This essay will examine and carefully analyse the portrayal of femininity with Dutch genre paintings of the seventeenth century, focussing on the artists Johannes Vermeer, Gerard Ter Borch, Dirck van Baburen, Nicolaes Bercham, Caspar Netscher, Jan Steen, Pieter de Hooch and Nicolaes Maes. Femininity can be shown in many ways and would come down to personal interpretation as to how feminine a subject appears in paintings.
Genre paintings, largely based on scenes of everyday life, were very popular amongst the Dutch, particularly throughout the middle classes. Many seem to subtly, or sometimes boldly, hint at sexual misbehaviour with the use of comedy whereas others seem to carry overtones of virtue and domesticity.[1] It can be argued that genre paintings carry hidden meanings within them, however, Art Historians such as Peter Hecht appear more sceptical of trying to look to deeply in the paintings for the hidden messages. When discussing the topic of genre painting he says he ‘cannot but reject the idea that all Dutch seventeenth century art was meant to be read symbolically, and that I fail to see why its presumed meaning should have been hidden to serve this aesthetic or didactic purpose which contemporary sources never speak about’.[2] Therefore it is quite plausible to assume any hidden meanings found in the paintings can be interpreted differently by individuals depending on how they view the painting, and so the following discussion of femininity in Dutch genre paintings is based on my own interpretations of them.
Johannes Vermeer’s depiction of Woman Holding a Balance, along with Woman Reading a letter, show the women with a graceful and reserved manner, both unaware of the viewer. The white headdress of the woman holding the balance adds to a sense of purity and femininity, and we can see she is fairly wealthy from the collection of jewellery on the dresser. It has been argued the woman’s coats are hiding a pregnancy, leading some historians to summarise the painting by the ‘traditional belief that the sex of an unborn child could be divined by weighing pearls’.[3] Another example of a woman painted in a virtuous manner is of a Woman Tuning a Lute, where she is sat alone with her instrument with a look of deep concentration whilst trying to hear the correct pitch to continue playing. The lute was a favourite of Vermeer to paint, and can also be found in other Dutch genre paintings as it carries overtones of harmony. The light from the window seems to reflect of the woman’s pearl necklace and earrings and cover her face with a soft and warm glow, highlighting her soft facial features.[4]
Another good example of a woman of wealth painted elegantly is in Nicolaes Berchem’s A Moor Presenting a Parrot to a Lady, of which the woman’s classical pose seems to almost mirror the statue of Venus in the background, possibly making references to attributes of women being powerful goddesses, in this case, the presence of the Venus statue bears resemblance to the enchanting effect the woman seems to have upon the Moor. She is dressed in very expensive and elaborate clothing and attended to by a maid, suggesting this woman is not like some of the women painted in other Dutch genre scenes, for example, there is a complete contrast between the woman in this painting to the woman in Jan Steen’s Wine is a Mocker. Berchem’s Lady seems to command attention by the way she is posing and gesturing to the Moor to continue with his polite advances to show her the parrot.[5]
Gerard Ter Borch’s paintings of Woman Drinking Wine with a Sleeping Soldier and Drinking Girl with a Letter are slightly different interpretations with regards to the femininity we see in Johannes Vermeer depictions of women. The women in these two depictions appear to be deep in contemplation but with an air of disbelief. The image of women drinking wine alone, or even with men, may have been seen as a shameful activity by many Dutchmen. The porcelain jug the woman is holding in Woman Drinking Wine with a Soldier could be considered as bearing sexual reference. The model for both these paintings, a relative of Ter Borch, had written poetry, saying ‘unrequited love can be soothed by the powers of wine’. The posture of both women in these paintings is a slightly more masculine and slouchy than I would expect from a woman.[6]
Another painting portraying a combination of a woman and wine in Jan Steen’s Wine Is a Mocker. This shows an extremely drunk woman who has fainted from the sheer extent of her wine consumption. The other characters appearing to be mocking her but we do not see any judgement being made with regards to the woman’s activity, creating the atmosphere of this depiction being a regular occurrence in Dutch life. The woman’s jacket is starting to come undone and her legs are beginning to show, revealing more flesh than would have been considered acceptable. Her red stockings were often considered to be associated with prostitution and can also be seen in other Steen paintings such as A Woman At Her Toilet.[7]
Jan Steen’s 1659 depiction of A Woman At Her Toilet shows a woman preparing for her bed. Her pose is extremely suggestive; however she is unaware of the viewer looking in at her. There was a taboo regarding the exposure of ladies legs throughout Dutch culture at this time, and the addition of her red coloured stockings adds to the suspicion of prostitution, however, images such as this remained popular within Dutch society. The original painting was later altered to create a less taboo subject, by altering the length of the woman’s skirt and changing the chamber pot to a vase.
Another painting that acts as a stark reminder of the widespread prostitution amongst Dutch life is Dirck van Baburen’s The Procuress. This shows a smiling man offering the woman money for her services, while the elderly woman points to her palm in the hope of arranging a price with the man. This scene is quite obviously occurring in a brothel and our view is limited to just the three characters, however, other scenes such as this would be constantly occurring in the brothel. Despite the topic of the painting, the viewer cannot deny the prostitute is very beautiful and soft skinned, just as the more reserved women depicted in the paintings of Vermeer are and so despite the activities that are about to take place I would still consider the woman to be feminine based on her pose and soft smile.[8]
Gerard Ter Borch’s depictions of women being offered money are slightly different to van Baburen’s, and can be seen in Soldier Offering a Young Woman Coins and The Proposition. The woman painted in the Soldier Offering Coins is dressed elegantly in satin and fur and is looking down at the offering of coins in the soldiers hand whilst in the process of refilling her wine glass. The room they are drinking in is very ornately furnished with a large focus on the white fireplace behind the woman. As seen in van Baburen’s The Procuress, the soldier is attempting to buy the woman’s favours; however the woman in Ter Borch’s painting appears less flattered and indecisive as to whether to take the soldiers offer, possibly torn between moralistic values. We can also compare this painting with Judith Leyster’s The Proposition where the woman portrayed here is completely ignoring her suitor’s advances and offerings to continue with her sewing, which was considered to be a virtuous task.[9]
The Eavesdropper, painted by Nicolaes Maes, shows a woman hiding on a staircase in a typical household listening in and spying on her scullery maid who is in deep conversation with a young man. Maes has painted the main character with a lively and comical facial expression and her gesture to silence the viewer makes them become part of the painting. The gesture of the woman also adds to the secrecy of the affair the scullery maid and young man who are not meant to be together and are obviously unaware of anyone else knowing about their meetings. The deliberate quiet manner emanating from the woman shows gossipy attribute women are associated as to having.[10]
Another domestic genre scene I want to focus on is that of The Courtyard of a House in Delft, painted by Pieter de Hooch. The maid in this painting shows signs of contentment whilst performing her domestic duties, as well as contentment of her maternal feelings towards the young child. The viewer can see she is in the midst of doing her daily chores and is possibly teaching the little girl as she looks down at her in a slightly amused but understanding manner. This is a notable attribute of femininity as part of a mother’s role is to guide and understand children. The maid’s posture and soft gesture to hold the child’s hand is also very graceful too, considering she is in the middle of her daily work. The presence of the broom and the bucket in the courtyard acts as a reminder for the maid not to forget her daily duties.[11]
Caspar Netscher’s painting of The Lace-Maker also portrays a young woman using her domestic skills making lace at home to possibly sell onto the public, as would often be the case for housewives who wished to gain extra income. We can assume this is not a very prosperous household the woman is running as the print of a landscape pinned to the wall was a common scene in households unable to afford paintings. As with some other paintings I have discussed, this is one where the woman is unaware of the viewer watching her as she seems totally engrossed in her activity. The birds embroidered on the cap she is wearing suggests she may be a married woman or as Westermann describes her as woman who ‘literally has marriage on her mind’. As in Hooch’s Courtyard of a House in Delft, there is a broom present, again to act as a reminder not to neglect her cleaning duties to maintain a good household.[12]
In conclusion, the femininity of women shown in Dutch genre paintings are of mixed conceptions, depending on the class and social status of the woman depicted. Femininity can also be shown differently depending on the scene they are painted in, for example, the caring and motherly pose of the maid shown in Hooch’s The Courtyard of a House in Delft emanates a different femininity in comparison with the women painted in Vermeer’s Woman Holding a Balance and Woman Reading a Letter. Women of a higher status or of a more youthful age are generally portrayed as soft skinned, attentive and polite individuals, whereas women of a lower ranking class can sometimes be portrayed in a slightly comical and mischievous manner, as shown in Steen’s Wine is a Mocker. Some of the women appear to be inviting the viewer into the scene by their gestures beckoning the viewer to almost comment on what is happening in the scene, for example, Maes Eavesdropper, whereas others appear more passive and unaware of the viewer creating the illusion that we are intruding on their privacy, as seen in Girl Reading a Letter. The extent of femininity shown in seventeenth century Dutch genre paintings therefore largely depended on what the artist wished to show to the viewer and on what was considered to be feminine in seventeenth century Dutch society as the woman depicted in Courtyard of a House in Delft appears no less feminine in my opinion to the woman depicted in her Venus like pose in Berchem’s painting. It all surely depends on what the viewer would consider to be feminine attributes as to how they interpret the paintings. The hidden moralistic meanings of Dutch genre paintings only become apparent if you look closely enough at them, they can be taken at face value or you could search for the hidden meanings to create a story of what is occurring in the paintings. I believe all good genre paintings do carry hidden meanings and moralistic scenes, as the whole intention of genre paintings is to tell a story.
Bibliography
Brown, Christopher, Dutch Painting (Phaidon Press Ltd: London, 2001) pp.5-23, 68-69
Chapman, H. Perry, Jan Steen: Painter and Storyteller (National Gallery of Art: Washington D.C, 1996) pp. 222-223
Hecht, Peter, ‘Chapter 7- Dutch Seventeenth Century Genre Painting: A reassessment of some current hypotheses, Looking at Seventeenth Century Dutch Art: Realism Reconsidered (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1997) pp. 88-97
Honor, Hugh and Fleming, John, A World History of Art (Laurence King Publishing: London, 1999) pp. 598-610
Royal Academy of Arts, Masters of Seventeenth Century Dutch Genre Painting (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia, 1984) Catalogue numbers 1, 5, 67, 117, and 118
Westermann, Mariet, The Art of the Dutch Republic 1585-1718 (Orion Publishing Group: London, 1996) pp. 116-129
[1] Hugh Honor and John Fleming, World History of Art (Laurence King Publishing: London,1999) p. 608
[2] Peter Hecht, Dutch Seventeenth Century Genre Painting (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge,1997) pp. 96-97
[3] Royal Academy of Arts, Masters of 17th Century Dutch Genre Paintings (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia,1984) Catalogue 118
[4] Royal Academy of Arts, Masters of 17th Century Dutch Genre Paintings (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia,1984) Catalogue 117
[5] Royal Academy of Arts, Masters of 17th Century Dutch Genre Paintings (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia,1984) Catalogue 5
[6] Royal Academy of Arts, Masters of 17th Century Dutch Genre Paintings (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia,1984) Catalogue 11
[7] H. Perry Chapman, Jan Steen: Painter and Storyteller (National Gallery of Art: Washington D.C,1996) pp. 222-223
[8] Royal Academy of Arts, Masters of 17th Century Dutch Genre Paintings (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia,1984) Catalogue 1
[9] Hugh Honor and John Fleming, World History of Art (Laurence King Publishing: London,1999) pp. 608-609
[10] Royal Academy of Arts, Masters of 17th Century Dutch Genre Paintings (Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia,1984) Catalogue 67
[11] Christopher Brown, Dutch Painting (Phaidon Press Ltd: London,2001) pp. 68-69
[12] Mariet Westermann, The Art of Dutch Republic 1585-1718 (Orion Publishing: London,1996) p. 125
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