History
History painting had a special meaning in the seventeenth century. To be able to reproduce Biblical themes, ancient poetry, and contemporary literary works, artists needed to be knowledgeable in the fields of literature and history, as well as possess the skills specific to painters of still lifes and landscapes. All these skills aimed to help the paintings’ viewers properly understand the action represented. The principles of history painting, developed mainly in Italy, were summarized in the Schilder-Boeck (Book of Painters), whose author, Karel van Mander, also worked as a history painter in Haarlem (Holland).

David Playing the Harp before Saul by Dutchman Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn occupies a prominent place in the exhibition. If paintings by the so-called “pre-Rembrandists” are often characterized by an elaborate staging and complex series of figures, Rembrandt managed to convey the characters’ moods better than any other artist in history, representing the moments of maximum tension in each scene. This painting masterfully reflects the inner tragedy of Saul, King of Israel, and portrays the moment when, overcome by jealousy, he decides to kill the young shepherd David with a spear while the latter is playing the harp. The number of illustrations of this painting and copies made afterwards provide an idea of the importance and consideration with which it was viewed by Rembrandt’s contemporaries.

Other pieces featured in this section are a study of a head entitled King David playing the Harp , a painting begun as a particular type of representation known as tronie, by another great master of history painting, Flemish Peter Paul Rubens, court painter to Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella and creator of popular large-scale historical altar paintings with extremely rich compositions. Initially a study head of an anonymous elderly man created by Rubens in preparation of his great narrative paintings, the tronie was reworked after Rubens’ death by Jan Boeckhorst. He enlarged the painting on two sides, added hands, harp, the brocade mantle and the ermine collar as well as the gold chain and thus transformed the study haed into a narrative depicting King David playing the Harp to glorify God.

Landscape
Coastal regions played an important role in seventeenth-century Holland, since the sea ensured the Republic’s economy through fishing and maritime trade; yet it was also a naval threat, since enemy fleets arrived by sea. Hence, pictorial depictions of ships sailing across stormy or calm seas became the works most demanded by the mid-seventeenth century Dutch and Flemish bourgeoisie, more so than history, genre or still life paintings, to the point that landscape was long regarded as “typically Dutch” and even today defines the concept of the Golden Age. The beautiful seascapes by Simon de Vlieger, such as Single-Mast and Frigate Firing Salute on a Calm Sea, and those by his follower Willem van de Velde are good examples of this.

Few Dutch painters of the time could capture the expanse of sky and vivacity of clouds as adeptly as famous Dutch painter Jan van Goyen, whose monochrome landscapes feature prominently in this section of the exhibition. From the middle of the century on, van Goyen gave a new and decisive impulse to landscape painting and was responsible for the Netherlands’ typical image; he also introduced dune landscapes that quickly became very popular.

The show also includes extraordinary examples of topographical townscapes represented by brothers Job and Gerrit Berckheyde, who attested to economic activity and prosperity.