and styles in Dutch still life painting. As a group, these few pictures present an inadequate view of this important kind of painting.

Many significant influences on Dutch painting in the seventeenth century came from the South via engravings and etchings; these are not included in the special exhibition. However, at the Fenway entrance on the first floor, the museum has arranged a display of prints, from its own collection, in conjunction with the Rembrandt exhibition. The print show contains late Mannerist engravings by Goltzius and others, as well as a variety of genre works, portraits, landscapes, and several Rembrandt etchings. Rembrandt's genius is more adequately shown in these prints than in the paintings upstairs.

The print collection shows Rembrandt as a genre painter and portraitist, a landscape artist, a painter of biblical, mythological, and historical scenes, and it even contains Rembrandt still lifes. The great range and mastery revealed in these etchings accounts for Rembrandt's reputation as the master of print-making. The etching of Rembrandt's Mother, one of the best prints on display, demonstrates the scribbling, playful quality of line in Rembrandt's early etchings, as well as his superb control. In short, the print galleries are a necessary stop for the edified but somewhat disappointed gallerygoer who has just seen the Age of Rembrandt upstairs.

Rembrandt's The Rape of Europa, painted in 1632, beautifully exemplifies the powerful Baroque dramatization, the juxtaposition of rich golden browns with cool tones of blue, and the intricate articulation of the detail which characterize the mythological paintings of his early years. The rest of the Rembrandts are mediocre at best. The two portraits of Joannes Elison and Maria Bocknelle are flat and uninteresting. The Portrait of Young Titus has gained wider acclaim from its price than from its quality. This washed-out portrait--which fetched $2.25 million may even be misnamed. It is the only painting which portrays Rembrandt's son with grey-blue eyes, and the facial features of the child in this portrait do not fully correspond with other representations of Titus. The Man with the Red Cap, though of minor quality among Rembrandts, gives some indication of the deep emotional feeling and the expressive, abstracted brush stroke of Rembrandt's late paintings. The other three portraits and the landscape are of even less note.

The Head of an Old Man by Carel Fabritius, Rembrandt's most talented pupil, is one of this exhibition's outstanding pieces. The tiny square panel radiates deep emotional expression and contemplative moodiness. The heavy impasto (thickness of paint), the bold brush strokes, and the warm brown palette are reminiscent of Rembrandt portraiture at its best.

The pale colors and excited forms of the Mannerists are well represented in this show by the paintings of Bloemaert, Cornelis Van Haarlem, and Honthorst and Terbrugghen--with rich colors and deep chiaroscuro effects (contrasts of light and dark) are also fairly well sampled, as are the Italianate canvasses, including paintings by Poelenburgh and Nicolaes Berchem. The influence of these three styles is very marked in seventeenth century Dutch paintings, particularly in the Rembrandts, but the range of Rembrandt paintings in this exhibition is not adequate to demonstrate this clearly.

One of the gaping holes in this show is the presentation of still life. The piece by Willem Kalf stands out among the nine still lifes in the exhibition. His rich colors and intricate brushwork, with a complete attention to detail and a skillful rendering of textures and density make this piece exceptionally exciting. But the nine paintings convey none of the Dutch passion for collections of little objects or the broad range of subjects and styles in Dutch still life painting. As a group, these few pictures present an inadequate view of this important kind of painting.

Many significant influences on Dutch painting in the seventeenth century came from the South via engravings and etchings; these are not included in the special exhibition. However, at the Fenway entrance on the first floor, the museum has arranged a display of prints, from its own collection, in conjunction with the Rembrandt exhibition. The print show contains late Mannerist engravings by Goltzius and others, as well as a variety of genre works, portraits, landscapes, and several Rembrandt etchings. Rembrandt's genius is more adequately shown in these prints than in the paintings upstairs.

The print collection shows Rembrandt as a genre painter and portraitist, a landscape artist, a painter of biblical, mythological, and historical scenes, and it even contains Rembrandt still lifes. The great range and mastery revealed in these etchings accounts for Rembrandt's reputation as the master of print-making. The etching of Rembrandt's Mother, one of the best prints on display, demonstrates the scribbling, playful quality of line in Rembrandt's early etchings, as well as his superb control. In short, the print galleries are a necessary stop for the edified but somewhat disappointed gallerygoer who has just seen the Age of Rembrandt upstairs.