Still Life with Asparagus, Adriaen Coorte, 1697
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Portrait of a Couple, Probably Isaac Abrahamsz Massa and Beatrix van der Laen, Frans Hals, c. 1622
Model of the William Rex, Adriaen de Vriend, Adriaen Davidsen, Cornelis Moerman, 1698
Dolls’ house of Petronella Oortman, anonymous, c. 1686 - c. 1710
Flower pyramid, De Metaale Pot (attributed to), after Lambertus van Eenhoorn, c. 1692 - c. 1700
The artist Jan Steen is an all-rounder as a painter. He paints with ease a lively partying family with facial expression and emotions. As if we are looking at a cliffhanger of a humorous film or a play. In addition, he knows how to display the inside and outside world, as well as the many still life objects in all their finesse.
In the 17th century you could make a career if you were part of the local militia. The shooting club is the place to network. The main members had themselves portrayed as a group, not meant for private, but for the association building. Rembrandt painted a group portrait of gunners in an unprecedented way. The group is not depicted as usual, statically in a row like a football or soccer team. But as a theatrical group in action on stage. As if they step into our world, the world of the spectator.
The beautiful bare-shouldered lady is painted with soft transitions from light to dark. Her eyes fall into the shadow of the wide-brimmed hat. She symbolizes the summer season. Contrary to the strong light-dark aspect of painters like Rembrandt, there were also fine painters who worked more in subtle nuances of color.
As if a small group just ate and left the table messy. The expression of the different materials such as gilded, silver, tin, glass, oysters, lemon and damask seems deceptively real. Willem Claesz Heda shows what his market value is in this painting.