Flemish and Dutch Old Masters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer, who lived in the city of Delft in what is now South Holland province of the Netherlands, was an art dealer as well as painter. He was moderately successful in his time and achieved local fame, but largely faded into obscurity after his death. He was rediscovered in the mid-nineteenth century largely through the efforts of a French art critic, Étienne-Joseph-Théophile Thoré (also known as Théophile Thoré-Bürger) who was so impressed by seeing Vermeer's painting "View of Delft" that he spent years researching and cataloguing the artist's works. As for "Girl with a Pearl Earring," a Dutch art critic was able to purchase it in 1881 for a mere two guilders (equivalent to about 2 euros in 2022 values), as it was in poor condition at the time. Since then, the painting has become so famous it has been called "the Mona Lisa of the North."

The portrait is striking for the intimacy with which the girl gazes at the viewer and demonstrates Vermeer's mastery of the use of light to create a soft image of the girl's face, while her lips and earring reflect the effects of light on different surfaces. Although her earring is widely assumed to be a pearl, its shape and size make this is unlikely, and Dutch astrophysicist Vincent Icke argued that because of its specular reflection it is probably a piece of polished tin. Due to the painting's age some of the colour and details have faded, although a restoration in 1994 helped enhance the work's subtle colour scheme. Because of the absence of background features and the girl's lack of eyebrows, many art scholars have assumed that the girl is not a portrait of any specific individual but may have been intended as a study in facial expression and the effects of light, or even an idealised image of femininity. However, a detailed study in 2018 by a team of art experts using microscopes and x-rays revealed hidden details, such as delicate eyelashes and a green curtain behind the head, which suggested that the painting is a portrait of a real girl in a real space. The painting has inspired several literary works, including a 1999 novel and a 2003 film adaptation thereof starring Scarlett Johansson as the titular girl.

Answer: Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck was active in Bruges, County of Flanders, in what is now Belgium. He is considered a major pioneer in the "Northern Renaissance" and is credited with the invention of the oil-glazing technique, in which the artist would begin with a monochromatic drawing and add transparent layers of oil of a single colour, allowing for rich details and luminous hues.

"Arnolfini Wedding", also known by a variety of other names, such as "The Arnolfini Portrait", is his most famous work. Considered one of the most complex works in western art, the painting is remarkable in depicting an everyday scene that is packed with rich symbolism, with nearly every element of the painting having some deeper meaning. For example, the woman's position near the bed appears to be symbolic of her role as the caretaker of the house, while that of the man near the open window symbolises his role in the outside world. The concave mirror on the rear wall is decorated with scenes from the life of Christ, indicating religious significance in an apparently secular scene. Within the mirror itself can be seen the reflection of another couple, otherwise unseen, watching the central pair, perhaps as if they are witnessing their marriage. Some have suggested that the small dog at the woman's feet is a symbol of faithfulness, while the green colour of her dress represents fertility and the hope of having children.

Contrary to what viewers might at first assume, many art historians believe that the woman in the painting was not pregnant - instead, she may have bundled her voluminous and expensive robes in front of her in a way that was fashionable at the time. The very fine and elaborate clothing, trimmed with fur, worn by the couple in the painting, along with the expensive furnishings in their bedroom, such as stained-glass windows, brass chandelier, ornate mirror, and oriental carpet, indicate that they were quite wealthy. Debate continues about the identity of the couple in the painting. Based on an entry in a sixteenth century inventory, it was once widely thought that they were Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini, a wealthy Italian merchant who had an office in Bruges, and his wife Giovanna Cenam. However, this is now considered unlikely, as they were not married until six years after van Eyck's death! Whoever he is, the man in the painting also appears to be the subject of another van Eyck painting known as "Portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini", leading some to think he may have been a personal friend of the painter.

Answer: Judith Leyster

Judith Leyster was a successful seventeenth century painter, who was married to another noted painter, Jan Miense Molenaer. Although well-recognised and respected in her own time, she was largely forgotten after her death and her entire body of work was attributed to either Frans Hals or her husband. Although part of this confusion may have resulted from the similarity of their styles, it may also have involved deliberate fraud by crooked art dealers who tried to pass off her works as by the more famous Hals. One of her paintings, the "Carousing Couple" (also known as "The Jolly Companions"), even had a forged signature of Hals added, although Leyster's monogram was discovered underneath in 1892. The purchaser successfully sued the dealer for misrepresentation, having been assured the painting was not only an authentic Hals, but "one of the finest he ever painted."

Leyster was noted for painting lively scenes of musicians and drinkers that captured the leisure and entertainment of the time. Although her subjects generally appear to be having a good time, her paintings often contain subtle moral warnings about over-indulgence. The painting pictured here, "The Merry Trio", is representative of this genre. It depicts a bright daylight festive scene involving three men laughing and dancing to music. This painting is believed to be a companion piece to another Leyster painting called "The Last Drop," which depicts two men smoking and drinking in a candlelit room, with a skeleton nearby, to which they appear oblivious. In contrast to the festive yet apparently sober scene in "The Merry Trio", the men in "The Last Drop" appear much more drunken and undignified. The latter painting appears to be a warning of the dangers of drinking and smoking, as well as the vanity of human life, represented by the skeleton.

Answer: Diana

Peter Paul Rubens lived in the Flemish Duchy of Brabant in what was then the Southern Netherlands, although it now forms part of modern-day Belgium. As well as being an extraordinarily prolific painter - over 1400 surviving works have been attributed to him - he also performed diplomatic missions for the Spanish Hapsburg monarchy in which he clandestinely gathered sensitive information, making him a kind of spy! He was noted for his unique style that was both dramatic and sensual, and painted in a wide range of genres, including portraiture, landscapes, historical, religious, allegorical, and mythological subjects.

The painting shown here is called "Diana Returning from Hunt" - it provides a striking contrast between the purity of the virgin huntress Diana and her attendants, who carry birds and a dead hare from their recent hunt, with the sensuality of the lecherous satyrs who bear ripe fruit, which has been suggested to symbolize the intoxicating power of wine. The subject of hunting was popular with Rubens' aristocratic patrons, as it was an exclusively upper-class activity. As Diana was, among other things goddess of the hunt, she was an ideal subject, who allowed him to combine hunting scenes with classical themes.

Answer: Room-views

Pieter de Hooch was a Dutch Golden Age painter, born in Rotterdam, who studied art in Haarlem under the landscape painter Nicolaes Berchem. He was a contemporary of Vermeer, and lived for a period in Delft at the same time as the latter artist. Art historians have noted similarities in themes and compositions between the two artists, such as indoor scenes of everyday life, which are combined with attention to the interior geometry of the scene and sophisticated use of light. There is evidence that Vermeer was influenced by de Hooch's work.

Pieter de Hooch is noted for painting a large number of well-lit indoor scenes featuring an open doorway, hence, the use of the term "room-views" to describe much of his work. "Cardplayers in a Sunlit Room" is a prime example: it shows a man and a woman playing cards at a table, while two other men look on, in a large room with bright sunlight coming in through a window and doorway. The room may be an inn, as the woman outside appears to be a maid holding a jug, with which she may refill the patrons' cups. It has been suggested that the two men on the right are colluding in cheating - the standing man looks at the woman's cards, while the seated player grins as he plays his card. Additionally, like many of his works, the scene is relatively uncluttered with objects, allowing the viewer to focus on the people and their relationships with each other.

Answer: A messy scene

Jan Steen was one of the most prolific Dutch Golden Age painters, producing over 800 works, about 350 of which are known to have survived. Although his paintings typically portray realistic scenes from everyday life, they frequently contained allegorical meanings and theatrical elements. For example, he painted a series of works in which a doctor visits a pregnant young woman. Strikingly, the doctor is dressed comically in a style that was fashionable a hundred years earlier, while the woman wears contemporary dress, suggesting that the doctor is an actor in a theatrical costume.

In "The Drawing Lesson", an artist instructs a young boy and a fashionably dressed young woman. On the table is a plaster cast of a nude male, which may be the subject of the lesson that they are learning to draw, along with pens, brushes, and charcoal pencils. However, the studio is cluttered with many other items, such as plaster casts hanging from a shelf, a large tapestry hanging in the background, a stretched canvas leaning against a trunk, and several musical instruments. Several items are piled on the floor in the right foreground, including a skull, which are related to the traditional theme of "vanitas" (vanity) and serve as a reminder that life and fame are fleeting. The cluttered and even disorderly scenes depicted in many of his paintings therefore led people to refer to a chaotic and messy domestic scene as a proverbial "Jan Steen household".

Answer: Proverbs

Pieter Brueghel the Elder, born in the sixteenth century in or around Breda, in the southern part of the Netherlands, had a major formative influence on the Northern Renaissance. He was noted for large paintings depicting scenes of peasant life that celebrated common humanity, in contrast to the pious religious painting that had dominated Renaissance art in the previous century. He is sometimes known as "Peasant Bruegel" (later in life he dropped the "h" from his name) to distinguish him from other painters in his family, including his son Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

His painting "Netherlandish Proverbs" is highly representative of his style, that features sprawling landscapes filled with people who form many distinct focal points. The painting depicts many scenes involving people, and occasionally animals or things, that represent literal enactments of over 100 proverbs, many of which are still used today. Some of these do not have direct English equivalents, for example, in the lower left corner a woman binds a devil to a cushion, which literally enacts the proverb, "To be able to tie even the devil to a pillow," which means "obstinacy overcomes everything." However, immediately to her right is a scene that English speakers will readily understand - someone is actually banging their head against a brick wall, a familiar proverb meaning "to try to achieve the impossible." The painting's original name, the "Blue Cloak", references a scene in the centre of the work in which a woman in a red dress places the titular cloak over a seated man's head and shoulders, indicating that she is being unfaithful to him. The artist's son, Pieter Brueghel, the Younger, made many copies of his father's work, including multiple versions of "Netherlandish Proverbs", although not all the proverbs depicted were the same and his versions differed in various minor details.

Answer: Face

Joos van Craesbeeck, a baker and a painter from a village in what is now Flemish Brabant, Belgium, was a pupil of the Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer, who had a strong influence on his style. He was accredited as a master by the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp around 1663. He is particularly noted for painting tavern scenes and dissolute portraits, of which "The Smoker" is a prominent example. van Craesbeeck had an important influence on the genre known as tronies, which generally refers to works that are character studies of a particular subject, often depicting exaggerated facial expressions or people in flamboyant or unusual costumes. Unlike commissioned portraits, tronies were sold on the open market and were highly popular in the low countries during the 16th and 17th centuries.

A popular theme for tronies were allegorical representations of the five senses. van Craesbeeck painted several works in this genre; "The Smoker" is one of several of his paintings representing the sense of taste, which he expressed by painting himself smoking or drinking in a low-life guise. van Craesbeeck also produced a number of religious paintings. A striking example is his 1650 work, "The Temptation of Saint Anthony", which was inspired by the Hieronymus Bosch painting of the same subject, and which is dominated by a large screaming head that appears to be modelled on van Craesbeeck's own features, which spews forth devils from its mouth, and has an opening on its forehead in which is a miniature artist. A most surreal scene!

Answer: The Night Watch

Rembrandt van Rijn, more commonly known simply as Rembrandt, is widely considered one of the greatest artists in history and the most important of the Dutch artists. Born in Leiden in the Dutch Republic in the early seventeenth century, he was a very prolific painter who worked in a much wider range of styles and subject matter than most other Dutch masters of his time. He also pioneered the use of etching and turned it a true art form. About 300 of his paintings are estimated to have survived.

In a letter to the Dutch poet and composer Constantijn Huygens, Rembrandt stated that what he aimed to achieve through his art was "the greatest and most natural movement." This is shown in "The Night Watch," which was commissioned by Captain Banninck Cocq and seventeen members of his civic militia guards to hang in the banquet hall of the newly built Musketeers' Meeting Hall in Amsterdam. The painting is noted partly for its enormous size (363 cm × 437 cm), but also for its dramatic use of light and shadow, and the impression it creates of motion in such a large military group portrait. Rembrandt is thought to be the first artist to portray figures in a group portrait actually doing something rather than in a static pose. Captain Cocq appears prominently at the centre of the painting dressed in black with a red sash. On his left is his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch, dressed in yellow, with a white sash, to whom he issues the order to march out. The woman in the centre-left background carries a dead chicken, representing a dead adversary.

The name "The Night Watch" is actually a misnomer: the original layers of varnish on the painting have darkened over the centuries, conveying the impression that the scene is occurring at night - however, the scene is actually supposed to be occurring during the daytime! The varnish was removed in the 1940s, making more of the original colour visible. In 1715, the painting was trimmed on all four sides when it was moved into the Amsterdam Town Hall, so that it would be able to fit into the display area between two marble columns. This resulted in the loss of significant parts of the painting, including two characters on the left side. In 2021, the trimmed-off sections were recreated for an exhibition using an artificial intelligence algorithm, based on a 17th-century copy of the painting by Gerrit Lundens. This recreation places the lieutenants more off-centre than in the trimmed painting, creating a dynamic impression of the troops marching towards an empty space on the left of the painting. (Note that this recreation did not alter the original painting, which remains on display.)

Answer: Frans Hals

Frans Hals was born in Antwerp, and lived and worked in Haarlem, then in the Spanish Netherlands. He is most noted for his individual and group portraits, in which he captured his subjects with intimate realism that portrays each person in an individual manner. His portraits were popular and in demand for much of his life, although he experienced financial difficulties when his work eventually went out of style.

His most famous work, which is dated 1624, was named the "Laughing Cavalier" by Victorian art critics, although perhaps somewhat ironically, as the subject is neither laughing nor a cavalier. He is in fact smiling in a rather cheeky and self-confident manner, and seems to have a twinkle in his eye. This was rather unusual at the time, as sitters were rarely portrayed smiling. Although it has often been assumed that the subject was some kind of military man, the Dutch art historian Pieter Biesboer suggested that he was a wealthy Dutch cloth merchant named Tieleman Roosterman, who was the subject of another of Hals' portraits. (I suppose "The Smiling Cloth Merchant" isn't as catchy a title!) The subject is wearing a highly ornate and very expensive, silk costume, with a gilded rapier pommel visible near the crook of his elbow. His doublet is embroidered with motifs such as arrows, flaming cornucopias, and lovers' knots. At the time, these were considered symbols of the pleasures and pains of love and it has therefore been suggested that this may have been a betrothal portrait. The painting has been described as "one of the most brilliant of all Baroque portraits."