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Micheline's Blog

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Category Archives: Baroque

The Golden Age of Dutch painting: a Prelude

05 Friday May 2023

Posted by michelinewalker in Baroque, Books of Hours, Dutch Golden Age of painting, Illuminated Manuscripts, The Netherlands

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Antwerp, Dutch Golden Age of painting, Eighty Years' War, Flanders, Flemish Baroque artist, Hélène Fourment, History, Peter Paul Rubens, Suzanne Lunden, The Burgundian State, The Duchy of Brabant, Twelve Years' Truce

Portrait of Susanna Lunden (née Fourment) or Le Chapeau de Paille, by Peter Paul Rubens (The National Gallery, London)

Suzanne Fourment Lunden, portrayed above, was Baroque Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens‘s sister-in-law. In 1630, four years after Rubens’s first wife, Isabella Bran(d)t, died of the plague, fifty-three-year-old Rubens married sixteen-year-old Hélène Fourment. His first marriage to Isabella Brant had been a very happy marriage, except for the loss of Clara Serena, the couple’s first child, a daughter. Clara Serena has been featured briefly in an earlier post and will be featured again. Rubens’s marriage to Hélène Fourment was also a happy but short union. It lasted ten years. Peter Paul Rubens died in 1640 and Hélène remarried. Rubens was a family man, which, somehow, I could not “sense” from his many portraits. He loved his profession, and he loved his family.

Susanna Fourment Lunden has very large eyes. It may have been a characteristic of portraits executed during the Dutch Golden Age of painting, but Rubens depiction of Marie de’ Medici, Louis XIII’s mother and Anne of Austria, Louis XIII’s wife are formal portraits. However, Netherlandish artists would produce tronies, or portraits showing a facial expression.

Peter Paul Rubens’s self-portrait, 1623 (WikiArt.org)

The Dutch Golden Age of painting

  • the word Dutch,
  • the wars of religion,
  • the Peace of Münster, 1648 (Eighty Years’ War)
  • the Peace of Westphalia, 1648 (Thirty Years’ War)
  • the Congress of Vienna. (1814-1815)

I’m about to post articles on the Dutch Golden Age of painting, and Rubens will be our main figure. Baroque Flemish artist and diplomat Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). He is associated with the Dutch Golden Age of painting, and he will be our main figure. After spending several years in Italy, Peter Paul Rubens settled in Antwerp (Anvers), a Flemish city, in the Duchy of Brabant during the Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621). In 1609, Antwerp was located in what would become the partitioned Duchy of Brabant. However, he died in 1640, before the end of the Eighty Years’ War and the Peace of Münster. Rubens belongs quite literally to the Dutch Golden Age of painting. Yet, the word Dutch may be confusing. The Netherlands was partitioned, but according to Wikipedia,

"The origins of the word Dutch go back to Proto-Germanic, the ancestor of all Germanic languages..." (See Dutch People, Wikipedia.)

The Eighty Years’ War

The Netherlands fought the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648), which was both a war of independence from the Spanish Habsburgs and a war of religion. The inhabitants of the Southern Netherlands, the future Belgium, were mostly Catholics, but their neighbors to the North, the Dutch, were Protestants. The Eighty Years’ War is often called the Dutch Revolt. The Dutch Republic, today’s Netherlands, was proclaimed at the Peace of Münster, in 1648. The people of Antwerp (Anvers) remained under Spanish rule and Brabant was partitioned. North Brabant forms part of the Dutch Republic.

Allegory of Peace and Plenty painted by Abraham Janssens to laud the return of prosperity during the Twelve Years’ Truce. (Caption and photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Kingdom of the Netherlands

Today, the Dutch live in the Netherlands (Nederland), which includes North Brabant. However, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was not formed until the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), which closed the Napoleonic Wars (so was Luxembourg):

"All agreed upon ratifying the new Kingdom of the Netherlands, which had been created just months before from formerly Austrian territory." (See Congress of Vienna, Wikipedia.) 

Belgium

As noted above, Peter Paul Rubens settled in Antwerp (Anvers), a Flemish city (Flanders) located in the Duchy of Brabant. Antwerp flourished during the Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621). It is now located in Belgium, a country whose independence was not recognized until the 1830 London Conference. This decision was opposed until the Treaty of London (1839).

The inhabitants of Antwerp are Flemings and speak Flemish, but the Low Countries had been the Burgundian Netherlands beginning with Philip the Bold (le Hardi), under French Valois monarchs. The people of Belgium also speak French and some speak Walloon, a threatened Romance language

Philip II was the founder of the Burgundian branch of the House of Valois. His vast collection of territories made him the undisputed premier peer of the Kingdom of France and made his successors formidable subjects, and later rivals, of the kings of France. (See Philip II the Bold, Wikipedia.) 

I would like to write more on the origins of European countries, but it is a very complex process. I will let you discover. Maps are useful. However, I will note that the Romans conquered future European countries. They conquered Belgica. Later, sons and daughters inherited large territory and a marriage was used to acquire lands. (See Philip I of Castile and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Philip I (Habsburg) was born in Bruges (Flanders), but he married Joanna of Castille. They are the parents of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Joanna is referred to as Joanna the Mad. She was kept in confinement by her son, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. No one can tell whether she was “mad.” Her sister Catherine of Aragon married Henry VIII of England. Members of European Royal families are related.

Gallia Belgica at the time of Julius Caesar‘s conquest of Gaul in 54 BCE (See Belgium, Wikipedia)
House of Valois Burgundy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Peter Paul Rubens‘s Antwerp (Anvers) forms part of today’s Belgium and Antwerp is Flemish. However, both the Netherlands (Nederland) and Belgium are Pays-Bas and referred to as Pays-Bas or Low Countries. Belgium is Jacques Brel‘s plat pays (flat land, flakke land). Brel is of Flemish origin, but he found fame singing in the French language.

Illuminated Manuscripts

For our purposes, it may suffice to remember the Limbourg Brothers (Herman, Paul, and Johan), miniaturists. They originated from Nijmegen and are associated with the Burgundian State. The Limbourg Brothers’ finest legacy is Jean de France, duc de Berry’s Très Riches Heures, an illuminated Book of Hours. The Limbourg Brothers and Jean de France are believed to have died of the plague in 1416, before completing the Très Riches Heures. Jean de France’s Très Riches Heures was further embellished by Barthélemy d’Eyck. The Limbourg brothers’s uncle was Jean Malouel, Maelwael. Malouel was a miniaturist who worked in Paris for Philip the Bold (le hardi). The Limbourg brothers learned the craft of goldsmithing in Paris. Before Jean de France asked the Limbourg Brothers to illuminate his Très Riches Heures, Philip the Bold commissioned a Bible Moralisée from the Limbourg Brothers, Paul and Johan. It was a four-year contract. Philip did not see his Bible Moralisée.

From surviving documents, it is known that in February 1402 Paul and Johan were contracted by Philip [the Bold] to work for four years exclusively on illuminating a bible. This may or may not have been the Bible Moralisée (Ms. fr. 166) in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris), which is indisputably an early work by the Limbourg brothers. Philip II died in 1404 before the brothers had completed their work. (See Limbourg Brothers, Wikipedia)

The Limbourg brothers also produced a Belles Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry. It is housed in the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Bibles moralisées: 13th-century France

“Genre” Art, “Still Lifes,” “tronies:” diversity

It seems the people of the Netherlands, Belgium and the Netherlands have long been very good artists. They were also fine jewelers and cut diamonds.

Finally, their subject matters are varied and they were artfulness went beyond the canvas or boards : genre art, tiles (Blue Delft), tronies, tapestries, etc.

In my last post, Winter Scenes, we saw examples of Hendrick Avercamp‘s “genre art.” Avercamp’s winter scenes feature people going about their everyday tasks and recreation during winter. Johannes Vermeer also depicted people going about their everyday tasks, but they are inside houses and exerted considerable influence on interior decoration.

Vermeer was born in Delft. Delft tiles are a baseboard in the painting below. I had noticed this detail, but so did Wikipedia. The Music Lesson, below, shows a mise en abyme created by the mirror above the virginal. The word abyme suggests infinity. The mirror above the virginal does not reproduce the entire scene, but we see the face of the music student.

Maid with milk jug, by Johannes Vermeer – Google Arts & Culture
Public Domain
File:Johannes Vermeer – Het melkmeisje – Google Art Project.jpg
Created: circa 1660 date QS:P571,+1660-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902
Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman, ‘The Music Lesson,” by Johannes Vermeer (WikiArt.org)

The Twelve Years’ Truce

Peter Paul Rubens settled in Flemish Antwerp (Anvers) during a Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621) in the Eighty Year’s War, “an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands,” and a war of religion. The Netherlands was ruled by Spanish Hapsburgs. It is my understanding that Holland was not a country until the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Belgium gained its independence in 1830, a few years after the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), which began before the Battle of Waterloo and resumed after Napoleon fell at the Battle of Waterloo. The interruption is known as les Cent-Jours, the Hundred Days.

During the Dutch Golden Age of painting, the 17th century mainly, genre painting gained considerable popularity. But artists also depicted their history, including ships, and portraits, from royals to commoners. Rubens and Rembrandt made tronies. The art of such artists as Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, Johannes Vermeer, Anthony van Dyck (who apprenticed with Rubens), and others, is classified as Dutch Golden Age painting. Peter Paul Rubens was also a Flemish Baroque artist. Baroque art is considered less severe than Mannerism (the Reformation). Rubens also drew tapestries.

I apologize for a long silence. My friend John is moving to Saint-Lambert, on the south shore of the St Lawrence River, near Montreal. Since childhood, I have designed hundreds of houses and interiors. I wish one had come true. I do not expect to see John again.


RELATED ARTICLES

  • Dutch tapestries (See Christies.com’s)
  • God the Architect (19 February 2021)
  • The Bible of Saint Louis, Toledo (22 February 2021)
  • Bibles moralisées: 13th-century France (27 February 2021)
  • God the Architect (19 February 2021)
  • The Arnolfini Portrait: mise en abyme (3 December 2014)
  • Music for the Très Riches Heures and the Book of Kells (19 November 2011)
  • Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry (17 November 2011)
The Battle of Gibraltar, an explosion, 25 April 1607, by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

—ooo—

Further information on the Dutch Golden Age of painting

See:

  • The Girl with a Pearl Earring (Wikipedia)
  • Louis I (France) (Britannica)
  • Dutch Revolt (history)
  • Dutch Art, Wikipedia
  • Genre Art, Wikipedia
  • Still lifes, Wikipedia
  • Flemish Baroque Art, Wikipedia
  • The Hague School (excellent entry),Wikipedia
  • Tronies (portraits displaying an expression)
  • Dutch tapestries (See Christies.com’s)

The Burgundian State or the Netherlandish Renaissance

  • Books of Hours, Wikipedia (illuminations)
  • Limbourg Brothers, Wikipedia
  • Jean Malouel (Jan Maelwael), Wikipedia


Jacques Brel (le grand Jacques)

Jacques Brel sings Mijn vlakke land (My Flat Land) (Le Plat Pays)

Jacques Brel à l’Olympia

Jacques Brel chante (Le Plat Pays)
The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, c. 1665

© Micheline Walker
5 May 2023
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Louis-Claude Daquin’s “Le Coucou”

02 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Baroque, France, Quebec, Traditional Music

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Books of Hours, Candlemas, Le Coucou, Louis-Claude Daquin, Phillip Sear, Solstices and Equinoxes

Phillip Sear plays Louis-Claude Daquin‘s “Le Coucou”

Above is Louis-Claude Daquin’s “Le Coucou” (The Cuckoo). Les Grands Hurleurs’ “Coucou” is an arrangement of Louis-Claude Daquin‘s “Coucou.” Daquin’s “Coucou” is not folklore, but it borders on traditional music and music we call “classical.” Daquin composed several Noëls, Christmas Carols. Christmas Carols are not looked upon as “folklore,” but they are traditional music. Christians sing Carols on Christmas Day and during the Christmas period. For Christians, Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but it is also on or near the Winter solstice, the day of the longest night. Today is Candlemas (La Chandeleur), a festival of lights and currently Groundhog Day (le Jour de la Marmotte).

Calendar page from the Hours of Catherine of Cleves for June 1–15. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

FEASTS …

Feasts are celebrated according to a natural calendar. This begins with the degree of light and darkness: two solstices, and in the middle of the two solstices (Christmas and la Saint-Jean) are the Vernal equinox of Spring and the Autumnal equinox (Michaelmas). And to return to traditional music, it is associated with feasts that are celebrated according to the above-mentioned natural calendar. Noëls are performed during the Christmas season.

Antonio Vivaldi‘s Four Seasons is an ode to the four seasons. We also have Books of Hours. Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry records the labours of the month. The January page is exceptional. The enluminures were the work of les frères Limbourg (the Limbourg Brothers). Illuminated Books of Hours are consummate art, but we should not underestimate our calendars and agendas.

However, Books of Hours are not pieces of music. Noëls are, and they probably constitute traditional music. Then come Liturgical music and the Canonical Hours.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Les Grands Hurleurs’ “Le Coucou”
  • Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry
  • Feasts and Liturgy, page

Love to everyone 💕

Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, Duc de Berry (January)

© Micheline Walker
2nd February 2021
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Dutch Winter Scenes

29 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Baroque

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Hendrick Avercamp, sharing, The Beauty of Winter, Winter Scenes


A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle by Hendrick Avercamp (1608-9)
Photograph: Corbis
The Guardian. UK

Covid will not relent and too many are in denial. On Christmas day, the Montreal police force was making sure regulations were observed. There is a vaccine, but vaccinating everyone will take a long time and the very humble will be the last to be protected. Moreover, there are individuals who will refuse the vaccine. I hope the citizens of the United States will receive their stimulus cheques as soon as possible. This money buys food and keeps a roof over people’s head. No government has the right to neglect its citizens. People pay taxes in order to be safe. It’s the social contract. Besides, if there is money to launch rockets, there is money to keep everyone fed and housed. We must also prepare for other catastrophic events. Losing one’s income is tragic.

Love to everyone 💕

Winter Scene by Avercamp
Noël allemand d’André Gagnon
Winter Scene by Averkamp

© Micheline Walker
29 December 2020
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The Last Scene

08 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Baroque, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Molière, The United States

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Armide, Lully, Molière

Turlupin, a French Farceur

La Critique de l’École des femmes

I am nearly done, so please be patient. La Critique de L’École des femmes is an extraordinary play but life has slowed me down. Moreover, confinement takes its toll. I have been indoors since early March.

The American Presidential Election has also been on my mind. It was a close race, but I am proud of the American people. We need to put an end to the pandemic. Wearing a mask is essential. Gatherings are out of the question, and one must wash one’s hands.

So I return to my post. Whoever is reading my post must not delete paragraphs to make it shorter. I can delete what is not essential, but we are reading the play. A mere description will not yield good results. The quality of La Critique de L’École des femmes stems mainly from its dialogues.

Love to everyone 💕

Lully‘s Armide

© Micheline Walker
8 November 2020
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A Note, a Portrait by Peter Paul Rubens & Books of Hours

05 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Baroque, Dutch Golden Age painting

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Book of Hours, Book of Kells, France, National Gallery, Peter Paul Rubens, Refus global, Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, WordPress

Portrait of Susanna Lunden,* by Peter Paul Rubens

Photo credit:  The National Gallery, London UK

*When he was 53, Rubens married 16-year-old Hélène Fourment. Susanna Lunden, née Fourment, was Hélène’s sister.

* * *

Just a few words before I continue to write about Refus global or Total Refusal (Refus Global)

Yesterday I received an email in which I was informed that my email account would be closed because I had exceeded the limit. I thought the writer was referring to my personal e-mail account, but the bulky account was my Gmail account.

I started reading the comments and realized I would be reading, approving and deleting for a long time. I therefore deleted a large number of comments, many of which had also been published by WordPress. But in the process, I learned who had subscribed to my blog. These emails have not been deleted.

The moral of the story is that one should look at one’s email accounts on a regular basis.

I apologize to my readers whose comments may not have been posted.

Peter Paul Rubens: a Flemish Master

Peter Paul Rubens (28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was active at a turning-point in European history. Before the Renaissance, the Franco-Flemish lands were the cultural hub of Europe. Adrian Willaert (1490 – 7 December 1562) went to Venice to teach music to the Italians! Moreover, extraordinary miniaturists had illuminated (enluminures) books of hours that chronicled an entire era. The Limbourg brothers ‘s Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry, or Belles Heures de Jean de France, is their foremost achievement.

I have written posts on Books of Hours (see list below), a lay version of the Canonical Hours kept by monks whose Gregorian chant is extremely rich. Vatican II, the Council that promulgated a degree a laicization of liturgy, such as using a modern language instead of Latin, had to make exceptions. Gregorian chant was protected.

RELATED ARTICLES

Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry (17 November 2011)
The Book of Kells (18 November 2011)
Music for the Très Riches Heures and the Book of Kells (19 November 2011)
The Fitzwilliam Book of Hours: comments, palimpsests (20 November 2011)
 
 
© Micheline Walker
5 November 2012
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