Meindert Hobbema
(1638 - 1709) |
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Landscapes, Art Work
| Name: |
Meindert Hobbema |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Amsterdam |
| Nationality: |
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| Birth: |
1638 |
| Death: |
1709 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Landscapes, |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painting
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Biography
| Meindert Hobbema was Jacob van Ruisdael's most gifted pupil and follower. When he reached his artistic maturity in the 1660s, he created such masterpieces of landscape that he ranks just under Ruisdael as one of the greatest interpreters of the subject in the history of art. After RuisdaePs death in 1682, Hobbema became the leading landscape painter in Amsterdam. Born Meindert Lubbemz, he later adopted the name Hobbema. He may have studied with or looked at the works of Salomon van Ruysdael, Cornelis Vroom, and Anthonie van Borssom, but Jacob van Ruisdael's influence was fundamental. Hobbema must have begun studying with Jacob after he came to Amsterdam in 1657 - a theory confirmed by Ruisdael's 1660 claim that Hobbema studied with him for several years. The two artists probably remained on good terms, since Jacob was the witness for Hobbema's marriage in 1668. Hobbema's earliest dated work is the River Landscape (dated 1658, Detroit Institute of Art), and his earliest style (until about 1661) is competent but lacks a cohesive vision. Hobbema's Wooded Landscape with Cottages (dated 1662, Philadelphia Museum of Art) is one of the earliest surviving dated examples of Hobbema's emerging maturity wherein his original adaption of Ruisdael's style is already evident. In that same year, his created his Forest Swamp (dated 1662, Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria) based on an early Ruisdael etching. By 1663 Hobbema's work had grown increasingly independent. He experimented with contrasting various depths of space (setting deep vistas against closely seen trees) and began to carefully calculate the size of different elements within his painting (clouds, trees, vistas, etc.). He developed a beautiful visual analogue between the vibrant latent energy expressed by trees and vegetation and the actual energy contained in moving clouds and sky. Though he learned this technique from Ruisdael, Hobbema's interpretation was all his own. A masterpiece from this period is his Landscape with Trees and a Causeway (dated 1663, Blessington, Ireland, Sir Alfred Beit Collection). Hobbema's work through 1668 is ranked on a very high level. His Pond in a Forest (dated 1668, Oberlin, Allen Memorial Art Museum) is one of his finest efforts. By 1668 Hobbema's output had decreased, in part because of his marriage and his appointment as a wine gauger for the Amsterdam tax office. Though he held that post for the rest of his life, Hobbema continued to paint, and his most celebrated masterpiece dates from the late phase of his career: Landscape with the Tree-Lined Lane and Causeway, also known as the Avenue at Middelhamis (signed and dated 1689, London, National Gallery). Though inspired by Ruisdael, it is a work of singular individuality that daringly confronts the viewer with unpicturesque and rather scruffy trees lining the avenue, balancing those elements against a vast open sky with clouds. Hobbema brilliantly pulls us deep into the heart of his picture in this unprecedented (in Hobbema's oeuvre) panorama. Excepting some town views, much of Hobbema's work concentrates on wooded landscapes with cottages or watermills, and his compositions tend to incorporate consistent elements: large trees in the foreground, water, and a sunny sky with clouds scudding through. Some thirty or so drawings still survive, some of which are recognized as studies for his paintings. Hobbema's home remained in Amsterdam, though he did travel on occasion to southern Holland and Overijssel. He was relatively ignored in his own lifetime by critics and painters, but his work was of considerable significance to nineteenth-century painters. The Barbizon School, Dutch painters like Anton Mauve, and English artists like John Constable were clearly affected by their study of Hobbema's work. |
Samples of Work
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