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Oil on canvas. Utrecht Caravaggesque School, circa 1625–1645, signed upper left G. V. Honthorst.
The head of a young bull emerges powerfully from the darkness, giving our portrait great emotional intensity. The lateral light creates a distinctly Caravaggesque theatricality: it catches the whiteness of the forehead, glides along the curve of the horns, and models the volumes with sculptural precision. Far from being a simple pastoral subject, our animal is treated as a true character, following a common practice among wealthy owners who commissioned likenesses of their favorite animals: dogs, horses, sometimes parrots, and more rarely, as here, a sturdy bovine.
Our model belongs to the old brown-and-white pied breed widely found in the United Provinces in the 17th century. It is indeed a young bull, and not a young cow, as the tuft of hair standing between the two horns is a feature specific to males of this species. The restrained yet incisive handling, the frontal presentation of the subject, and the use of structured chiaroscuro directly recall the aesthetic of Gerrit van Honthorst, known as Gherardo delle Notti. The work, however, belongs to his workshop, where collaborators trained in his luminous language produced isolated heads intended for a wider clientele. The strong partial signature G. V. Hontho… placed upper left corresponds precisely to these workshop practices, in which works were sometimes signed with the master’s name under his authority.
Our animal portrait, rare in this stylistic context, testifies to the fascination of Utrecht painters with dramatic effects, isolated figures, and the silent monumentality of subjects. It is a remarkable example of this singular vein in which the animal becomes a character, and where light, even more than line, constructs presence.
We have chosen to present this rare painting in an old blackened and gilt wooden frame.
Dimensions: 55.2 × 44.6 cm – 76 × 64 cm with the frame.
Biography: Son and grandson of painters, Gerard van Honthorst (Utrecht 1592 – id. 1656) was a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert in Utrecht. He was only 18 when he settled in Rome, where he was captivated by the art of Caravaggio. He thus fully embraced the new aesthetic imposed by the brilliant Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and his talent was soon noticed. Powerful patrons — Cardinal Scipione Borghese, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo II de’ Medici, and above all the Marquis Giustiniani, with whom he stayed — helped him obtain important commissions to decorate churches in Rome.
His works with strongly contrasted lighting earned him the nickname “Gherardo delle Notti” (“Gerard of the Nights”). Returning to Utrecht in 1620, he opened a prosperous workshop with many collaborators. In 1628, he was invited by Charles I to the English court, where he painted several portraits. In 1635, he produced large historical compositions for Christian IV, King of Denmark. In 1637, he became the favorite painter of the court of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau. He then executed mythological paintings, decorated the famous Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, and painted numerous portraits, including those of members of the Orange-Nassau family.
Bibliography:
Gerrit van Honthorst 1592–1656, exhibition catalogue, Centraal Museum Utrecht / National Gallery of Art Washington, Zwolle, Waanders Publishers, 1999.
Judson J. Richard, Ekkart Rudolf E.O., Gerrit van Honthorst 1592–1656, Davaco Publishers, 1999.
Papi Gianni, Gherardo delle Notti, Gherrit van Honthorst in Italia, Edizione dei Soncino, 1999.
Helmus Liesbeth M., Ebert Bernd, Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe, Hirmer Publishers, 2018.
Helmus Liesbeth M., Manuth Volker, Utrecht et le mouvement caravagesque international, Paris Tableau, 2014.
Slive Seymour, Dutch Painting 1600–1800, New Haven / London: Yale University Press, 1995.
Dutch Portraiture in the Age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Waanders Publishers, various editions.
E. de Jongh, Portretten van echt en trouw. Huwelijk en gezin in de Nederlandse kunst van de zeventiende eeuw, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum / Zwolle, Waanders Publishers, 1986.
R. Falkenburg, The Portrait in the Netherlands, Phaidon Press, 2003.
