p. 61-65 Miereveld, Van Ravestein, Frans Hals, Van der Venne, Gerard Honthorst, etc., Karel Du Jardin
61 MIEREVELD, VAN RAVESTEIN, ETC.
... grandeur and very deliberate pride. Engraved by W. Delff [83].
The Louvre Museum possesses by him, in another genre, a delightful painting, signed and dated 1616: Feast given on the occasion of the Truce of 1609; with landscape and accessories of the Velvet Breugel (no. 545) [84]. The Amsterdam museum has, without knowing it, another wonder by Van der Venne, quite similar to the one in the Louvre, and which it attributes to Van Balen (1). It is very brotherly of the Dutchmen to leave this masterpiece to a Flemish painter. By the way, the landscape and small details are also by the Velvet Breugel.
This painting is entitled: Composition depicting the various sects of Christianity (no. 11) [85].1 It is a spirited satire on the opponents of the ...
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(1) I protested vigorously against this attribution to Mr. Engelberts, curator of paintings,2 and it is no doubt according to my indications that the new cat. returned this masterpiece to Van der Venne, under the splendid title: The Soul Fishermen (De Zielenvisschers). Looking more closely at the composition, we found in fact particular allegories, and the portraits of Albert and Isabella on the Catholic side, and the portraits of Prince Maurice and Prince Frederick Henry on the other side, among the Protestants. – This painting was sold for 730 guilders at Mauritius de Jeude's auction in 1735 under the name Velvet Breugel (see Gerard Hoet's catalog).3 The Amsterdam Museum acquired it from the gallery of Paleis het Loo. It does not appear that a monogram was found; at least, the new cat. does not mention it.
83
Willem Jacobsz. Delff after Adriaen van de Venne
Cavalcade of princes of Orange en counts of Nassau, dated 1621
Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, inv./cat.nr. RP-P-OB-76.729
84
Adriaen van de Venne
Allegory of the Twelve Years Truce, dated 1616
Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv./cat.nr. 1924
85
Adriaen van de Venne
Fishing for souls, 1614 (dated)
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-447
62 MUSEUM OF AMSTERDAM.
... Reformation. How could Van Balen, who was an orthodox Catholic, have mocked Roman dogma and the morality of the high dignitaries of the Church in this way under the paternal government of the Spaniards, voluntarily or by force!
On the right is the crowd of Catholics, headed by a dwarf, a kind of grotesque symbol of Folly. Behind this Triboulet,4 praised by the children, are rushing doctors, high lords, and cardinals, before the pope himself, who is carried triumphantly in this carnival crowd. In the center of the composition a great river, with ships to rescue those who have fallen into the water and are in danger of drowning – in heresy. Because on the other side of the river are the Protestants, thousands of small figures. In the background a rainbow, no doubt not that of the alliance, but the sign of the new light.
If Dutch scholars were to study this painting, they would find numerous emblems and caustic allusions. From beginning to end, the composition is a very spiritual allegory, and above all, excellently painted. The fool and all the heads in the foreground have an incomparable physiognomy and vividness.
It could very well be that there is a signature somewhere, or at least the master's monogram, which is a capital A, inverted crossed by the V, and with a small v below the horizontal bar, to form Adriaan van Venne.5 By the way, this painting is no more similar to Van Balen than the painting in the ...
63 MIEREVELD, VAN RAVESTEIN, ETC.
... Louvre resembles Pourbus, to whom it has long been attributed. Van Balen is a bloated, round painter, a little soft, a little banal; van der Venne, on the other hand, is tight and nervous, and he chisels his figures like the finest medallist.
The size of the panel is about 5 feet wide and 2 and a half feet high.
The catalog attributes to Van der Venne a very small portrait of Prince Maurice on his deathbed (no. 306) [86].6 4 inches by 2, no more. A bagatelle, painted quite delicately (1).
Among the Unknowns is ranked an excellent painting that is also close to Van der Venne's style. It depicts Prince Maurice with one of his army leaders (no. 371), both on horseback and face to face, one on a white horse, the other on a chestnut horse [87].7 In the background an army camp, with many small, very skillfully and smoothly painted figures. Unfortunately, this characterful and powerful Cuijp-like painting hangs too high to study it properly (2).
The portraits catalogued as Honthorst are not his best: a portrait of Prince ...
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(1) Now attributed by the new cat. to Cornelis Visscher, according to an inscription found on the back of the copper: "Prince William I on his Parade Bed, A° 1584, painted by the old Cornelis Visscher."
(2) Filed with the unknowns in the new cat., in which the general is referred to as "Stakenbroek".
86
Adriaen van de Venne
Deathbed portrait of Maurits, Prince of Orange (1567-1625), 1625 (dated)
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-446
87
studio of Paulus van Hillegaert (I)
Equestrian portrait of Maurits (1567-1625) and Frederik Hendrik (1584-1647) van Oranje-Nassau, c. 1630-1635
Muiden, Rijksmuseum Muiderslot
64 MUSEUM OF AMSTERDAM.
... Frederic-Henry [88]8 and one of his wife, Amalia of Solms [89];9 and two portraits of Prince William II [90],10 possibly by Willem Honthorst, brother of Gerard (1).
But we have lost to the Unknowns two portraits that were indisputably painted by Gerard and are worth more: The Countess of Solms, widow of J.W. van Brederode (no. 385),11 and Sophie Hedwig, wife of Count Ernest Casimir of Nassau (no. 389).12 The portraits of the Count of Egmont and the Count of Horn, pendants who are also counted among the Unknowns (nos. 376 and 377),13 also seem to be connected to the Honthorst school.
From this master there is additionally: A Merry Man (no. 430), wearing a beautiful hat with feathers, and holding a violin and a glass [91].14 This painting, in his first Dutch style, which he made before being corrupted in Italy, has brilliance and breadth (2).
KAREL DU JARDIN.15 – Who would believe it! Karel du Jardin, the painter of small donkeys, small flocks, and shepherdesses, of small horsemen and stables, fairs and Italian inns, Karel du Jardin ...
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(1) One of these portraits of William II is signed (new cat.) G. Hondhorst, with large capitals. Gerard usually signs in a very different manner, as we see in the portrait of Amalia of Solms, apart from the fact that he puts a t and not a d after the first syllable of his name.16
(2) Cost 500 guilders at the auction of Countess van Moens, Amsterdam, 1803 (new cat.).
88
studio of Gerard van Honthorst
Portrait of Frederik Hendrik (1584-1647), Prins van Oranje, 1650
Voorburg (South Holland), Huygensmuseum Hofwijck
89
studio of Gerard van Honthorst
Portrait of Amalia van Solms (1602-1675), 1650 (dated)
Voorburg (South Holland), Huygensmuseum Hofwijck
90
studio of Gerard van Honthorst
Portrait of Willem II van Oranje- Nassau (1626-1650), 1651 (dated)
Apeldoorn, Paleis Het Loo Nationaal Museum
91
Gerard van Honthorst
The merry fiddler, dated 1623
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A- 180
65 KAREL DU JARDIN.
... rivals in the Amsterdam museum with the painters of large figures, who depicted notable individuals from public or private corporations. This is not to say that, despite his skill and aplomb, he is in this genre the equal of Van der Helst, or Frans Hals, or Flinck, or Bol, or the weakest of the others. He is to Rembrandt what Sassoferrato is to Titian. He is to Van der Helst what Van der Werff is to Jordaens.
Yes, Karel du Jardin takes on Rembrandt's Syndics [92] in the Amsterdam museum,17 with a canvas 12 feet 8 inches wide by 7 feet 8 inches high. Yes, exactly opposite the Syndics, in the small room on the second floor, hangs a large Regentenstuk, from the Amsterdam Improvement House ('t Spinhuis) [93],18 on which the five Regents (directors) of this institution are depicted life-size and full-length, around a table covered in purple velvet. Purple was Karel's favorite color.
One of the regents, with his body turned to the left and his head in a three-quarter position, is seated at the front. His right hand resting on the table holds a paper with a coat of arms on it, dated February 1669, and signed: Midelman (1);19 his left hand ...
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(1) The new cat. says: Muylman; Smith says: Muilmans. I think I read it correctly: Midelman, although this name seems to refer to one of the characters named 'Willem Muylman' according to Scheltema.
92
Rembrandt
The sampling officials of the Amsterdam drapers guild, dated 1662
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-C-6
93
Karel du Jardin
Governors of the Spinhuis and the Nieuwe Werkhuis, with a servant, Amsterdeam, 1669, dated 1669
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-C-4
Notes
1 Adriaen van de Venne, Fishing for Souls, 1614, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-447; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 4, no. 11, Balen (Hendrik van; 1633-1702) and Jan Breughel, Zinnebeeldige Voorstelling op de onderscheidene secten van het Christendom (Symbolic representation on the various sects of Christianity) (tax.: fl. 4,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 151-153, no. 338, as by Adriaen van de Venne and Jan Brueghel (I).
2 Willem Jodocus Mattheus Engelberts was not curator of the Rijksmuseum, but second inspector for the paintings. Both inspectors, also Hendrik Abraham Klinkhamer, who was the first inspector, for the prints, helped Dubourcq with the preparation of Amsterdam 1858 (Bergvelt 1998, p. 166-167).
3 Hoet 1752, vol. 1, p. 436: sale The Hague, 18 April 1735, lot 91, as by Jan Brueghel (I).
4 Triboulet was the court jester of King Francis I.
5 The monogram that Thoré-Bürger describes here was used by Van de Venne mainly on prints and grisailles, see: Buijsen 2023, p. 123 (fig. 2.59), and p. 71 for other comments on signatures and monograms. With many thanks to Edwin Buijsen. The painting shows many inscriptions and the date 1614, but no signature. See also the monogram drawn by Thoré-Bürger opp. p. 60 (1/2).
6 Adriaen van de Venne, Stadholder Prince Maurice Lying in State, c. 1625, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-446; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 29, no. 306, Venne (Abraham van der; 1559-1650), Dezelve [Prins Maurits] op zijn doodbed (Prince Maurice on his Death Bed) (tax.: fl. 200); Amsterdam 1858, p. 155, no. 345, as by Cornelis Visscher (III).
7 Workshop of Paulus van Hillegaert (I), Princes Maurice and Frederik Hendrik on Horseback, c. 1630-1635, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-568; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 35, no. 371 [under Unknown Masters, Portraits], Prins Maurits met een zijner veldoversten te paard (Prince Maurice with one of his field superiors on horseback) (tax.: fl. 500); Amsterdam 1858, p. 184, no. 405, as by an unknown Dutch master, Portraits of Prince Maurice and of General Stakenbroek.
8 Workshop of Gerard van Honthorst, Portrait of Frederik Hendrik, Prince of Orange, 1650, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-178; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 14, no. 133, Hondhorst (Gerard; 1592-1680), Idem [Portret] van Prins Fredrik Hendrik (Portrait of Prince Fredrik Hendrik) (tax.: fl. 600); Amsterdam 1858, p. 69, no. 147.
9 Workshop of Gerard van Honthorst, Portrait of Amalia van Solms, 1650, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-179; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 14, no. 134, Hondhorst (Gerard; 1592-1680), Idem [Portret] van Amalia van Solms, deszelfs [Frederik Hendriks] Gemalin (Portrait of Amalia van Solms, his [Frederik Hendrik's] Spouse) (tax.: fl. 600); Amsterdam 1858, p. 69, no. 148.
10 Gerard van Honthorst, Portrait of an Officer, 1644, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-176; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 14, no. 132, Hondhorst (Gerard; 1592-1680), Dezelfde [Prins Willem de Tweede], anders (The Same [Prince William the Second], differently) (tax.: fl. 50); Amsterdam 1858, p. 68, no. 145, as Portrait of Prince William II. Workshop of Gerard van Honthorst, Portrait of William II, Prince of Orange, 1651, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-177; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 14, no. 131, Hondhorst (Gerard; 1592-1680), Portret van Prins Willem de Tweede (Portrait of Prince William the Second) (tax.: fl. 400); Amsterdam 1858, p. 69, no. 146.
11 Workshop of Gerard van Honthorst, Portrait of Louise Christina, Countess of Solms-Braunfels, in or after c. 1650, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-574; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 36, no. 385 [under Unknown Masters, Portraits], De Gravin van Solms, Weduwe van Jan Wolphaart van Brederode (tax.: fl. 50) (The Countess of Solms, Widow of Jan Wolphaart van Brederode (tax.: fl. 50); Amsterdam 1858, p. 185, no. 410, as by an unknown Dutch master.
12 After Michiel van Mierevelt, Portrait of Amalia van Solms, in or after c. 1632, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-572; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 36, no. 389 [under Unknown masters, Portraits], Sophia Hedwig van Brunswijk, Gemalin van den voornoemden [Graaf Ernst Casimir van Nassau] (Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick, Spouse of the aforementioned [Count Ernst Casimir of Nassau] (tax.: fl. 100); Amsterdam 1858, p. 185, no. 409, as by an unknown Dutch master.
13 Wybrand de Geest (I), Portrait of an Officer, c. 1625-1635, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-4190; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 35, no. 377 [under Unknown Masters, Portraits], Philip van Mommorancy, Graaf van (Count of) Hoorne (tax.: fl. 200); Amsterdam 1858, p. 187, no. 417, as by an unknown Dutch master. Jan van Ravesteyn, Portrait of an Officer, c. 1610-1620, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-4191; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 35, no. 376 [under Unknown Masters, Portraits], De Graaf Lamoraal van Egmond (The Count Lamoraal of Egmond) [tax.: fl. 200); Amsterdam 1858, p. 186, no. 416, as by an unknown Dutch master.
14 Gerard van Honthorst, Merry Violinist with Wineglass, 1623, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-A-180; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 14, no. 130, Hondhorst (Gerard; 1592-1680), Een vrolijk Man (A Merry Man) (tax.: fl. 600); Amsterdam 1858, p. 70, no. 149.
15 See on Karel du Jardin's involvement with the guild in The Hague in 1656 the notes by Thoré-Bürger opp. p. 60 (2/2).
16 Two of the three facsimiles of Honthorst’s signature, as illustrated in Amsterdam 1858, p. 68-69, read Honthorst, the other reads Hondhorst.
17 Rembrandt van Rijn, The Sampling Officials of the Amsterdam Drapers' Guild, 1662, Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum, inv. no. SA 7393 (on loan to Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-C-6); see above p. 24-30.
18 Karel du Jardin, The Regents of the Spinhuis and Nieuwe Werkhuis in Amsterdam, 1669, Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum, inv. No. SA 7308 (on loan to the Rijksmuseum, inv. no. SK-C-4); Smith 1829-1842, vol. 5 (1834), p. 261-262, no. 86; Aanwijzing 1853, p. 15, no. 145, Jardin (Karel du), Regenten van het voormalige Spinhuis te Amsterdam (Regents of the former Spinhuis in Amsterdam) (tax.: fl. 5,000); Amsterdam 1858, p. 74-75, no. 160.
19 Thoré-Bürger has written in the margin: 'Muilman (sic)'.