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Cuyp is shown in two paintings typical of his early and late periods: the first one, so close to Jan van Goyen that it was attributed to him, but it superior in composition and more solid in execution; the second, a departure for a ride, shows excellent draughtsmanship and coloring in the representation of horses in Cuyp's most finished manner.

But with all the fascination of these artists one should not forget the great art of Jacob Ruisdael who, though more severe than his pupil Hobbema, is deeper in sentiment, and though less winning than Cuyp, has a greater imagination and varies his thoughtful compositions more than either Cuyp or Hobbema, penetrating with his clear observation even the smallest detail of his landscape. Jacob Ruisdael is well represented with "View of the Castle Bentheim," representing the period of the artist when he travelled to the German border and painted the views of Westphalia. Here he became aware of the charm of high hills and deep forests which could not be found in his flat Holland, and with certain motifs like the timbered frame houses with high roofs and the water mills—motifs which Hobbema initiated.

As in genre painting, the art of these masters developed out of the less sophisticated, simpler and more realistic style of the Frans Hals period, as illustrated in the work of Salomon Ruisdael, the uncle of Jacob ("River Scene"). In motifs these artists selected the most unassuming spots of the flat Dutch landscapes—the meadows and canals—developing for the first time the painting of a large expanse of sky with the silvery misty tone characteristic of Holland. Their landscapes are more delicate in outline, more open in composition, and less massive than those of the later periods; their color scheme is cooler and more monotonous, and in technic they are more impressionistic and at times quite related to some of the modern landscape artists, whereas the technic of the artists of the Ruisdael epoch may be better compared to that of the Barbizon school.

It is typical of Dutch art that we never find landscapes without figures. The solitary landscape was developed only in the nineteenth century and would not have accorded with the optimistic viewpoint of the Dutch masters, who had just then rediscovered nature. Even Jacob Ruisdael did not dare to leave the figures out of his scenes, although he often used them—but only in smallest size—as a contrast to the immensity of space. It frequently happened that landscape artists were not good figure painters and had to use other artists to paint the staffage, as in the case of Jan van der Heyden and Jan Wynants, with whom Adriaen van der Velde, Wouwerman, Lingelbach and others collaborated. We find a number of artists on the other hand who were particularly talented in the painting of figures in landscape scenes. With them the staffage usually plays the more important part in their own landscapes. The most famous artist of this group is Philips Wouwerman, who vividly depicted episodes from the life of horsemen, in infinite variety. His art is well represented by two landscapes with exquisitely executed staffage, whose careful study will be well rewarded.

But there are other artists also under Italian influence such as Claes Berchem, "Hunting Party" and Frederik de Moucheron "Italian Landscape" who excelled in placing their figures in a most natural manner in richly composed landscapes, striving in the golden tone of their skies for the brilliant luminosity of Cuyp's atmosphere.

No other country or period has been so rich in artistic individualities, or created so many excellent works of art worthy of our interest and enthusiasm, as the Dutch school of the seventeenth century. The wealth of personalities, less bound by a common convention or school than in the Latin countries, is one of the strong points of Dutch art and characteristic of its Teutonic origin. We are told that there lived at this period, in the small space which Holland comprised, nearly three thousand painters, and that every fourth or fifth man was an artist. Of course there were good and bad painters as at other periods, and even the good painters did not always paint masterpieces. But altogether, the variety of invention, the taste in composition and color-scheme, the excellent tradition in technic and style, shown by the majority of Dutch paintings, and well illustrated by our exhibition, is astounding, and the foundation of artistic culture created by this mass of painters must necessarily have been very broad and solid. Even though the tendencies of our modern artists are in quite other directions—and every epoch has a right to its own style—they can learn much from the self control with which these Dutch masters concentrated upon the field for which they were most gifted, from the modesty which kept most of them poor because they were more interested in their work than in recognition, and from the industry and intensity with which they lived their lives and created their art.

W. R. Valentiner.

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CATALOGUE

CLAES PIETERSZ BERCHEM
Born at Haarlem in 1620; died at Amsterdam in 1683. Pupil of his father, Pieter Claesz, Jan van Goyen, Claes Moeyaert, Pieter de Grebber, and Jan Wils. Active in Haarlem and Amsterdam. Supposed to have been in Italy.

HUNTING PARTY
Signed at lower right.
From the collection of Harry Shaw, Esq., Beenham Court, Berkshire, England
Loaned by the Ehrich Galleries, New York


JOB BERCKHEYDE
1630-1693. Active in Haarlem.

THE MARKET PLACE
Canvas 21 x 25 inches.
Loaned by the Van Diemen Galleries, New York


ABRAHAM VAN BEYEREN
1620-1674

BOATS IN STORM
Wood: 24 3/4 x 37 inches.
Signed with initials, lower right.
Loaned by the Kleinberger Galleries, New York


FERDINAND BOL
Born at Dordrecht in 1616; died at Amsterdam in 1680. Most important pupil of Rembrandt. Active in Amsterdam from 1640.

PORTRAIT OF A LADY
Loaned by Vose Galleries, Boston

MAN WITH HARE
Canvas: 24 3/4 x 32 inches.
Exhibited Detroit Art Institute—Loan
Exhibition of Dutch Genre and Landscape
Paintings, 1929.
Loaned by the Howard Young Galleries


HENDRIK VAN DER BURCH
Recently rediscovered artist. Influenced by Jan Vermeer and Pieter de Hooch. Active in Delft and Leiden (around 1650-60).

THE GAME OF CARDS
Canvas: H. 30 1/2 inches; W. 26 1/2 inches.
Painted about 1660.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Newberry.
Described: W. R. Valentiner in Pantheon, Vol. III, March, 1929, p. 105; idem, "Pieter de Hooch," Klassiker der Kunst, Stuttgart, 1929, p. 235
Loaned by the Detroit Institute of Arts


AELBERT CUYP
Born at Dordrecht in 1620; died there in 1691. Pupil of his father, Jacob Gerrits Cuyp; influenced by Jan van Goyen. Active mostly in Dordrecht.

VIEW OF THE MAAS NEAR DORDRECHT
Panel: H. 19 1/8 inches; W. 29 3/4 inches.
Early work of the artist.
Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1925.
Loaned by the Metropolitan Museum, New York

DEPARTURE FOR A RIDE
Canvas: H. 13 1/2 inches; W. 19 1/2 inches.
Formerly in the collection of Rodolphe Kann, Paris; Hugo Oberndoerffer, Paris.
Loaned by Wildenstein Galleries, New York


GERBRAND VAN DEN EECKHOUT
Born at Amsterdam in 1621; died there in 1674. Pupil of Rembrandt and imitated his style.

PARTY ON A TERRACE
Canvas: H. 25 inches; W. 21 inches.
Signed and dated, 1652.
De Groot H.: Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, London, 1916, Vol. VI, p. 16.
Van Dyck, J.C.: Rembrandt and his School. New York, 1923, p. 65.
Wurzbach, Alfred von: Niederlaendisches Kuenstler-Lexikon, p. 481.
Loaned by the Worcester Art Museum.


FRANS HALS THE ELDER
Born at Antwerp probably in 1584; died at Haarlem in 1666. Pupil of Carel van Mander. Active in Haarlem.

PORTRAIT OF A BOY
Panel: H. 16 1/2 inches; W. 13 1/2 inches.
Signed with monogram.
Painted 1627-1630.
Formerly in the Collection of A. Buuren, Naarden.
Exhibited in Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem.
Reproduced: "Klassiker der Kunst," by Dr. W. R. Valentiner, Edition 1921, p. 282. Edition of 1923, p. 75
Loaned by the Bottenwieser Galleries, Inc., New York