Traditional art boring? Not when looking at it like this!

Modern art, like completely abstract artworks in the most flamboyant way? That’s not really my cup of tea. Although I really respect the artwork by itself, I don’t feel a connection with it. Probably the lack of recognition, because there is no 'physical' object. Scientists in this field aren’t surprised by this, because they say that art can provide the same effect as falling in love. I firmly believe in that, because that explains why you can feel a connection with painting A while painting B doesn’t give you ‘that’ energy…

Excellent skills without modern technology

Old art on the other hand? I like that even more! Not only because it’s actually fascinating that those artists -in a time where modern technology didn’t exist, like zooming in on reference photos, could make all kinds of realistic details. And, not to even mention the fact that they had to make their own painting colours: there where no big, online shops where you could buy lots of colours…

But, why do I like that more? I’m going to tell you. And, hopefully you will find more joy in it too after reading this. And, when visiting a museum, you will look at it from another perspective…

Humour & interesting details

When looking at a painting from centuries ago, you will probably look first to the most big and present objects. But, how longer you will look at it, the more details you will find. And, sometimes even meant in a humorous way.

A couple of days ago, I was sniffing in an art book about Jan Steen: on one of the first pages, I saw a white-brown dog, known as the Dutch Kooikerhond. When looking at other paintings, I constantly saw the same dog appearing. That was pretty funny when he even was on a more Middle Eastern themed artwork. Whatever Jan was painting, ‘his dog’ was there too!

Another detail, something that I love as an animal artist, was the presence of multiple animals. In this case Old Dutch breeds. Nowadays, since the 19th century, we have plenty of animal breeds, but that wasn’t the case in the time of the Dutch Golden Age. What you do see is (still existing) old breeds, such as cattle, sheep and horses, who are still on this earth.

The ‘real’ animals of these paintings are walking history, which gives them all a high, cultural value, such as the Friesian horse, Dutch Belted cow and Dutch landrace goat. So, when you’re passing a meadow and you see these type of animals, you’re actually looking at some very exceptional, rare creatures. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?

Indirect, but valuable details

But, also exotic animals are often to be seen on paintings from the Golden Age. How that's possible? That is the result of the voyages of discovery, carried out by the Dutch West India Company (WIC) and Dutch East India Company (VOC). While there were travelling and -sometimes- colonized these exotic places, they brought all kinds of exotic goods with them back to Holland, even some living creatures.

On one of the paintings of Jan Steen, you see the African grey parrot – a well-known bird from Congo-Kinshasa. The earlier mentioned Kooikerhond on the other hand is a descendant from the spaniel dog from Spain, brought to the Dutch Republic by Spanish soldiers during the Eighty Years’ War. Just like the Spanish Andalusians from Spain that were crossed with the famous Dutch Friesians: nowadays, both horse breeds still share a lot of similarities.

The more you see...

Old art, from the Golden Age to the time of the Impressionism, has the power of showing you something that you will never see again because time has got her influence. You can see the changing landscapes, especially when comparing an artwork from the Golden Age (circa 1600-1700) to one from the Impressionism (starting from 1874).

And, the more you look at the painting, the more details you will see. The more you see, the more it starts to live. And, perhaps you will even discover some hidden messages, something that Rembrandt loved to do.

Are you going to a museum in the near future? Just give it an extra look when standing in front of a painting that catches your eye. Look at the details: the more you see, the more it becomes a recognizable story. Paintings can give you way more information than you would expect when looking at it for the first time.

And that is the beauty of art: you don’t have to find it beautiful to, eventually, to be touched by it. And, to give it the value that it deserves…

#Jansteen #Goldenage #Artfromthegoldenage #impressionism #Olddutchanimals #Olddutchbreeds #fineart #Dominiquelaurine