Jacob Van Ruisdael, Dutch Flower Painting & Gerrit Dou

Jacob Van Ruisdael: A Complete Catalogue

Jacob van Ruisdael is the preeminent Dutch landscape painter of the seventeenth century, renowned for the wealth of closely observed naturalistic detail in his works. This beautiful book, written by one of the most distinguished scholars of Dutch art, is a catalogue raisonne of Ruisdael's landscapes: almost seven hundred paintings, more than one hundred and thirty drawings, and thirteen rare etchings. Seymour Slive demonstrates the totality of the artist's vision in all three media, offering comprehensive and perceptive entries on all catalogued works. He also presents and discusses paintings and drawings that have been wrongly attributed to Ruisdael or whose status is uncertain. In addition, Slive provides a documented chronology of Ruisdael's life based on a fresh examination of published and unpublished archival material; a chronological list of his dated works in all media; a topographical index; and concordances. In two appendices, Slive reviews the proposal that Ruisdael had a second profession as a medical doctor and discusses the copies John Constable made of Ruisdael's landscapes during the course of his lifelong passion for the master. The combination of text and lavish reproductions makes this volume both a major work of scholarship and a vivid testimony to Ruisdael's ongoing legacy.
Jacob Van Ruisdael: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, Drawings, and Etchings by Seymour Slive
Yale University Press, 2001

Frits Lugt Collection

This illustrated volume offers the reader a selection of the most beautiful Dutch seventeenth-century paintings from the Lugt Collection. The great connoisseur Frits Lugt (1884-1970) is today primarily recognised as a collector of drawings and prints by Dutch and Flemish masters. Far less is known, however, about his important collection of paintings." There can be no doubt that Lugt had a taste for the unusual in the oeuvre of famous artists, and that he had a marked preference for landscape paintings. The works - mostly executed in a small format - are not only well preserved but also of exceptional quality, designed to fit perfectly in the intimacy of a home.
A Choice Collection: Seventeenth-Century Dutch Paintings from the Frits Lugt Collection by Quentin Buvelot and Hans Buijs
Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, 2003

Dutch Flower Painting 1600-1720

At the time of the great tulip speculation of the 1630s in Holland, the most desirable tulip bulbs were auctioned for more money than the most expensive houses in Amsterdam. At the same time flower paintings which were remarkable for their apparent realism were produced all over Holland and purchased by Dutch families as enduring substitutes for the real thing. This beautiful book reveals the fascinating genesis and growth of a whole genre of paintings that has rarely been studied.
Paul Taylor begins by discussing Holland's 'tulipomania' and its effect on the way people thought about floral still lifes. He then considers the religious messages associated with the flower paintings, exploring how religious writers spoke of flowers as moral signposts from God and how some flower paintings were meant to remind viewers of the transience of earthly existence. Flower paintings were not bought only as records of luxury objects or for moral edification, however. They were also enjoyed as works of art, as masterpieces of illusion, composition and colour harmony, so Taylor analyses the art-theoretical writings of the time in order to understand how artists and connoisseurs responded to flower pieces. He concludes by analysing the paintings themselves, tracing the development and refinement of the actual practice of flower painting.
Dutch Flower Painting 1600-1720 by Paul Taylor
Yale University Press, 1995

Gerrit Dou 1613-1675: Master Painter in the Age of Rembrandt

Gerrit Dou was one of the most highly esteemed Dutch painters of the seventeenth century, celebrated for the illusionistic images he created with his fine and delicate technique. Rembrandt's first pupil, Dou was lauded at an early age by his contemporaries as a model for other painters. His works, sought by collectors throughout Europe, fetched extremely high prices well into the eighteenth century. By the mid-nineteenth century, however, Dou's reputation had fallen into eclipse, and the works of a master whose fame had once equaled that of Rembrandt appeared only rarely, if at all, in exhibitions of Dutch art. In the last thirty years scholars have begun to reevaluate the artistic achievement of Gerrit Dou. This book, which accompanies the first international exhibition devoted exclusively to Dou's works, provides an extraordinary opportunity to reassess the artist's achievements.
The fortunes of Dou's artistic reputation are the subject of the first essay; the texts that follow examine Dou's life, subject matter, and painting technique. The catalogue assembles thirty-five of Dou's paintings, from the artist's early works, which show the unmistakable influence of Rembrandt, to the late paintings, whose style and subject matter, in turn, influenced generations of Dutch, English, and French artists. Full catalogue entries trace the provenance and exhibition history of each painting and analyze the style and themes of these exquisite works.
Gerrit Dou 1613-1675: Master Painter in the Age of Rembrandt by Ronni Baer, Arthur K. Wheelock
Yale University Press, 2000

Moral Compass: Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Painting in the Netherlands

Painting in the Netherlands during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries offers a compelling visual record of the tastes and values of a prosperous society mindful of its obligation to personal and public standards. This richly illustrated volume examines twenty-six paintings by master artists from this Golden Age of Dutch art and features essays by leading scholars who explore the various interpretations of these works within the context of their culture.
A Moral Compass: Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Painting in the Netherlands by Arthur K. Wheelock Rizzoli International, 1999

More information

Arts Main Page
Old Masters