Sutton : Introduction to Van Dyck and Jordaens

 

Van Dyck

Van Dyck, Drunken Silenus, 1620

Van Dyck was 22 years younger than Rubens

whom he assisted in some projects 

before being summoned to the court of James I in 1620.

Still, for all  his emulation of Rubens, van Dyck was an independent artist from the first and expressed this individuality even at the outset of his career. Like other young artists, he experimented with several different styles and approaches to paint application before ca. 1620, and tended to use a much rougher and broader technique than Rubens. The composition of a work like the Drunken Silenus is directly based on Rubens (compare the latter's earlier painting of the same theme, but the dry, raw, and in passages, open brushwork is a far cry from Rubens's coolly polished classicism of this period. 

Rubens, Drunken Silenus, 1616-17

Rubens’ Silenus is apparently going to fall on top of a naked crouching woman  - it’s a comedy. 

Van Dyke’s is being supported by two people who are sober and judgmental - which is more like a tragedy.

The great St. Jerome here exhibited again nods to Rubens but only to reveal his own independent ideas as if in creative competition with his mentor. 

Van Dyck , St. Jerome 1619

Rubens bought this piece - and later it was sold from his estate to Philip IV of Spain.

Despite that pedigree, however

this looks like the kind of sentimental illustration.

for which Norman Rockwell is known.

Caravaggio, St. Jerome, 1605-6

Here’s a really great painting on that subject,

done only thirteen years earlier.

 

Van Dyck , oil study for St. Jerome

This study preparatory  was identified as such about twenty years ago.

I like it much more than the final piece.

 

 

 

 

Van Dyck: Betrayal of Christ, 1618-20

 

 

Van Dyck, study for the above

As we have seen, Rubens achieved his monumentally plastic forms through the use of individual figure drawings. Van Dyck on the other hand relied much more on compositional sketches, seeking animated but balanced designs with a greater diversity of texture, optical effects, and emotion. 

The sketch for Jerome is much about observed anatomy - but equally about the pictorial space into which it fits - as is Van Duck’s sketch for the Betrayal. 

Rubens

By contrast, this Ruben’s sketch is more about the inner dynamic of a figure.

 

 

Van Dyke , Marchesa Grimaldi, 1623

Van Dyke  was soon given leave from the English court to travel, and like Rubens, he went to Italy, painting the above portrait of a Genoese lady.

It compares quite favorably with the portrait that Rubens had painted in Genoa seventeen years earlier - and Van Dyck was even younger when he did it. .  Much less scary - much more graceful.

Van Dyck , Madonna of the Rosary, 1625

Rubens, Santa Maria Della Vallicella

Sutton sees Van Dyck echoing Rubens here - and they both seem to be serving a similar appetite for glorious showmanship. Van Dyke with more elegance - Rubens with more dynamism. I have no interest in seeing the originals of either one.  This is advertising art.

Van Dyck, Three ages of Man, 1622

Titian , Ages of Man, 1512-14

Unlike Rubens, he did not compile a large reference portfolio of drawings after the antique during his Italian sojourn (Sandrart informs us that he had little interest in "Academies of antiquity"); instead his sketchbook (London, British Museum) is filled mostly with efforts to understand the grandeur and sensitivity of Titian. Sandrart affirms that van Dyck deciphered better than anyone else the secret of Titian. Although he reacted to many Italian artists (notably Raphael, Correggio, Veronese, the Carracci, and Guido Reni), Titian easily commanded the greatest influence on van Dyck, as attests a work such as the latter's Three Ages of Man, virtually his only secular history painting from the Italian period. The powerful example of the Italian master served to loosen van Dyck's brushwork and offered a model of poetic sensitivity in both composition and human expression. By the late 16205, van Dyck had also acquired a sizable collection of paintings by the Venetian artist.  Indeed his immersion in Titian precedes the extensive study that Rubens undertook of the master while in Madrid in 1628-1629, and may have helped pique his mentor's interest.

I agree with Sandrart - that remarkable 17th C. artist/historian.

VanDyke takes more from Titian than does Rubens.

But the feeling and interpretation of ‘The Three Ages of Man" is still quite different.

Titian depicts a happier, more imaginary world where the adult man, nearly naked, is entertained by a young female musician whose arm lies between his knees.  Van Dyke’s young man wears a suit of armor.

Van Dyck, Rinaldo and Armida, 1629

Poussin, Rinaldo and Armida, 1629

Tiepolo , Rinaldo and Armida, 1742-5

The decade of 1620's has been regarded as the period when van Dyck consciously sought to perfect an ideal of grace (gratia), a delicate and effortless manner that he himself called the "airy style" (een loechte maniere). 141 The shift from a robust and insistently plastic style to a more painterly one, coupled with the attenuation of form and a svelte and slender figure type are certainly factors in this change, but the essence of the ideal was to avoid all affectation: to create an art whose grace conceals its own artistry. The Rinaldo and Armida , also of 1629, is a masterpiece of van Dyck's graceful style, Venetian coloration, and approach to composition, employing an italianate di sotto in su design. Ordered by Charles I, it depicts an episode from one of that king's favorite books, Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata (first published in 1581), which weaves a love story through a tale of the reconquest of the Holy Land by the crusaders. Performed at masques at the English court, the subject had a special appeal for the British because of its allusion to an enchanted isle ruled by enlightened leaders. However van Dyck lent the scene definitive form, showing the smitten Armida in the company of singing naiads first gazing on the slumbering Christian knight, Rinaldo.

Poussin’s version is more enchanting - even without the singing naiads.

I’m familiar with Tiepolo’s since it’s in Chicago.

But it’s more about enhancing a bedroom than anything else.

Van Dyck,  James Stuart, 1633

Van Dyck, Self portrait with Endymion Porter, 1635

Clearly the same ideal of grace that harmonized van Dyck's history paintings also proved eminently suited to portraiture. The impeccably elegant Portrait of James Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox of 1633 extends to the duke all the fluid attenuation and noble poise of his faithful greyhound. 

It does appear that Van Dyck was much better at presenting aristocrats to themselves than in his more narrative projects.  

Van Dyck permanently transformed portrait painting not simply by adopting a svelte new canon of proportion and an air of aristocratic insoucience but also by suggesting something of his sitters' psyches. His double portrait of himself with Sir Endymion Porter, the cultivated adventurer and courtier who, as Charles I's Groom of the Bedchamber, collected art for the king (including van Dyck's Rinaldo and Armida ) is a wonder of subtle psychological interplay not only between a patron and an artist but also between two friends.

I wonder how Sutton would have described that "subtle psychological interplay".  The man in white is clearly more important and self satisfied than the attending  fellow in black - though a similar interplay preceded him.

Titian, Paul III and Grandsons, 1546

 Despite his short life, van Dyck's contributions have endured. The art of Rubens, Jacob Jordans, and others all underwent a change in the 1620s to a more painterly, less plastic manner, but it was van Dyck's graceful style that proved to have the most lasting influence on successive generations of Flemish, and English, artists. 

Does "painterly" mean more about paint on the surface than the suggested volumes in imagined space of the "plastic" ?

Jacob Jordaens

Jordaens, Holy Family with Shepherds, 1616

Jordaens, Adoration of Shepherds, 1617

1618

Jordaens dated only three paintings in his early career, the earliest of which is the tightly composed nocturnal scene of the Adoration of the shepherds, dated 1616. This is already a fairly assured work suggesting that he had begun his career at least several years earlier. The dramatic lighting and half-length format are conspicuously Caravaggesque. 

In his formative years, Jordaens painted at least six other variations on the theme of the Adoration of the Shepherds, always closely grouping the half-length figures and cropping the scenes tightly, thus through the limited space focusing attention on the carefully observed rustic figures. This approach to composition served to intensify the narrative and accentuate the characters' expressions. By the time he painted the version of the theme dated 1618 in Stockholm, Jordaens had already developed the high relief, assured brushwork, and clear expanse of colors (now more golden brown in the tonalities of the flesh) that characterize the works of the next decade, generally regarded as the painter's best period. 

 

Edge-cropped details are much more exciting than theses paintings as a whole.

Jordaens, Suffer the a little Children, 1615

The robust and powerful forms and the relatively smooth execution and opalescent palette (especially the bluish-green cast of shadows and flesh) in Jordaens's early works (see, for example, Christ Blessing the Children, St. Louis Art Museum, no. 7:1956) are unthinkable without Rubens, who remained the single most important factor for Jordaens's art throughout his career. 

While visiting St. Louis, I must have walked past that piece every time without stopping to look.  It’s more like a collage of robust human forms than a painting or vision.

 

Caravaggio, Madonna of the Rosary

 

 

Through Rubens's successful lobbying, Caravaggio's Madonna of the Rosary had come to the Dominican church in Antwerp, but probably not before 1620, so Jordaens's grasp of the Italian master's style was undoubtedly colored by the local interpretations of Rubens, Abraham Jansens and others. The robust and powerful forms and the relatively smooth execution and opalescent palette (especially the bluish-green cast of shadows and flesh) in Jordaens's early works (see, for example, Christ Blessing the Children, St. Louis Art Museum, no. 7:1956) are unthinkable without Rubens, who remained the single most important factor for Jordaens's art throughout his career.

The "Madonna of the Rosary" emerged as a prominent theme after the battle of Lepanto (1571) decisively reconnected military exploits with the propagation of the faith.  Caravaggio’s version created a tense, dramatic  moment (as his work usually does).   Rubens and Jordaens created something more like Catholic prayer cards:  emotional, immediate, superficial, and inexpensive. That may be more appropriate for this devotional, emotive theme - but I would quickly walk past their pieces in a museum.

Jordaens, Battle of Centaurs and Lapiths, 1615

Jordaens, Allegory of Fruitfulness, 1617

Jordaens's earliest history paintings had betrayed a certain horror vacui, as writhing and struggling but essentially flaccid nudes multiplied in a shallow space (see, for example, the Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs of ca. 1615, formerly with Agnews, London).  Executed only two or three years later, a work like the very large and colorful Allegory of Fruitfulness is far more successfully organized and reveals a surer command of composition, anatomy, and modeling, but still tends to fill up the image as in a densely conceived bas relief. Typically, several of the figures are quoted directly from Rubens. The allegorical subject of fruitfulness was one that Jordans favored all his life, not simply because it provided an opportunity for him to demonstrate his skill at painting voluptuous female forms, but also because he seems to have instinctively loved nature in full bloom, delighting in a ripeness expressive of earthlv abundance and pleasure.

We might allow that the divergence of the themes ( orgy rather than battle ) accounts for the differences in composition.  What they appear to share is a suffocating feeling of claustrophobia —- there is no air between the bodies.

 

Jordaens, Homage to Pomona, 1623

When Jordaens painted what is in effect the same subject in his beautifully conceived Hommage to Pomona,  some of the earlier crowding has been relieved but the abundance still presses to the fore. The supple figures now are modeled more naturalistically, the heads are more individualized, and the palette less shrill. Jordans often made use of expressive head studies (tronies) in this period. The model for the ruggedly creased face of the old satyr at the right, for example, is Abraham Grapheus, an officer of the St. Luke's Guild who often posed for Jordans and other artists in these years.

Agreed — the crowding has been relieved — but "abundance still presses to the fore"

Jordaens, Young Couple, 1621-2

 Among Jordaens's more formal portraits, the Young Couple in Boston  conveys a refreshing directness and candor even in the absence of any information about the sitters identities. 

It’s a clunky painting - but Yes - I like the expressions on their faces.  Their marriage will be a difficult one.

Jordaens, self portrait, 1615

Jordaens, self portrait, 1619

Jordaens’ self portrait, 1648-50

In contrast to van Dyck, he did not probe the human soul in either his portraits or his history paintings, and would never have depicted himself holding a sunflower, or in the role of Paris, the arbiter of feminine beauty (see, respectively, van Dyck's Self-Portraits in the Duke of Westminster's collection and the Wallace Collection, London); indeed Jordaens few self-portraits reveal little impulse to self-examination. 

Such a serious and sober mask on the portrait of 1648 -  hardly the face of a man who might enjoy the lusty earthiness of his paintings.

The 1615 version is less about righteous determination and more about youthful appetite and curiosity.

The 1619 version is almost fearful. Did he really collect bronze sculptures?

Jordaens, The Painter’s  Family,  1621-2

He is at his best in works like the large group portrait of his family in the Prado where the painter's confidence and pride perfectly complement this affable image of his loved ones.

I like that he gives these subjects some air.   Not sure why he painted an attractive servant girl in between  himself and his wife.  The artist portrayed himself as somber and distant.

Jordaens, Disciples at the Tomb, 1625

……employs a compositional device that jordaens had used in a somewhat earlier painting of Moses Striking the Rock (Karlsruhe, Staatliche Kunschalle, no. 186), of turning all the figures in one direction and having them respond variously to an unseen source of interest, thus heightening the drama. 

Jordaens. The tribute  Money, 1623

Jordaens's very large religious painting of st. Peter Finding the Tribute Money Copenhagen, Statens Museum for Kunst, no. 350) devotes most of the scene to the animated crowd of country folk and livestock who are passengers in a companionably overbooked ferryboat, while Peter appears at the far right on the quay pulling the fish with the coin in its mouth from the water. As a narrator, Jordaens's strength resided in his ability to make the great stories from the scriptures more accessible, not by marginalizing the religious element but by bringing their human dimension to the fore; both literally and figuratively he lent the subjects immediacy by avoiding depth of field, by bringing the viewer close to the quotidian reality of the narrative. 

Standrart called this piece "Ferry Boat to Antwerp" — suggesting that it’s biblical subject matter is less than obvious.

The energetic characterization almost rises above the heaviness and clumpiness  of the design.

Jordaens, Satyr and Peasant, after 1650

Among the mythological subjects that Jordans painted in the late 1610’s and twenties were the Daughters of Cecrops Finding Erichthonius (dated 1617, Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, no. 842; based on Rubens's painting of this subject in the Prince of Liechtenstein collection, Vaduz), Meleager and Atlanta (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, no. 844; and a later treatment in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, no. 1546), Pan and Syrinx (Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, no. 3292), Mercury and Argus (Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, and other versions) and Apollo Flaying Marsyas (Antwerp, Huis Osterrieth). As with Rubens, these pagan stories undoubtedly had a primitive visceral appeal for the artist, though they were no doubt reconciled with Christian faith as earlier incarnations of moral principles, such as one finds in van Mander's ingenious explanations of mythological subjects.  The same is undoubtedly true of Jordaens's memorable illustrations of Aesop's fables, notably the Satyr and the Peasant (versions in Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, no. 425; Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, and the Museum in Göteborg), which show the satyr rising in astonishment at the peasant who can blow both "hot and cold" - a classic admonition against duplicity. Jordans brings the story vividly to life with his compelling portrayal of the peasants and the hoary rugose satyr.

It is compelling - and even more than the fable, it seems to establish the glowing centrality of females in domestic life.

Jordaens, Daughters of Cecrops Discover Erichthonius, 1617

A weird painting befitting a weird story.

Love this detail!

Jordaens, The Feast of the Bean King, 1640-45

During  the 1630’s Jordaens first addressed the themes of "The King Drinks" and "As the Old Ones Sing, the Young Ones Pipe"

Love the wild hilarity - especially in contrast with the calm woman.

It feels like more of an  honest painting than any of the religious scenes that he, Rubens, or Van Dyke ever did.

It appears  that the artist loved food more than he loved Jesus.

Jordaens, The Old Ones Sing, the Young Ones Pipe, 1638

the patron saint of denristry (seriously)

 

 

 

 

 

Jordaens , St. Apollonia, 1628

Jordaens dated no paintings during the decade preceding his St. Apollonia's Martyrdom of 1628 (Augustinian church, Antwerp; Rubens also painted an altarpiece for the same church, identified above, as did van Dyck), which marks a new direction in his art. The vertical organization and large scale of the altarpiece again acknowledge Rubens, but the touch now is more atmospheric, dissolving the contours of forms and reducing their plasticity. Shadows have become more transparent and the palette has shifted toward the reddish end of the color spectrum. After 1640 Jordaens also sought to open up his compositions, abandoning half-lengths for full-length compositions with a greater account of the figures surroundings. At the same time the palette warmed and the brushwork loosened still further.  These stylistic changes follow trends set by Rubens and van Dyck, but Jordaens never achieved the former's ability to organize multiple-figure compositions in space nor the latter's linear grace. 

 

I agree with all of the above.

 

Jordaens did change - but not necessarily for the better.

 

He was better at being Jordaens than at being Rubens or Van Dyke.

Jordaens, Prometheus Chained, 1640

 

 

 

 what a great detail,

equal to Rembrandt's side of bloody beef.

 

Rubens, Prometheus Bound, 1616

Though his version of Prometheus , painted around 1640, is virtually a caricature of the terror and agony of Rubens's maiestic treatment of the subject,  Jordans displays his erudite knowledge of the story's classical sources not only by adding Mercury, who was the executor of Jupiter's revenge, but also a clay figure, recalling that Prometheus created mankind by instilling life into clay figures with the spark purloined from heaven. Thus Jordans alludes to Prometheus's role as the first sculptor, and by extension the first artist. The pile of bones next to the sculpture refer to yet another episode in the story, when Prometheus tried to trick Jupiter by asking him to choose between meat and bones dressed up in meat - a ruse for which Jupiter punished him and which led to the stealing of the divine flame. 

The Rubens Prometheus  is suitable for a manor house - the Jordaens  is more like a movie cinema poster or comic book cover - which I find more engaging - and thought provoking.

Over the past 10,000 years, our species has moved ever further from  the natural order of things.  Can’t blame the pagan nature gods for severely punishing those responsible.

Jordaens, Triumph of Time, 1649

I do identify with the poor dude being wasted by Time

As I "sang in my chains like the sea"

Jordaens; Christ Cleansing the Temple, 1650

A wonderful scene packed with sharp characterizations - though it does feel more like a market brawl than anything else.

Jordaens, Portrait of a noblewoman, 1660

Jordaens, Tribute of the Caliph to Charlemagne , 1653

The two pieces shown above are the latest works that I could find  on the internet, though the artist did live until 1678.

 

His later works are much disparaged - but that 1660 portrait looks pretty good to me.  That transparent fabric flowing over her head does make her feel strong and important- while her eyes feel compassionate and piercing.

Rembrandt, self portrait 1660

Here’s another portrait from the same year.

Obviously the subject is quite different -

but they quite well be a married couple.