p. 146-150 Poelenburg, Lairesse, Van der Werff, the Landscapists
146 MUSEUM OF AMSTERDAM.
... then go to the dead? Poor, great Italy had done its work. The Renaissance, half pagan and half Christian, was now no more than a memory, a lore just like the art of antiquity and the Middle Ages, to which the Dutch people, renewed by civil and religious freedom, were quite indifferent. Poelenburg's little Amors and angels, that kind of northern Albani must have seemed a bit old-fashioned to Rembrandt's contemporaries.1
Poelenburg's paintings in the Amsterdam museum show, as he was used to, nymphs surprised by satyrs [228],2 small naked women in small Italian landscapes,3 and also: Adam and Eve expelled from paradise [229].4
Gerard de Lairesse, born more than half a century after him, continued these mythologiads. Thus, in Amsterdam we have Mars, Venus, Cupid and Mercury;5 – Mars, Venus and Cupid;6 – Diana and Endymion [230],7 rather large figures, very stupid, – two "Symbolic compositions" in grisaille;8 – and "Seleucis surrenders his wife and scepter to his son Antiochus" [231].9
Three masterpieces by Adriaan van der Werff:
1. A life-size bust of Adriaan himself. He is draped in a cloak of red velvet, over a yellow doublet. Around his neck hangs a chain with a medal from his patron, the Elector of the Palatinate. In his left hand, his palette and ...
228
Cornelis van Poelenburch
Italianate landscape with satyrs peeping at nymphs, 1627-1667
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-313
229
Cornelis van Poelenburch
The expulsion from paradise, c. 1652
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-312
230
Gerard de Lairesse
Selene and Endymion, c. 1680
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-4210
231
Gerard de Lairesse
Antiochus and Stratonice, ca. 1673
Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, inv./cat.nr. BR0357
147 POELENBURG, LAIRESSE, VAN DER WERFF.
... brushes; in his right hand, a miniature (1) representing the artist's wife and child; signed and dated 1699 [232].10
Adriaan was forty years old. This portrait, apparently invaluable to admirers of the knight, cost 6,000 guilders at the auction of Gevers Arnoutz, Rotterdam, 1827.
2 Holy Family. Famous painting, comes from the Lormier Collection [233],11 and engraved in the Galerie Choiseul, by Rousseau [234]. Here are the – financial – details: auction Choiseul, 1772, 3,700 francs; duc de La Vallière, 1780, 6,110 fr; Le Bœuf, 1782, 6,600 fr; Destouches; 1794, 5,200 fr; Van der Pot, 1808, 5,225 guilders (2). This little panel is less than a foot wide. Since I object to this painter, because of my personal antipathy, I will borrow Smith's description: "The Virgin, dressed in a pale yellow striped vest, and a gray mantle, is bending with maternal affection over the Infant, who lies naked on some drapery, extending its arms, and taking with one hand some cherries from a branch held by Joseph. The latter person is on the farther side of the Virgin, partly concealed in shadow; two ...
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(1) There is an allegorical painting by Van der Werff in the Munich Museum, in which a genius crowns the portraits of the Prince Palatine, and in which the muse of painting holds in her hand the painter's own portrait.12
(2) The new cat. adds: auction Lormier, 1763, 1,305 guilders. This painting was listed in the Lormier catalog as by Adriaan and Pieter.
232
Adriaen van der Werff
Self-portrait of the artist with a double portrait of his wife Margaretha van Rees (1669-1732) and their daughter Maria (1692-1731), dated 1699
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-465
233
studio of Adriaen van der Werff
Rest on the flight into Egypt, dated 1714
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-468
234
Jean François Rousseau after Adriaen van der Werff
Rest on the flight to Egypt, in or before 1771
The Hague, RKD – Nederlands Institute for Art History (Collection Old Netherlandish Art), inv./cat.nr. BD/0676 - ONS/Original Prints (by inventor)
148 MUSEUM OF AMSTERDAM.
... roses lie on the ground in front. An excellent example of great beauty and perfection”.13
3 A landscape with two figures; signed: Chev vd Werff fc 1718.14
Next: Psyche and Cupid, in the style of the master, that is all the catalog says (1) [235].15
By Pieter van der Werff, Adriaan's younger brother and collaborator, are: St. Jerome in the desert; signed and dated 1710;16 – Two girls decorating a statue of Pan with flowers [237];17 and a Girl drawing the statue of Venus [238].18
A single painting by Hendrik van Limburg or Limborch,19 a pupil of Adriaan van der Werff: Group of children playing blind man (2) [236].20
With Van der Werff, the decline was complete. After this glorious chevalier, it was all over for Dutch painting, as was Italian painting after the fatal school of the Carracci. Van der Werff died in 1722. The Dutch school of painting had lasted only one century: the seventeenth.
THE LANDSCAPISTS. – Landscape painters do not shine in the Amsterdam museum. Besides Wijnants, whom we already mentioned in connection with Adriaan van de Velde, there are barely ...
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(1) Attributed to the chevalier himself in the new cat.
(2) The new cat. adds two others: Amor and Psyche, and the Shepherds, which together with the Playing Children come from the Van Heteren cabinet.21
235
manner of Adriaen van der Werff
Venus kissed by Amor, 1700-1725
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-466
236
Hendrik van Limborch
Putti playing, 1700-1720
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-221
237
Pieter van der Werff
Two girls with flowers near a statue of Cupid, 1713 (dated)
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-471
238
Pieter van der Werff
Drawing girl and a boy with a copy of the Venus Medici, 1715 (dated)
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-472
149 LANDSCAPE PAINTERS.
... a dozen: Van Goijen,22 Jacob Ruijsdael, Van Everdingen, Van der Hagen, Van Vries, Verboom, Herman Saftleven, Jan Griffier, the Boths,23 Pijnacker and Van der Ulft.
Jan van Goijen, a contemporary of Wijnants, produced a whole series of landscape painters. Born in 1596, he was most likely the master of Salomon Ruijsdael, born about 1610, who was probably his brother Jacob's teacher. Possibly Hobbema himself also worked with Salomon.
Van Goijen would thus be at the origin of a plejade no less illustrious than the one surrounding Wijnants. There is an undeniable analogy between Hobbema and Jacob Ruijsdael, between Jacob and Salomon, and between Salomon and Van Goijen. To this group must be added the many followers of Jacob and Hobbema.
We have only one landscape by Van Goijen, signed and dated 1645, large, true, but not very cheerful [239].24 Nothing by Salomon.25 Only two landscapes by Jacob [240] [241].26 No Hobbema!27 The Hague Museum has none either; the Rotterdam Museum has only a small one.28 The Van der Hoop Museum has two.29
But private collections have some wonderful specimens.
One of the Ruijsdaels depicts wild, mountainous country, with a waterfall in the foreground cascading between rocks and broken tree trunks. A shepherd and his flock walk along a rough road on the slope of a hill. On the left, at the top ...
239
Jan van Goyen
View of a village on a river, 1645 (dated)
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-120
240
Jacob van Ruisdael
Rolling landscape with a waterfall and Bentheim castle, c. 1670-1675
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-347
240
Jacob van Ruisdael
Mountain landscape with waterfall
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-348
242
Allaert van Everdingen
Scandinavian landscape with river and farms, 3rd quarter 17th century
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-108
150 MUSEUM OF AMSTERDAM.
... of the rocks, stands a large building resembling Bentheim Castle, so often painted by Ruijsdael."A clear and beautiful production," says Smith.30 On canvas, 2 feet 2 inches high and 1 foot 9 inches wide. Signed (1).
The other, of superior quality, in my opinion, could be called the Waterfall; for the entire foreground is covered with water and foam. Groups of trees on the left and a tower in the background; hills with a castle on the right. A large canvas over 3 feet wide and nearly 4 feet high. The signature is complete: Rùisdael, the vertical style of the R ending in the J and with the small v of van connected. Because the real name is Van Ruisdael or Ruijsdael, since we find this v almost always in the signatures and monograms of the two brothers. It is sometimes even more important than the s in Salomon's signatures.31
Aldert van Everdingen would have influenced Jacob Ruijsdael, who was younger than him. Indeed, when they painted similar regions, northern lands, they bear some resemblance, more in character than in execution. Everdingen was always drier and thinner than Ruijsdael. He has only one painting, of little note, in the Amsterdam museum. Signed: EVERDINGEN [242].32
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(1) Auction G. G. baron Taets van Amerongen, 1805, 750 guilders; De Smeth, 1810, Amsterdam, fl. 710 (new cat.).
Notes
1 Probably Thoré-Bürger means the Italian painter Francesco Albani, to whom Poelenburch's paintings were sometimes attributed in Italian collections, for instance: Cornelis van Poelenburch, The Finding of Moses, Florence, Palazzo Pitti, inv. no. 1203.
2 Cornelis van Poelenburch, Satyrs Peeping at Nymphs, after 1627, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-313; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 22, no. 214, Poelenburg (Cornelis; 1586-1660), Nimfen door Saters bespied (Peeping at Nymphs by Satyrs) (tax.: fl. 1,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 108, no. 241.
3 Cornelis van Poelenburch, Bathing Men, after c. 1646, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-310; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 22, no. 216, Poelenburg (Cornelis; 1586-1660), Een Landschap met badende nimfen [sic] (A Landscape with bathing nymphs [sic] (tax.: fl. 400); Amsterdam 1858, p. 107, no. 238. Cornelis van Poelenburch, Bathing Girls, after c. 1646, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-311; Aanwijzing 1853, 22, no. 217, Poelenburg (Cornelis; 1586-1660), Een als voren [Een Landschap met badende nimfen] (One as before [A Landscape with Bathing Nymphs] (tax.: fl. 1,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 108, no. 239.
4 Cornelis van Poelenburch, The Expulsion from Paradise, c. 1652, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-312; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 22, no. 215, Poelenburg (Cornelis; 1586-1660), Het verdrijven van Adam en Eva uit het Paradijs (The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise) (tax.: fl. 500); Amsterdam 1858, p. 108, no. 240.
5 Gerard de Lairesse, Mercury Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus, c. 1680, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-212; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 17, no. 158, Lairesse (Gerard de; 1640-1711), Mars, Venus, Cupido en Mercurius (Mars, Venus, Cupid and Mercury) (tax.: fl. 700); Amsterdam 1858, p. 80-81, no. 175, as A Mythological Representation).
6 Gerard de Lairesse, Odysseus and Calypso, c. 1680, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-211; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 17, no. 159, Lairesse (Gerard de; 1640-1711), Mars, Venus en Cupido (and Cupid) (tax.: fl. 700); Amsterdam 1858, p. 80, no. 174, as A Mythological Representation.
7 Gerard de Lairesse, Selene and Endymion, c. 1680, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-4210; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 17, no. 160, Diana en Endimion (and Endymion) (tax.: fl. 800); Amsterdam 1858, p. 81, no. 176, as Diana and Endymion.
8 Gerard de Lairesse, Allegory of the Glory of Rome & Allegory of the Fall of Rome, 1689, Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, inv.nos. OK 3144-3145 (on loan from the city of Rotterdam); Aanwijzing 1853, p. 16, no. 156, Lairesse (Gerard de; 1640-1711), Eene rijke zinnebeeldige Voorstelling, in het graauw (A rich symbolic Compositon, in gray) (tax.: fl. 500), and no. 157, Een dito [Eene rijke zinnebeeldige Voorstelling], als voren [in gray] (A ditto [A rich symbolic Composition], as before [in gray]) (tax.: fl. 500); Amsterdam 1858, p. 80, no. 172-173. These two grisailles were removed from the collection of the Rijksmuseum in 1920 and were gifted by the Dutch state to the city of Rotterdam, on the occasion of the opening of Rotterdam's new city hall. See also above, p. 2.
9 Gerard de Lairesse, Antiochus and Stratonice, c. 1671-1675, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-213; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 17, no. 161, Seleucus, afstand doende van zijne vrouw en scepter ten behoeve van zijnen zoon Antiochus (Seleucus, relinquishing his wife and scepter for the benefit of his son Antiochus) (tax.: fl. 800); Amsterdam 1858, p. 81, no. 177.
10 Adriaen van der Werff, Self-portrait with the Portrait of his Wife, Margaretha van Rees, and their Daughter Maria, 1699, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-465; Smith 1829-1842, vol. 4 (1833), p. 208, no. 94; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 30, no. 320, Werff (Adriaan van der; 1669-1722), Het Portret van hemzelven bij eene schilderij, waarop zijne Vrouw en Kind (The Portrait of himself with a painting depicting his Wife and Child) (tax.: fl. 5,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 160, no. 355.
11 Workshop of Adriaen van der Werff, The Holy Family, 1714, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-468; Smith 1829-1842, vol. 4 (1833), p. 201, no. 69; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 30, no. 321, Werff (Adriaan van der; 1669-1722), Eene Heilige Familie (A Holy Family (tax.: fl. 4,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 161-162, no. 358.
12 Presumably: Adriaen van der Werff, The Arts Paying Homage to Elector Johan Wilhelm von der Pfalz and his Spouse Maria Anna Lousia de’Medici, 1716, Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen – Alte Pinakothek, inv. no. 260.
13 Smith 1829-1842, vol. 4 (1833), p. 201, no. 69.
14 Adriaen van der Werff, A Nymph Dancing to a Shepherd's Flute, 1718, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-467; Smith 1829-1842, vol. 4 (1833), p. 208, no. 95; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 30, no. 322, Werff (Adriaan van der; 1669-1722), Een Landschap, met eene dansende Nimf (A Landscape, with a dancing Nymph) (tax.: fl. 3,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 161, no. 357.
15 Manner of Adriaen van der Werff, Amor Kissing Venus, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A- 466; Smith 1829-1842, vol. 4 (1833), p. 208, no. 93, as Cupid and Psyche; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 30, no. 323, Werff (as A. van der), Psysché [sic] en Cupido (Psyche and Cupid) (tax.: fl. 1,500); Amsterdam 1858, p. 161, no. 356.
16 Pieter van der Werff, St Jerome, 1710, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-470; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 31, no. 324, Werff (Pieter van der; 1665-1718), De Heilige Hieronymus in de woestijn (Saint Jerome in the desert) (tax.: fl. 2,500); Amsterdam 1858, p. 162, no. 359.
17 Pieter van der Werff, Two Girls with Flowers by a Statue of Cupid, 1713, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-471; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 31, no. 325, Werff (Pieter van der; 1665-1718), Twee Meisjes een standbeeld met bloemen versierende (Two Girls decorating a statue with flowers) (tax.: fl. 700); Amsterdam 1858, p. 162-163.
18 Pieter van der Werff, A Girl Drawing and a Boy near a Statue of Venus, 1715, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-472; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 31, no. 326, Werff (Pieter van der; 1665-1718), Een Meisje het standbeeld van Venus nateekenende (A Girl drawing the statue of Venus) (tax.: fl. 800); Amsterdam 1858, p. 163, no. 361.
19 See also Thoré-Bürger's remark opp. p. 156 (2/2).
20 Hendrik van Limborch, Putti playing, c. 1700-1720, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-221; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 17, no. 163, Limburg (Hendrik van; 1680-1758), Eene groep spelende Kindertjes (A group of playing Children) (tax.: fl. 600); Amsterdam 1858, p. 82, no. 180.
21 Hendrik van Limborch, Pastoral Scene, c. 1714-1715, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-219; not in Aanwijzing 1853; Amsterdam 1858, p. 83, no. 181. Hendrik van Limborch, Flora and Zephyrus, c. 1714-1716, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-220; not in Aanwijzing 1853; Amsterdam 1858, p. 83, no. 182, as Amor and Psyche.
22 See also Thoré-Bürger's remarks opp. p. 156 (2/2).
23 Andries Both and Jan Both. See also the remark by Thoré-Bürger opp. p. 156 (2/2).
24 Jan van Goyen, View of a Town on a River, 1645, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-120; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 11, no. 88, Goyen (Jan van; 1596-1656), Een Landschap aan eene rivier (A Landscape on a River) (tax.: fl. 600); Amsterdam 1858, p. 47, no. 96. Amsterdam 1858 lists a second Van Goyen painting that apparently escaped the attention of Thoré-Bürger: The Valkhof in Nijmegen, 1641, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-122; Amsterdam 1858, p. 47, no. 97, as coming from the 1808 Van der Pot sale. Instead, it was acquired in 1805/1806 from Mr. George, for fl. 300. See: Moes/Van Biema 1909, p. 84. See also Thoré-Bürger's remark opp. p. 156 (2/2)
25 Salomon van Ruysdael. See also Thoré-Bürger's note opp. p. 156 (2/2).
26 Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael, Bentheim Castle, c. 1670-1675, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-347; Smith 1829-1842, vol. 6 (1835), p. 12, no. 16; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 24, no. 244, Ruisdaal (Jacob; 1636-1681), Een als voren [Een groot Landschap], met een kasteel als dat van Bentheim (One as before [A large Landscape], with a castle like that of Bentheim (tax.: fl. 12,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 120, no. 269.
27 It took a very long time to get a Hobbema in the Rijksmuseum, despite many attempts by director Cornelis Apostool from April 1809 onwards, see: Bergvelt 1998, p. 73, 304 (note 113), 316 (note 152). Only well after Apostool's death in 1844 did a Hobbema enter the collection with the 1870 Dupper bequest: A Watermill, c. 1664, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-156 (since 1950 on loan to the Mauritshuis, The Hague).
28 Meindert Hobbema, Sunlit Landscape with Fishermen, c. 1665, Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, inv. no. OK 1307. See also: Thoré 1858-1860, vol. 2 (1860), p. 289-290.
29 Meindert Hobbema, Landscape with Watermill, c. 1664, Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum, inv. no. SA 7512 (on loan to the Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-C-144); Farmhouse by the Water, Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum, inv. no. SA 7513. See also: Thoré 1858-1860, vol. 2 (1860), p. 127-132.
30 Smith 1829-1842, vol. 6 (1835), p. 12, no. 16.
31 See also Thoré-Bürger's note opp. p. 156 (2/2).
32 Allaert van Everdingen, Swedish Landscape, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-108; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 10, no. 79, Everdingen (Allard van; 1621-1675), Een Noordsch Landschap (A Nordic Landscape) (tax.: fl. 1,500); Amsterdam 1858, p. 37, no. 82. On Van Everdingen, see Thoré-Bürger's notes opp. p. 156 (1/2).