Dutch artists did not just follow their French examples. Art historian Mayken Jonkman shows how extensive and important the mutual influence of artists in Paris was. Her research results can now be seen in the exhibition Dutch Artists in Paris 1789 – 1914.
Is there anything new to be found about great artists such as Breitner and Mondriaan? Yes, is the surprising answer. Art historian Mayken Jonkman (RKD-Netherlands Institute for Art History) spent six months in Paris for her research. She has wrestled through countless old papers in the archive, looking for Dutch artists in Paris. The results have been incorporated into the exhibition of the same name, of which she is guest curator.
Jonkman came across surprising things during her search:“Breitner, for example, has applied for the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts. This is nowhere to be found in the literature, but I came across his application and recommendation letters. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find out whether he has been rejected, has decided not to do it after all or whether his lender did not want to pay for this.”
The art historian managed to uncover even more new information. “After his visit to Paris, Breitner started painting ballerinas and naked women, after the French example. We could not find a single nude in art and auction catalogs from the period before this visit. Only then did we realize that the painting of naked women had ceased after the seventeenth century. It only came back into vogue after Breitner started using it.”
Limitless
Featured by the editors
MedicineWhat are the microplastics doing in my sunscreen?!
AstronomySun, sea and science
BiologyExpedition to melting land
Breitner is one of eight Dutch artists featured in the exhibition. These eight all lived in Paris for long periods between 1789 and 1914. They went because Paris was the city where it happened:where the most important artists and merchants resided and where you could get the best art education. Inspiration, development and networking were the main reasons for traveling to this metropolis. The exchange that took place during this period between French and Dutch artists is the main subject of the exhibition.
This is also the most important conclusion from Jonkman's research. The Dutch who went to Paris, in total many thousands, did not only gain new knowledge and inspiration. They also had an influence on the French artists and their style development. Jonkman:“Art knows no boundaries. Dutch art would have been a national affair, but you can't stop at the border marker. Everything and everyone came together in Paris. Artists from England and Germany, American traders. Everyone influenced each other by talking to each other, studying each other's work and networking with influential people.”
Artistic neighbors
Of the thousands of artists who traveled to Paris between 1789 and 1914, Jonkman looked at the 1,300 who stayed for more than six months. “We have collected all their places of work and living and turned the data into an online application. You can see the city growing between the 1800s and 1900s. Then you can ask all kinds of questions to the database, such as 'Who all lived on Montmartre between 1850 and 1880?'."
Location appears to be an important explanatory factor in the mutual influence of artists. “We found out that the Dutch painter Isaac Israëls has lived in the same building as Pablo Picasso for five years! Now we have to go back into the sources and see if we can find anything about this. Has Israëls ever written about a little Spanish man? This location-related research will certainly provide new insights.”
Marketing and myth building
The city of Paris itself also played an important role. Dutch artists were overwhelmed by the size, the bustle, the beauty and the technical progress. You had to be in Paris.
“The marketing of Paris started as early as the seventeenth century, by King Louis XIV. He deliberately made the city more beautiful and attractive. The first promotional travel guides were also published during that period. Moreover, in the second half of the nineteenth century it became much easier to travel to Paris. From five days of shaking in a carriage to five hours in the train. Little has changed since then:now it takes more than three hours.”
As a result, the number of painters visiting the city grew exponentially. There was also a change in the length of stay, Jonkman noticed:“Painters stayed shorter. Also, Paris was no longer the place where artists followed their entire training. Now they first went to the Hague or Rijksacademie to complete their studies with a 'finishing touch' year in the city of light.”
Many painters only visited the city for a few weeks, for example for the annual Salon exhibition. Contemporary artists submitted their works for this and a jury of old men determined which works took part and who received the prizes. It was half the battle if you got caught up in this, especially until the end of the nineteenth century.
After that, innovative artists, whose work was rejected by the Salon, began to organize themselves in other ways. Networking was very important throughout the period. “Dining, being introduced to the right influential people. If you spoke French, the doors opened more easily, and they still do.”
No one way street
Since it was impossible to describe all these exchanges in terms of scope, Jonkman chose to treat eight exemplary artists as case studies. She begins the exhibition with Van Spaendonck, who, after the French Revolution in 1789, began to play a major role in the French art world. Mondrian, who lived in Paris shortly before the First World War started in 1914, closes the line.
Jonkman wants to show a separate aspect of all of them in the exhibition. “Van Spaendonck and Van Gogh in particular influenced French artists with their innovative techniques, but in the end it was mainly achieved by the Dutch. It is just not the case that the Netherlands lagged very much behind the French. I want to nuance the image of one-way traffic that still exists.”
Jonkman would not have been able to create the exhibition without the research results and the connections found between artists. She really puts on an exhibition that is not only impressive but also gives the visitor new insights. And those who really want to know the bottom line about the research can take a look at the thick and beautifully illustrated publication. (The exhibition The Dutch in Paris 1789 – 1914 can be seen from 13 October 2017 to 8 January 2018 in the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam.)
The eight case studies from the Dutch in Paris 1789-1914
1/9
About the exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum
The exhibition is about eight exemplary Dutch artists in Paris. Their exchange, education and career, and the influences of Paris as a location are discussed. The city and the people the artists met here changed their ideas and style. During your visit, you look each painter in the eye through a (self) portrait. You can also see the place where he worked in Paris, the development of his style and the influence on or from other artists.
1/9
Gerard van Spaendonck (1746-1822)
Known for its floral arrangements in the style of the seventeenth century. He only gave it his own twist by putting them in the hippest vases. The French ran away with his work and artists imitated him. Van Spaendonck created an extensive network, helped Dutch talents with assignments and was the only foreigner to hold a board position at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. (Credits:Gerard van Spaendonck, Flowers in an Alabaster Vase and Fruit on a Marble Top, 1781, Het Noordbrabants Museum, Den Bosch)
1/9
Ary Scheffer (1795 – 1858)
It owes its fame to its works exhibited during the annual Salon. In the early twenties one of the foremen of the ferocious and whirling Romantic style. As court painter to Louis-Filip I, he made quieter, religious works. His influence is reflected in the copied compositions and the same use of light and soft tones by French and Dutch imitators. (Credits:Ary Johannes Lamme, Ary Scheffer at work in the large studio at his home at 16 rue Chaptal, 1851, Dordrechts Museum (donation of H.O.W. de Kat van Barendrecht, 1866)
1/9
Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer (1839 – 1902)
Talented painter who won prizes in the Netherlands for his landscapes. Traveled to Paris at the invitation of art dealer Goupil. He started to focus on genre pieces from the Directoire period (1795-1799). His work became very popular, especially among American collectors. Due to their sharply increasing demand, the art trade became increasingly important in Paris. (Credits:Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer, A Baptism during the Directoire, 1878, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam)
1/9
Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819-1891)
In his early years, Jongkind exhibited at the Salon and won prizes. His art became more and more sketchy and the jury no longer appreciated it. Contacts through the alternative circuit and the pub became more important. Jongkind's use of light and the juxtaposition of complementary colors instead of mixing them, were imitated by many (French). He is also known as the father of the Impressionists. (Credits:Johan Barthold Jongkind, Notre-Dame de Paris vue du quai de la Tournelle, 1852, Petit Palais, musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Paris)
1/9
Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)
On his arrival in Paris, Van Gogh still painted the sky the Dutch way, in gray tones and by mixing the paint. But within half a year he was a completely different artist. He had a lot of interaction with other artists, where everyone gave their own twist to new techniques. It is not surprising that Van Gogh was exhausted after two years in Paris. It seems as if he could not shut himself off from all the impressions that the city and artists made on him. (Credits:View from Theo's apartment. Paris, March – April 1887 Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, Vincent van Gogh Foundation.)
1/9
George Hendrik Breitner (1857 -1923)
The insecure Breitner went to Paris for six months to get a better grasp of the trade. But because he already knew everything, he soon stopped. He studied the art academy's plaster collection on his own and took to the streets to sketch and photograph. His well-known love for horses is reflected in this work. Breitner did not influence French artists, but the Dutch all the more. (Credits:George Hendrik Breitner, Street with a Coach in Paris, ca. 1900, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam)
1/9
Kees van Dongen (1877 – 1968)
Van Dongen started out as an anarchist, with drawings for the people. In Paris he picked up his brush again and was inspired by Picasso. His new swirling style with women as subject was not appreciated, it was too wild. To keep critics happy, he stayed with his subject but took the women out of reality by removing the background. Nude was not so much the problem, but nude in realistic form. (Credits:Kees van Dongen, Hindu dancer, c.a. 1909-1910, Private collection, courtesy of Libbie Howie)
1/9
Pieter Cornelis Mondrian (1872 – 1944)
Mondrian went to Paris to see the latest French developments. After this he started to paint more and more cubist. He only took an extra step towards abstraction, while his French examples still retained something of reality. Because of the First World War he could not return to Paris and he continued to develop in the Netherlands. Mondrian's influence on French artists comes later, in his De Stijl period. (Credits:Piet Mondrian, Painting No. II / Composition No. XV / Composition 4, 1913, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam)