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Tag Archives: Jan Davidsz. de Heem

The Bosschaert “Dynasty,” Jan Davidsz de Heem & Bartholomeus Assteyn

02 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Abraham Bosschaert, Ambrosius the Younger, Balthasar van der Ast, Bartholomeus Assteyn, Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Johannes Booschaert, Roelandt Savery

Glassvase, by Abraham
Glass Vase with Flowers, by Abraham Bosschaert 
Images for Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder
Images for Abraham Bosschaert
Images for Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger
Images for Johannes Bosschaert
 

THE BOSSCHAERT “DYNASTY”

In our blog about Balthasar van der Ast, we looked at still-life paintings in general using Balhasar as our main example, I noted that Balthasar’s sister had married Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573–1621) and that upon the death of his father, Balthasar van der Ast had moved in with the Bosschaert “dynasty,” his sister’s family.

The Bosshaerts are called a “dynasty” because Ambrosius the Elder had three sons who became still-life painters.  They first studied under their father and after his death, they became Balthasar van der Ast’s students.  Two of Bosschaert’s three sons seem to have died at a young age, but there is some disagreement concerning these dates. The three sons were:

  • Abraham (b. c. 1606–1683-84),
  • Ambrosius the Younger (1609–1643), 
  • Johannes (ca. 1610 –1628-29).
(please click on the picture to enlarge it)
Basket of Flowers, by Johannes Booschaert

Basket of Flowers, by Johannes Bosschaert

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Still-life of Fruit, 1634-1635
Still Life with Fruit, by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger, 1634-1635

Comments

You will note that all the sons use the same basket. You may also note that the various elements the artists are using sit on a table or shelf and that sometimes one sees the corner of a table. That is typical of the paintings of the Bosschaert family and it has been copied. In a more affluent home, the table would be covered by a beautiful rug, the type of rug we walk on. They used to be called “Turkish” rugs, whatever their provenance. In fact, they were often made in the Netherlands. As for the slight disarray in Ambrosius the Younger’s “Still Life with Fruit,” it is moralistic. It points to instability in matters human.

Baroque Artists

Moreover, we have left Mannerism behind. There are several masterpieces of Mannerism, but they are at times so busy “one does not see the forest for the trees.” If one is a naturalist and likes to study the details, Roelandt Savery provides the display of a lifetime. In fact, if one looks at one detail only, such as the blue and white bird detail of Savery’s “Paradise,” it alone could constitute a fine painting. However, the Booshaert brothers were Baroque artists. Abraham Booshaert’s painting featured at the very top of this post is in no way overbearing.

Among students of Balthasar van der Ast, the foremost are Jan Davidsz de Heem (17 April 1606, Utrecht – before 26 April 1684, Antwerp), and Bartholomeus Assteyn (Dordrecht 1607, probably Dordrecht 1669/1677).  We have images for both.

Images for Jan Davidsz de Heem
Images for Bartholomeus Assteyn
 
_________________________
 

There are countless still-life paintings dating back to the seventeenth century, the Golden Age of Dutch still lifes. It is not possible to view more than a sample. But the internet has many sites replete with still lifes and with other paintings by Dutch masters.  Here are a few sites.

Still-life paintings
Scholar’s Resource
Web Gallery of Art
Olga’s Gallery
Museum Syndicate
 

I am inserting a video featuring the still-life paintings of Jan Davidsz de Heem, a particularly successful student of Balthasar van der Ast.  It’s a lovely video.  The picture under the video is by Bartholomeus Assteyn.  It can be enlarged by clicking on the picture itself.

December has come and it has started to snow.
My best regards to all of you.
 
composer: Ennio Morricone (born November 10, 1928)
piece: “Notturno”
 
  
Still life by
 
Related articles
  • Still-life Paintings: Vanitas Vanitatum (michelinewalker.com)
  • Roelandt Savery: from Flowers to the Dodo (michelinewalker.com)

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Roelandt Savery: from Flowers to the Dodo

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Art

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Balthasar van der Ast, Bosschaert dynasty, Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Gillis d'Hondecoeter, Gillis van Conninxloo, Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Mannerism, Netherlands, the dodo, Utrecht

Stilllife (130x80cm, 1624) the largest painting he ever made, with 44 different species of animals and 63 species of flowers.[3]

Still life (130x80cm, 1624) the largest painting [Roelandt] ever made, with 44 different species of animals and 63 species of flowers.

Still-Life Paintings

Roelandt Savery (1576 – buried 25 February 1639), was a friend of Balthasar van der Ast and Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Roelandt Savery bought a house in Utrecht where he joined the Guild of St Luke. The house had a large garden visited by fellow artists. Not only could fellow artists observe flowers, many of which were new to the Netherlands, such as tulips, but they could also examine little animals  and incorporate them in their still-life paintings.

Before moving to Utrecht, Savery had owned a house in Amsterdam that he did not sell and which also had a large garden for artist friends to visit and from which to drew their inspiration.

The above painting is Savery’s most famous still life. Given, however, that it represents 44 species of animals and 63 species of flowers (see the caption), it is difficult to call it a still-life. It is brimming with life.

bouquet1

Bouquet of Flowers (detail), 
by Roelandt Savery, 1612

(please click on the picture to enlarge it)

Gillis d’Hondecoeter and Gillis van Conninxloo

As a student, Savery had traveled to Prague around 1604, where he became court painter of the Emperors Rudolf II (1552-1612) and Mathias (1557-1619), who had made their court a center of Mannerist art. Between 1606-1608 he traveled to Tyrol to study plants.

Moreover, Savery met Gillis d’Hondecoeter (Antwerp, ca. 1575-1580 – Amsterdam, buried 17 October 1638) and became his student. Gillis d’Hondecoeter painted landscapes, trees, fowl and birds. Savery also studied under Gillis van Conninxloo (1544 – 1607) a landscape artist.

Therefore, although Roelandt Savery painted a number of still-life paintings resembling the still-lives of Balthasar van der Ast, he was interested in both flora and fauna and, particularly, in the dodo.

The Dodo

(please click on the picture to enlarge it)

Landscape with Birds showing a Dodo in the lower right, by Roelant Savery, 1628

Gillis d’Hondecoeter had painted the now extinct dodo, a former inhabitant of the island of Mauritius, and so would Savery and his student and nephew Jan Savery (1589, Haarlem – bur. 7 August 1654, Utrecht).

© Micheline Walker
November 30th, 2012
WordPress
 
Photo credit: Wikipedia
and Web Gallery of Art
 
One of the most famous paintings of a dodo, from 1626. The image came into the possession of the ornithologist George Edwards, who later gave it to the British Museum.

One of the most famous paintings of a dodo, from 1626. The image [by Roelandt Savery] came into the possession of the ornithologist George Edwards, who later gave it to the British Museum.

Mannerism

Savery’s style is associated with Mannerism.  As mentioned above the court Emperors Rudolf II and Mathias were centers of Mannerist art.  Mannerists paint figures with elongated and at times distorted limbs. Their paintings are very busy and meticulous. The movement was a reaction against the harmonious realism of High Renaissance artists: Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519, Michelangelo (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564) and Raphael (April 6 or March 28, 1483 – April 6, 1520). Yet, Michelangelo was an early Mannerist.

Conclusion

(click on the picture to enlarge it)
Paradise, by Roelant Savery

The Paradise (detail), by Roelandt Savery, 1618

Roelandt Savery went bankrupt in 1638, because of heavy drinking, and died a few months later. He was a still-life painter, but he also painted landscapes, trees, fowl, animals and, among animals, the dodo. So his legacy is immense and varied.

We will therefore look at paintings by members of the Bosschaert “dynasty,” by Jan Davidszoon de Heem, by artists who also studied under Balthasar van der Ast, and still-life paintings by other more traditional Dutch Masters.

Yet, Savery’s still-life painting, featured at the beginning of this post, is an epiphany and the model for many, albeit less abundant, still-lives of his age.

 

RELATED ARTICLE

  • Still-life Paintings: Vanitas Vanitatum (michelinewalker.com)

_________________________

[1] “Mannerism”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2012 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/362538/Mannerism>.

[2] “Dodo”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2012
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/167601/dodo>.

Jan Savery, 1561

Jan Savery, 1561

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