“Wellington’s Dutch Masterpieces” exhibition at Apsley House ✎

Earlier this year, I went to Apsley House at Hyde Park Corner for a very special exhibition.

Apsley House is the home of the Duke of Wellington. The 1st Duke established both his fame and wealth in the Napoleonic wars.

France, in 1816-1818, was a period time of immense economic disruption and ruination. Napoleon’s defeat left many French aristocrats, military officers, and financiers financially ruined. As such, the Duke purchased these 17th-century Dutch paintings at public auctions in Paris, and out-bid everyone & acquired top-tier masterworks, like Jan Steen’s The Wedding Party, with ease.

What makes this exhibition fascinating, and beautiful, is that it displays 18 magnificent 17th-century Dutch paintings collected by the 1st Duke of Wellington. These intimate genre scenes and landscapes of Wellington’s feature the ordinary people of the Dutch Golden Age, their social gatherings, and daily life. They are magnificent and v. beautiful.

They also include some my personal favourites: Pieter de Hooch, Jan Steen, and Jan van der Heyden.

Rating: 10/10.

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A Musical Party by Pieter de Hooch (1675)

For those that follow my blog, Pieter de Hooch is an absolute personal favourite of mine among the Dutch masters.

For me, though, I think I prefer his earlier Delft works (focusing on simple, sunlit courtyards and modest hearty domestic life). His later Amsterdam paintings shifted toward high society, grander architecture, and wealthy patrons enjoying their leisurely time.

Here the painting is split between the music at the fore and the love/holding hands/kissing at the back. I love the two dogs playing at the fore too.

As ever, the atmosphere is beautifully captured with rich red curtains that filter and warm the incoming light. It even reflects off the marble tiled floor.

Me :)

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A Wedding Party by Jan Steen (1667)

Love it.

Jan Steen is antithesis of De Hooch.

Loud, chaotic, theatrical, and packed with brilliant Dutch wit.

He even paints himself at the fore leaning against a large wooden barrel, looking directly out at the viewer with a glazed smirk.

Jan Steen depicting himself.

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The Milkwoman by Nicolaes Maes (c. 1655-1657)

Wonderful.

Classic Maes with his distinctive vibrant colour saturation. 

Before he became famous for his genre scenes, he was Rembrandt’s star pupil in Amsterdam during the late 1640s. It’s obvious he inherited Rembrandt’s powerful chiaroscuro: the light directs the viewer’s eyes to the story here. A brilliant white light strikes the milkwoman’s crisp white sleeve and the open palm of her hand.

Milkmaids were often a flirtatious subject in Dutch art. Here, she is the embodiment of honest work and virtue.

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The Eavesdropper by Nicolaes Maes (1656)

What a lovely and v. famous painting. 😆

It’s amazing that Duke Wellington managed to get his hands on this painting.

The maid stands at the foot of a wooden staircase, making direct eye contact with us, holding a finger to her mouth in a classic “shh” gesture.

As ever, with Dutch art, trying to convey some high-brow moralism.

I love the smile. It’s like she’s trying not to giggle.

A kiss? A fondle?

It’s interesting the orange/white colours define both maids.

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The Château of Goudestein by Jan van der Heyden (1674)

Beautiful.

For me, Jan van der Heyden’s View of the Westerkerk, Amsterdam at the National Gallery is breathtaking in its meticulous, near-microscopic attention to detail.

This painting typifies the cultural phenomenon of 17th-century Dutch life: atristoractic country retreats.

Not only meticulous in landscape, but his sweeping blue skies with their soft drifting clouds, elegant swans etc.

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The Dissolute Household by Jan Steen (1668)

Famous painting by Jan Steen.

Prosperous bourgeois home turned upside down when people in charge completely abandon their duties.

A hanging basket, with monkeys.

 

A faithless husband, a slumbering mother, thieving children.

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The Courtyard of an Inn with a Game of Shuffleboard by Adriaen van Ostade (1677)

What a joy.

Charming, and radical for its day.

Jan Steen treated peasant-life like a raucous & theatrical comedy; Van Ostade depicted them with a sense of warmth & empathy.

Thus, ordinary peasant life depicted beautifully in Dutch art.

Hardworking man relaxing with his pipe lost in his thoughts

Kids playing next to him.

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A Village Scene by Jan Victors (1654)

A charming depiction of street life.

I have come across Jan Victors at the National Gallery in A Village Scene with a Cobbler (which is so beautiful) that I was pleased to come across his work again.

I love the camaraderie, the earnest facial expressions (Rembrandt?), and the joie-de-vivre sense of a summer’s evening. 

Wonderful find.

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The Intruder: A Lady at her Toilet, Surprised by Her Lover by Pieter de Hooch (1665)

Wow.

De Hooch’s treatment of light is just incredible. 

I love the way his luminous daylight pours into the room reflecting the textures of the silk garments and the polished wood.

In 1661, De Hooch had moved to Amsterdam, and his handling of light underwent a profound transformation, becoming noticeably darker & heavier, and more subdued. I really love his earlier domestic scenes of mothers peeling apples, or maids sweeping yards ...

In the 17th-century, a “toilette” referred to the practice of a lady getting dressed, styling her hair, and applying perfume etc... So, when her lover “intrudes” on her at her toilette, he is catching her in a highly private & vulnerable moment. He removes his hat politely.

The vibrant textures draw us in.

Deep blue skirt wrapped in a rich red fur-trimmed jacket.

His vibrant yellow doublet exquisitely rendered.

An intricately embroidered sash that glows.

 

Beautiful depth and layers via the doorkijkje.

Is the dog the moral admonition? 

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The Physician’s Visit by Jan Steen (c. 1660)

Another Jan Steen.

This painting is not about “illness” - the lady is lovesick, and, quite possibly, pregnant. As per ArtUK:

The girl in this painting is not ill but lovesick. To underline the point, there is a picture of ‘Venus and Adonis’ on the wall and the boy in the foreground is Cupid in seventeenth-century costume, putting an arrow in his bow. The doctor takes the woman’s pulse and looks knowingly at the maid, who is holding a urine bottle. Erotic melancholy was allegedly detected by feeling the pulse, whilst visual examination of the urine was claimed to reveal the same disorder, or pregnancy.

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Leftovers

Newly discovered copy of the US Declaration of Independence in London ✎

What great news.

The National Archives in London found a copy of the US Declaration of Independence.

According to the BBC, it seems many were printed and distributed across the colonies. Today, few are left:

The rare copy has undergone conservation works to stabilise its paper and repair a slight tear, making it safe for handling, study and future display.

It will go on display as part of Revolution 250: America’s Independence Story, 1763-1783 at The National Archives.

The National Archives already holds three of the original official copies of the Declaration of Independence printed by John Dunlap in Philadelphia on 4 July 1776.

Around 200 copies are likely to have been printed on the night, of which only 26 are known to have survived until today.

It is part of the National Archives “Revolution 250: America’s Independence Story 1763–1783” exhibition. Hopefully, I can go and see it in person.

A Bigger Splash by David Hockney (1967) ✎

In honour of David Hockney who recently passed away.

I really love the feeling of:

1. nostalgia and ephemerality of good-times (captured in the fleeting nature of a splash)

2. that warm sun-baked Californian palette of turquoise & flesh-toned pinks. They’re so relaxing and inviting. Hockney perfectly captured his own joy of Southern California. 

My Upcoming Art Exhibitions List for the Summer and Autumn ✎

Hi everyone,

I have been away from blogging for some time. I’ve been focusing on going to the gym and my fitness, and have been doing some travelling lately. I want to get back into blogging about art.

I have just secured some tickets - for this year - which I am so v. excited about. 😁

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1) The Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum

This is one of the most famous and magnificent panoramic masterpieces of medieval art that survives today. This embroidered piece of linen cloth is as important as it is beautiful. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!! (Please see this BBC YouTube documentary)

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2) Frida: The Making of an Icon at Tate Modern

A major retrospective on Frida Kahlo the artist and the icon. I am very excited about this because she is not an artist I know a lot about. So, I am excited to see an intellectual and aesthetic exploration of this iconic artist.

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3) Francisco de Zurbaran at the National Gallery

For me, when it comes to Spanish Baroque, I venerate Bartolome Esteban Murillo and, of course, the great Velazquez. Yet, Zurbaran’s famous Saint Francis in Meditation is one of the National Gallery’s most iconic paintings and typifies this artist’s quiet, powerful & intense chiaroscuro & style.

I am so very excited to get a deep dive into an artist who, for me, has been rather marginal in Spanish Baroque.

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4) Early Netherlandish Drawings at British Museum

I love the Dutch Golden Age and the Northern Renaissance. So this exhibition at the British Musuem is so up my alley. It is a VERY rare survey of highly detailed 15th and 16th century Northern Renaissance drafts, including the greats: Rogier van der Weyden, Pieter Bruegel the Elder etc...

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5) Tracey Emin retrospective at the Tate Modern

Merh.

I think Emin is an underwhelming and tedious artist. I expect to be bored, but I feel I owe to myself to make an effort when presented with a major retrospective of a so-called serious artist.

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ✎

I saw this commemorative medal dedicated to Emperor Charles V. 

He is on my list of top 10 historical figures I wish I could talk to.

Beautiful German Renaissance craftsmanship: “silver-gilt medal was made by Hans Reinhardt the Elder, in Germany in 1537.”

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I’ve been deeply fascinated by Charles V. 

His power was unrivalled in the 16th century and he completely changed European history, but I also think an overall decent(ish) Emperor.

• The Sack of Rome - Charles V’s own army caused the Sack of Rome. The army hadn’t been paid in months, and they were practically starving. The Duke of Bourbon (defecting from King Francis I of France) was nominally the “commander”, but had very little control over them. He gave an order to “take Rome”. His Imperial troops attacked and the army turned into a leaderless mob. The Sack of Rome was a total collapse in all human decency and human restraint. Torture, mass murders, and mass rapes (even of nuns). The great basilica of St Peters was used as a stable for horses. It’s probably unknown how many irreplaceable manuscripts and masterpieces were destroyed. He was publically horrified by his own army and it is a great irony: the man who spent his life fighting to preserve the Catholic Church against the Reformation was the same man whose army effectively destroyed the Renaissance Papacy. Renaissance too. 
• The Dutch Golden Age - Flemish Charles V was the unintentional “founding father” of the Dutch Golden Age. His religious policies and his eventual abdication, and giving the Netherland to Spanish Philip II, set the stage for the Netherlands to become a global superpower.
• Causing Henry VIII to leave the Catholic Church - Normally, Popes granted favors to kings all the time. But Charles V forced the Pope’s hand preventing the annulment. The irony here is that Charles inadvertently helped create one of the most powerful Protestant nations in European history which then became a massive rival to his own deeply Catholic son, Philip II. One of the first major Catholic but secular forces that reigned Papal power.
• Humble End - He died as a simple monk (mostly), wearing plain clothes instead of robes.