Part 22 (1/2)
=One of Pompe's Rare Works.=--A View of Rotterdam, by a little-known painter, Gerrit Pompe (fl. 1700), whose works are very rare, deserves study. The Maas, animated with s.h.i.+ps, occupies the foreground; on the left, the Admiralty yacht is under full sail, and there is also a row-boat; in the middle distance is a battles.h.i.+p; in the background are some other boats; and still farther away extends the town of Rotterdam.
The painter has signed his name on a floating plank.
=Pompe's Rotterdam and Sonje's.=--It is interesting to compare Pompe's Rotterdam with the View near Rotterdam by Johannes Sonje. Here we have the Rotter in the foreground, on which a merchant s.h.i.+p and a row-boat are seen. The river winds among the trees of the meadows, which are animated with persons and animals. Under the trees on the left is a farmhouse. Farther back are two sail-boats, and in the background is the city.
=A Beautiful River Scene by Van Goyen.=--J. van Goyen, the father-in-law of Jan Steen, was particularly famous for his landscapes and river scenery, a beautiful example of which is called View of a River in Holland. On the left is a jetty, from which fishermen are loading a boat with baskets; in the middle distance is a boat with fishermen drawing a seine; and in the background are a mill and some houses on the bank.
Several other sailing and rowing boats are on the water, and on the horizon to the left is a village.
=Avercamp's Famous View of a River.=--Hendrik Avercamp (fl. 1660) was famous in his day for his Dutch _kermesses_, camp life, landscape, and still life. His View of a River is full of life and color. In the left foreground are two fishermen, and on the left a seated fisherman's wife.
The men are dragging a big seine. In the middle distance to the right people are bathing and swimming; swans are on the stream, also boats with occupants; and there are houses on the banks.
=River Scenes by Willaerts, Father and Son.=--Isaac Willaerts (fl. 1650) has a View of a River. On the left is a village on a dike; on the right, a river with many sail-boats. He was a pupil of his father, Adam. The Mouth of the Meuse near Brielle, by Adam Willaerts, also belongs to this group. In the foreground on the left stands an inn with the sign In de Witte Zwaan (The White Swan), and before it on a cask sits a wandering singer, surrounded by fishermen and peasants; a little to the front are seen a gentleman and his family, to whom an old fisherman offers fish; on the banks of the river are groups of peasants, sailors, and fishermen, talking, embracing the women, and offering their arms to them for a promenade. Boats are arriving and departing, and on the horizon lies the town.
=A River Picture and Two Others by Verschuier.=--Lieve Verschuier has The Maas before Rotterdam. The river is seen on the right; on the left are the Bompjes (the quay bordered with trees), the Oudehoofdpoort (old gate), and the Haringvliet (ca.n.a.l). Merchant vessels are riding at anchor, and all sorts of boats are carrying merchandise and pa.s.sengers.
In the foreground is a boat with two fishermen. The same artist has here a Mountainous Landscape, and the old Oostpoort at Rotterdam, built in 1611-13 and demolished in 1836.
=Jongkind's Impressive Picture of Overschie in Moonlight.=--The impressive picture, View of Overschie in Moonlight, was purchased in 1893 out of a bequest by Mr. Prainat at Rotterdam. After Jongkind settled in France he frequently visited Holland, and this picture was painted in 1872, during one of his visits. He was exceedingly fond of Rotterdam and its environs. Overschie is a village near Rotterdam, and the Schie, it may be noted, joins the Maas at Delftshaven; upon it is situated Delft. It is interesting to compare this picture with Gabriel's In the Environs of Overschie.
[Ill.u.s.tration: JONGKIND View of Overschie in Moonlight]
=Jan Storck's Picture of the Old Gate at Rotterdam.=--Jan Storck, whose Castle of Nyenrode is in the Rijks, has here The Oude Hoofdpoort at Rotterdam seen from the Maas. In addition to the old gate (built in 1598 and demolished in 1856), several boats are represented, and a yacht is just leaving port amidst salvos of artillery. The Maas is seen to the right.
=Two Pictures Characteristic of A. Storck's Style.=--Abraham Storck has two characteristic works. An Italian Seaport has a jetty on the right with a large building and a stone fountain. Several persons are busy discharging the contents of the boats and galleys. On the left a sloop is going toward a Dutch boat at anchor. His other picture is A Dutch Port in Winter. A great hole appears in the ice in the centre; on the right is a pole on which nets are drying; on the left, a boat stuck fast in the ice: Farther along are more imprisoned boats, some houses, and a mill; near the bridge are a lady and gentleman in a sleigh; on the left, two persons playing hockey; farther along are some skaters and promenaders. In the background are two s.h.i.+ps in the ice; and on the horizon, some houses and a clock-tower.
=Two Marines by Backhuysen.=--Ludolf Backhuysen has a large View of the Dutch Coast in Stormy Weather, dated 1682. s.h.i.+ps of various sizes are endeavoring to escape an approaching heavy squall. A marine, about one-third the size of the above, is a calmer but bustling scene of s.h.i.+ps of war exchanging salutes at a place of embarkation.
=A Marine, by Zeeman.=--Reinier Zeeman (16-- after 1673), whose pictures greatly resemble those of Jan Both and Claude Lorraine, is represented by a marine. On the left some vessels are in the roadstead, on the right other boats are off for the deep, and on the banks sailors and fishermen are seen.
=Two Marines by Schotel.=--J. C. Schotel has an Agitated Sea showing a brig at anchor and a fisherman's boat. A lighthouse is seen on the sh.o.r.e to the right. Another, called Au Moerdijk, represents a steamboat plying toward the landing, and in the background boats laden with hay. The weather is calm.
=The Port of Texel, by W. van de Velde.=--A characteristic example of Willem van de Velde is The Port of Texel. On the left is a jetty from which large merchant s.h.i.+ps are preparing to leave, on the right the Admiralty yacht firing salvos, in the foreground fishermen busy with their nets, a boat containing several gentlemen, and in the offing many boats leaving port.
=A Sea-Strand, by Mans.=--Fredericus Mans (d. 1673) has a panel called A Sea-Strand. In the foreground are fishermen, peasants, and women. A road on the right leads to a village in the dunes. On the left, the beach is animated with many figures and fis.h.i.+ng boats.
=A Marine, by L. G. Man.=--L. G. Man (eighteenth century) has a marine consisting of several English men-of-war on a sunlit sea.
=Sunset at Scheveningen and Two Other Pictures, by Schelfhout.=--Andreas Schelfhout (1787-1870) has A Beach, with the sea in the background, fis.h.i.+ng-boats in the middle distance, and a fisherman on the dunes, with his dog in the foreground. A Winter Scene represents a frozen stream where three children are playing with a sled; farther away are some skaters; and to the right, the village houses beneath wintry trees.
Sunset at Scheveningen shows a beautifully lighted sea; some boats with fishermen occupy the middle distance; and the beach with promenaders is shown in the foreground.
=H. Koekkoek's Stormy Sea.=--Herma.n.u.s Koekkoek (1815-82) was a pupil of his father, and, like him, a marine painter. His Stormy Sea, showing various vessels struggling with the elements, is full of force and atmospheric effects.
=Two Beautiful Marines by Mesdag.=--Two beautiful pictures by the skilful marine-painter, H. W. Mesdag, should be noted: Breakers on the North Sea Coast, presented by Mr. C. E. van Stolk in 1885, depicts a scene that the traveller himself may verify at any moment; and A Sunrise on the Dutch Coast, presented by the Society for Promoting Art at Rotterdam in 1876. This was painted in 1875. Beautiful in color and striking in composition, it appeals equally to the artist and the amateur.
A picture by Mrs. Mesdag, Moorland with a Sheepfold in Moonlight, was presented to this gallery by her in 1904.
=David de Heem, One of the First Painters of Still Life.=--This gallery owns many pictures of fruits, flowers, animals, and birds. David de Heem (1570-1632) was one of the first to devote his talents almost exclusively to still life. Neither The Hague nor the Rijks gallery contains an example of his work. He treated with great minuteness flowers, fruits, gla.s.ses, etc. Even during his own lifetime his paintings were much sought after, and high prices were paid for them. In his Flowers and Fruits we see a gla.s.s of Rhine wine standing in a stone niche ornamented with carved mouldings. The gla.s.s is garlanded with roses, honeysuckle, pinks, and chrysanthemums; and grouped about it are white grapes, peaches, apricots, plums, etc.
=A Large Still-life Picture by Jan de Heem.=--His more famous son, Jan Davidsz, who inherited his talents and tastes, has here a large picture of still life. On a table partly covered with a cloth of green velvet are arranged various fruits,--grapes, peaches, figs, and a lemon partly peeled. In the foreground is a pewter dish full of crabs, prawns, and hazelnuts; then come a blue porcelain bowl and a pewter plate with oranges and strawberries; next we have a basket covered with a blue velvet cloth, on which is a pewter dish with a cut ham. In the background is a box with gold and silver fringe, and on it a wide-mouthed bottle of Rhine wine, with a vine branch, a cooked crayfish, and some chestnuts. To the left are two wine gla.s.ses and a silver plate of plums, figs, and cherries. Well may Blanc exclaim:
”There is no eater so cloyed, no gourmet so _blase_, who would not have his appet.i.te restored by the sight of one of De Heem's pictures; for here everything is exquisite, both the form and the substance, the viands and the fruits, as well as the way in which they are served. It is necessary that the eye should dine, says the proverb; and this is particularly true of feasts and collations given in painting.... De Heem has happily expressed the quality of every viand and every fruit, its rough or smooth surface, dull or s.h.i.+ning, and even its stage of ripeness,--the violet plum with its thin skin, splashed with red and drab, the light down of the peach with its pale and purple tones, the plush envelope in which the hazelnut hides, and the green and split sh.e.l.l inside which we see the kernel. Moreover, this diversity of substances is not only rendered by local color but also by certain variations of the brush work by fine shades of touch. On the oak or marble table is placed an enormous gla.s.s vessel cut in facets, a patriarchal gla.s.s, all the ridges of which glitter in the light, and through the crystal of which we see a golden liquid, fused topaz.