The Golden Age Glimmers at Museum of Fine Arts in Houston
Willem Claesz Heda 1594-1680
Still Life with Glasses and Tobacco, 1633.
Oil on panel, the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection.
Image courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum
Dutch Golden Age Painter
Since the New York Times is calling it the golden age of gluten free, then what could be more appropriate than for a gluten free person to attend the visually lavish Golden Age Dutch and Flemish Masterworks exhibit from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston? The Dutch Golden Age 1568–1648, highlights that moment in history when Dutch trade, art and science were considered the best in the world. Standing before a single work and you can immediately see why. Oil paintings look like photographs, long before photographs even existed. The still life’s are so realistic, you can almost smell the tobacco, the freshly peeled rind of a lemon or the fragrant unfolding of a bouquet of flowers. The Netherlands is considered the western birthplace of oil painting and they are the ones that mastered the art of layering the paints in such a manner that not a single brush stroke can be detected.
What I love best about this exhibit is the simple fact that is forces you stop and consider life in a completely different mode. It is slow and it is patient, making you realize that the quick fix of modernity has it’s set backs. Pencil scratches that are hailed as works of genius or a circle in the middle of a blank canvas immediately look like lazy demands for prodigious thought, no matter how philosophically driven their meaning. Seeing such fine craftsmanship is awe-inspiring and can shrink your ego to the size of chestnut, giving you a chance to crack the shell of insecurity and taste the meat of your spirit rather than wandering around imagining what you think it might taste like. At least this was my experience.
In fact, as I have mentioned before, still life paintings heavily influence my gluten free food styling, so I go to these art exhibits for ideas as much as for a timely universal smackdown; for me, it’s crucial that I continually realize that I am not important and surrounding myself with creativity that far surpasses my own helps keep me in check.
High caliber art inspires me to be a better person, both creatively and otherwise–and this is one of the many reasons why I love art so much. It humbles me, it drives me, and most of all, it makes me wish I’d taken more art classes.
Jan Davidsz de Heem, 1606-1684
Glass Vase with Flowers on a Stone Ledge, 1655–60
Oil on panel, the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Dutch Still Life Painter
I also highly recommend the catalogue from the show for your book collection or as a gift for that art lover in your life.
Hendrick de Fromantiou, 1633-1634
Dead Partridge, 1666
Oil on Canvas, 19 1/4 x 14 3/4 inches
The Hague
Still Life Painter
