Art of Flanders The dominant direction is Baroque.
Flemish Baroque differs significantly from
Italian: baroque forms filled
a feeling of bubbling life and colorful richness
peace, a sense of spontaneity, the power of growth
man and nature.
The basis of artistic culture is realism,
nationality, bright cheerfulness,
solemnity.
In painting the powerful
decorativeism based on coloristic
effects
Painting
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Head of the Flemish Schoolpainting.
Dynamic forms, strength
plastic imagination,
the triumph of the decorative beginning -
the basis of Rubens's work.
In his paintings the tireless
ancient heroes live their lives
myths, Christian legends,
historical figures and people from
people.
P.P.Rubens Self-Portrait, 1638
"Elevation of the Cross" ca. 1610-1611
"Descent from the Cross" 1611-1614.
"Bacchanalia" 1615-1620
“The Kidnapping of the Daughter “Boar Hunt” Leucippus” 1619-1620. 1615-1620
"Daughter Kidnapping"Leucippa"
1619-1620
"Boar Hunt"
1615-1620
"Perseus and Andromeda" 1620-1621
Cycle “Life of Marie de Medici” (1622-1625)
At the age of 20, Rubens creates20 large compositions
on the topic
"Life of Marie de' Medici"
intended
for decoration
Luxembourg Palace.
It's kind of
pictorial ode
in honor of the ruler
France
"Birth of Marie de' Medici"
"Portrait Presentation" "Marriage by proxy"
"The Arrival of Marie de' Medici in
Marseilles"
"Meeting in Lyon"
"Coronation of Marie de' Medici"
“Portrait of a Chambermaid “Portrait of the Daughter” of the Infanta Isabella”
"Portrait of a MaidInfanta Isabella"
OK. 1625
"Portrait of a Daughter"
1616
"Peasant Dance" 1636-1640
Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)
A student of Rubens from the age of 12.Created a type of shiny
aristocratic portrait,
the image of a refined
intelligent, noble
person. Van Dyck's heroes are people
with delicate features,
tinged with sadness,
dreaminess. They are graceful
well-mannered, full of calm
confidence.
A. Van Dyck Self-Portrait, 1622-1623
Family Portrait, Portrait VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVAVVAVMARIA LUIZE de TASGIS ”1618-1626. 1630
"Portrait of a Man", "Portrait of Charles I" 1620s. OK. 1635
"Male Portrait"1620s
"Portrait of Charles I"
OK. 1635
Jacob Jordanes (1593-1678)
Art, closedemocratic circles
Flemish society
cheerful, full
plebeian rudeness and strength.
He painted altar images and paintings
on mythological themes.
I found the heroes of the paintings in the thicket
crowds, in villages,
craft districts.
Large, awkward figures
peculiar character and custom
ordinary people.
J. Jordans Self-Portrait, 1640
"A Satyr Visiting a Peasant" ca. 1620
"Feast of the Bean King" ca. 1638
Rubens Frans Snyders (1579-1657)
A major master of monumental and decorative still lifeHis still lifes are abundant
various foods: juicy fruits,
vegetables, poultry, deer, wild boars,
maritime and river fish
piled high on tables
pantries and benches, hanging from
oak counters on the floor,
hang the walls.
Bright contrasting colors
exaggeration of scale gives
objects of extraordinary power,
restless lines give rise
dynamic stormy rhythm.
A. Van Dyck, Portrait fragment
Frans Snyders and his wife
.
At the beginning of the 17th century, after the national liberation revolution, the Netherlands, which was under Spanish rule, was divided into two parts. The northern part - the Netherlands proper, also known as Holland - won independence, and Protestantism won there. The Netherlands still exists today. The southern part, once called Flanders, remained under Spanish rule. It officially became known as the Catholic Netherlands. Catholicism was forcibly preserved in the country. Flanders was located on the territory of modern Belgium, occupying its northwestern part.
This is the country in which he worked. Rubens at that time was called the king of artists and the artist of kings. The master received an insane number of orders, because all the European kings literally competed to see who would have the most Rubens paintings in their collection. As a result, the famous master organized something like a painting production company. He created a sketch and outlined the main composition. Then his assistants, among whom were portrait painters, landscape painters, animal painters, and still life painters, painted a picture together. Then Rubens went over the top with his brush, created a certain feeling of unity of the picture, put his signature and the canvas was sold to some king for an impressive sum, the money was divided into the workshop and everyone ended up winning. And if you see a Rubens canvas measuring about half the size of a wall, then that’s exactly how it was painted.
Another thing is that, of course, he painted the paintings on his own. The Pushkin Museum is lucky to have in its collection several original paintings by the famous master. All restoration and radiographic documents confirm that the canvas was painted from start to finish by Rubens himself.
The author depicted a plot related to the celebrations of the god Bacchus - satyrs, goat-footed spirits of the forest, who were part of Bacchus's retinue. Everyone, including Silenus, is in a joyful intoxication. In fact, this picture is dedicated to a completely different topic. This is the theme of fertility, the power of the Earth, the power of nature. We see sleeping satiresses, then the eye moves to the awake satyr in the upper right corner of the composition, then to the satyr, who is at the peak of his activity, and, finally, to the sleeping Silenus. The result is a kind of cycle of seasons - winter, spring, summer and autumn. The composition fits into a single oval and all this is emphasized by luxurious forms in the foreground - pregnant satiresses, bunches of grapes. That is, we are talking about the fertility of the earth, the eternal rebirth of nature after winter. This, according to most researchers, is the theme of this picture.
Another genuine work by Rubens is “The Apotheosis of the Infanta Isabella.”
This is a sketch for a triumphal gate. When Infante Ferdinand, the governor of Flanders, arrives from Spain, for the ceremonial welcome of the ruler, wooden, maybe even plywood gates are erected and painted to look like stone ones. The new ruler enters the city through such a Triumphal Gate. This tradition existed throughout modern times, at least in XVII-XVIII centuries Triumphal gates were installed quite often.
When creating the Triumphal Gate, Rubens worked with apprentices, actually painters. The artist had to show them how to paint this gate. Look, one of the columns is almost not painted. Next, he applied a little more shadow, then even more, and finally completed the final version. On the right side you can also see a barely outlined shadow, then a thicker shadow, and finally the finished version.
In fact, the master showed his assistants different stages of work; he created some kind of visual instructions for installing the Triumphal Gate.
Rubens painted the central image in his workshop. In the sketch, the painter depicted the triumph of the deceased Infanta Isabella. She is depicted on the clouds. Next to her is a woman with three children, this is the personification of mercy, a symbol of the fact that Isabella was a merciful ruler of Flanders. Flanders - a woman on her knees turns to her in prayer, and she answers them, points to Ferdinand and says: “Here is your new governor.”
On the right you can see how the Spanish king sends a new governor to Flanders. “He will be as kind and merciful a ruler as I am” - this thought can be read in Isabella’s gesture. With this image, Ferdinand was praised, flattered and hinted at what was expected of him. The gates were made wonderfully. This allegory was supposed to show the Duke what kind of ruler he should have been for Flanders.
He also worked in Rubens' workshop. He worked either under the name of Rubens' workshop or under his own name. After Rubens' death, Jacob Jordaens became the head of the Flemish school of painting. The museum's collection includes several works by Jordaens.
- an image of an ancient legend, Aesop's fable, about how one winter Satyr went to a neighboring village in order to meet the peasants living there. In the winter in the mountains of Greece it can be quite cold, the peasant was cold and blew on them to warm his hands. The satyr asked: “Why are you blowing on your hands?” The peasant explained that in this way he warms his hands. Then the peasant invited the Satyr to his house for a simple dinner. The stew turned out to be hot and the peasant began to blow on it. Then the Satyr asked: “Why are you blowing on the stew now, where can we heat it even more, it’s already hot?” The peasant was surprised and said: “Now I’m blowing on it to cool it down.” And the Satyr decided that since both cold and warmth can come from a person’s mouth, then the person is an incredibly two-faced creature, it’s not worth being friends with him, and before it was too late he retreated back to the forest.
Here we see the moment in history when the Satyr, incredibly embarrassed, sets out his mind-blowing conclusions, and the peasants react very vividly. The man choked on his stew in surprise, his wife seemed to say: “Why are you saying that!” The child opened his mouth in surprise. The neighbor laughs, and the neighbor looks at him with irony from the height of her life experience.
Overall the scene looks incredibly realistic. Jordaens dresses mythological ancient characters in contemporary clothes and, in fact, depicts the Satyr’s visit to the Flemish peasants of the 17th century. The artist does this in order to make this scene more alive, so that the viewer is even more impressed and imbued with the spirit of this story, in order to make a greater impression on the viewer.
The artist's works are also presented in this room. - this is a master who also worked in Rubens’ workshop and was a still life painter. The museum houses luxurious still lifes depicting game and all kinds of fish - “Fish Shop”.
These Flemish still lifes speak of abundance, of taste. They may seem a little cruel to us, but for the people of that time it was a joyful picture of abundance.
The collection also contains paintings by the artist; his collection included a portrait of Cardinal Pallavicini, attributed to Titian. At first he worked in Rubens' workshop, and then went to England. The master went there for a short time, to fulfill some orders, and then moved permanently and, as paradoxical as it may sound, became one of the founders of the English school of painting.
An excellent portrait painter, the founder of ceremonial portraiture. The exhibition includes a portrait of Stevens, a Flemish bourgeois, merchant, and a portrait of his wife. They are made in a discreet manner.
Yu.D. Kolpinsky (introduction and section on Rubens); T.P. Kaptereva
Division of the Netherlands into Flanders ( From the 17th century Flanders meant not only Flanders proper, the richest region of the southern Netherlands, but also the entire southern Netherlands as a whole.) and Holland was due to the development of the Dutch bourgeois revolution. The feudal nobility of Flanders, together with the local big bourgeoisie, frightened by the scale of the popular revolutionary movement, compromised with the Spanish Habsburgs and betrayed the revolution. The Union of Arras of 1579 was an expression of this compromise; she secured the protectorate of the Spanish monarchy over the southern provinces. The nobility and Catholic clergy of Flanders were grouped around the Spanish governors. At the cost of betraying national interests, the nobility managed to preserve a number of its class privileges, and the Flemish big bourgeoisie, buying up land and acquiring noble titles, itself turned into a kind of landed aristocracy. Catholicism retained its dominant position in the country.
The development of bourgeois relations, if not completely suspended, nevertheless slowed down significantly. A number of important industries suffered significant damage. The largest city in Flanders, Antwerp, after its defeat in 1576 by Spanish troops, lost its former significance as a center of world trade and money market. Nevertheless, during the first half of the 17th century. The country, which had recovered from war devastation, experienced some economic recovery.
In conditions of the victory of the absolutist-noble forces, the bourgeoisie was forced to invest in the land part of the capital that did not find application in the field of industry. Along with agriculture, some new industries (silk weaving, lace, glass) also developed well. Despite the fact that this rise was limited and temporary and occurred in an environment of decline in the political activity of the nation, it still could not help but have an impact on the evolution of culture. But even more important for the latter was the fact that the Dutch revolution, even having suffered defeat in Flanders, awakened inexhaustible forces among the people, the impact of which is clearly felt in Flemish artistic culture.
In the 17th century progressive social trends in Flanders were embodied mainly in the field of art, where they were expressed without entering into open contradiction with the dominant system and the dominant ideology.
The heyday of Flemish art covers the first half of the 17th century. It was at this time that the remarkable Flemish art school took shape, which occupied an outstanding place in history. European culture and which gave birth to such masters as Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordanes, Snyders, Brouwer.
Orders for palaces, temples and various corporations, especially in the first half of the century, contributed to the widespread dissemination of monumental and decorative trends in painting. It was in painting that the progressive features of Flemish culture were most fully expressed: realism, nationality, bright cheerfulness, solemn festivity of images.
In Flanders, the officially dominant art was Baroque. Moreover, it was Flanders, along with Italy, that appeared in the first half of the 17th century. one of the main centers of formation of the Baroque movement in art. However, the Flemish Baroque differed significantly from the Italian in many ways. The art of Rubens, Jordanes, Snyders and other masters in elevated and solemn forms reflected the spirit of life-affirming optimism generated by the vital forces of Flemish society. It was precisely this feature of the development of the Baroque in Flanders, expressed in the art of Rubens, that made it possible to develop realistic features within the framework of the Baroque system itself, and, moreover, to a much greater extent than was possible in Italy.
The period of relative growth in Flanders ends around the middle of the 17th century. Under the yoke of Spanish absolutism, the Flemish economy declines. The social and cultural life of Flanders is becoming increasingly stagnant and conservative.
The establishment of the Spanish protectorate and the preservation of Catholicism as the dominant religion caused Flemish religious architecture in the 17th century. the spread of forms of Roman Baroque, promoted by the Jesuits. The prototype of some early Flemish church buildings was the Gesu Church in Rome (the Jesuit church of 1606-1616 in Brussels by J. Francard, which has not survived to this day, the Church of St. Charles Borromean in Antwerp by P. Heysens, 1614-1621). However, soon the architects of Flanders were able to create an original version of Baroque based on local traditions. It is distinguished not so much by the sophistication and originality of planning and volumetric-spatial solutions, but by the general spirit of solemn and festive decorativeness, which found its most complete expression in the facades of buildings. Among the best works of architecture of the second half of the century one can name the Church of St. Michael in Louvain (1650-1666) by G. Hesius and the Brussels Church of John the Baptist of the Order of the Beguines (1657-1676). Its author, Lucas Feidherbe from Malin (1617-1697), one of the most famous Flemish architects and sculptors of the 17th century, used here an original facade solution in the form of three pediments, of which the central one dominates the side ones. Triple and double pilasters, columns, volutes, broken pediments and various decorative motifs. Faidherbe managed to knit together the individual elements of this elegant building, characterized by a complex and whimsical silhouette.
The greatest interest is in the architecture of 17th century Flanders. represents, however, not cultic, but secular construction, in which local traditions that had developed over centuries could be more fully and clearly manifested. They were so strong and vital that even the authority of Rubens, whose influence in many areas of the artistic life of Flanders was decisive, was powerless in front of them. While in Italy, Rubens visited Genoa, where he became fascinated by the magnificent works of architecture of the 16th century. Upon his return to his homeland, the architectural sketches he completed were engraved by Nicholas Rijkemans and formed the two-volume book “Palaces of Genoa” published in 1622 in Antwerp. The study of Genoese architecture had for Rubens not only cognitive interest. A man of enormous creative activity, he dreamed of a radical transformation of Flemish architecture. The Genoese palazzo, in his opinion, was to become a model for the new secular architecture of Flanders.
However, the type of monumental palace did not develop on Flemish soil. In the Italian spirit it was created in 1611-1618. only a single work is Rubens's own house in Antwerp. The small ensemble, which included a number of buildings with painted facades, entrance gates and a garden with a pavilion, subsequently passed from owner to owner, and underwent significant reconstruction. In 1937, major work began on its restoration, completed in 1947.
Even now, despite the fact that in its present form Rubens’ house is largely the result of reconstruction, one can feel the exciting appeal of the great artist’s home, in which the homely comfort of Dutch interiors is combined with the solemnity of the volumetric-spatial composition of an Italian palazzo. The architectural ideals that inspired Rubens were uniquely refracted in the design of the best preserved parts - the main entrance gate in the form of a three-span triumphal arch, richly decorated with rustication, sculptural decoration and crowned with an elegant balustrade, as well as in a small elegant garden pavilion.
Rubens's house represents something of an exception in the general picture of the development of Flemish secular architecture of the 17th century. As in previous centuries, the type of multi-storey (up to five floors) house with a narrow façade of three or four axes and a high pediment, which arose in the Netherlands back in the Middle Ages, was dominant in Flanders. Contacting the side blank walls, the buildings faced the street with facades that formed a continuous street building.
The evolution of residential architecture of the 17th century. in Flanders, it followed mainly the path of creating new forms of architectural and decorative solutions for facades in tune with the era. The strict lines of triangular or stepped pediments gave way to more complex and bizarre baroque outlines, the surface of the facades was richly decorated with pilasters, columns, caryatids, statues, bas-reliefs and ornaments.
Unfortunately, not all beautiful monuments of Flemish architecture of the 17th century are. have reached our days. Frequent fires and a particularly fierce shelling of Brussels by French troops in 1695 destroyed many of them. After the shelling, in 1696-1720. Under the leadership of the architect Guillaume de Bruyne (1649-1719), the Brussels Grand Place was restored - one of the remarkable squares in Europe, which allows one to judge the character of the urban ensemble that has developed in Flanders.
The center of the old city - the Grand Place - is a rectangular square with sides 110 X 68 m. The continuous perimeter development, interrupted only by the exits of narrow and inconspicuous streets leading to the square, gives the ensemble the impression of strict isolation. Located on the southern side of the square, the famous 15th century town hall, standing out for its scale and the beauty of its forms, largely subjugates the entire variety of architectural forms of the other buildings that form an artistic unity with it, despite the fact that the architectural complex of the square is sometimes made up of quite heterogeneous buildings Thus, its entire eastern side was occupied by the palace of the Duke of Brabant - a building erected in 1698 by Guillaume de Bruyne, which united six old guild houses with its extensive façade. But this structure, almost classical in its forms, does not seem alien here. The feeling of the ensemble suggested to the masters who created the Grand Place the need to contrast the town hall on the northern side of the square with the elegant building of the grain market with an openwork arcade, skillfully stylized in consonant forms, better known as the House of the King. But nothing enlivens the square like tall buildings shops and corporations, the best of which are built on the west side. With amazing ingenuity, these multi-storey narrow facades are crowned with lush pediments in which volutes are intertwined with garlands of flowers (Fox House) or an unusual motif of the stern of a ship is used, as in the Boatmen's Corporation House. The impression of the jewelery of the elegant attire is enhanced by the use of gilding, covering the decorative details of all the buildings of the square and flickering dimly on the facades darkened by time.
Flemish sculpture 17th century. developed in the general mainstream of baroque art with architecture. It not only abundantly decorated the facades of buildings, but was also represented in many ways in their interiors. The Gothic and Baroque churches of Flanders preserve excellent examples of this plastic art: sarcophagi of tombstones with statues of the dead, marble altars, carved benches for worshipers covered with ornaments, wooden preaching pulpits rich in sculptural decoration, confessionals, etc. architectural structures and decorated with caryatids, bas-reliefs and medallions. In general, with the exception of funerary statues in which portrait images were created, Flemish sculpture had a pronounced decorative character. In the composition of the features of her artistic language, two powerful sources seemed to merge. On the one hand, it was Italian sculpture led by Bernini, the influence of which was enhanced by the fact that most of the Flemish masters visited Italy and some of them worked there for a long time. On the other hand, the influence of the local artistic tradition, and primarily the art of Rubens, was more powerful. Developing in Baroque forms, sculpture also absorbed centuries-old experience of folk crafts and ancient traditions of stone and wood carving.
In the field of sculpture Flanders 17th century. did not give a single great master. Nevertheless, the general artistic level of the works created here was very high. We can talk about a whole galaxy of gifted sculptors who successfully worked at this time, most often represented by family dynasties of masters, natives of Brussels, Antwerp, Malin and other cities.
The activities of the Duquesnoy family of sculptors date back to the first half of the 17th century. Its leader, Jerome Duquesnoy (before 1570-1641), was the author of an extremely popular statue for a fountain built near the Brussels Grandplace, which depicts a mischievous child letting out a trickle of water, known as Mannequin-pis. Mannequin (in Flemish - little man) has long been a real favorite of the city residents, who call him “the oldest citizen of Brussels.” Jerome's eldest son, François Duquesnoy (1594 - 1643), sent in 1618 by Archduke Albert to Rome, worked mainly in Italy, collaborating with Bernini in the decoration of the Cathedral of St. Petra. The influence of the artistic environment of Rome largely determined his creative appearance, due to which his art belongs more to Italy than to Flanders. In the work of his other son, Jerome Duquesnoy the Younger (1602-1654), features of national identity were more clearly manifested.
Originally commissioned by François, but essentially created by Jerome, the tombstone of Archbishop Trist in the Cathedral of St. Bavo at Ghent (1643-1654) is one of his most significant works. Made of white and black marble, the tombstone is a structure decorated with columns and pilasters, where the sarcophagus with the reclining figure of the archbishop is flanked on the sides by statues of the Mother of God and Christ located in niches.
An entire school was born from the art of the family of Antwerp masters, the Quellins, whose founder was Art Quellin the Elder (1609-1668), a student of François Duquesnoy. Working in Amsterdam from 1650, he was the creator of the magnificent external and internal decoration of the city hall. His wall decoration in one of the halls with massive figures of caryatids and freely executed multi-figure bas-reliefs is especially famous. Upon returning to Antwerp in 1654, the master made many sculptures for the churches of the city.
In the second half of the century, the work of the already mentioned Lucas Feidherbe, who initially worked in the field of sculpture, developed. A representative of the family of Malinsky sculptors, Lukas Feidherbe was trained in the workshop
Rubens, who loved him more than all his students. Faidherbe's main works were created by him in Malin and are located in the Cathedral of St. Romuald. This is a huge, imposing altar (1665-1666) made of black and white marble with gilded column capitals, decorated with bas-reliefs and crowned with a colossal (3.75 m) statue of St. Romuald. The tombstone of Archbishop Krusen (1669) was also executed with great skill. The traditions of Flemish plastic art are expressed here much more strongly than in the outwardly more spectacular, but clearly imitating Italian examples, tombstone of Bishop d'Allomont (after 1673; Ghent, St. Bavo's Cathedral) by the Liege master Jean Delcourt, a student of Bernini. The work of this sculptor, marked by features of bravura and emphasized dynamism of forms, had a more traditionally baroque character. At the same time, Delcourt’s works reflected the growing tendency in Flemish plastic art towards increasing pomp and complexity of the artistic image.
At the beginning of the 17th century. In the painting of Flanders, the Caravaggist direction was developing, which, however, did not have the same importance here as in other European countries. If the Flemish Caravaggists Theodor Rombouts (1597-1637) and Gerard Seghers (1591-1651) followed the established template in their works, then the work of Abraham Janssens (1575-1632) is marked by features of greater originality and freshness. In the fullness of his folk-type images and the pronounced decorativeness of allegorical and mythological compositions, a direct connection with the traditions of national painting is felt. Since the 1630s the masters of Flemish Caravaggism came under the influence of the art of Rubens.
The greatest artist of Flanders and one of the great masters European painting 17th century Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was born in the city of Siegen in Germany, where Rubens' father, a lawyer who played some role in the public life of Flanders, emigrated during the civil war in the Netherlands. Soon after the death of his father, the mother and her son returned to Antwerp, where the future artist received an excellent education for that time.
Comprehensively gifted, striving to master the entire wealth of human knowledge, Rubens very early found his main calling in life in painting. Already in 1591, he studied first with minor artists Tobias Verhahat and Adam van Noort. Then he moved on to Otto van Veen (Venius), a prominent representative of late Dutch Romanism. But the very spirit of painting by the novelists remained alien to Rubens’ talent.
Of great importance for the formation of Rubens's painting skills was the direct study of the art of the Italian Renaissance and Italian art contemporary to Rubens. From 1600 to 1608, Rubens lived in Italy, serving as court painter to the Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo Gonzaga. Numerous copies of the works of the great masters of the Renaissance, close acquaintance with the artistic life of Italy expanded Rubens' artistic horizons. Studying the work of the great masters of the High Renaissance, he at the same time had the opportunity to take into account the experience of the struggle to overcome mannerism, which Caravaggio led at that time in Italy. Free arrangement by Rubens Caravaggio paintings“Entombment” clearly demonstrates Rubens’ interest in the work of this master. Among the masters of the High Renaissance, Rubens especially appreciated the work of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Titian. But in terms of its pictorial features and sense of life, Rubens’ art, with all its connections with the Italian Renaissance, from the very beginning had a pronounced Flemish character. It is noteworthy that Rubens’s creativity truly unfolded precisely upon his return to Flanders and in the process of solving those artistic problems that the conditions of public life in his native country posed to him.
Inundated with orders, Rubens created a huge workshop that brought together a whole group of talented Flemish artists. A colossal number of large canvases were created here, decorating the palaces and temples of many European capitals. The sketch was usually created by Rubens himself, while the painting in most cases was completed by his assistants and students. When the painting was ready, Rubens went over it with his brush, reviving it and eliminating any existing shortcomings. But the best paintings by Rubens were painted from beginning to end by the master himself. The creative achievements of Rubens and his authority as one of the most educated people of his time, and finally, the very charm of his personality determined the high position that he occupied in the public life of Flanders. He often took on important diplomatic assignments from the rulers of Flanders and traveled extensively throughout Western Europe. His correspondence with statesmen of that time and especially with leading representatives of culture amazes with the breadth of his horizons and the richness of his thoughts. His letters contain a number of interesting judgments about art that clearly characterize Rubens' progressive artistic positions.
In general, Rubens's work can be divided into the following three stages: early - up to 1620, mature - from 1620 to 1630 and late, covering the last decade of his life. A feature of Rubens' creative development was that the transition from one stage to another occurred gradually, without sudden leaps. His art evolved towards an ever-increasing deepening of realism, towards a wider coverage of life and overcoming the externally theatrical baroque affectation, the features of which were more characteristic of Rubens in the early period of his work.
At the beginning of the early period (up to approximately 1611-1613), the influence of Caravaggio can still be felt in Rubens's work, especially in altar and mythological compositions, and in portraits - the last echoes of mannerism. True, these influences are felt more in the technique, in some features of the form, than in the understanding of the image. Thus, the self-portrait with his first wife, Isabella Brant (1609-1610; Munich), was made in a somewhat harsh manner. Rubens writes out all the details of luxurious costumes and flaunts masterly and precise drawings. Rubens himself and his wife sitting at his feet are depicted in poses full of outward social grace. And yet, in the truthful rendering of the movement of their clasped hands, the conventions of a ceremonial portrait are overcome. The artist allowed the viewer to feel both the trusting tenderness of his wife towards her beloved husband and the calm cheerfulness of the character of the young Rubens. “Portrait of a Young Lady” in the Museum of Fine Arts is close to this work in terms of execution time. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow.
In “The Exaltation of the Cross” (c. 1610-1611; Antwerp, cathedral) it is clearly visible how Rubens rethinks the experience he acquired while studying the heritage of Caravaggio and the Venetians. Caravaggio helped Rubens to see nature in all its objective materiality and vital character. At the same time, Rubens' expressive figures are imbued with such a pathetic tension of forces, such dynamics that were alien to the art of Caravaggio. A tree bent by a gust of wind, the intense efforts of people raising the cross with the crucified Christ, sharp angles of figures, restless glare of light and shadow sliding over muscles trembling with tension - everything is full of rapid movement. Rubens grasps the whole in all its diverse unity. Each individual reveals his true character only through interaction with other characters.
In general, Rubens's paintings of this period are distinguished by their monumental decorativeness, sharp and effective contrasts. This decision was partly determined by the purpose of Rubens' works. They are altar compositions that occupy a certain place in the church interior. Snatched from their natural setting and transferred to the walls of museums, Rubens' altar compositions now sometimes produce a somewhat artificial impression. Gestures seem exaggerated, the juxtaposition of characters is too harsh and simplistic, the color chord, although complete, is overly strong.
At the same time, Rubens in his best compositions did not limit himself only to external effects. This is evidenced by his Antwerp “Descent from the Cross” (1611-1614). The heavy and strong body of Christ sag heavily; with enormous effort, those close to him try to keep his body suspended; the kneeling Magdalene excitedly stretches out her hands to Christ; in mournful ecstasy, Mary tries to hug the body of her son. The gestures are violent and impetuous, but within the general exaggerated expressiveness of the whole, gradations of feelings and experiences are embodied with great truthfulness. Mary's face breathes deep sorrow, Magdalene's despair is genuine.
The oratorical pathos of this painting by Rubens is convincing because it is based on the sincere experience of the depicted event - the grief of friends and relatives for the deceased hero. Actually, Rubens is not interested in the religious-mystical side of the plot. In the gospel myth, he is attracted to passions and experiences - vital, human at their core. Rubens easily overcomes the conventionality of the religious plot, although formally it does not conflict with the official cult purpose of the painting. Therefore, although Baroque painting in a number of European countries relied on the legacy of Rubens, the content of his art, the main realistic orientation of his work were not accepted by the official Baroque, which was imbued with tendencies of decorative theatricality and a deliberate opposition of the base and the sublime. In the fundamentally truthful compositions of Rubens, created in the 1610s, the feeling of the mighty power of existence and its eternal movement is always clearly expressed. Such are the joyful solemnity of the allegory “The Union of Earth and Water” (between 1612 and 1615; Leningrad, Hermitage), the dramatic power of “The Descent from the Cross”, the fierce struggle in “Lion Hunt” or “Boar Hunt” (Dresden), pathos world cataclysm in “The Last Judgment” (Munich), the fury of fighters entwined in a fierce battle for life and death in “Battle of the Amazons” (Munich).
“The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus” (1619-1620; Munich) is an example of Rubens’ appeal to a mythological theme. The movements of the horsemen abducting young women are full of courageous determination and energy. The curvaceous bodies of women, vainly crying out for mercy, stand out effectively against the background of bright fluttering fabrics, rearing black and golden-red horses, and the dark bodies of the kidnappers. The resounding chord of colors, the turbulence of gestures, the torn, restless silhouette of the entire group clearly convey the force of the impulse of life's passions. Numerous “Bacchanalia” date back to approximately the same time, including “Bacchanalia” (1615-1620; Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts).
“The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus” and “Bacchanalia”, in a pictorial sense, form the transition to a mature period in the work of Rubens (1620-1630). The cycle “The Life of Marie de Medici” (1622-1625; Louvre), which occupies an important place among other monumental and decorative compositions by Rubens, dates back to the beginning of this period. This cycle is very characteristic of his understanding of the historical genre. Rubens in his work refers not only to ancient historical heroes and their deeds, but also to contemporary history. In this case, Rubens sees the task of a historical painting as praising the personality and deeds of monarchs or generals. His lush and solemn historical canvases became an example to be followed by a number of court artists of the 17th century. The cycle “The Life of Marie de Medici” consists of twenty large compositions intended to decorate one of the halls of the Luxembourg Palace. These paintings reproduced the main Episodes of the life of the wife of Henry IV, who became the ruler of France after his death. All the paintings in the cycle were made in the spirit of the frank. praises of Marie de Medici and are equipped with allegorical and mythological characters. This unique pictorial ode of praise was executed with great brilliance and in its scope represented an exceptional phenomenon even for the baroque art of the 17th century, which was partial to large monumental and decorative compositions. A typical work for the entire series is “The Arrival of Marie de Medici in Marseille.” Along the velvet-covered gangway, the magnificently dressed Marie de Medici descends from the side of a luxurious galley onto the soil of France. Flags flutter, gilding and brocade shine. In the heavens the trumpeting winged Glory announces a great event. The sea deities, overcome by general excitement, greet Mary. The naiads accompanying the ship tie the ropes thrown from the ship to the pilings of the pier. The film contains a lot of festive noise and outright court flattery. But for all the theatricality of the whole, the figures in the composition are arranged naturally and freely.
Since the paintings of this cycle were made mainly by Rubens' students, the greatest interest in artistically represent sketches written by Rubens himself, according to which the compositions themselves were realized in his workshop. The sketch for “The Coronation of Marie de Medici,” kept in the Hermitage, is an underpainting, lightly touched by a few strokes of glaze. It amazes with its combination of exceptional brevity and extreme expressiveness of the image. Sharp feeling the whole, highlighting the main thing in the depicted event, the amazing mastery of the mise-en-scène, a deep understanding of the coloristic unity of the picture, the relationship and gradation of tone and density of the stroke allow Rubens, with the most meager means, to give a bright, full of life-like spontaneity picture of the event. The stroke becomes not only precise, but also emotionally expressive. The figure of the young courtier in the center of the picture is sketched with several swift, rich strokes, conveying the slenderness of the muscular figure, the intensely restrained young energy of his nature, and the swiftness of his movement, causing the fervor of his pose. Its fluttering cloak is magnificent, conveyed in several strokes of scarlet-pink and dark brown, black in the shadows. The relaxed freedom and sharp expressiveness of Rubens's pictorial style have nothing in common with subjective arbitrariness or deliberate negligence.
In his historical compositions, Rubens does not always limit himself to composing a magnificent laudatory ode to rulers, often unworthy of it. In some compositions dedicated to historical events antiquity, he asserted his idea of historical hero- a courageous fighter for his ideals. Unlike the classicists of the 17th century. At the same time, Rubens did not so much glorify the victory of duty and reason over feeling and passion, but rather revealed the beauty of the immediate unity of feeling and thought of the hero, seized by a passionate impulse to fight, to action. An example of this kind of historical compositions by Rubens is located in the Museum of Fine Arts. A. S. Pushkin Sketch for the lost Munich painting “Mucius Scaevola”.
Admiration for man and the wealth of his vivid feelings and experiences was expressed in “The Adoration of the Magi” (1624; Antwerp, Museum) and in “Perseus and Andromeda” (1620-1621; Hermitage). In The Adoration of the Magi, Rubens frees himself from the moments of heightened theatricality characteristic of his earlier altar compositions. This canvas is distinguished by a combination of festivity, natural vitality of images and expressiveness of characters. The features of this period were revealed most fully in Perseus and Andromeda. Rubens depicted the moment when Perseus, having slain the sea monster, descended from Pegasus and approached Andromeda, chained to a rock, intended, according to ancient myth, to be sacrificed to the monster. Like festive banners, the folds of the scarlet cloak of Perseus and the blue robe of Victory, crowning the hero, flutter. However, the content of the picture is not limited to the apotheosis of the victorious hero. Dressed in heavy armor, Perseus approaches the naked, joyfully embarrassed Andromeda and touches her hand with imperious tenderness. Andromeda is surrounded by a light golden glow, opposing the more materially dense color scheme of the rest of the picture. The golden-honey glow that envelops Andromeda’s lush nudity seems to materialize in the golden brocade veil framing her body. No one before Rubens had sung with such depth the beauty and great joy of love, which conquered all the obstacles standing in its way. At the same time, this painting especially fully reveals Rubens' skill in depicting the human body. It seems that it is saturated with the thrill of life - the moisture of the gaze, the light play of blush, the velvety matteness of delicate skin are so captivatingly and convincingly conveyed.
Rubens was a wonderful master of drawing. His preparatory drawings for paintings amaze with his ability to capture, in a few dynamic strokes and spots, the character of a form taken in its movement, to convey the general emotional state of the image. Rubens's drawings are characterized by breadth and freedom of execution: either increasing or weakening the pressure of the pencil on the paper, he captures the characteristic silhouette of the figure, conveys the tense play of the muscles (study for “The Elevation of the Cross”). In one of the preparatory drawings for “The Boar Hunt,” Rubens confidently sculpts the form with a rich juxtaposition of light and shadow, conveying the contrasts of knotty, tensely bending tree trunks and the slight trembling of foliage permeated with flickering light. Pictorial expressiveness, heightened emotionality, an excellent sense of dynamics, artistic flexibility of technique are characteristic features of Rubens' drawing mastery.
The charm of Rubens's pictorial language is also revealed in his portraits of his mature period. The portrait in the work of Rubens did not have the same importance as in the work of Hals, Rembrandt or Velazquez. And yet Rubens' portraits occupy a unique and important place in the art of the 17th century. Rubens' portrait to a certain extent continues, in new historical conditions, the humanistic traditions of the High Renaissance portrait. Unlike the masters of the Italian Renaissance, Rubens restrainedly but expressively conveys his direct personal attitude towards the subject being portrayed. His portraits are full of feelings of sympathy, polite respect, or joyful admiration for the model. With all this, Rubens’s personal attitude towards his models has one important common feature. This is benevolence, a general positive assessment of the hero of the image. On the one hand, this understanding of the image of a person corresponded to the goals of the official Baroque portrait, dedicated to the depiction of “worthy”, “significant” persons; on the other hand, in this attitude towards man the life-affirming optimism and humanism of Rubens himself found its expression. Therefore, Rubens, in general correctly and convincingly conveying the features of similarity with the model, unlike Rembrandt and Velazquez, does not go too deep into conveying all the individual peculiarities of its physical and psychological appearance. Complex internal contradictions in the moral life of an individual remain outside his field of vision. In each portrait, Rubens, without breaking with the characteristics of individual traits, emphasizes the general features characteristic of the model’s social status. True, in portraits of rulers, for example in the portrait of Maria de Medici (1622-1625; Prado), the truthfulness and vitality of the characterization only barely breaks through the conventions of a ceremonial Baroque portrait; Therefore, portraits of people either close to the artist or not at the top of the social hierarchy have much greater artistic value for us. In the portraits of Doctor Tulden (c. 1615 - 1618; Munich), chambermaid (c. 1625; Hermitage)? Susanna Fourman (1620s; London) and in some self-portraits this realistic basis of Rubens's portrait appears most consistently.
In the portrait of the chambermaid, Rubens conveyed the charm of a cheerful young woman. Her face, surrounded by the pearly white foam of her collar, stands out against the warm background; fluffy strands of golden hair frame her temples and forehead. Light golden reflexes, hot transparent shadows, juxtaposed with freely placed cold highlights, convey the thrill of life. The chambermaid turned her head slightly, and light and shadows slide across her face, sparks of light sparkle in her eyes, strands of hair flutter and a pearl earring flickers dimly in the shadows.
Among the portraits of Rubens of the late period, his self-portrait, stored in the Vienna Museum (c. 1638), deserves mention. Although the features of a ceremonial portrait make themselves felt in the composition, there is still a lot of freedom and ease in Rubens’ calm pose. The artist’s face, looking attentively and benevolently at the viewer, is full of life. In this portrait, Rubens affirms his ideal of a man in a prominent position, richly gifted, intelligent, and confident in his abilities.
Among the master's later portraits, the portraits of the artist's second wife, young Elena Fourman, are especially attractive. The best among them is the Louvre portrait of Helen Fourment with her children (after 1636). In this portrait, the influence of the principles of baroque ceremonial portraiture is almost not felt; luxurious accessories and lush clothes are discarded. The whole picture is imbued with a feeling of calm and serene happiness. The image of the mother and children is full of natural ease and at the same time special charm. The young mother holds her youngest son on her lap and tilts her face towards him with thoughtful tenderness. A gentle golden glow envelops all forms in a light haze, softens the bright sound of red spots, and creates an atmosphere of calm and solemn joy. A hymn to a woman - mother and lover - is superbly embodied in this earthly Madonna.
A full-length portrait of a nude Helen Fourment with a fur coat trimmed with thick fur draped over her shoulders (“Fur Coat,” 1638-1639; Vienna) goes beyond the portrait genre. By conveying the sensual charm of his young wife, Rubens embodies his ideal of female beauty. With amazing skill, Rubens uses the contrasts between dark fluffy fur and a naked body, between the delicate tints of pink skin and the radiance of curls framing the face.
Rubens portrays Elena Fourment not only in portraits. We recognize her features in “Andromeda” (1638-1640; Berlin) and “Bathsheba” (c. 1635; Dresden). For Rubens, a painting is a feast for the eye, satisfying his greedy love for the festive richness of existence. In the Dresden canvas, the sound of the red color of the blanket thrown over the seat and juxtaposed with the black-brown thick color The thrown-back fur coat, the greenish-blue clothes of the Negro boy, the olive-black darkness of his body are designed to create a sonorous chord, against which all the richness of shades of Bathsheba’s naked body stands out. At the same time, Rubens conveys the most subtle nuances of form and color. This is the comparison between the shine of the whites of the black boy’s eyes and the white spot of the letter that he hands to Bathsheba.
The theme of the sensual richness of life, its eternal movement finds its most direct expression in Rubens’ “Bacchanalia”. Fauns, satyrs, and satiresses intoxicated with wine invade the picture in a riotous crowd. Sometimes (in The Triumph of Silenus, late 1620s; London) the crowd gives the impression of being part of an endless procession, cut off by the picture frame.
One of the most remarkable works of this type is the Hermitage “Bacchus” (between 1635 and 1640). Rubens' Bacchus is very far from the harmoniously beautiful Bacchus of Titian ("Bacchus and Ariadne"). The fat figure of a cheerful glutton sitting on a wine barrel is somewhat close in spirit to the image of Lamme Goodzak, the belly of Flanders, created by de Custer. The entire composition of “Bacchus” is perceived as a frank hymn to the physiological joy of being.
Occupying such an important place in the work of Rubens in the 1610s. Baroque in general nature, altar compositions fade into the background in the later period and are usually completed by the workshop almost without the participation of the artist himself. When the master himself turns to works of this kind, he creates works full of realistic expressiveness. His altar composition “The Vision of St. Ildefonsa" (1630-1632; Brussels, sketch in the Hermitage) is very indicative in this regard. It is noteworthy that the sketch is distinguished by much greater realism of the composition than the altar painting itself. There is no conventional division into three doors, no hovering angels are depicted, etc. The poses of the characters are more natural and simpler. The unity of lighting and the transmission of air soften the sharpness of color contrasts. While improving the clarity of compositional structure, Rubens simultaneously abandons the excessive decorativeness of early altar compositions and their often excessive overload with numerous characters. The increasing maturity and consistency of the artist's realistic aspirations should have encouraged him to go beyond the limits of biblical and ancient themes. This was partly due to the flourishing of portraits and landscapes in his work in the 1620s and 1630s.
Rubens's landscape develops Dutch traditions, giving them a new ideological meaning and artistic value. He solves mainly the problem of a generalized image of nature as a whole; the majestic picture of the existence of the world, the clear harmony of man and nature receives from him its sublimely poetic and at the same time sensually full embodiment. The world is a whole, and a person calmly and joyfully feels his unity with it. Rubens's earlier landscapes, for example "Carriers of Stones" (c. 1620; Hermitage), are distinguished by a somewhat more dramatic composition. The rocks in the foreground seem to rise with tension from the bowels of the earth, tearing its covers with a roar. With enormous effort, horses and people move a heavy loaded cart over the crest of a mountain road. Rubens's later landscapes are calmer and more solemn. His ability to create a generalized and at the same time vitally convincing image of nature is revealed especially fully in “The Farm at Laeken” (1633; London, Buckingham Palace). The backwater of the river, the majestic clarity of the flat expanses, the trees stretching their branches to the sky, the running of clouds form a clear consonance of rhythms that convey the mighty breath of the world. Fat herds, a village woman slowly walking along the path with a jug, a peasant bringing his horse to water, complete the overall picture of the majestic harmony of life. In “The Watering Place,” the eye is pleased with the lush color, the silvery-bluish light that envelops the picture, and the combination of broad decorative effects with a subtle rendering of the trembling of foliage and the shimmer of moisture.
In recent decades, Rubens has turned to depicting folk life. She interests him mainly from the festive side. In “Kermesse” (c. 1635 -1636; Louvre) and especially in “Peasant Dance” (between 1636 and 1640; Prado), Rubens, starting from the traditions of the Dutch realists of the 16th century, rises to a generalized image of the strength and greatness of the people. Folk basis Rubens's heroic optimism receives its most direct expression here. In a rapid dance, the movement of the round dance expands and then collapses. Young peasants and peasant women are beautiful with their health and their overflowing cheerfulness. The calmly majestic landscape recreates the image of a fertile and powerful land. A powerful branchy oak tree overshadows the dancers with its foliage. The figure of a flutist perched among the branches seems to grow from the depths of the oak tree. land. The music of his flute is the joyful and free song of nature itself. Rubens's images of peasants lack everyday authenticity, but the healthy simplicity of their appearance and admiration for their cheerfulness turn them into a symbol of the inexhaustible strength and greatness of Flanders and its people.
Rubens's workshop was not only the center of formation of many of the largest Flemish painters; a new Antwerp school of masters of reproduction engraving was also formed here, who reproduced mainly the original paintings of Rubens, as well as artists of his circle. As a rule, engravings were made not from originals, but from specially prepared - most often by Rubens' students - grisaille drawings. Thus, the coloristic image of the painting was translated into a tonal-graphic image; the large-scale reduction in turn made the engraver's task easier. Partly this preparatory work determined that special degree of artistic generalization that distinguishes Flemish engraving of the 17th century. among other Western European schools. Rubens actively monitored the engraver's work at all stages and often intervened in it himself, making changes to the test prints. Among the galaxy of talented engraving masters, Lucas Worstermann (1595-1675) should be mentioned first. Although his creative collaboration with Rubens lasted only a short time, it was extremely fruitful both in the number of engravings created and in the artistic results. Following Rubens's creative plan, Vorsterman was able to convey only by means of black and white the feeling of the intensity of the colorful harmonies of Rubens's compositions, to saturate the sheets with spectacular transitions from bright light to rich velvety shadows, to enrich and diversify the expressiveness with strokes, sometimes gentle and subtle, sometimes strong and energetic. Almost avoiding the technique of monotonous and dry cross-hatching in the shadows, which was so common in the past, and abandoning the sharp outlining shape of the contour line and minute drawing of details, the master built his engravings on large masses, rich black and white contrasts, perfectly capturing the dynamic and solemn spirit of Rubens’ art. The foundations of this new style laid by Worsterman were continued and developed by his students and followers, who still could not achieve the breadth and freedom of Worsterman, although among them there were such gifted masters as Paul Pontius (1603-1658), especially known as a first-class portrait painter, Bolsvert brothers - Boethius (c. 1580-c. 1634) and Schelte Adame (1581 - 1659), whose best works are engravings from landscapes by Rubens.
Chisel engraving was the dominant type of engraving in Flanders, relegating etching to the background. The new style of the Antwerp school also manifested itself in the work of Christopher Jaeger (1596-ca. 1652), the only woodblock print master in Rubens’ circle.
The largest painter in Flanders after Rubens was his most talented student and younger contemporary, Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). Both in the personal fate of Van Dyck, who came from the wealthy strata of the bourgeoisie, who spent his entire life striving to enter the select circle of the nobility, and in the evolution of his work, which marked a departure from the democratic traditions of national painting, the general process of aristocratization of contemporary Flemish society was clearly reflected. But in the best works of Van Dyck, a healthy realistic principle is preserved, deep, meaningful images of the people of his time are created.
Van Dyck received his initial artistic education in Antwerp from the painter van Balen. As a nineteen-year-old boy, he came to Rubens' workshop. A year later, the young artist was elected a member of the Antwerp painters' corporation. Rubens praised his student, and soon Van Dyck became his assistant in carrying out various orders. During this period, the master created paintings with dynamic composition on religious subjects. Many of them show a strong influence of Rubens (St. Jerome, Drunken Strong; Dresden). However, in comparison with Rubens, Van Dyck’s images lose their spontaneous fullness of feelings, seem more sluggish, less significant. The master often strives for their increased and usually outwardly understood expressiveness, which gives some of his canvases a touch of contrivedness, such as, for example, the Munich “Martyrdom of St. Sebastian" (1618-1621). Van Dyck is much more interesting where he finds figurative solutions close to his work (“St. Martin and the Beggar.” But not subject paintings were Van Dyck’s true calling. All the originality of his talent was revealed in the field of portraiture.
Van Dyck can be called a born portrait painter. He created his own style portrait art, which has gained wide popularity in the highest circles of many European countries. Customers were attracted not only by Van Dyck’s brilliant mastery of the very type of ceremonial aristocratic portrait. The attractive force of Van Dyck's art was the underlying ideal of the human personality, which he followed in his works.
Van Dyck's man seems to be elevated above everyday life; internally ennobled, he is devoid of the imprint of mediocrity. The artist first of all strives to show his spiritual sophistication. In his best portraits, Van Dyck, without falling into superficial idealization, created vital and typical images that at the same time have a unique poetic appeal.
Van Dyck's early Antwerp portraits depict noble citizens of his native city, their families, artists with their wives and children. These works are closely related to the traditions of Flemish painting (Family Portrait, between 1618 and 1620, Hermitage; portrait of Cornelis van der Geest).
In 1620 Van Dyck travels to England and then to Italy. In Rome, he created a portrait of the scientist and diplomat Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio (Florence, Pitti). Already here the principles of Van Dyck’s art are clearly expressed. The image of the cardinal seated in a chair against the backdrop of a red curtain has a distinctly ceremonial character. But external representativeness is combined with the revelation of a person’s rich inner life. The light falls on Bentivoglio’s thoughtful, spiritual face, expressing the intense work of thought. It is significant that in his intellectual characterization Van Dyck emphasizes the exclusivity of this person and introduces a touch of elation into the image.
Van Dyck settles in Genoa, an aristocratic republic closely connected with Flanders through trade relations. He becomes a popular portrait painter of the city's largest aristocratic families. Acquaintance with Venetian painting enriches the master’s compositional techniques and his palette. He creates majestic, often in full height portraits of representatives of the Italian nobility. Haughty elders, noble gentlemen, slender women in heavy, jeweled dresses with long trains are presented against the backdrop of purple draperies and massive columns of the luxurious palaces of Genoa. These are brilliant environmental portraits-paintings.
Not all works of the Genoese period are of equal value - in some of them a certain secular impersonality prevails. But in the best portraits of this time, as in the portrait of Bentivoglio, the impression of a peculiar elation of the images is created. The Marquise Catarina Durazzo appears as an extraordinary person in the portrait of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The spirituality of the image is consonant with the very type of this more intimate and somewhat romanticized portrait. But even within the confines of a more traditional ceremonial image, Van Dyck imbues the images with a thrill of life. In the portrait of the young Marquise Balbiani (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art) everything seems unusual, marked by a special refined beauty: elongated proportions, the pallor of the face and delicate idle hands, the splendor of dark clothes decorated with the finest pattern of shimmering gold lace. But perhaps what is most captivating is the feeling of spiritual uplift, inner revival that permeates the image.
Upon Van Dyck's return to his homeland, the second Antwerp period of his work begins (1627-1632). At this time, Rubens left on a long diplomatic trip, and Van Dyck became, in fact, the first artist of Flanders. From 1630 he was a court artist at the Archduke's court. Van Dyck painted at this time many altar images for various Flemish churches, as well as paintings on mythological subjects. But, as before, his main vocation remains portraiture. Along with images of dignitaries and nobles, military leaders and prelates, rich Flemish merchants, painted in the tradition of ceremonial portraits, he creates portraits of lawyers, doctors, and his fellow Flemish artists. It was during this period of creativity that Van Dyck’s lively temperament and his connection with the realistic traditions of Flemish art were especially clearly manifested. The portraits of artists are distinguished by the accuracy and meaningfulness of their characteristics: the tired, strict Snyders (Vienna, Museum), the dashing Sneyers (Munich, Alte Pinakothek), the good-natured Krayer (Vienna, Liechtenstein Gallery), the doctor Lazarus Macharkeizus (1622-1630; Hermitage), philologist and publisher Jan van den Wouwer (Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts). One of the most significant works of these years is a portrait of the young beauty Maria Louise de Tassis (Vienna, Liechtenstein Gallery). This portrait retains the degree of representativeness that distinguished Van Dyck’s Genoese works, and at the same time it is an image full of vitality and calm naturalness.
The sharpness of the characterization is also inherent in Van Dyck’s etching works, which made up the “Iconography” published in 1627, a collection of etchings-portraits of famous contemporaries (out of one hundred images, sixteen were made by the master with his own hand; for the rest he provided preliminary sketches).
In 1632, he left for England and became the court artist of Charles I. In England, the ambitious Van Dyck received the title of nobility and the gold chain of a knight. Thanks to his marriage to Mary Rasven, who came from a very ancient but impoverished family, the artist entered the ranks of the prim English aristocracy. He paints many portraits of the king, queen and their children; The entire high English society seeks the honor of posing for him.
In some, especially early works of this period, Van Dyck still retains the strength of his talent. The pronounced aristocracy of the images is combined with emotional and psychological sophistication: portraits of Philip Wharton (1632; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art), Mary Rasven (c. 1640; Munich, Alte Pinakothek), Thomas Wharton (late 1630s). ; Hermitage). Among Van Dyck's outstanding works of the English period is the portrait of King Charles I (c. 1635; Louvre). Among the numerous portraits of Charles I, painted by the master in traditional techniques, this canvas stands out for its particularly original design. The principles of the ceremonial image are revealed here not forcefully, as in many other Vandyck portraits, but rather softened, in a more intimate interpretation, which, however, thanks to the brilliant skill of the artist, does not at all come to the detriment of the representativeness of the model. The king is depicted against the backdrop of a landscape in an elegantly casual pose; behind him a servant holds a thoroughbred horse. The color of the portrait, rich in transparent silver-gray and dull golden shades, is distinguished by its exquisite beauty. The image of Charles I - the very embodiment of elegance and aristocracy - is poeticized by Van Dyck, and at the same time, the inner essence of this man, arrogant and weak, frivolous and self-confident, a charming gentleman and a short-sighted monarch, is very subtly conveyed here.
But never before have the contradictions in Van Dyck's work been so obvious as during the English period. Along with the aforementioned works, which testify to his high skill, Van Dyck, obediently following the wishes of his noble customers, creates many empty, idealized portraits. The picturesque quality of his works is also declining. The very method of his work at this time is indicative. Inundated with orders, he, like Rubens, surrounds himself with student assistants. Van Dyck worked on several portraits in one day. The sketch from the model took no more than an hour, the rest, especially the clothes and hands, was completed in the workshop by students from special models. Already at the second session, Van Dyck completed the portrait just as quickly. This method led to the predominance of a certain stamp.
Van Dyck's artistic role was extremely significant and manifested itself mainly outside his homeland. English portrait painters relied on the traditions of his art. On the other hand, the type of idealized ceremonial portrait of the late Van Dyck became a model for many Western European painters of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The third largest representative of Flemish painting was Jacob Jordan (1593-1678). The son of a wealthy Antwerp merchant, he spent his entire life in his hometown. Studying (from 1607) with Adam van Noort did not have much influence on Jordanes' artistic development. More closely than others, he was connected with the realistic tradition of Old Netherlandish painting. Of the modern Italian masters, he most appreciated the art of Caravaggio. Recognition soon came to a young artist. Already in 1615 he received the title of member of the guild of Antwerp painters, and in 1621 he was elected its dean.
Perhaps none of the masters expressed the soil principle of Flemish art with such force, sometimes taking on a hint of rough sensuality, as in Jordanes. This was also facilitated by the fact that he did not visit Italy and, in addition, did not strive to adapt to Italian models. Jordanes' works, even on religious and mythological subjects, are interpreted in a genre sense; the characters, most often given in everyday life and always written from life, sometimes seem too ponderous. At the same time, his work is devoid of the features of everyday prosaism - it has a special festive spectacle and inexhaustible reserves of cheerfulness. This completeness of the optimistic perception of the world brings Jordanes closer to Rubens. But, unlike the latter, Jordan does not have such a power of artistic generalization, such a gigantic creative scope and such an inexhaustible imagination. His art is to a certain extent more one-dimensional.
Jordanes' artistic individuality is already evident in his early works. In “The Adoration of the Shepherds” (1618; Stockholm, Museum), peasants full of touching simplicity surrounded a young, ugly Flemish woman with a child in her arms. Large figures densely fill the space; the artist sculpts them with strong, contrasting chiaroscuro, emphasizing the tactile materiality of figures and objects. The simplicity of the compact composition, the sonority of color built on large pictorial spots, the vitality of the images give significance to this simple scene. The same features distinguish Jordan’s paintings on mythological subjects (“The Education of Jupiter,” Louvre; “Meleager and Atalanta,” Antwerp). And in them we find the same full-blooded, strong, snatched from life folk types. Less successful are the master’s works in which he strives to create abstract allegorical images. Thus, the Brussels painting “Allegory of Fertility” (c. 1625-1628; Brussels), which has a number of beautiful details, generally seems contrived, overloaded with massive figures. Apparently, before 1630, the painting “Moses Carving Water from a Rock” (Karlsruhe, Museum) was executed, bold and original in compositional design.
The uniqueness of Jordanes’s work is most clearly manifested in those canvases in which genre motifs predominate. He willingly drew stories from folk proverbs, fables, sayings, well-aimed and full of sly enthusiasm. There were several favorite themes in the master’s work, to which he repeatedly returned. Thus, in the museums of Munich, Kassel, Budapest, and Moscow there are several versions of the painting “A Satyr Visiting a Peasant,” based on the plot of Aesop’s fable. They depict a peasant family having a meal, which is visited by a goat-footed satyr. The most successful painting is from the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts. According to the fable, the satyr is surprised by the duplicity of people - the behavior of the peasant who blows on the porridge to cool it, while earlier he blew on his hands to warm them. In Jordanes, both satyrs and peasants are children of the same nature, physically strong, simple-minded, full of rough vitality. Absorbed in food and conversation with their unusual guest, whose appearance in their circle seems completely natural, the peasants huddled tightly around the table. Their heavy bodies, red-cheeked faces, rough feet, and a clay jug in the foreground are conveyed with plastic tactility. Wide, dense brush strokes, large colorful spots of sonorous blue, red, yellow, golden-brown tones, rich in shades, distinguish the painting of the Moscow painting.
Jordan especially loved to depict burgher families, carefreely feasting on festive table, then gathered together for a family concert. The depiction of these scenes reflected the cheerful spirit of traditional folk festivals. If in the works of Rubens themes and images of a similar nature are distinguished by the features of a higher artistic generalization, then in the paintings of Jordanes genre elements are more clearly expressed. Among the subjects to which he repeatedly returned was the image of the “Bean King” holiday. The holiday was celebrated on the day when, according to legend, the kings came to worship the infant Christ. The one present at the feast who had a piece of pie with a bean baked into it became the king of the holiday.
The Hermitage painting “The Bean King” (c. 1648) depicts the noisy family of a Flemish burgher. The venerable old man - the father of the family - the “king” himself, crowned with a paper crown, drinks wine from a glass, and the whole company greets him with enthusiastic drunken shouts. The space is filled with heavy figures surrounding a table overflowing with food. The strong movement that permeates this entire restless group conveys the impression of unbridled fun. Each character is vividly and eloquently depicted. The master's painting style reaches a special breadth. Jordan already avoids sharp black and white contrasts here. The painting is designed in a hot color scheme with many shades from golden pink to golden brown. Full of crude humor everyday scene the master conveys features of monumental significance. Jordan was also the author of a number of portraits. He did not set out to create deep psychological images. Some of the portraits are close to his paintings (Family Portrait, c. 1615; Hermitage). More formal is the portrait of the Jordan family (Madrid, Prado).
Since the 1630s Jordane carried out a number of decorative works in Antwerp together with Rubens. Already at this time, and especially after the death of Rubens, when Jordan became, as it were, the head of the Flemish school and the author of many decorative allegorical and mythological compositions that met the tastes of aristocratic customers, a period of decline began in his work. The heaviness of the composition and figures, which was previously characteristic of the artist, becomes excessive. Later works the artist, while sometimes maintaining colorfulness and skill in depicting individual details, are generally filled with false baroque pathos.
One of the most distinctive areas of Flemish painting of the 17th century. there was a still life that I received at that time independent meaning. Still lifes, often reaching colossal proportions, served as decoration for the walls of the spacious palaces of the Flemish nobility. As opposed to intimate Dutch still life Flemish still life borders on subject composition. Scenes close to the everyday genre are depicted in shops and kitchens; Among the endless abundance of objects, human figures are lost. The cheerful character of Flemish art manifested itself in still life with particular force; Flemish artists showed their brilliant skill in conveying the diverse forms of the objective world.
The largest still life painter in Flanders in the 17th century. was Rubens's comrade-in-arms, Frans Snyders (1579-1657). On Snyders’s huge canvases, carcasses of meat, killed fallow deer, lobsters, a boar’s head, a variety of juicy, ripe vegetables and fruits, piles of dead poultry, sea and river fish are fancifully piled up on the tables, and it seems that only the picture frames limit this endless abundance of nature’s gifts. From the general olive tone, sonorous spots of white, blue, especially red (lobsters, meat, berries, clothes of a shopkeeper or shopkeeper) stand out. Some randomness in the construction of Snyders's still life is subordinated to a single color composition, creating the impression of a complete decorative whole.
During his mature period of creativity, in the famous series of still lifes (1618-1621), intended for the palace of the philanthropist Archbishop Trist, now decorating the halls of the Hermitage, Snyders created the “Fish”, “Fruit” and “Vegetable” shops.
The artist paints each subject with great care, but first of all he sees the still life as a whole, striving for a comprehensive image of the richness of nature. Snyders's bright, elegant still lifes are full of jubilant festivity and can least of all be called “dead nature” - they are so full of vibrant life. This dynamism is enhanced by the fact that the artist introduces living creatures into his still lifes (a small monkey steals fruit, a dog rushes at a cat, a horse comes up and eats vegetables, etc.).
Snyders was a great master in depicting animals, while human figures are the least expressive in his paintings; they were most often painted by other artists. It is not without reason that many of Snyders’s still lifes are close to his subject compositions - fast-paced hunting scenes or noisy poultry houses. The peculiar genre of hunting scenes, in which the painter Paul de Voe (1596-1678), who was close to Snyders, also worked, became widespread in Flemish art, because the depiction of the breathtaking spectacle of a fierce fight between wild animals being hunted by dogs opened up especially favorable opportunities for the effects favored by Flemish masters.
More restrained and refined is the work of Jan Veit (1611-1661), another outstanding master of Flemish still life. Veith does not, unlike Snyders, strive to create works of powerful monumental and decorative scope. His still lifes are closed easel paintings, more intimate, more strict in the choice of objects, with a clear and compact composition and a rare beauty of color. In subtly harmonized transitions of gray, blue, indigo, red, lilac-gray, yellow-pink tones, he created inexhaustible colorful variations. With particular virtuosity, Faith conveys the texture of the depicted objects: delicate iridescent pearl-gray feathers of birds, fluffy soft fur of a hare, wet grapes shining like jewels (“Dead Game,” Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts; “Fruits and parrot", 1645, Hermitage; "Fruits and Flowers", Brussels, Museum of Fine Arts).
Next to the works of Rubens, Jordanes, Snyders and other Flemish painters of the first half of the 17th century, the works of their contemporary Adrian Brouwer (1605/06-1638) seem unusual. However, the art of this original master was not some kind of historical accident. Brouwer's work, developing those existing in painting and literature of the 16th century. traditions of a grotesque humorous depiction of a person, reflected the shadow sides of the life of the lower classes of Flemish society. He wrote small genre compositions that captured scenes in squalid, smoky taverns where peasants, the poor and vagabonds gathered. His paintings often depict drinking parties that turn into violent fights, card games, smokers, and cruel home-grown healing. The daring spirit of bohemian mischief permeates Brouwer's works, which form a sharp contrast to the artistic trends that dominated Flemish art at that time.
Adrian Brouwer was born into a family of artisans in the city of Oudenaarde. As a youth he went to Holland, where he may have studied in Haarlem with Frans Hals; worked in Haarlem and Amsterdam. The Dutch school of painting gave a lot to the young artist, but he developed into an independent master in his homeland, where he returned in 1631. In Brouwer’s early paintings (for example, the Berlin “School”, written in Holland), features of outright caricature predominate. A kind of dump of gnome-like freaks with stupid faces distorted with grimaces is presented. But in the rendering of their sharp movements and gestures, one can discern the path along which the work of Brouwer, a master of dynamic compositions, instantaneous changeable poses, and emphasized expressiveness of characters, further develops. These qualities are manifested in the depiction of drunken fights full of senseless rage (paintings in the museums of Dresden, Moscow, Leningrad) or gambling card games (“Peasants playing cards”, 1630s; Munich, Alte Pinakothek). Brouwer's heroes, rude people oppressed by poverty and drunkenness, are often imbued with a spirit of embitterment and emptiness. But over the years, his art, while retaining some elements of the grotesque, becomes deeper and more meaningful. The scenes in the taverns become less stormy, and the base passions that worried the tramps and gamblers seem to subside. Brouwer's works take on a more contemplative character, tinged with gentle humor. He depicts a group of smokers peacefully talking among themselves, or creates a picture such as “Peasant Quartet” (Munich). This later painting depicts four selflessly singing peasants and a fat Flemish woman with a child at a burning hearth. As always, Brouwer's images are deliberately unvarnished; he depicts singing peasants with their mouths wide open, which gives them a funny expression ugly faces. And at the same time, the picture contains human warmth and a sense of life’s truth. He willingly paints single figures of people, sometimes immersed in their gloomy thoughts, sometimes playing the guitar, sometimes talking affectionately with animals (“Man with a Dog”, Oosterbeck, Heldring collection; “The Innkeeper”, Munich). These images are warmed by Brouwer's sympathy for to the common man and bear the imprint of the personality of the artist himself. And indeed, in the alleged self-portrait (The Hague, Mayritshuis), written in the last years of his life, he creates an image that is amazing for its time. Before us is a typical representative of a bohemian: sloppy, indifferent to all external decency, and at the same time, a complex inner life is reflected in an intelligent, thoughtful face.
In his artistic skill, Brouwer stands at the level of outstanding achievements of his time. In the characterization of both the main and secondary characters, he achieves particular poignancy. The figures are always depicted in motion, their gestures are noted with amazing accuracy; facial expressions are emphasized, but never lose a sense of reality (“Bitter Medicine”; Frankfurt am Main, Städel Institute).
In the composition of his paintings, two plans are usually distinguished: in the foreground there is the main and very compact group of characters, in the depths there is a semi-dark space. a tavern or tavern, in which the figures of visitors are faintly visible and everyday life seems to be going on. With the help of transitions of light and shadow, a feeling of depth of space and unity is achieved.
air environment. Brouwer is an excellent colorist, a master of exquisite colorful combinations. His canvases are usually designed in brownish-olive tones; the background is painted in airy gray and yellowish tones, and in the foreground, finely harmonized colorful spots of faded bluish, cream, pink, yellowish shades are highlighted in the clothes of the depicted people. Brouwer's painting technique is distinguished by freedom and artistry.
The last years of his life included Brouwer's landscape works. They most purely and directly express the lyricism of his work, which manifests itself in a hidden form in his genre paintings. His landscapes have a touch of personal experience. Some of them are imbued with a feeling of special intimacy - for example, in the Berlin “Landscape with a Shepherd” the artist depicts a soft sunny day; a shepherd sitting by the road plays the pipe, poor peasant huts hide in the deep shade of spreading trees; nature is full of peace and tranquility. Brouwer's other landscapes are imbued with dramatic emotion. Most often, he depicts night landscapes, illuminated by the uneven light of the moon, sliding over rushing torn clouds and trees rustling in the wind (“Dune Landscape with a Rising Moon”; Berlin). The staffage is also in keeping with the mood of the landscape (scenes of robberies, attacks, lonely sinister figures of vagabonds). The brushwork in these paintings takes on a rapid, restless rhythm. In terms of the nature of his deeply personal perception of nature, Brouwer stands alone in Flemish art, and his landscapes in this regard are more in common with the landscapes of Rembrandt.
Brouwer’s art, deeply original in its composition, was at the same time associated with similar phenomena in the art of other national schools, in particular with Dutch genre. However, the works of the Flemish master differ significantly from the works of Dutch genre painters. Brouwer surpasses them with the boldness of his figurative concept and the lively temperament of the artist. His canvases are devoid of the spirit of bourgeois limitation, petty everyday life, and superficial entertainment inherent in many of the Dutch masters. He sees clearly and clearly; the very range of his creativity, which includes both grotesque and lyrical coloring of images, is immeasurably wider.
Brouwer's works, which disdained ostentatious integrity and hypocritical morality, shocked the tastes of “good society.” Brouwer's art was appreciated by the leading artists of the time, including Rembrandt and Rubens. But Brouwer’s work had no worthy successors. In the second half of the 17th century, during the period of decline of the country, art developed under different conditions. A typical master of Flemish painting of the second half of the 17th century was David Teniers (1610-1690). Working in the 1630s together with Brouwer, he partly imitated him in creating genre paintings. But his elegant paintings, painted in soft silvery tones and populated by small figures, are entertaining in nature. Numerous “Kermesses” depict feasts and entertainments of dressed-up, albeit somewhat vulgar, villagers who are extremely similar to each other. Sometimes they are observed condescendingly by members of the upper classes. Teniers's paintings enjoyed enormous success in the aristocratic circles of Flemish society. The artist followed fashion and customer requirements. In the 1640s. his “democratizing” genre was replaced by fantastic images - devils, witches, freaks appear in his paintings (“The Temptation of St. Anthony”) - or images of amusing trifles - scenes in which monkeys are represented doing various jobs in the kitchen or hairdresser (“Monkeys in the Kitchen "; Hermitage). Such paintings, finely painted, pleasant in color, are also full of anecdotal entertainment. Later, when Teniers became curator of the art gallery of the Stadtholder Archduke Leopold, he moved on to depicting the interiors of the cabinets of curiosities and art galleries. These boring, dry works are interesting only as historical and artistic documents, since they present with pedantic precision the many wonderful works that were in the gallery. At the end of his life, turning again to the peasant genre, Teniers completely departed from the realistic traditions of Flemish art, creating scenes in the spirit of pastorals and gallant festivities of the 18th century.
In the second half of the 17th century. In Flemish art, the time is coming for creative lethargy, the reduction of images, and uncritical imitation of foreign models, especially the art schools of France and Holland. Among the late Flemish masters, only Jan Seebergs (1627-ca. 1703) deserves attention. His works are very monotonous. These are images of ugly, rustic Flemish peasant women guarding herds on lush lawns or casually resting by the side of the road (“Landscape with Sleeping Peasant Women”; Munich). Often the artist paints shady fords of bright forest rivers, through which women pass with their hems tucked, peasants drive their herds or move on a cart. Siberechts's rather large-sized canvases are painted in a cold, silvery, somewhat harsh painterly manner. The master repeatedly varies the same theme, the same corner of nature. Everything is simple, sober, businesslike in his paintings. But, unlike the Flemish painters of his time, who, like Jacques d'Artois (1613-1686), created fictitious, purely decorative landscapes or gravitated toward an idealized classic landscape, Siberechts's paintings are closer to the real image of the nature of his native country.
They were distinguished by high perfection in the 17th century. works applied arts Flanders: exquisitely crafted lace, luxurious furniture inlaid with precious woods and ivory, and especially tapestries. Tapestry making has been the country's leading art industry since the 14th century. Its main center was Brussels. Tapestries were widely used in the decoration of temples, as well as the state apartments of the Flemish nobility and wealthy merchants. Their production was closely connected with the flourishing of painting, whose leading masters (including Rubens and Jordanes) created cardboard for tapestries. Flemish wall hangings from the 17th century. reach large sizes, their compositions become more complex, the colorful structure acquires special intensity. The impression of splendor is enhanced by the introduction of wide and varied borders, consisting of ornamental and floral motifs. The tapestries, most often executed in entire series, depicted complex multi-figure scenes based on subjects from the Bible, ancient history, as well as images with allegorical content. The first half of the 17th century was the time of the highest rise in trellis production in Flanders. Towards the end of the century, when French manufactories took first place in Europe, the influence of French tastes was noticeable, especially increasing during the 18th century. The decorative scale of the figurative structure of the Flemish tapestries is lost, the depiction of gallant festivities and pastoral scenes becomes fashionable, and faded colors are used. It is significant that at this time Teniers’ idyllic rural compositions gained particular popularity, based on which numerous tapestries were created not only in Flanders, but also in other countries of Western Europe. Often tapestries are made from cardboards made not by Flemish, but by French masters.
This was the time when the great national art schools Italy, Flanders, Spain, France, Holland (read about modern Netherlands). Each of them reveals significant originality, a vibrant national identity, determined by the peculiarities of the historical and cultural development of a particular country, the nature of social life, and the specifics of artistic traditions.
At the same time, the art of the 17th century, like the entire culture of this time, is characterized by a number of common features, associated with the new worldview of the era, manifested in all spheres of its spiritual life. The connection with reality, with its most diverse aspects and phenomena, becomes immeasurably multifaceted and active in comparison with the previous period. The amazing successes of science, especially mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, natural science, and geography, extremely expand and complicate the idea of the world as a boundless, changeable and contradictory unity. There is a clear feeling of man’s indissoluble connection with this world, his dependence on the surrounding reality, on the conditions and circumstances of his existence. In the light of these ideas, it turns out to be natural to reject the anthropocentrism characteristic of the culture of the Renaissance. Not only man, but also the entire diversity of reality, its complex and multi-valued connections with man become the subject of creative cognition and comprehension in literature and the fine arts. That is why, developing largely Renaissance traditions, the art of the 17th century extremely expanded the scope of its interests. Accordingly, its themes and plot repertoire are enriched, new independent genres are developed, and those that already existed during the Renaissance are developed or deepened. In particular, religious and mythological subjects change significantly and receive a very diverse interpretation - from violent pathos and decorativeness in the work of Baroque masters to life-specific concreteness and even everyday characteristics in the works of realist artists. But the complexity and diversity of life’s ideas no longer fit into the forms of these traditional genres; they require a more immediate, direct interaction between the artistic image and reality. That's why special meaning Such genres as portrait and landscape acquired during this period. Increasing interest in a specific person, in all the individual characteristics of a person’s physical appearance and character, leads to an extraordinary flourishing of portrait art, in particular, to the development of a psychological portrait. The perception of nature also becomes more meaningful and active. A new understanding of the world contributes to the desire to better understand her life, its diversity, its complex relationships with man. The range of artistic interpretation of nature turns out to be very wide during this period - from a grandiose-scale image that contains the concept of the universe as a whole (in the works of Poussin, Rubens) to an accurate representation of characteristic national motifs (in the art of Dutch artists). A close creative study of nature leads to the most important discoveries in the transfer of space, lighting, and general patterns of its life. That is why the achievements of landscape art of the 17th century became the basis for its development in the subsequent period.
Peter Paul Rubens. Raising the cross. Around 1610-1611
Flemish art is, first of all, Rubens and again Rubens. Although there were other outstanding artists in Flanders at the same time, they are all thought of as the “Rubens circle”, the “Rubens school”, like planets revolving around Rubens’ sun. The 17th and 18th centuries knew several artists - darlings of happiness and favorites of fortune (at least that’s how they are portrayed, judging by known facts their biographies). They invariably reaped delight, they were surrounded by lifetime fame and honor. This was Bernini in Italy, and later Tiepolo. Of these rare prosperous lucky ones, Rubens was probably the happiest and most prosperous. His younger contemporary Velazquez was the court painter of the Spanish monarch, and Rubens was just the court painter of the Spanish governors in Flanders; but Velazquez was in the position of a modest half-service, and Rubens occupied high diplomatic posts, lived in his own luxurious palace, and headed the largest art workshop in Europe, which carried out orders from European crowned princes and wealthy Catholic orders. He did not know failures and shocks, he was happy in his students, happy in his family, traveled, and was rich. One can notice as a certain pattern that the “favorites of fate” turned out to be artists, although remarkably talented, but not the most profound. And Rubens is no exception. He is wonderful as a painter, but not very deep as an artist. He developed the gold mine of his art diligently, but one-sidedly, and his very fertility is now felt as a deficiency: perhaps Rubens would have been greater if he had done less. But, be that as it may, the name of Rubens is a symbol of an entire artistic era. An era when art, falling into the golden cage of the court and sensing the threat of internal impoverishment, defended itself from it with all its external charms. With more passion and virtuosity, he achieved the illusion of genuine sensuality on canvas, the more illusory, “gamelike” his own role in the life of society became.
Flanders is the southern part of the Netherlands (present-day Belgium), which, after the revolutionary events of the late 16th century, remained under the protectorate of Spain and joined the Catholic world, while the Northern Netherlands (Holland) separated and gained independence as a bourgeois Protestant republic. The split of the Netherlands meant a split in their artistic traditions. Relatively speaking, the Italianizing current won in Flanders, and the traditions coming from Van Eyck and Bruegel in Holland. However, both lines have changed greatly compared to the 16th century, and the national Dutch principles in their own way were no less strongly reflected in the Flemish Baroque. Rubens, laying the foundations of the new Flemish painting, started not from the weak Dutch novelists, but directly from the art of Italy, where he lived in his youth for several years, working at the court of the Duke of Mantua. He was inspired by the works of the Venetians of the High Renaissance - constant teachers of the best painters of the 17th century, as well as the works of Michelangelo, and partly Caravaggio. Actually, the Italian Baroque was not a model for Rubens - having returned to Antwerp in 1608, he himself began to create Flemish school Baroque parallels the Italian, and does not follow it. And just as the hot underpainting in his paintings shines through transparent glazes, so in the Flemish Baroque the original Dutch underlying basis clearly shines through. What do Rubens and Pieter Bruegel seem to have in common? Meanwhile, some of Bruegel’s compositions definitely foreshadow the Flemish Baroque: for example, the drawing “The Harvest,” where in the foreground a peasant greedily drinks from a huge jug. It seems that we only need to take a step, turning these Bruegelian peasants into “deities of fields and springs,” and we will have a composition in the spirit of Rubens. Neither a brilliant education, nor secular polish, nor life in Italy destroyed the “peasant” element in Rubens. This graceful man of the world, an intelligent diplomat, revitalized court art with an influx of fresh blood from his homeland.
He instilled in Baroque art a relative freedom of character, a simple-minded, rough sensuality, and made people admire natural health and natural strength. And all this was successfully fused with the requirements of magnificent decoration, pomp, praise of monarchs and did not cause the slightest protest from the church. Meanwhile, the religious spirit quietly slipped away from Flemish art: if there is little of it in the Italian Baroque, then there is none at all in the Flemish Baroque.
Peter Paul Rubens. The kidnapping of the daughters of Leucippus. 1617
Rubens painted with equal readiness both on religious subjects and on subjects ancient mythology- both of them look quite “pagan” to him. However, the Jesuit Order was Rubens' main and constant customer. As a true Baroque artist, Rubens depicted naked and half-naked bodies in strong, excited movement and, wherever possible, introduced motifs of fight, struggle, pursuit, and intense physical effort. “Horses and people mixed in a heap” - this is so in almost all large commissioned paintings by Rubens. Whether there is a boar hunt or a bacchanalian feast, whether the Amazons are fighting, whether men are pursuing women or a woman is pursuing a man - everywhere there is the excitement of struggle, the tension of forces, the seething fermentation of matter, which is expressed in an abstract form by baroque architecture. And even in “The Raising of the Cross” there is a tense fight - a fight between people with a heavy cross, which they lift with great effort along with the body of the crucified. The point here is not the suffering of the crucified, but the efforts of those crucifying.
Peter Paul Rubens. Venus and Bacchus. Fragment. 1616-1620
In these constantly, again and again, varying motives for fights, there is a lot, in the modern opinion, that is tedious and external. Behind them there seems to be a ghost of emptiness. The effort is not proportional to the goal. The abduction of the daughters of Leucippus - two loose naked beauties - does not require and does not justify such a fiercely dynamic composition with rearing horses, which Rubens built for this plot. By the way, such a discrepancy between action and purpose, between the utmost mobilization of forces and the insignificance of obstacles in general constitutes one of the characteristic features of the Baroque style - a style that is fundamentally atectonic, neglecting the concept of expediency. Baroque statues with powerful bodies are placed in too narrow niches, baroque equestrian monuments are placed on narrow pedestals, magnificent massive buildings are sometimes squeezed into narrow alleys, frail figures are hidden under the ponderous luxury of costumes.
Rubens's compositions and characters lack that spiritual concentration and inner significance that the “primitives” - the works of ancient masters - are always filled with. This is why Rubens looks bad in reproductions, while “primitives” retain their essence even in black and white reproduction. Rubens can only be viewed in the original: to appreciate Rubens means to appreciate his truly beautiful, rich, radiant and transparent painting, his warm coloring, like a living body. He has no dull shadows - everything glows.
He applied paint in the shadows with a liquid transparent layer, so that the warm reddish underpainting was visible through it, and painted the illuminated areas in a pasty, that is, more densely, but the transitions between shadow and light are not sharp: everything is artistically generalized and brought into light-color harmony . Rubens is also characterized by writing with long, wavy strokes that follow the shape: for example, he paints some curly strand of hair with one movement of the brush. There is so much free artistry in Rubens's pictorial style that his rather heavy compositions and heavy bodies in the original do not seem like that: they look light, full of a peculiar grace. All this can be felt in front of “Perseus and Andromeda” in the Hermitage. Rubens painted female nudity with special maestro. The nudity of Andromeda, as in general by Rubens, is far from classical: northern artists never learned the “antique” strict and clean lines and proportions of the Italian Venuses.
Van Dyck. Portrait of Lords John and Bernard Stuart
They painted their own domestic beauties - curvaceous, wide-hipped and plump. Rubens consciously moved away from the classical type of beauty: he said that one should not slavishly imitate antique statues, “for in our age, full of errors, we are too far from creating something like them,” and added that human bodies now, alas, are very different from ancient ones, “since most people exercise their bodies only by drinking and abundant food."
Still, Rubens' Andromeda is beautiful. Her delicate body seems to radiate light. Rubens's usual saturation of golden skin tones with reddish hues in the shadows is here further enhanced by reflections from the red cloak of Perseus - the picture is filled with the tones of a ruddy dawn. There is no excessive force of movement in it, it is relatively calm, even lyrical; mobility is brought in mainly by cupids, who pull off the golden veil from Andromeda, showing her to Perseus in all the beauty of her nakedness, help Victory, who crowns Perseus, and flirt with his winged horse. These playful cupids - “putti” - since the late Renaissance and especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, invariably inhabit compositions on mythological subjects, and sometimes appear in the role of angels surrounding the Madonna. It seems that artists simply could not do without these naked children with wings, fluttering, playing, tumbling and getting involved in everything.
Van Dyck. Self-portrait. Late 1620s
"Putti", of course, always patronize love: in another Hermitage painting by Rubens - "Venus and Adonis" - the chaste Adonis runs away from Venus, and Cupid holds his leg. Naive and crafty cupids fuss around the characters, sympathize, sometimes tease and indulge in various pranks.
Jacob Jordane. The king drinks. Before 1656
Through them, events take on a playful tone and are illuminated by the light of some carefree, easy perception that separates “joyful art” from “serious life.”
Rubens is most attractive in his late period, when he painted less commissioned allegorical compositions and more nature and portraits of his young wife. Having created so many stormy “bacchanalia” and “battles” in his lifetime, Rubens as a person had nothing bacchic or warlike at all: he was a sedate, moderate, exemplary and loving family man.
Adrian Brouwer. Scene in the tavern
Widowed and not feeling, as he wrote, “ready for celibacy,” at the age of fifty-three he remarried sixteen-year-old Elena Fourman; judging by the portraits, she very much resembled his first wife, Isabella Brandt - the same pretty, meek, clear-eyed appearance that Rubens often appears in his paintings long before his second marriage. It seems that in young Elena Fourment Rubens found his permanent ideal of a woman. Her portraits are among the best he painted.
David Teniers. Village holiday
The famous Louvre portrait of Helen Fourment with two children amazes with the lightness and freshness of the brush: it seems that it could have been painted by Renoir. Rubens had a favorite student - Van Dyck. In his youth he was strongly influenced by his teacher and worked in his workshop. Rubens' workshop was a kind of artistic commune of many students who revered the teacher and considered it an honor to help him complete orders. Of course, Rubens himself could not execute everything that came out of the workshop under his name - all these altar compositions, lampshades and series of “triumphs” like the cycle “The Life of Marie de Medici” of twenty canvases, commissioned by the Queen of France. Rubens made sketches (from the sketches, by the way, it is especially clear what a brilliant master he was), his students painted pictures based on them, and Rubens then completed them with the final, decisive touches, artistic “retouches.”
Frans Snyders. Fruits in a bowl on a red tablecloth
His unquestioned authority inspired his students, but under these conditions it was not so easy to grow into an independent creative individual: the majority remained humble companions of Rubens’ chariot. Van Dyck avoided a similar fate. While still a young man, twenty-one years old, this early-fledged chick of Rubens's nest left Antwerp and went on a many-year journey through England and Italy, where he had unexpectedly resounding success as a portrait painter, especially in Genoa, among the Genoese aristocracy. One might think that the artist’s personal charm also played a certain role here.
The young Van Dyck was extremely handsome; his beauty gave rise to many apocryphal legends and anecdotes about his romantic love stories. Van Dyck, as we see him in the Hermitage self-portrait, resembles, if not Shakespeare's Romeo, then at least Mercutio - the graceful, witty Mercutio. The portrait itself is very good, in a noble palette of gray and gold. This is how the appearance of the “Artist” is usually imagined by those who, in the simplicity of their souls, believe that people of the artistic profession should have a corresponding appearance. Perhaps only Raphael and Van Dyck fully correspond to this romantic idea.
In the self-portrait, Van Dyck has narrow and well-groomed, proud hands with elongated fingers. The same hands are often found in portraits by him, no matter who he painted. Even Leonardo da Vinci noticed that artists tend to give their characters certain self-portrait features. For Van Dijk it's his hands. They are extremely aristocratic, and Van Dyck had a weakness for the aristocracy and felt himself an aristocrat, although he came from the family of a wealthy Antwerp burgher. Numerous portraits of his work, scattered throughout European museums, are very elegant, painted with brilliance - Van Dyck is a worthy student of Rubens - beautiful in color, but somewhat monotonous.
Van Dyck returned to his homeland already famous, lived there for several years and during this Flemish period he worked a lot, painted large paintings, but they are too theatrical and inferior to his portraits. Then he moved again to England, to the court of Charles I, where he died in 1641, only forty-two years old. In England his fame reached its apogee. He was the second great European artist after Holbein to move to this country, and also a portrait painter. Outstanding English portraitists of the 18th century - Reynolds, Gainsborough - valued his art extremely highly and considered Van Dyck their spiritual father. Thus, the Flemish school of painting took root and gave rise to new shoots abroad. A true, native Flemish, who breathed only the air of his homeland, was Jordanes: his paintings are the embodiment of Flemish love of life and somewhat ponderous frivolity. In Flanders they loved salty humor and simplicity of morals: it was not for nothing that the residents of Brussels made their playful emblem the fountain statue of the boy “Mannequin Pis”, made at the beginning of the 17th century by the sculptor Duquesnoy and standing on the main square of the city. To this day, the tradition of the playful cult of this funny figure as “the most ancient citizen of Brussels” continues in Belgium: gifts are solemnly presented to him, and even a special bank account has been opened in the name of “Mannequin-pis”.
Jordanes also willingly played up the motifs of “Mannequin-pis” in his paintings. One can say: as much as Van Dyck is ultra-aristocratic, Jordane is demonstratively simple-minded and rude. And yet there is something in common between them, characteristically “Flemish”. “The Drunken Strong” by Van Dyck could perhaps have been written by Jordans. They were related by the Rubensian principle, the Rubensian school, in which both - sophistication and roughness - somehow organically coexisted.
Jordans has two favorite plots - “The Satyr Visiting the Peasant” and “The King Drinks”: he wrote them many times in different versions. The first is an original fusion of the mythological baroque genre with the purely everyday and humorous. The goat-footed god of the forests is easily present at the meager peasant meal and feels at home: he is made of the same earthly clay, stocky and tanned (in one of the versions, Jordan portrayed the satyr as an old grandfather), and also loves to joke around. He just doesn’t understand some of the customs of people, and he asks questions with curiosity. His habits and gestures are like those of a real peasant.
“The King Drinks” is a traditional Flemish celebration of the “bean king”: the one who gets the bean baked in the pie is chosen as king. Here the feast is in full swing - screams, drunken faces; everyone is strenuously treating the “king”; gray-haired, relaxed, drunk, wearing a crown askew, he, although not a real king, adds a touch of ironic fabulousness to the spectacle of revelry. Jordans' figures are large and heavy; they pile up, crowding the space of the picture tightly.
Jordans's paintings help to understand how the conventional mythological themes of the Baroque and its bravura movement were grafted onto Flemish soil and combined with soil traditions. The worldview of the Flemish burghers found in pagan mythology something close to itself, a successful form of expression. Fertility feasts, bacchanalia, love games of nymphs and satyrs - there is nothing here that would not be familiar and related to them. We, too, as Jordanes seems to say, know how to have fun, love women and enjoy the blessings of the earth no worse than the ancient deities. What difference does it make to call it a bacchanalia or a feast in the house of an honest burgher?
In terms of his sense of life and vital tone, Jordanes is close to Snyders - only in a different genre. Snyders plays a prominent role in the history of still life. His still lifes of killed game, fruits, and fish are of enormous size; this is the apotheosis of earthly bounties, a hymn to everything that some Flemish Gargantua or Lamme Gudzak, a cheerful glutton, “the stomach of Flanders,” can enjoy to his heart’s content.
And finally, Brouwer. His “feasts” take place on the lowest rungs of the social ladder and are not nearly as fun. Brouwer's work is a connecting link between the art of the Southern and Northern Netherlands: it shows that there was no gap between them and their paths did not diverge so much. Brouwer lived in Holland in his youth and then, returning to Flanders, continued to work in the spirit of the Dutch genre painters. Like many of them, Brouwer introduced his viewers into dirty, dimly lit taverns, into an environment of drunken, degenerate revelers. He showed how these inhabitants of the “bottom” had fun as much as they could, fought, played cards, and how they sat dejectedly somewhere in a gloomy corner or tried to warm themselves near a faintly smoldering fireplace. Brouwer has no mythological element at all, and among the Flemings he is perhaps the only one who often has moods of melancholy and even tragedy - not the theatrical tragedy of the heroes, but simply the everyday horror of life. It is worth looking at his painting “Revelers” in the Hermitage. Just two figures - a ragged, swollen old man with a fixed gaze holding a glass in his hand and next to him, in the shadows, a certain helpful dark personality- his drinking companion. This is not a “bacchanalia” - this is a silent, joyless revelry. In such paintings Brouwer reminds us of the critical realists mid-19th century, maybe Perov. Teniers continued Brouwer's traditions, but he is much more superficial - both in content and in form. His peasant scenes are almost idylls, they are close to the pastorals of Rococo, although Teniers is very far from the sophistication of French and Italian Rococo. Despite or precisely because of his pleasant lightness, Teniers enjoyed enormous success with clients from the burgher environment, much more than Brouwer. The rise of Flemish art was relatively short-lived - the first half of the 17th century. The mighty Rubens leaves the stage - and Flemish painting begins to live with echoes and rehashes of his school: the further it goes, the paler and weaker it becomes. The sculpture there, as always, occupied a modest place and was only decorative. In the 18th century, the Southern Netherlands, as well as the Northern ones, no longer produced anything original and new, having descended into the position of an artistic province.