Ferdinand Bol
(1616 - 1680) |
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Portraiture, Historical Narratives Art Work
| Name: |
Ferdinand Bol |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Dordecht |
| Nationality: |
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| Birth: |
1616 |
| Death: |
1680 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Portraiture, Historical Narratives |
| Medium: |
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| Method: |
Oil on canvas, Etching on paper |
| Style: |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
Etching
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Biography
| One of Rembrandt's most successful pupils, Bol received more official commissions than any painter in Amsterdam. Yet today Bol's reputation has declined partly due to his dependence on Rembrandt, and in part because when he developed his own independent style around 1650, Bol did not always maintain a high level of invention or depth of insight in his work. Throughout his life, Bol explored the same subjects that preoccupied Rembrandt: histories, portraits, and single figures wearing exotic costumes. Bol's father was a surgeon in Dordrecht, the town where Bol was baptized and began his training, most likely with Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp. Documents place Bol as a painter in Dordrecht in 1635. He completed his training by joining Rembrandt in Amsterdam around 1635 and remaining with him until around 1640. A close connection is evidenced in such works as Jacob's Dream (signed, Dresden, Staatliche Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister) and Portrait of an Old Woman (signed and dated 1640, Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemaldegalerie). Bol also produced a number of etchings in the 1640s, which so closely followed Rembrandt that Bol's prints were once confused with those of the master. Bol's portraiture of the 1640s, in particular (painted and etched), comes the closest to Rembrandt, and many portraits have been attributed to Bol that are considered not quite good enough to be those of Rembrandt. Bol's histories of the 1640s also reflect Rembrandt's manner, though these works for example, The Three Maries at the Tomb of Christ (signed and dated 1644, Copenhagen, Statens Museum for Kunst) lack the cohesion and natural power of Rembrandt's work. In the 1650s Bol responded to more contemporary trends, which some scholars ascribe to Bol's desire to compete successfully for commissions involving the new town hall in Amsterdam. Bol proved himself worthy of such commissions because he was able to execute official commissions with skill and alacrity. Bol won the commission for a chimneypiece in the burgomaster's chamber of the Amsterdam town hall, The Intrepidity of Fabricius (dated 1656), which shows his response to the Flemish decorative manner that had then become fashionable. In the 1650s Bol's portraiture also moved away from Rembrandt, following the more modern style of Bartholomeus van der Heist. One of his finest examples is ihe Portrait of a Young Man (signed and dated 1652, The Hague, Mauritshuis), which presents the sitter in a more elegant vein and is executed in a more meticulous, polished style. It should be noted, however, that Bol retained certain Rembrandt devices (the landscape background, for example) as well as the palette which is still Rembrandtesque, if lighter. Another exceptional work from that year is Bol's Portrait of a Boy (York, Castle Howard Collection). Though Bol no longer utilized the Rembrandtesque device of posing his sitters at an open window as he had done earlier, Bol's portraits of the 1650s retain a withdrawn and introspective quality that engages the viewer and compels him to look. Around 1660, after Govert Flinck's death, Bol was called in to help complete Rink's unfinished projects for the Amsterdam Town Hall. His sketch for The Peace Negotiations between Civilis and Cerealis is considered a high point in his later work. Other important commissions from this decade include the commission for the leper's house in Amsterdam with the scene Elisha Refuses Naaman's Gifts (signed and dated 1661, Amsterdam, Historisch Museum), which contains a number of anecdotal elements still traceable to Rembrandt, and the chimneypiece for the town hall, Moses Descending from Mount Sinai, which further demonstrates Bol's response to Flemish elements. In the 1660s Bol was in fact showered with commissions. However, the quality of his work does begin to suffer; his history paintings are often repetitive and his portraits begin to lose their freshness and warmth. His success continued nevertheless, and he amassed a large collection of paintings which included works by numerous masters including Rembrandt, Ruisdael, Jan Porcellis, and Kalf. The day Rembrandt was buried, 8 October 1669, Bol was engaged in negotiating a marriage contract with Anna Maria van Ervckel, who had such wealth that he was freed from the necessity to paint once she became his wife. In the following year Bol is described as a merchant (probably dealing in cloth). In 1673 he became a regent of the Oude Zids Huiszittenhuis, and was recorded as such in Pieter van Anraedt's group portrait of 1675. His pupils include Cornells Bisschop (who also responded to Nicolaes Maes) and Gottfried Kneller (later Sir Godfrey Kneller), another pupil of Rembrandt and an important master in his own right. |
Samples of Work
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