JAN VAN DER VUCHT - AN IDEAL CATHEDRAL INTERIOR

Name: JAN VAN DER VUCHT - AN IDEAL CATHEDRAL INTERIOR
Brand: Classicartworks
SKU: CA2016
Availability: OutOfStock

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JAN VAN DER VUCHT (1603-1637)

AN IDEAL CATHEDRAL INTERIOR

signed I V [...]
oil on panel
19.5 x 23.5 cm.

PROVENANCE:
Vera Tersmeden (1892‑1987), Stockholm;
Thence by descent

COMPARATIVE PAINTINGS:
Sotheby's
THE INTERIOR OF A CATHEDRAL WITH SOLDIERS IN THE FOREGROUND
18,5 x 23,5cm , signed L.V.Vucht
Sold: 11300€ (inc buyers premium)
Read more here

IDEAL ARCHITECTURE IN THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE

Despite a short career that ended with his death by his mid-30s, the mesmerizing paintings of Jan van der Vucht (1603-1637) are an important contribution to the genre of architectural visions in Dutch golden age art. His spacious and elegant interiors represent an ideal world of classical orders with an intense, light-filled and dreamlike atmosphere. With its striking perspectives yet delicate composition, this painting gives a rare glimpse into the imagination of an artist working right in the shift between Renaissance and Baroque.

Born in Rotterdam around 1603, Jan van der Vucht’s life coincided with one of the most dynamic periods in Dutch art. He was a student of Bartholomeus van Bassen and shared artistic similarities with painters like Hendrik van Steenwijk the younger and others who specialized in interiors, especially of churches. The graphics arts of Hans Vredeman de Vries were another major inspiration that also gave Vucht his understanding of space and perspective. By Vucht’s lifetime, the Dutch Republic had become one of the most powerful nations in the world due to its success in trade, military, science and culture. This allowed an astounding variety of different artistic genres to co-exist, and many of them are still world-famous today. From the increased interest in realism and exact depictions to motifs of mythology, fantasy architecture and idealized worlds, art became an increasingly important method to understand and reflect both the reality and the visions of this period. Van der Vucht certainly belonged to category of vision and dreams and excelled in creating interiors were he effortlessly mixed inspirations from existing buildings, architectural engravings and pattern books, and his own imagination.

From the book” Perspective” by Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527–1606). De Vries influenced many artists, architects and artisans through introducing a new way of dealing with perspective and proportions, that release new creative possibilities.

In fact, clear borders between fiction and reality seems not to have existed in the mind of Vucht. Instead, his entire artistic endeavour was to explore meditative and intriguing images that transports the viewer into an otherworldly dimension, expanding in the mind far beyond the limits of the canvas. The sense of architectural depth and precision, the placement of the figures to create an impression of how it was to move around in these fantastical interiors; all were results of this method were the artistic freedom was the key.

Vucht often included people from all parts of society; from the begging poor to the glamorously dressed rich.

The clever contrast between the Corinthian order (to the left) withs its acanthus-clad and ornate capitals with the plainer Tuscan order (to the right) typically reference different moods in the architecture, from the celebratory to the contemplative.

This painting shows a cathedral interior in an entirely classical architecture with columns in the stern Tuscan and lavish Corinthian orders, an impressive dome and vaulted aisles leading on to even more spaces. The architecture is made out of a stone in a soft, limestone-like colour that complement the light bluish grey and whites of the chequered floor. No less than nineteen different people are wandering around in the interior; some of them praying or begging; some of them conversating and dressed in fine clothing. The combination of people from different places in society is significant. Surrounding the figures are numerous details and symbols such as the shining brass chandelier in the center; the suggestively painted ornamental embellishments with acanthus scrolls in the friezes and spandrels of the architecture; the dramatic interplay between shadow and light on the floor and in the vaults.

The more time on spend looking on this seemingly serene composition; the more one discovers its complex relationships between movement, space, light and symbolic power.

The striking perspective directs the eye both to the center and beyond; but at the same time invites the viewer to the figures and numerous details. The symmetry is not slavish; note that the brass chandelier is placed slightly more to the right – a subtle way of balancing the strictness of the geometry with the more human approachability of the irregular.

With merely fifty-five signed or attributed works, much still remains to be discovered with the art of Jan Van der Vucht. With this painting added to his legacy however, new research possibilities and questions arises that can add valuable knowledge to this exciting time in the history of art where architecture, ideals and reality all come together in one harmony. And regardless of its intended intellectual content and references, as a piece of art it requires no explanation to convey its mystical and beautiful message to the viewer.

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