Anthonie Palamedesz - Merry Company Dining and Making Music - 615 - Mauritshuis

Anthonie Palamedesz., also Antonie Palamedesz, birth name Antonius Stevens (1602 in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, ScotlandM. Westhoff, 'Fragmentgenealogie van Palamedes Stevensz', Gens Nostra 73 (2018), p. 188-189 – 27 November 1673 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

), was a Dutch portrait and genre painter. He is in particular known for his merry company paintings depicting elegant figures engaged in play, music and conversation as well as guardroom scenes showing soldiers in guardrooms. Like many Dutch painters of his time, he painted portraits and still lifes, including

vanitas A ''vanitas'' (Latin for 'vanity') is a symbolic work of art showing the temporality, transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death. Best-kn ...

still lifes. He further painted the

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape, that are not the primary subject matter of the work. Typically they are small, and there to add an indication of scale and add interest. Before ...

in a few views of the interior of churches.Anthonie Palamedesz.
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

He played a major role in the development of genre painting in Delft in the mid 17th century.Dennis Weller, ''Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings''
North Carolina Museum of Art, 2009, pp. 155-160

Life

He was born in

, Scotland as the son of Palamedes Willemsz. Stevens and Marie Arsene (in Dutch, called Maeijken van Naerssen) and was baptized on 9 November 1602 in South Leith. His father was a sculptor, stone cutter and court artist who was likely Flemish. His father carved semi-precious stones such as jasper, porphyry, and agate into vases and practised other decorative arts. His father was in the service of the Scottish

King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

and possibly traveled with the King to London when he was crowned King of England as James I of England.Palamedes Willemsz. Stevens
at the

Anthonie Palamedesz Biography
in: Arnold Houbraken, ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718 Vanitas stilleven Rijksmuseum SK-A-2358

His father had married Maeijken van Naerssen in Leith on 6 June 1601. The couple had three children: Guilliaem (1601-1688), who became a tailor, Anthonie and Palamedes I (1605-1638) who also became a painter. After Anthonie's youngest brother Palamedes was born, the family left Scotland and established themselves in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

where the boys grew up. Anthonie was taught by the leading portrait painter

Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt, often abbreviated as Michiel Jansz. and the surname also spelled Miereveld or Miereveldt, (; 1 May 1566 – 27 June 1641) was a Dutch painter and draftsman of the Dutch Golden Age. Biography Van Mierevelt wa ...

and the history and genre painter

Hans Jordaens Hans Jordaens the Elder (1555–1630), was a Flemish Baroque painter whose religious works are often confused with that of other painters with the same name. Biography He was born in Antwerp, but after the siege of Antwerp, his family moved to ...

. He entered the Delft Guild of St. Luke in 1621 or 1636 and was ''hoofdman'' (deacon) of the Guild in 1635, 1658, 1663 and 1672. When Anthonie and his brother Palamedes were registered with the Guild, they received the discounted entry fee reserved for residents of the city, which suggests that their father had lived in Delft before leaving for Scotland, possibly as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

fugitive from the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

in his native Flanders. Anthonie Palamedesz - A Merry Company - Google Art Project

Anthonie married Anna Joosten van Hoorndijck (died 1651) on 16 March 1630 in Delft. The couple had six children of whom a son called Palamedes Palamedesz. II. The son was traditionally believed to have been a painter, but the current view is that this was likely not the case. After the death of his first wife, he married again on 29 December 1658 to Agata Woodward (in Dutch called Aechgen Woedewart), born in Delft as the daughter of an Englishman who did business with Dutch printers. His pupils included his younger brother Palamedes, who died young in 1638 and was mainly a battle painter, and the painter

Ludolf de Jongh Ludolf de Jongh or Ludolf Leendertsz. de Jongh (Overschie, 1616 – Hillegersberg, 1679) was a Dutch painter, known for his genre scenes, hunting scenes, history paintings, landscapes, cityscapes and portraits.Oude Kerk.

Work

General

Palamedesz. primarily painted

genre work Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

s and portraits including individual and group portraits. He was known for his merry company paintings showing elegant figures engaging in play, music and conversation and his guardroom scenes of military life, which were highly appreciated by his upper middle class patrons. Wachtlokaal met soldaten Rijksmuseum SK-A-3024

Wachtlokaal met soldaten Rijksmuseum SK-A-3024

Guard room scenes

He was one of the primary practitioners of the genre of the guardroom scene, which shows soldiers in guardrooms who are engaged in recreational activities. This genre was particularly popular in the Dutch Republic although it was also practised in Flanders by artists such as

David Teniers the Younger David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile arti ...

. The principal exponents in this genre were

Pieter Codde Pieter Jacobsz Codde (December 11, 1599 – October 12, 1678) was a Dutch painter of genre works, guardroom scenes and portraits. Life Codde was a technically skilled painter. He is said to have studied with Frans Hals, but it is more likely ...

Willem Duyster Willem Cornelisz Duyster (1599–1635) was a Dutch Golden Age painter from Amsterdam, best known for his " guardroom scenes" (''cortegaarddje''), genre paintings showing the military life. Biography According to the Netherlands Institute for ...

and

Simon Kick Simon Kick (1603, Delft – 1652, Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to the RKD he was the son of the Delft varnish worker Willem Kick.Jacob Duck Jacob Duck (also ''Ducq, Duyck, Duick, Duc'') (1600 – buried 22/28 January 1667) was a Dutch painter and etcher.Jac ...

in Utrecht and Anthonie Palamedesz. and

Jacob van Velsen Jacob Jansz. van Velsen (1597 in Delft – 1656 in Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to the RKD Jacob influenced Willem Cornelisz Duyster and is known for genre works and military pieces, most notably conve ...

in Delft. Often referred to in the Dutch language as 'cortegaerdje', guardroom scenes showed interiors with soldiers at rest. The genre became popular after 1621 when the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign n ...

with Spain ended. Stationed throughout the Dutch Republic, soldiers would often have long periods during which there was no military action. They used this leisure time to interact with the local population or entertain themselves. Palamedesz Guardroom scene

In the early phase of the genre, guardroom scenes showed resting soldiers seated, in conversation while they relax and tend to their uniforms, arguing over loot, carousing with prostitutes, playing cards, smoking a pipe or engaging in other morally questionable behaviour. In a second phase, starting roughly around 1645, the behaviour of the soldiers became more refined, thus reflecting the growing civility in Dutch society. In this later phase guardroom scenes were devoid of booty and other signs of war and showed middle-class people interacting with the soldiers.Anthonie Palamedesz., ''A Guardroom Interior with a Company of Pikemen, card players, and a woman with a child''
at Sotheby'sJochai Rosen, ''Masculinity Pacified: Women as Mothers in the Guardroom Scenes of Anthonie Palamedes (1602-1673)''
De Zeventiende Eeuw. Jaargang 24(2008), pp. 181-195 In his guardroom scenes which he painted well into the 1660s, Palamedes typically depicts a large hall of a ruin or a castle, which is open at the rear and usually has a large fireplace. The centre of the scene is almost always taken up by an officer, who is chubby and wearing a tall hat and a small moustache. In many of his guardroom scenes, Palamedesz. achieves the elegance and monumentality seen in the

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

(civic guard) group portraits so popular in 17th-century Dutch painting. His guardroom scenes are unique, in that he includes women in their role as mothers and not their more conventional role of courtesans. Palamedesz.' guardroom scenes thus represent the masculine outdoors that has been pacified and tamed by feminine domestic motherhood. In other words, the apparently virile guard room scenes are in fact an embodiment of masculinity pacified, reflecting a broader process in 17th-century Dutch society of growing femininity and civility. Anthonie Palamedesz - Elegant company in conversation playing games and drinking in an interior

Anthonie Palamedesz - Elegant company in conversation playing games and drinking in an interior

Merry companies

Palamedesz. painted many merry company paintings, which show elegantly dressed merrymakers in fairly summarily painted interiors. Typically, the figures are partaking in the pleasures of alcohol, tobacco, games, courtship and music. He painted his most accomplished paintings in this genre early in his career. While some of his contemporaries included strong moral meanings in their merry companies, in particular by warning against the dangers of excess and erotic love, Palamedesz. does not appear to have been particularly interested in this motive. He more likely painted these scenes solely for the enjoyment of his patrons who would have engaged in similar behaviour in their spare time.Walter A. Liedtke, Michiel Plomp, Axel Rüger, ''Vermeer and the Delft School''
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 318-322 The interiors of these scenes are usually lit by a strong light entering from the left from two unknown sources. The figures are often typically crowded on one side of the picture. These scenes are reminiscent of works of contemporary artists in Northern Holland such as

Dirck Hals Dirck Hals (19 March 1591 – 17 May 1656), born at Haarlem, was a Dutch Golden Age painter of merry company scenes, festivals and ballroom scenes. He played a role in the development of these types of genre painting. He was somewhat infl ...

and

Hendrik Pot Hendrik Gerritsz Pot (c. 1580 – 15 October 1657 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, who lived and painted in Haarlem, where he was an officer of the militia, or ''schutterij''. Dutch artist Frans Hals painted Pot in militia sash in ...

whose works Palamedesz. must have known. He shows originality in his treatment of light and tone in his pictures.

Portraits

Palamedesz. was a sought after portrait painter known for his portraits of individuals, married couples and families with dead game, hunting implements and hounds.Walter A. Liedtke, ''Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007, p. 144 His ''Family Portrait'' of 1635 (

Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ( Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth ...

) recalls the ''Portrait of Anthonie Reyniers and His Family'' (

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

) painted in 1631 by the Antwerp artist Cornelis de Vos. It is possible that his more dynamic treatment of family groups was due to his experience painting genre scenes which made him more aware of new ways of posing figures and arranging groups. This may explain the animated and lively character of the ''Family Portrait'' of 1635. In some later portraits such as the ''Portrait of a Gentleman'' (private collection) he was able to cast off of the stiffness and sober demeanor typical of the sitters in his early works and make his sitters look suave. In his portraits from the 1650s he shows he was aware of developments in portraiture such as the fashionable and sophisticated imagery of Amsterdam portraitists like

Bartholomeus van der Helst Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – buried 16 December 1670) was a Dutch painter. Considered to be one of the leading portrait painters of the Dutch Golden Age, his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam's elite as well as t ...

. An example is his ''Portrait of a richly dressed young man, half-length''.Anthonie Palamedesz. (Delft 1601-1673 Amsterdam), ''Portrait of a richly dressed young man, half-length''
at Christie's New York 29 October 2019 lot 627 In the ''Family portrait'' of 1665 (

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...

, Rotterdam) he depicts a family group of eight among various animals and dead game on the rolling terrain of a country estate not dissimilar to paintings of the Flemish artist

Gonzales Coques Gonzales Coques (between 1614 and 1618 – 18 April 1684) was a Flemish painter of portraits and history paintings.Veronique van Passel, "Coques ocks; Cox Gonzales onsael; Gonsalo" ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, ccessed 4 Octob ...

Other works

He also painted still lifes, including

still lifes and kitchen pieces. He further possibly painted the staffage in a few views of church and palace interiors by

Dirck van Delen Dirck van Delen or Dirck Christiaensz van Delen (c. 1605 – 16 May 1671) was a Dutch painter who specialized exclusively in architectural paintings, principally depicting palace perspectives and church interiors. Life Van Delen was born in ...

and

Anthonie de Lorme Anthonie de Lorme (Tournai 1610 or between 1600 and 1605 – Rotterdam, 1673)Anthonie de Lorme
at the

and in the ''Great Assembly of the States General in 1651 by

Bartholomeus van Bassen Bartholomeus Corneliszoon van Bassen (1590–1652) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and architect. Biography Van Bassen was the illegitimate son of Cornelis van Bassen and the grandson of Bartholt Ernst van Bassen, who both lived and died in T ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palamedes, Anthonie 1601 births 1673 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Artists from Delft Painters from Delft Burials at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam