The Flora and Fauna of Elswout

Elswout, the land of alder trees and canals, is quite scenic. Therefore it is best to let the pictures, with a little of my own narration, speak for itself.

The path to the estate runs adjacent to a residential area. As a consequence there are lots of cyclists and walkers on it at all hours of the day.

A canal flows parallel with the path, turning to the right as the path heads toward the entrance gate, which can be seen as the red brick building in the background.










Geese and pheasant loiter in the field, harassing each other in a spring time mating ritual.

There are strategically placed bridges over many of the canals, affording access to the main house which was originally constructed on a patch of land surrounded by a moat. Statues of women huddle in the moat sporting coats of green moss.

Meanwhile a herd of deer live on the estate, occasionally competing with resident sea gulls for food and the attention of visitors. Territorialism bounds across species. This last image reminds me of a painting by Jan Asselijn entitled The Threatened Swan. 

Jan Asselijn
The Threatened Swan, 1650
oil on canvas
144 x 171 cm
Rijksmuseum

The image is large, a feature pronounced by the life-sized swan in the center of the painting. The swan's outstretched wings and defensive stance can be explained by the menacing dog in the lower left corner of the painting. This bird is defending her nest. White feathers flutter in the air, landing on the water and at the bird's feet. It seems like a life or death moment, as though the swan's very survival is at stake. 

The composition is a bit off-balance. The wing tips on the right are cut off, the majority of the action in the painting runs on a diagonal line between the swan's beak and the dog's muzzle. 

There is some debate about the meaning of this work, largely because words were painted onto the canvas some time after it was completed which politicized the conflict between the swan and the dog, rendering an allegory of intrigue by implying that the swan symbolized Johan de Witt who was protecting Noord-Holland from the depradations of the state, symbolized as a dog. 

The problem with this interpretation is that the events took place nearly 25 years after the painting was completed. 

This may be an example of reading too much into it. In Asselijn's case, perhaps it is just a bird defending her nest.

Beauty and the Vanitas

One of the images on special display right now at the Hermitage Amsterdam is this still life by Willem Claesz. Heda.

Willem Claesz. Heda
Breakfast with a Crab, 1648
oil on canvas
118 x 118 cm
The State Hermitage Museum

Signed and dated in the lower left, it's a fine example of the ontbijt painting, a word that means breakfast in Dutch.

Heda, a Haarlem native, specialized in this type of painting during the second half of the 17th century, an era that has come to be known as the Golden Age of Dutch still life paintings.

Ontbijt, pronounced "onge-bite," even today appears frequently on cafe menus throughout The Netherlands as a way of describing a breakfast meal.

Indeed a couple days ago I ordered an ontbijt at the Barista Cafe on Grote Houtstraat in Haarlem. It included an omelette with cheese and tomato plus two slices of bread, washed down with a double latte, American style.

Heda's ontbijt painting contains a careful study of several objects used by the Dutch merchant class in the 17th century.

These include, on the right, a roemer, or rounded beer glass with bumpy knobs near its base.  Apparently glass blowers placed the knobs near the bottom to keep the glass from slipping out of greasy hands.

Near the center of the composition sits a silver pot, which may have been used for tea but may also represent an early example of the chocolate pot. The finial on top of its lid is the best piece of evidence to support the latter theory, although the date of the painting argues against it as a representation of the chocolate pot, since the earliest references to drinking chocolate do not appear in Europe for another 15 years.

The tall flute glass near the center would be used for beer, another beverage which was undergoing tremendous change.

alewife woodcut, n.d.

Before the 17th century, beer was brewed mostly by women. Known as alewives, these women would brew and bake in the home with the grains harvested from the fields.

Brewing, and then selling the beer out of the home, provided women with a measure of independence and personal sovereignty. It could be said that there was agency in the economics.

Unfortunately, with increasingly globalized trade connections in the 17th century between Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, new pressures came to bear on the alewives. Specialized artisans in Haarlem, Delft and Gouda began brewing commercially for export. Essentially men took over the beer brewing industry when it began to promise mercantile opportunities in a capitalistic system.

Leaving aside the beer to return to the glass from which it was drunk, the viewer of Heda's still life should recognize that although the flute glass originated in Holland, the shape is modeled after the Venetian design known as Façon de Venise. Its use in Haarlem is another example of the marketplace of skills and ideas prevalent during Holland's Golden Age.

On the left side of the table, a half peeled lemon dangles over the edge. This -- along with the crab, olives and bread -- suggests the image is a vanitas. The vanitas painting is something akin to a visual morality tale. Its primary intent is to remind the wealthy that their riches are transient. 

A peeled lemon loses its freshness. The cooked crab quickly goes bad. The message, then, is to enjoy these items but to not take them for granted. Nothing lasts forever. Thus pleasure, and the wealth that brings it, are fleeting. 

The Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento possesses a similar vanitas by Heda. Although undated, the Crocker suggests it is an early example of Heda's work, dating to about 1631. 

Willem Claesz. Heda (1594-1680)
Still Life,  n.d. (c. 1631)
Oil on panel
Crocker Art Museum

Here the viewer can see many of the same symbols as from the later Hermitage image. The roemer, the fish and the silver pot are all characteristic of a Dutch still life. 

Clearly Heda was working out the technique, although this Crocker vanitas has a stilted and clunky feel to it in comparison with the later Hermitage image. Yes, the white table carpet and flute glass appear in both images. And, yes, the background is similarly plain in both. 

But the dramatic use of light and dark in the Hermitage is missing here in the Crocker, and the objects in this earlier composition fail to achieve the balance Heda wrought later in life.

For example, in the Hermitage image the table carpet hangs down below the table while the flute glass pierces upwards above the silver pot to form an apex. This gives the composition depth and dimension, a believable structure which is missing in the Crocker. The only hint of compositional order in the Crocker comes from the implied triangle of light above the objects. 

The key dangling from a blue sash and the open-faced watch in the silver tray in the Crocker act to remind the viewer of the passage of time, similar to the peeled lemon in the Hermitage image, but the blue color fails to pop against the dark folds of the table carpet, thus lessening the meaning of the symbols and diluting the impact of the whole image.

Therefore, while the details in the Crocker image are masterful -- for example, the inlaid abalone on the knife handle and the reflections in the silver-- it is clearly the work of an artist not yet in his prime.

Ring Canal Walkabout

Yesterday dawned cold and clear. In the green grass of the city parks, bulbs are pushing their way out of the winter-cold ground, yearning for the sunshine. Tulip season is almost upon us!

In the Grote Markt, vendors display bulbs of all types. Whether they are cut and ready for a vase or as bulbs to be planted in the ground, flowers are a big part of the culture here.

flowers, Haarlem Grote Markt

It still snows periodically but the ground is warming up and snow only lasts for a short time. Meanwhile the canals are mostly ice-free these days and there is definitely a spring time feel in the air.

And so in the hastening change of season, I took a walkabout. Using the ring canal as my guide, I circled the city in a march for Haarlem adventure.

It took about five hours, with a stop for lunch and a coffee in the middle at a cute little place called Crepe Affaire on Kruisstraat.

Nieuwe Gracht canal from the Kruisbrug, looking west

Despite the thaw, it seems worth mentioning that February in Noord-Holland has not always been ice-free.

Many artists of the 17th century painted images of Dutch daily life with tremendous accuracy. There is no reason for us to believe that the winter landscape paintings would be any less realistic than the summer depictions.

Take, for example, Klaes Molenaer's undated image of a Haarlem winter landscape from the 1660s. 

Klaes Molenaer,
A Winter Landscape With A Man Pushing A Sledge In The Foreground,
A View Of Haarlem With The Cathedral Of St. Bavo Beyond,
n.d., oil on canvas
13.38 x 17.99 inches

This, like many others of its time, depicts a frosted road and field on the outskirts of Haarlem. In the background, St Bavo Cathedral -- usually referred to as the Grotekerk -- looms on the horizon line.

As is typical of the genre, clouds and sky make up half the composition. The color range is small, featuring variations of gray, punctuated only by the farmer's brown clothing. 

woman at the Grote Markt,
Cathedral of St. Bavo,
Haarlem

The vantage point suggests the viewer is looking at the scene from above -- probably the dunes near Zandvoort -- and to the east. 

Although not nearly as masterful as Ruisdael's image of the bleaching fields, Molenaer presents a faithful rendition of winter as it probably appeared during his lifetime. Today I am thankful the day is more sunny than snowy.

My walkabout led to a neighborhood on the north side of town. 

Streets crowded with bicycles, a radiator shop and the detritus of the working class belied the importance of the street names. Here was Frans Halsplein, a tiny street complete with a girl on a bicycle texting as she pedaled past me. 

Around the corner can be found more streets named after other artists, this one on the corner of a main throughway.

Wandering further, I was finally rewarded with the ultimate goal of my search: Molenaerstraat. This street was named after Jan Miense Molenaer, the older brother to Nicolaes. 

Nicolaes, it seems, was the lesser in age, status and ability. He didn't even get a street named after him. 

Nonetheless, the family name is immortalized in the city.

Successful in finding the artists' quarter, I headed for home, stopping only once to pick up some cheese and thereby completing this segment of art, cheese and a walk.

Let's Talk About Haarlem

As cities go, Haarlem is not very large. Boasting a population of about 160,000, its importance is derived in part by its location on the northern edge of the Randstad, a megalopolis of 7 million people comprised of four cities in the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag and Rotterdam.

Haarlem sits about 12 miles from Amsterdam to the southeast and about 7 miles from the North Sea to the west.

Haarlem, 2018

Haarlem's orientation is on a north-south axis, with the old city in the center, depicted in this map to the left of the s-shaped river, known as the River Spaarne.

The train station, Haarlem Centraal, is situated on the north end of the old city. Trains run to all points -- north, south, east and west -- many times daily; trips to either Amsterdam or out to Zandvoort take merely 15 minutes.

Haarlem, circa 1550

A map of the city dating to about 1550 shows the defensive walls and canal ring around the city, with the church in the center.

On the north end, outside the walls, was the Het Dulhuys. In Dutch, dul means crazy and huys is an old spelling for huis or house. Essentially, this was a leper community created in 1413. Apparently people from all over Noord-Holland came here to be tested and treated. Today the building is a national museum for psychiatry.

In the southwest corner of this map were the bleaching grounds. Here, linen sheets were brought out to the field to be bleached by the sun and water. This was an important part of a textile community, of which Haarlem was one in the vast trade network between England, Europe and Asia in the late Renaissance and early modern periods.

View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds, c 1665
Jacob van Ruisdael
Oil on canvas, 62 x 55 cm
Kunsthaus, Zurich

In the 17th century, Jacob van Ruisdael painted this particular view of Haarlem. Although there are no hills here, the view is from above with the flat countryside sweeping into the middle ground of the canvas.

Ruisdael is known for his technique in producing an open perspective; this image is one of the best examples of it.

Yet even as the viewer gains a detailed look at the Dutch landscape, more than half of the image is sky and clouds.

This is characteristic of Dutch landscape artists of the period but Ruisdael has outdone himself with the alternating bands of light and dark, drawing the eye upwards and out.

Is this heaven we are to think about? Or simply the blessing of land and sky in a water logged nation?

And these clouds that Ruisdael and so many of his artist compatriots were painting 400 years ago can still be seen today.

Indeed, I have been wandering around the Dutch countryside for five weeks now and am continually amazed with the beauty of the clouds everywhere and at all times, whether sunrise, during mid-day, or at sunset. It's no wonder they used so much canvas on the clouds, for there is enduring, almost heartbreaking beauty in their ethereal composition. Here's my look from just this afternoon.

River Spaarne and Haarlem Old City

Haarlem Random

This morning dawned cold and clear. The blue sky, without a hint of cloud cover, taunted us from the cozy warmth of our loft apartment. Lured by the shiny bright day, Hope and I headed out to the Frans Hals Museum for an afternoon of art.

Before arriving at the museum, we stopped for an amazing lunch at the Hofje Zonder Zorgen. Hope picked it, and her choice was a good one.

I had coffee, sparkling water and a tuna melt on warm brown bread. Hope had falafel and berry smoothie, with chocolate pie afterwards. There were so many items on the menu, and the service was quite pleasant; I am certain we will return again soon.

The cafe was a nice respite from the cold day, lurking in the low 20s Fahrenheit, but we pushed on, valiant art lovers braving the Haarlem winter.

Our effort was rewarded. The Frans Hals Museum is lovely.

Frans Hals Museum, street view

Housed in a building that dates to 1609 it originally served as a hofje, or almshouse, for poor men of the region. Known as the Oude Mannenhuis, it operated under strict guidelines for the men who came to reside there. Each man had to bring his own bed, chair and chamber pot. Also required was a stint of begging on the corner, the proceeds of which would make their way into the hofje coffers.

Today the building's facade is ornamented with the museum's flags and an informational plaque. Ubiquitous bikes crowd the entry. Nary a ghost from homelessness past could be seen.

In 2018, Haarlem's shelter for the homeless can be found on a main street at the edge of the canal ring.

Formerly a bank, the towering Wilhelminastraat, on a street of the same name, lends dignity to the community's unhoused.

Wilhelminastraat, street view
Haarlem's homeless shelter
2018

At this facility, residents go through a program known as Friends Family Reunion Citizen Policy Participation. This includes training and integration to ensure they will not return to the street. Teamwork and communication are modeled and reinforced.

There's no doubt homelessness exists everywhere, and for many reasons, but it appears that here in Haarlem the community attempts to address the issue in productive ways.

The Molenaer Family of Haarlem

He wasn't the only one.

Rather, Nicolaes Molenaer came from a family of well known Haarlem artists and musicians spanning several generations.

Jan Miense Molenaer,
Family Portrait of Jan Miense Molenaer, c. 1635
oil on panel
24.52 inches x 31.88

Memorialized in a portrait attributed to Nicolaes' older brother, Jan Miense Molenaer, this image captures the likeness of several members of the Molenaer family.

Dated to 1635, this painting was misunderstood for nearly three hundred years. 

Until 1992 it was called Unknown Family Portrait, largely because Molenaer did not date or sign it.

But in 1992, art historian Dennis P. Weller attributed this portrait to Jan Miense Molenaer after a careful study of it in comparison to another Molenaer self portrait entitled Man with Skull, Self Portrait.

Jan Miense Molenaer,
Family Portrait of Jan Miense Molenaer,
close-up

Man with Skull, dated to about 1640, is not without attribution problems of its own but it does appear that the individual in the this portrait strongly resembles the third man from the right in the family portrait. In particular, note the cleft in his chin.

attributed to Jan Miense Molenaer,
Man with Skull, Self Portrait, c. 1640
oil on canvas
34.25 x 26.77 inches

Nicolaes Molenaer,
close-up

Nicolaes Molenaer is also depicted in the family portrait, appearing as the small boy, second from the right.

Thus we have the unique opportunity to view the subject artist as he appeared in childhood.

Winter in Haarlem and the Case of Klaes Molenaer

A couple days ago we rode the train to Haarlem, a small city about eight miles from the North Sea. It's colder here than it was in Delft, and the wind chill factor makes the day temperature about -6°C, or 21°F.  A north wind blows in from Norway and Sweden, bringing along scattered snow flurries.

Welkom to winter in Haarlem. 

Klaes Molenaer, Winter Scene with Skaters, n.d.
Oil on panel, 23 1/2 in. x 32 in.
E. B. Crocker Collection, 1872.629

Arriving in this season seems appropriate, however, since one of the subject artists whose works appear in the Crocker Art Museum often painted winter landscapes scenes. 

Nicolaes Molenaer (c. 1630 - 1676) was a landscape artist associated with the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke, an artist's association active in the region. 


His winter scene paintings often focused on the pleasures and challenges of daily life in Noord-Holland.

He, along with two of his brothers, participated in a thriving artistic and cultural milieu in Haarlem -- a city he lived in his entire life -- at the height of the Dutch Golden Age.

Although considered by Stechow to be a "minor artist," some of the techniques Molenaer employed in this painting are part of a much larger mid-century trend among Dutch painters, including an emphasis on figure groups, the use of local color and clearly defined structural elements (Stechow 109).

Here the viewer sees skaters on a frozen pond at the city's edge. One man has fallen down. Others, on the right, appear to be ice fishing. Dogs, a romantic couple and parents pushing their children in sleds draw the viewer's eye around the composition. This is every day life in Haarlem circa 1660.

Above, winter clouds struggle for dominance over the blue sky. These blues and grays balance out the more tonal browns of the buildings below. There is no red. Molenaer is not brave enough to abandon the brown tones completely but he does a decent job of straddling the center of the palette.

Compositionally, Winter Scene with Skaters, operates on a cross diagonal, meeting at the central windmill blades. The energy of the storm clouds in the upper right is balanced by the busy-ness of human activity in the lower left. The large patch of empty blue sky in the upper left is moderated in the lower right by the weight and color of the buildings.

signature, K. Molenaer
on A Winter Landscape with Skaters, n.d.

Molenaer often signed his paintings K. Molenaer, as is shown in the close-up above from another image, emphasizing the abbreviated Klaes for Nicolaes. 

Thus, akin to Molenaer, I am signing off in order to go find some of the pleasures and challenges of daily life in winter's Haarlem.