847. A VILLAGE SCENE.
Isaac van Ostade (Dutch: 1621-1649).
Isaac, born at Haarlem, was the younger brother of Adrian van Ostade, with whom he remained as pupil till 1641, when he set up in business on his own account. There is a record of a transaction of his in that year which throws an interesting light on the picture-dealing world of the day. In 1643 a dealer summoned him for breach of a contract made in 1641 to deliver six pictures and seven "rounds" for twenty-seven florins. Part of Isaac's defence was that his pictures had since risen in value. The case was referred to the Painters' Guild, which decided that he must perform his contract, but that the number of the "rounds" should be reduced to five and the price of the whole be increased to fifty florins. It may be conjectured that the low value thus set upon the cottage scenes in his brother's manner induced Isaac to cultivate a different style of his own. This consisted largely of village inns (of which the present picture is a capital example), and winter scenes (among which No. 963 in our Gallery is a masterpiece). He combined a genuine appreciation of nature with great skill in the treatment of figures. He was fond, as will be seen, of introducing a white horse to serve as the principal light in his compositions.
This picture was bought by Sir Robert Peel for 400 guineas, and was esteemed, says Mrs. Jameson in her catalogue of his collection, "the masterpiece of the painter. The transparent, sparkling beauty of the execution was never surpassed. The figures, the foliage, the animals, the atmospheric effect, are all perfect."
848. A SKATING SCENE.
Isaac van Ostade (Dutch: 1621-1649). See 847.
849. LANDSCAPE WITH CATTLE.
Paul Potter (Dutch: 1625-1654).
Paul Potter, the best of the Dutch cattle painters, was the son of an artist (see 1008), and a remarkable instance of precocious talent, having been a clever painter and etcher at the age of fourteen. The environs of Enkhuizen, where he was born, did not offer scenes of surpassing beauty; but the rich brown and gold tints of the cattle contrasted pleasantly with the verdure of the flat fields. These Potter set himself to study and to paint; and so accurately did he master the anatomy of cattle that a writer on the natural history of Holland, in 1769-79, did not hesitate to utilise, in order to illustrate his work, paintings and sketches by Potter, including geometrical drawings which he had made to demonstrate the proper proportions of cattle. His skill brought him much patronage at the Hague; and in 1650 he married the daughter of a distinguished architect in that city, who made some objections, it is said, to his daughter marrying a mere "painter of animals." But the painter of animals prospered better than many of his contemporary painters of men, and both at the Hague and at Amsterdam his works continued to be in great request. But a too close application to his art told on a weak constitution, and he died of consumption at the age of twenty-nine (Cundall's Landscape and Pastoral Painters of Holland, pp. 113 sq.). For a century after his death his works realised very small sums, but latterly they have been sought after at extravagant prices. Technically they are very accomplished; but Ruskin calls attention to a certain defect of feeling in his treatment. He "does not care even for sheep, but only for wool; regards not cows, but cow-hides. He attains great dexterity in drawing tufts and locks, lingers in the little parallel ravines and furrows of fleece that open across sheep's backs as they turn; is unsurpassed in twisting a horn or pointing a nose; but he cannot paint eyes, nor perceive any condition of an animal's mind except its desire of grazing" (Modern Painters, vol. v. pt. ix. ch. vi. § 12). In estimating his work, it should however be remembered that he died very young, and died learning. The famous "Young Bull" of the Hague, painted in 1647 when he was twenty-two, is usually considered his masterpiece. Rather, says Fromentin, is it only a tour de force, a wonderful study. The portrait of the painter as he appeared in his last days, done by his friend Van der Helst, is in the Hague Museum.
Signed, and dated 1651, and therefore among the painter's later works.