The Art of Observation

Canals

• Highly commercial – acquisition of all kinds of goods a fundamental preoccupation

• Center of commerce in European north

• Goods traded from throughout the globe

• Rigidly religious – austere in doctrine and in church decoration

• Calvinist resistance to Spanish dominion in 16th century• 1567 Dutch flood their lands rather than

submit to the Spanish Duke of Alba• 1576 Spanish Fury – leads to death of 7,000

citizens in Antwerp. • 1581 northern provinces declare their

independence from Spain• Amsterdam becomes the most important port

in the North displacing Antwerp.

• Proclaimed by Calvinist leaders in 1571

• Although not an official state religion in the Netherlands, any person in public service had to belong to this church

• Strictly Calvinist in doctrine• Strong belief in the

predestination of salvation• Good works were useless

in gaining salvation

• Interior of churches devoid of ornamentation – reflecting the purity and propriety of the congregation

• In the 17th century Amsterdam was the most scientifically advanced city in the world.

• Inventions:• Lens• Telescope• Microscope

• Astronomy:• Kepler perfects

Copernicus’ heliocentric theory of the Universe

• Galileo improves the microscope and discovers gravity

• The Church authorities persecute, incarcerate or execute scientists.

• Bacon was a leading advocate of the empirical method, based on inductive reasoning (direct observation of phenomena)

• However, utter reliance on senses could lead to fundamental errors• The four Idols (the Tribe, the Cave, the

Marketplace, the Theatre) were errors in reasoning that could lead one astray

• One of the founders of the Royal Society, a leading force in international science even today.

• Championed the process of deductive reasoning, the opposite of Bacon’s process.

• Believed that both observational senses and thought itself could mislead and deceive.

• Among the founders of deism, which asserts that religious belief is ultimately based in reason and logic.

• Famously stated “cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am.)

Marked by intricate attention to detail, Dutch paintings of the 17th century can be grouped in several categories:• Still life: representation of household objects

and/or food• Landscape: the representation of the

countryside• Genre scenes: images of everyday life• Portraits, either individual or group: the

representation of personal likeness.

• Flowers in a Wan-li Vase with Blue-Tit by Johannes Goedaert, c. 1660

• Example of vanitas painting – reminder that earthly pleasures do not last

• Reflects righteous Protestant principles

May reflect Dutch national pride at reclaiming extensive lands from the sea (similar to God’s re-creation of the world after the Flood)

Much emphasis on the infinite reaches of the heavens in such pictures

• May be boisterous, fun-filled scenes or quiet domestic interiors

• Depict the everyday, commonplace world of Dutch life

• Remarkably detailed – new aspects emerge upon repeated viewing

• Johannes Vermeer was a notable artist in this genre.

• Seek to convey the sitter’s vitality and personality

• Beginning with Frans Hals (1581-1666), group portraits depict dynamic social relationships, involved in activities of their organization, with subtle indications of rank, prestige, or power

• Pre-eminent painter of portraits – group, individual, self-portraits

• Highly dramatic use of light

The Anatomy Lesson

The Nightwatch

•Northern Baroque art is characterized by high levels of attention to detail.

•It reflects both scientific discovery of the era and religious conviction.

•Visual detail was understood as the earthly manifestation of the divine.•Absence of religious themes•Private demand rather than religious art commissioned by the Church