Dutch Art

At the outset the influence of the Renaissance manifested itself in Dutch art rather as a change in decorative motifs than as a complete renewal. In the domain of architecture late Gothic had in many places already produced vast constructions which were scarcely Gothic any longer. On the other hand the early Renaissance adopted much of the upward surge of the Gothic.

In the galleries about the two remarkably austere inner courts beside the central Burgerzaal, one also sees, above the doors and elsewhere, reliefs which are among the finest creations of Dutch art in the seventeenth century in this field. The Burgerzaal already mentioned is a magnificent hall, unsurpassed of its kind. We must admire it the more when we realise that what we see here is by no means the fruit of a gradual development: this achievement represents the creation of a new style in the full sense of the term. This splendid model soon found imitators, for example the National Naval Arsenal on Kattenburg, built by Stalpaert, with frontons designed by Quellinus.

The work of the great Quellinus is not confined to Amsterdam but can also be admired elsewhere, for example in the rural Catholic church of Bokhoven, which contains the imposing tomb of Engelbert van Immerzeele, first count of Bokhoven, and of his wife Helene de Montmorency. It was executed by Quellinus in 1650 and was placed in the church in the following year. This too is one of the greatest achievements of Dutch art. Here, and also in the magnificent portrait bust of Johan de Witt, the artist shows himself a master of portraiture.

Pieter Saenredam rendered a service not only to Dutch art but also to archaeology by his austere church interiors. With the painstaking care of an architect and with an amazing knowledge of perspective he painted and sketched the exterior and interior of medieval churches. He did not, however, confine himself rigidly to architecture as such, but was also a great artist who rendered in a masterly fashion the distinctive atmosphere of an old church interior with its grey light playing upon the white walls and pillars.

Caesar van Everdingen, a painter in Alkmaar from 1617 until 1678, was undoubtedly a great artist with a distinctive personal style which earns him an honourable place in the Pantheon of Dutch art. His 'Classical Bust' is extremely austere and shows exquisite feeling. He collaborated in the decoration of the Orange Room in the Huis ten Bosch palace at The Hague with Flemish artists like Jordaens and Van Thulden, which shows the esteem in which he was held.

The appreciation of these masters and their work, especially that of the painters of the Italianate landscape, is growing at the present day, after they had for a long time been considered in the Netherlands somewhat in the light of renegades from the one true native art. In fact a too partial admiration of the Dutch realists hampers a broad and comprehensive view of Dutch art as a whole.