still life with fruit

Balthasar van der Ast (Dutch, 1593/1594 - 1657)
Still Life with Fruit and Flowers, c.1620-21
oil on panel
40x70 cm.
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Object number: SK-A-2152

Specialized in still lifes of flowers and fruit. While many a Dutch still life was produced in the 17th century, I continue to find individual works that I really enjoy. The width of this painting and the way the artist has spread his objects along the time beyond the cluster of the plate of fruit increases its interest.

More work by van der Ast

Ivory wine

Griessmann, Balthasar (ca 1620-1706)
Ivory Goblet, ca 1680
ivory
20 5/8 in.
Getty Museum 2006.26

A small little book (Fruits of Desire) I came across today at work was dedicated to a single ivory goblet. Oh what a goblet it is! Held by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, this goblet "celebrates wine and explores the benefits and risks of its consumption. Culminating with an allegory of youth, it challenges the viewer to think about the degree to which pleasure and duty play their parts in our making life choices". (Getty bookstore)

I've always been a sucker for ivory carvings, never able to pass one by in a museum, the intricate carving are mesmerizing and this goblet is no exception. There is not a single inch that doesn't deserve focused attention. I'm excited to have discovered Griessmann, a bit of searching has unearthed more amazing carvings by the 17th century artist.

The Fall of Man , The Sacrifice of Isaac

cup and flower

Cup of Water and Rose on a Silver Plate c. 1630
Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664)
Oil on canvas, 21,2 x 30,1 cm
National Gallery, London
image: Web Gallery of Art

I'm back! with a still-life. I did a lot of cataloging this week and built up a list of artists to share. Today's is Baroque Spanish painter, Francisco de Zurbaran. Zurbaran was not known for still-lifes and I was not originally intending on sharing one, but when I was looking for a work, I fell for this simple yet beautiful painting.

This same motif is in a few of Zurbaran's other paintings. "Here the objects may be intended to have a symbolic character: the water in the cup perhaps refers to the Virgin's purity and the flower recalls her title of 'Mystic Rose'." (nationalgallery caption). Most of Zurbaran's works were focused on religious themes.

Judith

Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes
c.1623/1625
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653)
72 3/8 x 55 3/4 in.
oil on canvas
Image: Detroit Institute of Arts (52.253)

If one were to think that women artists of the 19th century had difficulty being taken seriously, imagine the world in which women artists of the 17th century had to compete for their careers and existence in. Gentileschi was trained by her a father, the painter, Orazio Gentileschi. Much of her work as only recently been attributed to her, as it was often attributed to Orazio. As a result of this and her time she was marginalized as an artist for many years, only somewhat recently coming to the forefront of art historical scholarship.

Her father introduced her to artists, and one can see the influence of Caravaggio in the chiaroscuro of her work. The strength in her work is striking. I didn't choose Gentileschi's painting of the actual decapitation of Holofernes (I like the light in this one better) but in order to see some of the differences between approaches to depicting the scene through art, see Judith and Holofernes.
Judith

Leo Belgicus

Map of S&N Netherlands "Leo Belgicus"
1617/1622?
Pieter Van der Keere (1570/71-1630)


I discovered this great 17th c. map in an exhibition catalog of Dutch Maritime paintings from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. While maps were produced for use, they are also a gorgeous art form (and a common collector's item).

Van den Keere was a highly skilled and prolific engraver in Amsterdam. This is a map of the Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries, which was depicted in the form of a lion, "Leo Belgicus" due to the shape of the coastline and the commonality of the use of the lion in many of the provinces coats of arms.

Doubt

Doubting Thomas
1602-1603
Caravaggio
oil on canvas, 107x146 cm
Stiftung Schlosser und Garten, Sanssouci, Potsdam
image courtsey of wikimediacommons


I tend to stay away from discussing much about biblical scenes as they expose my lack of knowledge so I am going to share some quotes from The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich, one of the most popular histories of art written, reprinted at least 16 times (my copy is from 1995, originally published in 1950). Its popularity stems from its personal and conversation style of writing. Unfortunately it is severely lacking in the work of women artists, as are many still but now that I've recently taken up reading it again, I see the draw.

"He (Caravaggio) was one of the great artists, like Giotto and Durer before him, who wanted to see the holy events before his own eyes as if they had been happening in his neighbor's house. And he did everything possible to make the figures of the ancient texts look more real and tangible." (Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. Phaidon (1995) 393.) Caravaggio is secured in the history of art not only for his 'naturlism' but for his use of light. "His light does not make the body look graceful and soft: it is harsh and almost glaring in its contrast to the deep shadows. But it makes the whole strange scene stand out with an uncompromising honesty wihcih few of his contemporaries could appreciate, but which had a decisive effect on later artists." (Gombrich 393) This use of light is called chiaroscuro, one of my favorite art terms, vanitas and others soon to come. In Italian it means bright-dark, and that is esssentially its meaning in art, the strongly contrasting effects of light and dark. It is predominantly associated with 17th century artists such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt but was pioneered by Leonardo da Vinci.

For those interested art related to the bible, I came across a site that posts biblical scene paintings along with the verses with which they are associated. It is a pretty straightforward site, and its interesting to see the religious google ads that accompany it. Artbible
and for the longest and shortest of it all... the bible concordance