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| BURIAL:
1661 CLAESZ |
INFANT BAPTISM: 1618 MURILLO |
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Buried on 01 January 1661: Pieter
Claesz van Haarlem, Dutch painter, specialized in Still
Life, born (but not still born) in 1597. — Dutch still-life painter, born in Burgsteinfurt, bishopric of Münster (now Steinfurt, Germany) and active in Haarlem where he settled in 1617. He and Willem Claeaszoon Heda, who also worked in Haarlem, were the most important exponents of the "ontbijt" or breakfast piece. They painted with subdued, virtually monochromatic palettes, the subtle handling of light and texture being the prime means of expression. Claesz generally chose objects of a more homely kind than Heda, although his later work became more colorful and decorative. The two men founded a distinguished tradition of still-life painting in Haarlem, but Claesz's son, Nicholas Berchem became famous as a landscape painter. — LINKS — Still Life with Fish (1647) — Still Life with Turkey Pie (1627) — Vanitas Still Life with the Spinario (1628) — Vanitas Still-Life (1630, 40x56cm) _ Nearly all Dutch still-lifes include - to a greater or lesser extent - the aspect of vanitas, a lament about the transience of all things. It is often symbolized by objects such as a skull or a clock, as in this painting, where the effect is enhanced by an overturned wine glass and an extinguished candle. Claesz's metaphysical criticism concentrates on book knowledge and its futility in the face of eternity. The claim of the enlightenment that book contains knowledge, experience and thoughts that were permanently valid beyond the life-span of an individual is met with resigned scepticism. With hues of grey, brown and green that tend to add up to a general 'monochrome' impression, Claesz's still-life was painted at a time when European book market was going through a phase of considerable expansion. — Still-life with Herring (1636, 36x46cm) _ The stylistic phases and fluctuations in aesthetics through which the Dutch landscape passed had their direct counterpart in still-life. The silvery tone which dominates in this Still-life by Claesz., muting the colors and subtly adjusting the objects to each other, directly relates to the tonal direction landscape took after 1630. — Still-life with Wine Glass and Silver Bowl (42x59cm) _ It is worth noting that in this monochrome 'banketje', which is dominated by shades of grey, green and silver, the elements of the painting have been reduced to a small number of vessels. Thus the composition of the painting is determined by an overturned silver goblet, a half empty wine glass and two pewter plates. Although this is a so-called breakfast still-life (an onbijtje), hardly any food is shown, but only the sparse left-overs of a meal, such as the olive on the plate, where it forms some kind of optical barrier between the hollow foot of the goblet and the plate that reflects it. Unlike the overabundance of food in earlier Flemish still-lifes, this painting emphasizes a refinement of taste. Naive consumerism has been replaced by aesthetic sublimation under the influence of Protestant introspection and asceticism. — Breakfast-piece (1646, 60x84cm) _ The work of the Dutch still-life painters who appear around 1620 corresponds to the tonal trend of the landscapists of van Goyen's generation. Pieter Claesz and Willem Claeszoon Heda, popularizers of the breakfast piece, are the principal representatives of this phase. Claesz, the father of the landscapist Nicolaes Berchem, was born at Berchem (probably the village near Antwerp). Heda's origins are obscure. Both were primarily active at Haarlem and underwent similar stylistic developments. Their early works show the influence of the older still-life painters, but they soon limited themselves to the description of a simple meal set near the corner of a table - some bread and cheese, a herring on a pewter dish, a glass of beer or wine, perhaps a silvery pewter vessel, and a white crumpled tablecloth - just enough to suggest a light breakfast or snack. These objects, which always look as if they had been touched by someone who is still close by, are no longer treated as isolated entities: they are grouped together, forming masses along a single diagonal axis. But more important, Pieter Claesz and Heda reacted to the comprehensive forces of light and atmosphere which envelop us and the things with which we live, and they found means to express their reactions to these forces as accurately, immediately, and intensely as possible. As a result, they seem to animate their simple subjects. With a new pictorial mode, they achieve a more dynamic spatial and compositional treatment. The foreground of their unpretentious arrangements becomes spacious, and there is clear recession. Instead of vivid local colors, monochromatic harmonies with sensitive contrasts of valeurs of low intensity are favoured, without, however, a loss of the earlier regard for textural differentiation. From the point of view of composition and of coloristic, tonal, and spatial treatment the perfectly balanced still-lifes by Claesz and Heda are among the most satisfying Dutch paintings made during the century. Claesz has a more vigorous touch than Heda. He was also a man of simpler tastes. Heda depicts oysters more frequently than herrings, and after 1640 his compositions became larger, richer, and more decorative. To obtain a more monumental effect, during his maturity Heda often abandons the traditional horizontal format for a vertical one. Ornate silver vessels and costly 'façon de Venise' glasses, at the time blown in the Netherlands as well as Venice, intensify the contrasts of valeurs, and touches of color provided by the pink of sliced hams and ripe fruit are combined with an increased chiaroscuro. — Still-Life (1633, 38x53cm) _ The affluent citizens of Haarlem were particularly open to the refined taste displayed in breakfast still-lifes by artists like Pieter Calesz. and Willem Claesz Heda. — Still-life (1647, 40x61cm) _ In the still-lifes of Claesz., the objects are ordered in a simple way; they are just laid out on the table. The light is even; shadows are used only to emphasize each object's plastic form. — Still Life with Wine Glass — Pipes and Braszier — Still Life with Two Lemons [actually 2 and 2/3 lemons] (1629, 43x59cm) _ Pieter Claesz perfected the still life by breaking out of the more conventional mold and creating a sub-genre, the ontbijtje, or breakfast piece. There were no bright colors or plentiful table arrangements here; Claesz worked with an almost monochromatic palette of brown, gray, olive, and gold. Light was his unifying element, the texture of each object all important. Nor was there abundance, as in the traditional still life, but instead an elegantly arranged collection of sparse objects -- often a hunk of cheese or bread, pewter tableware, and almost always a white tablecloth. In Still Life with Two Lemons, Claesz deviated further still, with no cloth covering the table and no ordinary breakfast foods visible. His placement of olives and lemons -- depicted realistically but certainly not considered typical of breakfast fare -- emphasized Claesz's concern with technique above content. |
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Baptized on 01 January 1618: Bartolomé-Esteban
Murillo, Spanish painter who died on 03 April 1682. — Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was the youngest of fourteen children of a Sevillian barber, Gaspar Esteban, and his wife María Peres. In 1627, his father died, a year later he lost his mother. Murillo's elder sisters and brothers were already grown up and could take care of themselves, while the 10 year old Bartolomé was adopted into the family of his aunt, married to a wealthy Sevillian doctor. Murillo was apprenticed early to a painter Juan del Castillo (1584-1640). When, in 1639, Castillo left Seville for Cadiz, Murillo did not enter any workshop of a known artist, as it was the traditional way of all the beginners, but preferred to stay independent. It is said that to gain a living Murillo started to make sargas — cheap paintings on rough canvas sold at country fairs, and shipped to America by traders. Obviously his paintings appealed to the taste of the public, besides they revealed a certain talent of the young man. That was why the Franciscan monastery in Seville commissioned this unknown artist with a cycle of 11 paintings with scenes from the lives of Franciscan saints, which, after their execution, brought Murillo fame. The artist dated his works very seldom. The first dated canvas belongs to the cycle for the Franciscan Monastery: one of the paintings is dated 1646, thus the whole series is usually dated 1645-46. But some art historians consider that the work took a longer period, of approximately 1642-1646. The canvases of the cycle are executed in different styles; thus some art historians consider that Cuisine of Angels (Miracle of St. Diego de Alcada) was inspired by Ribera; Death of St. Clara was influenced by van Dyck; and Velazquez had an effect on St. Diego Giving Charity. Even if it is really so, no wonder, the young artist was studying, during this long work his own style of soft forms and warm colors was being formed. At some point in his life, probably in the late 1640s, Murillo is believed to have visited Madrid. In any case, after 1650 his style changed, which might be the result of his meeting with Velazquez and studying of the works of Titian, Rubens, and Van Dyck in the royal collections in Madrid. On 26 February 1645 Murillo married Beatriz Sotomayor y Cabrera; soon their first daughter, named María, was born (died 1650). In 1647-1654 the artist painted a lot of Madonnas, small in size, the canvases were aimed for home altars: Madonna of the Rosary, Madonna and Child. Already in his early religious paintings for the Franciscans Murillo widely used the genre scenes, which soon became a separate subject in his works: The Beggar Boy (1650), Grape and Melon Eaters. (c.1650), The Little Fruit Seller. (c.1670-1675) etc. Today considered somewhat sentimental, his genre scenes nevertheless represent a new way of perception. Murillo's children, as well as his Madonnas, very soon became popular not only in Spain. Thanks to them he was the first Spanish painter to achieve widespread European fame. To the 1650s, also belong many of his portraits. Unfortunately, we do not know anything about the depicted people, even when they are identified, and we know their names. With fame and multiple commissions the financial position of the artist became secured. It is known that in 1657 Murillo invested big money in a trade company in the New World, he bought slaves for his household. In 1662, he was admitted to several religious organizations of Seville. These organizations reminded in their structure and activities the later mason loges. Murillo also took an active part in the social life of his city. Thus he was one of the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts in Seville, which was opened in 1660, with Murillo as its first president. In January 1664, Murillo buried his wife. Though 20 years of his life were still ahead, and during these 20 years he would painted 2/3 of all his known works, Murillo would never fully recover from this blow. During 1664, he could not work, at the end of the year he moved with all his surviving children (José Esteban, aged 14, Francisca María, aged 9, Gabriel, aged 8, Gaspar Esteban, aged 2, and infant María) into the Convent of Capuchins. From 1665 to 1682, he painted many of his major religious works, such as those for the Santa María la Blanca (1665), of the Caridad Hospital (1670-74), of the Capuchins (1676), of the Venerables Sacerdotes (1678), of the Augustinians (1680), and, lastly, of the Cadiz Capuchins, together with a large number of pictures made at different times for the Cathedral of Seville or other churches and many devotional works for private individuals. A legend says that the artist died in poverty. It does contradict with the fact of many commissions he had, more close to the truth is the version that he gave off his money as charitable contributions to the religious organizations of which he was the member. The story about Murillo's death sounds like a legend. Murillo accepted commission from the Capuchin church in Cadiz. For the first time in his life he went to decorate another city. While working on the Marriage of St. Catherine (1682) Murillo fell from the scaffold, in critical condition he was brought to his native Seville, where he soon died, on 13 April 1682. After his death he left very modest private property, but many pupils and innumerable followers. His works influenced later Spanish painting and anticipated 18th-century European Rococo painting. — LINKS — Adoration of the Shepherds (1655, 187x228cm) _ Murillo, like Velázquez and Ribera, is one of the few Spanish artists with an international reputation. In his own lifetime Murillo's genre scenes were exported to Flanders, but much greater interest was aroused by his work in the early nineteenth century, when, following the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, the agents of French and other collectors were able to acquire and export pictures by him of other types. In this early painting the typical characteristics of the Seville school, by which he was formed, can be observed. There is an accent on clear detail, emphasized by the contrasts of light and shade. The rather high viewpoint creates the impression that one has just walked in on to the scene represented: such effects of intimacy and directness were typical of the aims of Counter-Reformation Baroque. — Immaculate Conception (96x64cm) _ Murillo's Immaculada has nothing of a Queen of Heavens. Standing on a crescent moon, as described in the Apocalypse, surrounded by angels holding the mirror as a sign of purity and the palm frond as a sign of suffering, she stands in a relatively unaffected poses. Her face is pale, her eyes gaze upwards in yearning. We can sense the pain she has experienced and her mourning for her son. Quiet and introverted, she epitomises the humble anticipation of the hereafter, transfigured only by a mild smile, that is a hallmark of Murillo's paintings of this period; the 'Estilo vaporoso'. — Annunciation (1665, 125x103cm) _ She is not shown in the thralls of mystical rapture, nor in those of devotion. Murillo's Mary is a very young woman with an almost childlike face, who is kneeling at her prie-dieu, her eyes cast pensively downwards. She has set aside her basket of handiwork and seems to have been disturbed by an angel in the midst of her prayers. Were it not for the presence of his wings, even the angel would seem to be a very worldly creature. He is not floating in some uncertain sphere, nor is he a vision, but is kneeling on the floor tiles. Strong-limbed and barefoot, almost like a peasant, his pretty face is framed by dark locks. With one hand, he points towards the dove of the Holy Spirit, which floats above their heads in a truly unearthly and intangible celestial vision. With the other hand, he makes a gesture of persuasion: he seems to be explaining the purpose of his mission quite vigorously to Mary. Although the event seems plausible in a distinctly earthly manner - even the putti in the clouds do not alter this impression - the miracle is clear. Mary's innocence, underlined by the lily as a symbol of purity, is of such intensity that the spectator senses her quiet reservation, the excited anticipation of the prophesied miracle and her astonishment at the experience. — The Young Beggar (1645, 134x100cm) _ A journey to Madrid in about 1643 enabled Murillo to study the Venetian and Flemish paintings forming part of the royal collections. Otherwise, he remained permanently in Seville, his native city, and his life was a simple one, free of serious problems. By 1645 his style had hardened in its final mold, as may be seen in the paintings executed about this time for the Franciscans, with the first of those figures of rascals and beggars in which he was to specialize. This is the spirit, for example, of the Boys Eating Melon and the Young Beggar, which is a study in yellowish ochers and browns. — The Little Fruit Seller (1675, 149x113cm) _ A little girl with the face of a Madonna, a contented little boy examining the earnings she holds in her hand and a basket full of grapes which is, in itself, a still-life of the highest quality. Does this painting show us a life free from worry? The apparent poverty of the two figures, their unchild-like but necessary employment suggest a sense of hopelessness and misery. And yet these children seem to exude an air of rapt serenity and contented enjoyment of life. Herein lies Murillo's Christian message: because these children do not see their poverty as a burden, and because they do not regard their existence as joyless, they are beautiful and "dignified". It is thus a painting that could adorn the walls of any ruler's palace. — Boys Eating Fruit (Grape and Melon Eaters) (1650) _ A journey to Madrid in about 1643 enabled Murillo to study the Venetian and Flemish paintings forming part of the royal collections. Otherwise, he remained permanently in Seville, his native city, and his life was a simple one, free of serious problems. By 1645 his style had hardened in its final mold, as may be seen in the paintings executed about this time for the Franciscans, with the first of those figures of rascals and beggars in which he was to specialize. This is the spirit, for example, of the Boys Eating Melon, in Munich, and the Boy, which is a study in yellowish ochers and browns. — The Toilette (1675, 147x113cm) _ The room is so dark that we can hardly make out the objects in it: beneath the little window aperture stands a rough-hewn wooden table, on which there is an earthenware jug and a white cloth. Another earthenware jug stands on the floor. At the right-hand edge of the painting, we see a spindle and distaff on a stool. The old woman who has just set them aside is now crouching down to look for lice in the little boy's hair. He is sitting on the floor, leaning against her knee and petting a little dog that is begging for a piece of the bread the boy is stuffing into his mouth. Both figures are very poorly dressed, and the few details of the room further emphasize the impression of poverty. Murillo is probably the only Baroque painter of rank to have portrayed poverty with such kind and conciliatory traits. There is no sign here of the wealthy man's notion of the picturesque simple life, so frecquently found in this genre. Murillo chooses the colors of the earth. The earthenware dishes, the stones of the wall, the wood of the furniture, the faces and clothes of the two figures, all are united by this warm coloring which seems so natural that it does not even raise the question of poverty or wealth, happiness or unhappiness. — Flight into Egypt (1660, 155x125cm) _ Murillo painted several variants of this popular subject, this is not the best among them. — Holy Family with the Infant St John (1660, 156x126cm) _ The companion-piece of the Flight into Egypt. The two playing children in the foreground are typical children representations of the artist, however, more seentimental than those in his genre paintings. — Children with Shell (1670, 104x124cm) _ The scene depicts Christ Child giving drink to the child St John the Baptist. — The Holy Family (1660, 186x155cm) _ A characteristic feature of the painting is that St Joseph is depicted as a rather old man. Thus Murillo ignored the iconograhic rule generally respected in that period. — Rebecca and Eliezer (1650, 107x171cm) _ The painting, showing the influence of Titian, Rubens and Van Dyck, depicts a story from the Genesis: the servant of Abraham, who was sent to Mesopotamia to look for a wife to Isaac, Abraham's son, selects the the charming girl who gave water to him and his camels. — The Infant Jesus Distributing Bread to Pilgrims (1678, 219x182cm) _ Murillo painted this picture when he was sixty; it was commissioned by Canon Justino de Neve for the refectory of a home for retired priests in Seville, hence the choice of theme: the distribution of bread to the elderly, an action symbolizing charity. It is a characteristically vertical Baroque composition with the Child in the centre; his face, however, bears no trace of the light-heartedness characteristic of Murillo's young beggar boys. It is a childish face, charming, yet exalted and spiritualized; but the painting of the body indicates how closely Murillo observed the proportions and movements of small children. Equally beautiful and exalted is the face of the ministering angel. But Mary, seated behind the Child, is the embodiment of motherhood, a human being of this earth, comely but without true beauty, anxious and concerned as she watches her little son. In the seventeenth century subtle brushwork and carefully selected hues were used to separate what was earthly from what was heavenly. The angel, the Infant Jesus and the putti floating among the clouds are represented as visionary beings; but Mary, the daughter of earthly people, and the group of three pilgrims are all represented as human beings of this earth as real as the basket of bread which is as closely observed as any still-life. It is assumed that the pilgrim with a book is the portrait of Canon Justino de Neve. Several later (19th century) copies of the painting are known. _ detail 1 _ It is assumed that the pilgrim with a book is the portrait of Canon Justino de Neve who commissioned the painting. _ detail 2 (Mary) — A Girl and her Duenna (1670, 106x127cm) _ According to tradition, the models were from the province of Galicia and attained a certain notoriety as courtesans in Seville. A man of the people, Murillo obviously intended this picture to both surprise and amuse the spectator. Yet the casualness of this painting masks a sure sense design - note how the girls' heads form a diagonal that bisects the canvas - and great technical skill. Although he had begun by selling his pictures at fairs, Murillo became conversant with and influenced by the works of Velázquez, Titian and Rubens, presumably as a result of studying the royal collections in Madrid. But Murillo never lost his popular appeal or his gift for the telling expression, such as the smile of the uppermost woman, indicated only by her eyes and cheeks. |
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