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| MATTERS OF TASTE |
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GENRE AND STILL LIFE PAINTING IN THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE |
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Introduction: the Reformation and a Changing Art Market As the Protestant Reformation spread through Northern Europe during the 16th century, Catholic religious artwork increasingly came under physical attack. The Netherlands suffered its first of these iconoclastic movements in 1566, when Catholic churches, monasteries and convents across a string of neighboring Dutch towns were looted and destroyed. These events marked the start of the Dutch Reformation, and Church property that survived initial attacks was eventually confiscated for Protestant or municipal use. The Netherlands officially adopted Calvinism as its state religion during the 1618 and 1622 Synods of Dordrecht.
With this shift from Catholicism to Protestantism, Church patronage of the arts virtually halted in the Netherlands. Unlike Roman Catholics, Protestants considered depictions of the saints and biblical scenes idolatrous, and preferred their churches to have plain white walls, which were thought to provoke contemplation among worshippers. Though Calvin had strongly denounced “idolatrous” paintings, he sanctioned the use of artwork for decorative or didactic purposes in the home.
Though the government continued to commission history paintings, and some wealthy patrons commissioned portraits—especially of wedding parties, families, or individual adults or children—most Dutch artists now relied on the open art market to sell their works. During the 17th century, Netherlanders bought directly from artists’ studios, from art dealers or bookshops, or from temporary stands set up at kermis (street fairs).
The Popularity of Pictures: Burghers as Art Collectors Despite a significant shift in cultural attitudes towards religion and art, the market for paintings remained strong in the Netherlands throughout much of the 17th century. Art markets flourished in the larger cities of Amsterdam, Delft, Haarlem, and The Hague, but even most small towns could boast at least a few resident painters. In fact, some Dutch communities had more artists than they did butchers.
Burghers, or burgerlijk, created much of this demand for original artwork. Traditionally demonstrating their prosperity with luxurious living spaces rather than with fine clothing or other accessories, Dutch burghers sought larger homes—and more artwork with which to decorate them—as the economy flourished during the 17th century. This was especially true following the 1648 peace with Spain.
Opinions vary as to whether or not the lower socio-economic classes also had significant access to the art market. In response to this question, many scholars have cited the accounts of 17th-century travelers such as William Aglionby and John Evelyn, who wrote, “pictures are very common here [in the Netherlands], there being scarce an ordinary tradesman whose house is not decorated with them.”
While Evelyn’s comment was likely based in truth, it is important to note that the pictures he mentions could have varied greatly in quality from household to household, since art objects belonging to a range of price brackets were available for purchase in 17th-century Netherlands. A cheap engraving, for example, could be had for about a third of the price of a small fish or flower still life painting—and for about a seventh of the price of a more elaborate, high-finish banketje still life.
In light of these facts, Mariet Westermann’s impressions may be most accurate. While Westermann acknowledges that “[the Dutch art] market catered [to] various interests and levels of income and social status,” she rejects accounts such as Evelyn’s as overly-enthusiastic, firmly asserting that “…laborers and small peasants surely could not afford more than a few mediocre prints, if that.”
Guilds: Hubs of the Art Market As Church patronage gave way to an open art market, guilds played an increasingly important role in Dutch arts culture. Although Clara Peeters is a notable exception, most participants in the art market—painters, etchers, engravers, art dealers, architects, book publishers, and printers—belonged to these business organizations.
Aspiring painters could seek guild membership after successfully completing an apprenticeship with a master painter. Guild membership allowed painters to establish their own workshops, but many young artists without adequate funds chose to continue employment with their masters.
Though a newly competitive art market led many painters to specialize their subject matter—once an especially popular formula had been determined, painters tended to repeat it in hopes of maintaining their profit level —Golden Age Dutch painters on the whole addressed a number of subject areas. Among others, they created genre, still life and history paintings, landscapes, seascapes and group portraits. “Matters of Taste” focuses specifically on still life and genre paintings for their more frequent references to dietary habits of the period.
Genre Painting Genre paintings depict scenes or events from everyday life. A French word meaning a “type” or “sort,” the term genre did not acquire its current art historical usage until the late 19th century. During the 17th century, genre paintings were occasionally referred to by the general term beeldeken— meaning “painting with little figures”—but were more commonly categorized according to their specific subject matter. Coortegardjes, for example, portray soldiers at rest or play, while conversaties feature fashionable young men and women eating, drinking and playing musical instruments together. In addition to these popular subjects, genre paintings also frequently depict taverns, kitchens, open-air markets, and festive occasions such as weddings, births, or holidays.
Scholars have interpreted Golden Age genre paintings in a number of ways. Some historians have pursued complicated connections between genre paintings and emblem books of the period. Since emblem books were published in a variety of forms—from expensive leather-bound editions to cheaply made copies—they were affordable to most Netherlanders. Moreover, since the nation enjoyed particularly high literacy rates during the 17th century, even members of lower socio-economic classes likely possessed the ability to read. Widely accessible in these ways, Scholar Christopher Brown calls emblem books a “truly popular” form of literature, and argues that artists might likely have communicated to viewers by referencing the popular rhymes. Importantly, however, this way of viewing Golden Age genre painting often fails in that items with conflicting or unrelated associations appear in the same work.
Still Life Paintings Still Life paintings feature arrangements of inanimate objects, although small insects or animals are occasionally included. As with Golden Age genre paintings, Dutch still lifes of this period were—and largely still are—categorized according to their specific subject matter.
Banquet pieces (banketje), for example, depict lavish arrangements of expensive foodstuffs and serving pieces, and might include such luxury items as lobsters, oysters, exotic fruits, and decorated pies in raised crusts.
Breakfast pieces, by contrast, feature simple foodstuffs, such as herring, ham or cheese with a bread roll and a glass of beer or wine. Though ontbijtje translates literally from the Dutch as “little breakfast,” paintings categorized as such evidently do not necessarily depict elements of a typical Dutch breakfast.
Game pieces portray arrangements of poultry, duck, capon, suckling pig, hare, rabbit, or—as its title suggests—any other type of game, while fruit pieces (fruytjes), ham pieces (hammetjes) and tobacco pieces (tabakjes) were also recognized categories of still life painting.
As is the case with genre pieces, controversy concerning the “meaning” of these artworks persists, and many theories have been offered. Some historians have suggested that still life paintings depicting rich foods and serving pieces were purchased by the lesser classes, as attempts to associate themselves with the nobility. Others believe such still lifes stand as expressions of patriotic—rather than personal—pride in a newly independent and prosperous nation.
On the other hand, such still lifes have been identified as vanitas pieces—so-called “moral compasses” designed to invite viewers to recognize the flimsiness of earthly life and pleasures.
In interpreting either genre or still life paintings, it is important to keep in mind that these works likely meant different things to different viewers in the 17th century, as they do to viewers today. As Westermann argues, the adoption of a single “meaning” for any work of art can ultimately only weaken its voice.
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