Saturday, January 7, 2012

Saturday Salon: A Favorite Painting or Two.....or Three!




Detail - playing 'golf' on the ice, a forerunner to ice hockey









Detail





















Hendrick Avercamp (1585 - 1634) was a deaf mute Dutch painter, born in Amsterdam and particularly well known for his winter landscapes, often showing ice skaters on frozen lakes. These panoramic paintings, originally influenced by the Flemish style but done in the new realism of the era, were very popular during Avercamp's lifetime.

The painting I'm currently using in my blog header is by Avercamp.

I particularly like the little vignettes he fashions within the broader scope of his paintings. Each figure or small group of figures appears to he doing something individualistic, something interesting. Each person is dressed in his or her own style - his or her own class.

Avercamp brings even the more mundane of daily activities of these 15th century citizens to life, including their dogs. One only has to look closely. His paintings are time capsules teeming with life.

To learn about Hendrick Avercamp, please use this link.

Watch a fascinating trailer pertaining to a past exhibition of Avercamp's work at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Holland, here, narrated in English.

13 comments:

  1. How wonderful and fun these paintings are! I had never heard of Avercamp before. So glad you brought him to my attention.

    Happy New Year, Yvette!

    mjoy

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  2. These are so much fun! I wish I had a frozen-over winter wonderland like in these paintings. Several times in the 17th century, the Thames froze solid and the city of London gave an ice festival on the frozen river. Must have been magnificent!

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  3. Thanks, Marilyn. A Happy New Year to you as well.

    I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Avercamp isn't as famous as other Dutch painters, but he deserves to be. :)

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  4. Lauren: Well, you could always get a print and hang it in your house and make believe. :)

    I'd heard about the frozen Thames. It must have been something.

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  5. Amazing. I guess his "vision" was excellent as he painted so well, although he was hearing- and speech-impaired.

    Great you keep finding these new to us artists.

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  6. Dear Yvette what I like about your blog is that you keep introducing me to new painters-thanks

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  7. Kathy: Sharper sense of 'vision' - oh yes, he saw so many wonderful things and put them in his paintings.

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  8. I agree, Ryan. If you concentrate on these paintings and really focus, you almost feel the chill and smell the musty clothing - people didn't bathe all that much in those days and the outer wear didn't get much washing.

    You can really get into the painting if you concentrate. I love it. It's a bit like time travel. :)

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  9. You're welcome, Rosemary. I'm glad you're enjoying my blog. These Saturday Salon artist posts are great fun for me to work on. :)

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  10. These are terrific paintings! I enjoyed every one of them. I agree that each element in the paintings stands out individually even as they're a part of the big picture. Like a jigsaw puzzle in reverse.

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  11. Exactly, Prashant. I know what you mean.

    I would love to see these in person sometime.

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