Portrait Of A Bullock - Workshop Of Gerrit Van Honthorst (utrecht, 1592-1656)
Oil on canvas. Utrecht Caravaggesque school circa 1625 -1645, signed upper left G. V. honthorst.
The head of a young bullock emerges forcefully from the half-light, giving our portrait great emotional intensity. The side theatricality: it catches the whiteness of the forehead, glides over the curve of the horns and shapes the volumes with sculptural precision. Far from being a simple pastoral subject, our animal is treated as a real character, as was common practice among wealthy who commissioned effigies of their favorite animals: dogs, horses, sometimes parrots, and more rarely, as here bovid.
Our model is of the "old brown piebald" breed widely distributed in the United Provinces in the XVIIᵉ century. And it is a bull calf, not a young cow, as the tuft of hair between the two horns is a characteristic of males of this species. The sober yet incisive style, the frontal nature of the subject and the use of constructed chiaroscuro the aesthetics of Gerrit van Honthorst,known as Gherardo delle Notti. However, the work belongs to his workshop, where collaborators were trained in his luminous language, produced isolated heads for a wider clientele. The solid partial signature G. V. Hontho... in the upper left corresponds precisely to these workshop practices, where the name of the master under his authority.
Our animal portrait, rare in this stylistic context, testifies to the Utrecht painters' fascination with dramatic effects, isolated figures and the silent monumentality of their subjects. This is an outstanding remarkable example of this singular vein, in which the animal becomes a character, and where light, even more than line, builds presence.
We have chosen to present this rare painting in an antique frame in blackened and gilded wood.
Dimensions : 55.2 x 44.6 cm - 76 x 64 cm with frame
Biography : Son and grandson of painters, Gerard van Honthorst (Utrecht 1592 - Id. 1656) was a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert in Utrecht. He was only 18 when he moved to Rome, where he was captivated the art of Caravaggio. He thus fully embraced the new aesthetic imposed by the brilliant Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and it wasn't long before his talent was noticed. Powerful patrons - Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo II de' Medici, but above all the Marquis Gustiniani with whom he stayed - won him major commissions to decorate the churches in Rome. His works, with their strongly contrasting lighting, earned him the nickname "Gherardo delle Notti" (Gerard of the Nights). Returning to Utrecht in 1620, he opened a thriving studio with numerous collaborators. In 1628, he was invited by Charles I to the English court, where he painted several portraits. In 1635, he produced extensive historical compositions for Christian IV, King of Denmark. And in 1637, he became the favorite court painter of Prince Frederick-Henri of Orange-Nassau. He executed mythological decorate the famous Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, and painted numerous portraits, including those of representatives of the Orange-Nassau family.
Bibliophily :
- Gerrit van Honthorst 1592-1656, exhibition catalog, Centraal Museum Utrecht /National Gallery of Art Washington, Zwolle, Waanders Publishers, 1999.
- Judson J.Richard, Ekkart Rudolf E.O., Gerrit van Honthorst 1592-1656, Davaco Publishers, 1999.
- Papi Gianni, Gherardo delle Notti, Gherrit van Honthorst in Italia, Edizione deiSoncino, 1999.
- Helmus Liesbeth M., Ebert Bernd, Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe, Hirmer Publishers, 2018.
- Helmus Liesbeth M., Manuth Volker, Utrecht and the international Caravaggio movement, Paris Tableau, 2014.
- Slive Seymour, Dutch Painting 1600-1800, New Haven / London: Yale University Press, 1995.
- Dutch Portraiture in the Age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Waanders Publishers, various editions.
- E. de Jongh, Portretten van echt en trouw. Huwelijk en gezin in de Nederlandse kunst van dezeventiende eeuw, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum / Zwolle: Waanders Publishers, 1986.
- R. Falkenburg, The Portrait in the Netherlands, Phaidon Press, 2003.
The head of a young bullock emerges forcefully from the half-light, giving our portrait great emotional intensity. The side theatricality: it catches the whiteness of the forehead, glides over the curve of the horns and shapes the volumes with sculptural precision. Far from being a simple pastoral subject, our animal is treated as a real character, as was common practice among wealthy who commissioned effigies of their favorite animals: dogs, horses, sometimes parrots, and more rarely, as here bovid.
Our model is of the "old brown piebald" breed widely distributed in the United Provinces in the XVIIᵉ century. And it is a bull calf, not a young cow, as the tuft of hair between the two horns is a characteristic of males of this species. The sober yet incisive style, the frontal nature of the subject and the use of constructed chiaroscuro the aesthetics of Gerrit van Honthorst,known as Gherardo delle Notti. However, the work belongs to his workshop, where collaborators were trained in his luminous language, produced isolated heads for a wider clientele. The solid partial signature G. V. Hontho... in the upper left corresponds precisely to these workshop practices, where the name of the master under his authority.
Our animal portrait, rare in this stylistic context, testifies to the Utrecht painters' fascination with dramatic effects, isolated figures and the silent monumentality of their subjects. This is an outstanding remarkable example of this singular vein, in which the animal becomes a character, and where light, even more than line, builds presence.
We have chosen to present this rare painting in an antique frame in blackened and gilded wood.
Dimensions : 55.2 x 44.6 cm - 76 x 64 cm with frame
Biography : Son and grandson of painters, Gerard van Honthorst (Utrecht 1592 - Id. 1656) was a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert in Utrecht. He was only 18 when he moved to Rome, where he was captivated the art of Caravaggio. He thus fully embraced the new aesthetic imposed by the brilliant Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and it wasn't long before his talent was noticed. Powerful patrons - Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo II de' Medici, but above all the Marquis Gustiniani with whom he stayed - won him major commissions to decorate the churches in Rome. His works, with their strongly contrasting lighting, earned him the nickname "Gherardo delle Notti" (Gerard of the Nights). Returning to Utrecht in 1620, he opened a thriving studio with numerous collaborators. In 1628, he was invited by Charles I to the English court, where he painted several portraits. In 1635, he produced extensive historical compositions for Christian IV, King of Denmark. And in 1637, he became the favorite court painter of Prince Frederick-Henri of Orange-Nassau. He executed mythological decorate the famous Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, and painted numerous portraits, including those of representatives of the Orange-Nassau family.
Bibliophily :
- Gerrit van Honthorst 1592-1656, exhibition catalog, Centraal Museum Utrecht /National Gallery of Art Washington, Zwolle, Waanders Publishers, 1999.
- Judson J.Richard, Ekkart Rudolf E.O., Gerrit van Honthorst 1592-1656, Davaco Publishers, 1999.
- Papi Gianni, Gherardo delle Notti, Gherrit van Honthorst in Italia, Edizione deiSoncino, 1999.
- Helmus Liesbeth M., Ebert Bernd, Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe, Hirmer Publishers, 2018.
- Helmus Liesbeth M., Manuth Volker, Utrecht and the international Caravaggio movement, Paris Tableau, 2014.
- Slive Seymour, Dutch Painting 1600-1800, New Haven / London: Yale University Press, 1995.
- Dutch Portraiture in the Age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Waanders Publishers, various editions.
- E. de Jongh, Portretten van echt en trouw. Huwelijk en gezin in de Nederlandse kunst van dezeventiende eeuw, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum / Zwolle: Waanders Publishers, 1986.
- R. Falkenburg, The Portrait in the Netherlands, Phaidon Press, 2003.
13 500 €
Period: 17th century
Style: Louis 14th, Regency
Condition: Excellent condition
Material: Oil painting
Width: 64
Height: 76
Reference (ID): 1768460
Availability: In stock
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