6.4 Pre-Rembrandtists and Caravaggists
1
Pieter Lastman
Pastoral scene (Granida and Daifilo), dated 1624
Gdańsk, Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku, inv./cat.nr. MNG/SD/282/M
2
Jan Tengnagel
Lot and his family fleeing Sodom (Genesis 19 : 15-18)
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.175 MNW
3
Pieter Lastman
The anger of Ahasverus; Haman begging Esther for mercy (Esther 1:10), 1618 or 1619
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.558
4
Claes Moeyaert
Raising of Lazarus (Jn 11, 41–44), dated 16.4, probably 1654
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.557 MNW
The Pre-Rembrandtists and the followers of Caravaggio, two groups of artists who introduced and developed the Baroque storia formula within Dutch painting, are also well represented in Poland. There are paintings by Rembrandt’s teacher Pieter Lastman, The Pastoral Idyll in Gdańsk [1] and The Feast of Esther in Warsaw [2],1 and pictures by Jan Tengnagel and Nicolaes Moeyaert in Warsaw and in Łódź [3-5].2 Rembrandt’s studio mate Jan Lievens is the creator of two early – and surprisingly Caravaggesque – paintings from about 1625: A Boy Blowing on Coals and A Boy Lighting a Torch in the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów [6-7].3
Northern Caravaggesque movement is further represented by compositions by Jan van Bijlert [8], Jan ter Borch [9], Jan Jansz. van Bronchorst [10] and Matthias Stom [11] in Warsaw4 and the Denial of Saint Peter from Dirck van Baburen’s workshop [12].5 A very interesting painting attributed to Matthias Stom, the Incredulity of Thomas, was signalled in St. Mary Magdalen’s church at Maszków [13].6
5
Claes Moeyaert
Joseph's blood-stained coat is brought and shown to Jacob (Genesis 37:32-35), dated 1624
Łódź, Muzeum Sztuki w Lodzi, inv./cat.nr. MS/SO/M/80
6
Jan Lievens
Young man with a pipe, blowing on glowing coals, c. 1625
Wilanów (Warsaw), Muzeum Pałacu Króla Jana III w Wilanowie, inv./cat.nr. Wil.1525
7
Jan Lievens
Boy lighting a torch, allegory of sight, c. 1625
Wilanów (Warsaw), Muzeum Pałacu Króla Jana III w Wilanowie, inv./cat.nr. Wil. 1526
8
Jan van Bijlert
At the procuress'
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.1642 MNW
9
attributed to Jan ter Borch
The supper at Emmaus
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.2368 MNW
10
possibly Johan van Bronchorst or circle of Jan van Bijlert
Two young women and two young men making music, 1635-1645 or 1650-1656
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.532 MNW
11
Matthias Stom
Saint Peter in prayer, seated at a table by an oil lamp, c. 1633-1640
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.1890
12
follower of Dirck van Baburen
The denial of Saint Peter
Kraków, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie, inv./cat.nr. MNK ND 850
13
Matthias Stom
Thomas touching the wound in Christ's side, c. 1632-1639
Maszków (Małopolskie), St. Mary Magdalen’s church (Maszków)
Polish collections boast two important paintings by Hendrik ter Brugghen, an early Pilate Washing His Hands in the Regional Museum in Lublin [14], and a late King David Playing the Harp in Warsaw [15].7 Wouter Crabeth from Gouda painted a dramatically Caravaggio-inspired theme in Card Sharps, while Theodor Rombouts treated a similar subject in a more elegant manner (both in Warsaw) [16-17]. Pendant paintings showing Bacchus and Ariadne from ca. 1620 in Poznań have been attributed both to the Caravaggionist Paulus Bor and to the Haarlem classicist Salomon de Bray [18-19].8 Warsaw Museum owns a very fine painting by the latter’s brother Jan de Bray – Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes [20].9
14
Hendrick ter Brugghen
Pilate washing his hands (in innocence), c. 1618-1619
Lublin, Muzeum Lubelskie w Lublinie, inv./cat.nr. S/Mal/1611 /MI
15
Hendrick ter Brugghen
King David playing the harp, surrounded by four angels, dated 1628
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.529 MNW
16
Theodoor Rombouts
Card players and a man playing the theorbo, c. 1634-1637
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.575
17
Wouter Crabeth (II)
Young courtisane playing cards with two men at a table, an old procuress in the background, after 1626
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.531 MNW
18
attributed to Paulus Bor
Bacchus, c. 1630
Poznań, Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu, inv./cat.nr. MNP MO 883
19
attributed to Paulus Bor
Ariadne, c. 1630
Poznań, Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu, inv./cat.nr. MNP MO 882
20
Jan de Braij
Achilles discovered among the daughters of Lycomedes, dated 1664
Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv./cat.nr. M.Ob.530
Notes
1 Klessmann 1988, cat. no. 1.
2 Jacob Despairing over Joseph's Bloody Coat by Moeyaert was a long–term deposit of the Museum of Art in Łódź in the National Museum in Warsaw, and returned in 2012: Tümpel 1974, part I, p. 83; part II, no. 43, fig.107; Michałkowa 1992, no. 91; Kacprzak 2003, cat. no. I.22, pp. 112–114.
3 Klessmann 1979, cat. nos. 6–7; Mieleszko 2005, cat. nos. 55–56.
4 These and other works of both northern and southern European Caravaggionists in: Kilian/Ziemba 1996.
5 Dec/Wałek 2010, p. 487.
6 Majoch 2006–2007; after the conservation treatment the painting’s attribution was confirmed and it will be published in a monograph prepared by Claudio Malice from the Accademia di Belle Arti de L’Aquila.
7 Klessmann 1988, cat. no. 3; Monkiewicz 1996.
8 Nicolson 1979; Blankert 1999, cat. nos. 21, 22.
9 Blankert 1999, cat. no. 57; Folga-Januszewska/Ziemba 2004, cat. no. 76.