1. Dutch Art in the 17th Century

2. The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, 1632

3. JosephWright of Derby, 1768

5. The Scientific Revolution The development of Royal Societies in the 16th century – the sharing of knowledge, public demonstrations (Rembrandt, Thomas Wright) The move away from Ptolemaic astronomy and a heliocentric view of the universe Understanding Nature from Observation, not from authoritative texts or governing bodies The Idea that Human Reason can provide for the betterment of human life on earth (as opposed to Faith and Ceremony) The profound questioning of authority in any guise

7. The Bird in a glass Bowl which is about to be sealed and air pumped out Birdcage – if it lives (or dies) Moonlight and the Enlightenment (reference to the Lunar Society) 2 sisters, torn between curiosity and distress The Philosopher The Modern magician Blind Love Questioning Gesture Candle for Light and Skull Fascinated Observer Our Invitation The Experiment With An Air Pump

8. Giordano Bruno 1548 – 1600 Burned alive by the Inquisition in Rome There is neither limit nor center to the universe – everything depends on the relative point of observation. Suggested the vast number of other worlds and universes

9. Michel de Montaigne 1522-1592 Virulent critic of medieval Scholasticism “I aim here only at revealing myself, who will perhaps be different tomorrow, if I learn something new which changes me. I have no authority to be believed, nor do I want it, feeling myself too ill-instructed to instruct others.” Intellectual detachment is necessary to understanding. Proponent of diversity in nature and man, and the need for tolerance.

10. Rene Descartes 1596 – 1650 Determined to find a unified system of nature based on mathematics The first step is to wipe away all earlier and accepted authority Believe only in that which can be proved through observation Cogito ergo sum

11. Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679 Pre-social state of man is a life that is “nasty, brutish and short” We enter into a social contract based on mutual self-interest Sovereignty gains its authority through psychological reasons, not theological We are limited in our knowledge of the external world by our interpretations of the stimuli we receive Author of Leviathan

12. John Locke 1632-1704 Concentrated on the faculty of knowledge, or how we come to know what we know - epistemology Insisted on natural morality of pre-social man Ruling bodies that offend against natural morality must be deposed We are born with the tabula rosa

13. The Principia Isaac newton (1642-1727) Offered irrefutable proof – mathematical proof – that Nature had order and meaning that was not based on Faith but on human Reason The notion of progress in the human mind toward an ultimate end If definable laws can be discerned to govern Nature, they can be discerned to govern men and society The notion that bodies at a distance are governed in their motion by a specific force that can be measured (gravity).

14. Dutch Painters of the Baroque Characteristics of Dutch Art: No church or aristocracy to commission paintings Art has a bourgeois character Paintings used to cover bare walls, give pleasure to the eye Cheerful subjects, unpleasant ones are given a humorous slant Artists worked on the open market, not for patrons: specialization according to subject matter Small paintings for small homes Subjects were easily understandable, some allegorical representations, no religious ecstasies and few pagan myths

15. Jacob van RuisdaelPieter de HoochJan Steen Willem Heda Pieter Saenredam

16. Dutch Painters of the Baroque Jacob van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem from the Dunes at Overveen Flat horizon of the Netherlands: sky takes up ¾ of painting Sullen clouds, dramatically painted Receding spaces through dark and light passages Bleaching linen manufactured in Holland Long strips of treated cloth were spread out to bleach in the fields Openness and height, very distant and elevated point-of-view

17. Jacob van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds, c 1665

18. Dutch Painters of the Baroque Jan Steen, The Feast of Saint Nicholas Genre painting Saint Nicholas has visited the children with various results A girl grabs her doll as her mother pleads to look at it, or perhaps asks her to share Boy at left is crying over his disappointed gift Chaos in search for gifts Man on right points out to small child how Saint Nicholas descended the chimney Ten figures in a complex arrangement Complicated series of diagonals unify figures that seem to bend this way and that in reflection of one another Adult meaning to this children’s scene

19. Jan Steen, 1663

20. Willem Claez Heda, 1648

22. No static arrangements; no interaction

23. Strong horizontal emphasis with vertical spears punctuating the composition

24. Left group around dominant figure of Col. Johan Claez. Loo, his cane indicates his authority

25. Right group is a separate unit: Lt. Hendrick Gerritsz. Pot holds a book (minutes of meeting?)

26. Back to back groups

27. Distinct individuality of figures

30. We look in, they are unaware

31. Figures framed by portal and a curtain

32. Smile on servant, surprised look on the woman

33. Woman is well-dressed, holding a lute

34. A lute was a symbol of serenading, hence of love

35. Is a love letter being brought?

37. Dutch Painters of the Baroque Rembrandt, Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Tulp First great commission Dutch law: open cadavers of executed criminals only, allowed for entertainment purposes like this Specific anatomy lesson in January 1632 Lessons took 4-5 days, Descartes may have attended this one Dr. Tulp is singled out seated in a chair of honor He wears a broad rimmed hat: academic badge of chairman His hands (alone) are prominently shown Cadaver’s body compared to the book at right Caravaggesque background Figures stare out into space

38. Dutch Painters of the Baroque Rembrandt, The Night Watch 18 men portrayed in the commission, represented according to how much they paid, but 29 figures in total, 2 figures cut off when the painting was cut down at left Civic guard group getting ready for a march, makes for a lively composition Captain Frans Banning Cocq holds a baton in right hand and wears a red sash, wears a gorget of steel barely visible under his white collar Captain gestures as if to speak Orders given to his lieutenant to march forward Central figures come forward Use of musket shown: musketeer in red is charging his musket by transferring powder into the muzzle from one of the wooden cartridges attached to his bandolier Figure behind Cocq is firing musket Third figure behind lieutenant is clearing the pan by blowing off the powder that remained there after the shot Deep chiaroscuro Liveliness of figures, psychological penetration

39. The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq, 1642

40. Dutch Painters of the Baroque Rembrandt, Self-Portrait Probed states of human soul Changing lights and darks suggest changing of human mood Self-satisfied artist at the height of his career

42. Oath of Claudius Civilis

44. Self-assured, charming, sociable

45. Meets the viewer’s gaze, as if to speak to us

46. Signed her paintings with her initials and a star, punning meaning of her name “leading star”

47. Well-dressed while painting

48. Quick sure brushstrokes