Program 7
Seventeenth Century Dutch Masters
Objectives
After watching the program and participating in post-viewing discussion and activities, students should be able to
•
recognise the styles of five Dutch masters: Hals, Ruisdael, de Hooch, Vermeer, and Rembrandt
•
understand that the seventeenth century Dutch painters presented Holland's bustling streets, lively interiors,
landscapes, and citizens in masterpieces that mirrored their society.
Before the Program
1.
List the program title and artists' names on the board.
2.
Ask students to describe what they know about seventeenth century Dutch painting. What particular artists,
paintings, images, colours, ideas, or places - if any - do they associate with the Dutch masters? Record these on
the board and refer to them in your post-viewing discussion.
3.
If students are not familiar with Dutch painting, ask them to speculate about what kinds of subject matter
interested the Dutch masters. Ask them to brainstorm some features that an art focused on Dutch themes might
possess.
4.
Tell students to pay close attention to the styles and favourite subjects of each artist presented. They will have an
opportunity to test their ability to identify each artist's style at the end of the program.
Program Summary
Holland was formed when the northern Nether- lands freed itself from Catholic Spain, separated from Catholic
southern Belgium, and became Protestant. Seventeenth century Dutch masters were proud of their prosperous, newly
formed country and depicted it in paintings of street scenes, interiors, landscapes, seascapes, and people. At the end
of the program, the narrator quickly reviews each artist before flashing a work by each on the screen for students to
identify.
Presentation of Artists
In this program, artists and their painting are discussed in following order.
1. Hals, Frans (ca. 1580-1666)
Yonker Ramp and His Sweetheart
Portrait of a Man
Portrait of a Lady
A Dutch Family
Portrait of a Man
Gypsy Girl
Nurse and Child
Lady in a Ruff
Merrymakers at Shrovetide
Malle Babbe
2. Rulsdael, Jacob van (ca. 1628-1682)
Jewish Graveyard
Forest Scene
View of Grainfields
Wheatfields
Sluice Gate
Two Water Mills and an Open Sluice
View of Haarlem
3. de Hooch, Pleter (ca. 1629-1677+)
A Dutch Courtyard
The Bedroom
The Visit
A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy
Woman Giving Money
1. Vermeer, Jan (1632-1675)
Allegory of Faith
View of Delft
View of Delft (detail)
Young Woman with a Water Jug
Young Girl with Pearl Earring
Portrait of a Young Woman
Young Girl with a Flute (detail)
A Girl Asleep
Allegory of the Art of Painting
5. Rembrandt Hannenszoon van Rljn (1606- 1669)
The Syndics
The Night Watch
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp
Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer
Sacrifice of Isaac
Abraham's Sacrifice (drawing)
Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph (engraving)
St. Jerome Reading in a Landscape (etching)
Flight into Egypt, a Night Effect (etching)
The Holy Family
Head of Christ
Christ and a Woman of Samaria
Christ Preaching (drawing)
Christ Presented to the People (drawing)
Pilate Washing Hands
Rembrandt. The Artist in His Studio
Nicolas Ruts
An Old Man in Military Costume
Man in Plumed Hat Man in Turkish Hat
Young Girl at Open Half Door
Flora
Youth in a Black Cap
Hendrickje Stoffels
Portrait of The Artist
Short Review of Artists
Using the following paintings to illustrate their styles, the narrator provides a brief review of each artist.
1 .Hals - The Jolly Toper
2. Ruisdael - Ruin of Egmond
3. de Hooch - lnterior with Figures
4. Vermeer - Lady with a Lute
5. Rembrandt - Lady with a Pink Rose
Student Challenge
At the conclusion of the program, students are invited to identify the artists who created the following works.
1. View of Haarlem (Ruisdael)
2. Woman with Pearls (Vermeer)
3. Merrymakers at Shrovetide (detail) (Hals)
4. A Game of Skittles (de Hooch)
5. Young Man in a Plumed Hat (Rembrandt)
After the Program
Duplicate and distribute the student summary sheet on pages 37-38. Use the summary sheet as a means to review
with students the artists and their styles. The glossary will help students identify unfamiliar terms, places, and people.
Discussion Questions
1.
Which of the Dutch Masters did the Impressionists admire for details and simplicity of brush-stokes? (Hals)
2.
What did Thomas Eakins admire about Hals' paintings? (colour) Discuss the similarities in the subject matter of
the two artists.
3.
The narrator commented that Vincent Price particularly like Hals' painting, Jewish Grave- yard. What are the
qualities within this painting in both content and form which would cause Price to like it? (content: the mood
evoked by the subject matter, a graveyard; the threatening-Iooking castle; atmosphere of a possible storm; form:
the light-dark contrast; dark colour tones; twisting linear forms; unclear areas)
4.
Why do you think the wealthy burghers of Delft were more interested in collecting art for their homes than
jewellery or other displays of wealth? (Holland was newly formed. The people were proud of their way of life and
prosperity, and liked to see it depicted and displayed in their homes.)
5.
Which of the Dutch painters is especially famous for his pearl-Iike colours, quiet interiors, illumination from the left
side of the painting, and the use of symbols? (Vermeer)
6.
Why is Rembrandt considered the greatest of all portrait painters? (He captured not only an outer likeness of his
sitter, but the inner qualities as well.)
5.
What are some characteristics of Rembrandt's paintings? (theatricality; use of the gesture; expressive
interpretation of the eyes, lips and hands; shadowy and mysterious back- grounds; use of dramatic costumes;
illuminating light from the left)
Activities
Analysing Art
1.
Show students several landscape paintings by Constable. In class discussion, compare them with the
landscapes by Ruisdael. In what ways was Constable influenced by Ruisdael's paintings? In what ways do their
works differ?
2.
Ask students to study the symbols presented in Jan Vermeer's painting, Allegory of the Art of Painting, and list
these objects and their symbols. This study of symbols could be compared with a study of the Renaissance
painting of Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding, 1434.
Art Making
1.
After studying the symbols used in Vermeer's painting, Allegory of the Art of painting, have students create
individual still-lifes using objects which reflect their cultural heritage, their country, and their interests. These may
be drawn, painted, or used in a collage. Students should title their works with an appropriate allegory, as in the
title of Vermeer's painting.
2.
Obtain some elaborate pieces of clothing (hats, furs, shawls, etc.) and props similar to those used in Rembrandt's
portraits. Set up an area in the classroom with a dark draped background and a strong light on the left. Have
students select some interesting costume combinations and sit as models for the class. Drawing, painting, or
photography could be used for this study.
Interdisciplinary Activities
Writing
Have each student select a work of art from this program as the focus of a writing assignment. Then have students
find reproductions of their works in library or text books or other sources so that they will have longer access to the
work than that available on video. The specific assignment can be tailored to the students' writing level and to the type
of writing students are currently doing (see Program 1).
History
1.
Dutch art in the seventeenth century was strongly influenced by political and social changes in the Netherlands.
Have students research and report orally or in writing on the history of the Netherlands in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. You might assign different factors (the successful revolt against Spanish rule;
independence from Belgium; conversion to Protestantism; land reclamation from the sea; commercial prosperity)
or perhaps different periods of time to individual students.
2.
Have students continue the time line assignment as described in Program 1.
Literature/Language Arts
The term "allegory" is used in literature as well as in art to mean the presentation of an abstract idea in concrete form.
After looking closely at Vermeer's Allegory of Faith and Allegory of the Art of Painting, have students read several
short allegories (for instance, Aesop's Fables ) or, if they are reading a longer allegory (such as Spenser's The Faerie
Queen or Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress) for a literature class. use a portion of that. You might also use a contemporary
popular allegory with which students are familiar, such as the movie Star Wars. Discuss in class or have students
write about how an allegory works to express a message, and why a writer or artist might use allegory rather than
direct statement of an idea. Have students use specific examples from the works they refer to.
Vocabulary
Have students continue the "New Words" card file described in Program 1.
Student Summary Sheet 7 Seventeenth Century Dutch Masters
Hals's feasting characters, Ruisdael's landscapes of Haarlem, de Hooch's courtyards and interiors, Vermeer's women
dreamily drifting through their chores, Rembrandt's perfect portraits bathed in light from the left-all portray the thriving
young seventeenth century Holland.
Glossary
Abraham - Old Testament patriarch and forefather of the Semites. According to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic
traditions, he was ordered to sacrifice his son to show his obedience to God; the Arch- angel Gabriel substituted a
sheep for the boy at the last minute.
allegory - art form that uses fictional figures and actions to symbolise truths or generalisations about human
existence.
Amsterdam - 0fficial capital of the Netherlands. although government offices are in The Hague.
Arlstotle (384-322 BC) - 0ne of the great ancient Greek philosophers.
Ash Wednesday - first day of Lent.
Belglum - Western European country bordered by the North Sea, France, Luxembourg, West Germany and the
Netherlands.
burgher - member of the mercantile class of a city.
damask - fine, twilled linen.
Delft - city of the south-west-central Netherlands five miles south-east of The Hague.
doublet - close-fitting men's jacket
Edam - mild yellow Dutch cheese pressed into balls and usually covered with red paraffin.
Florence – central Italian city famous for its art
Gouda - mild close-textured, pale-yellow cheese made from whole or partially skimmed milk, and usually covered with
red paraffin.
Haarlem - tulip-growing centre and the capital of north Holland, the Netherlands.
The Hague - governmental centre of the Netherlands, although the official capital is Amsterdam.
Homer (ca. 9th to 8th centuries BC) - Greek epic poet who wrote The Iliad, about the Trojan War, and The Odyssey,
about the wanderings of Odysseus, a hero of that war (cf. Helen).
Leiden - city of the south-western Netherlands, north-east of the Hague.
Lent - the forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter which many Christians regard as a period of penitence and
fasting.
Marla de' Medici (1573-1642) - ltalian wife of Henry IV of France.
Medici - ltalian family that dominated Florence and Tuscany during the Renaissance.
Pilate (Pontius, died after AD 36) - Roman pro-curator of Judea from about AD 26 to 36. He
ordered the crucifixion of Jesus, and was said to have tried to "wash his hands" of the matter.
Princes of Orange - princes of a European family who ruled in the Netherlands.
Rotterdam - a city and river port of the south-west Netherlands.
ruff - stiffly starched, frilled or pleated circular collar of lace, muslin or other fine fabric worn by men
and women in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Samaria - division of ancient Palestine, now in western Jordan.
Shrove Tuesday - during Lent, the day before Ash Wednesday.
syndic - civil magistrate or similar government official.