Meindest Hobbema

Meindest Hobbema , (born October 31, 1638 in Amsterdam ; † December 7, 1709 there ) was next to Jacob van Ruisdael the most important Dutch landscape painter in the second half of the 17th century .

Life

Avenue from Middelharnis
National Gallery London

At the age of 30, Meindest Hobbema married Eeltje Vinck from Gorcum on November 2, 1668 in the Amsterdam Oude Kerk , the former kitchen maid of the regent Lambert Reynst . Groomsmen were the bride's brother Cornelius Vinck and Jacob van Ruisdael. This shows the friendly relationship between the two landscape painters and gives rise to the assumption that Hobbema was a student of Ruisdael. Four children were born in the marriage between 1668 and 1673. Under the influence of his wife, he became a wine inspector for the city of Amsterdam and practiced this profession for more than forty years. The painting he operated from this time only as a second job, which was quite common for Dutch painters in the 17th century. The couple lived on Rozengracht , not far from Rembrandt , who spent the last years of his life here impoverished. Hobbema's financial circumstances were also difficult. He survived his wife, who died in 1704, by five years and was buried on December 14, 1709 in the poor cemetery of the Westerkerk in Amsterdam.

Artistic development

At first, Hobbema's work was under the influence of Cornelis Vroom and Anthonie van Borssom . Around 1656 he took his first art lessons from Jacob van Ruisdael, who had just moved from Haarlem to Amsterdam. Hobbema's apprenticeship with Ruisdael does not seem to have lasted very long, as his first signed work from 1657 shows that he had established himself as an independent master by then. Hobbema remained on friendly terms with Ruisdael even after his apprenticeship. Together they traveled through the Dutch provinces to the Twente region and across the border to Bentheim . Assumptions that Hobbema would only have continued painting as a hobby after his appointment as a calibration master, is unlikely in view of the extensive work. In addition, his main painting, Die Allee von Middleharnis, was not created until 1689.

Work description

The work, which is strongly influenced by Ruisdael, is thematically limited to forest scenes, rivers and occasional views of Dutch cities. While Ruisdael also painted rock formations and developed from pure landscape painting to the moral-didactic claim of memento mori , Hobbema remained less dramatic and brooding. An appealing light color scheme is often predominant in his pictures, with sparkling daylight penetrating his landscapes and the sky shining in intense white and blue. The color palette of the landscapes goes from an olive-green tone to gray and red-yellow. The representations of the foliage are varied and masterly in execution. The light penetrates the clouds with astonishing delicacy and illuminates the ground, or it shines through the leaves onto other parts of the foliage and thus multiplies the transparency of the picture. In some pictures these effects are enhanced by light reflections on rivers or ponds. The painting was preceded by an intensive observation of nature in the area around Amsterdam and on trips to the Westphalian border. The recurring motifs were varied in various light conditions, with different shades and in all seasons.

Attributions

The catalog raisonné by Georges Broulhiet from 1938 shows over 500 works by the artist. However, this extent seems questionable today. Hobbema was not very successful during his lifetime and died an impoverished man. In the 17th century his name was forgotten in the Netherlands and his name is not mentioned in descriptions of art from the 18th century ( Houbraken , Van Gool). Instead, Ruisdael's art experienced greater demand, which led to Hobbema's signatures being removed and his pictures also being traded as Ruisdael's pictures. In the second half of the 18th century the demand for Hobbema's pictures began to rise, especially in England (the early work of the painter Thomas Gainsborough was influenced by Hobbema's painting). At the end of the 19th century, when American collectors began to demand more of his works on the art market and prices rose accordingly, there were frequent re-dates, incorrect signatures or complete forgeries. In this context, the works Wooded River (dated 1650, formerly Bredel Collection) and Huts under Trees (dated 1652, Ford Collection), which Hobbema should have painted at the age of 12 and 14, respectively, can be seen. Probably wrong dating or the hand of another artist.

gallery

• 

  Landscape
  Alte Pinakothek
  Munich

• 

  Watermill
  Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

• 

  Windmill on the
  Bredius River Museum
  The Hague

• 

  The Travelers
  National Gallery of Art Washington DC

• 

  Hilly landscape with travelers and a pond
  Private collection

• 

  Village with watermills
  National Gallery London

• 

  Farmer's cottage with a path in the forest
  Private collection

• 

  Mill
  Musee du Louvre
  Paris

literature

• Henri Héris: Sur la Vie et les Ouvrages de Meindest Hobbema. In: La Renaissance: Chronique des Arts et de la Littérature. 54, 1839.
• Théophile EJ Thoré: Hobbema. In: Gazette des Beaux-Arts . 4, 1859.
• P. Scheltema: Meindest Hobbema: Quelques Renseignements sur ses Oeuvres et sa Vie. In: Gazette des Beaux-Arts. 16, 1864.
• Émile Michel: Hobbema et les paysagistes de son temps en Hollande. Paris 1890.
• Frank Cundall: The Landscape and Pastoral Painters of Holland: Ruisdael, Hobbema, Cuijp, Potter. London 1891.
• Jakob Rosenberg: Hobbema. In: Yearbook of the Prussian Art Collections. 48, 1927.
• Georges Broulhiet: Meindest Hobbema (1638–1709). Paris 1938.
• Joseph Eduard Wessely :  Hobbema, Meetermined . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, pp. 516-518.

Web links

Commons : Meindest Hobbema  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Works by Meindest Hobbema at Zeno.org .
• Web Gallery of Art