Leading Dutch Baroque master who specialized in portraiture. Little is known of Hals’s life. He was born in Haarlem to a Flemish cloth worker from Mechelen who had moved to Holland when the Spaniards recaptured Flanders. Hals spent most of his life in his native city, and there he trained with Karel van Mander. By 1610, he was a member of the Guild of St. Luke and an independent master.
His Shrovetide Revellers (c. 1615; New York, Metropolitan Museum) presents a comical rendition of colorful theater characters who celebrate Mardi Gras by indulging in food and drink. The three-quarter figures compressed into the foreground, their gesticulations, and the still-life elements on the table betray Hals’s knowledge of the Caravaggist vocabulary. His Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Civic Guard Company of Haarlem (1616; Haarlem, Frans Halsmuseum) follows a well-established tradition of militia company portraiture. Yet, Hals infused the work with a dynamism never before seen in these types of representations.
Hals’s Married Couple (1622; Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum) is thought to depict the artist himself and his wife, although some have suggested it is his brother, Dirck Hals, or his patron, Isaac Massa, and their respective brides. The work is based on Peter Paul Rubens’s Honeysuckle Bower (1609–1610; Munich, Alte Pinakothek), which Hals might have seen during a brief trip to Antwerp in 1616. The Laughing Cavalier (1624; London, Wallace Collection) is an animated portrait rendered with choppy brushstrokes and seen from a worm’s eye perspective, typical of Hals’s works. The Officers and Sergeants of the St. Hadrian Civic Guard Company of Haarlem (1633; Haarlem; Frans Halsmuseum) marks Hals’s high point in his career as portraitist. As in his earlier militia portrait, the figures have been interrupted by the presence of the viewer. Yet, the vibrancy of the scene has increased in great measure, mainly due to the loose brushwork, complex draperies, and repetitive punctuations of color. By the time Hals rendered this work, he was one of the most sough-after portraitists in the Netherlands.
A large number of works recording the likeness of members of the Dutch bourgeoisie by Hals have survived, among them Nicolas Hasselaer (1630–1635; Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), Nicolas Woutersz van der Meer (1631; Haarlem, Frans Halsmuseum), Pieter van den Broecke (c. 1633, London, Kenwood House), and Isabella Coymans (1650–1652; private collection). As Hals aged, his palette became more subdued, although the richness of his pictorial surfaces as a result of his choppy brushstrokes continued. He was sued on several occasions for not meeting his financial obligations. In 1652, Hals declared bankruptcy and received financial support from the city of Haarlem for the last four years of his life, dying in poverty in 1666.
One of the major ruling houses of Europe whose history dates back to the 11th century. Their name derives from the Habichtsburg Castle in the former Duchy of Swabia, now Switzerland, where the family originated. In 1273, the Hapsburgs attained imperial power when Rudolf I was elected king of Germany. Rudolf defeated King Otakar II of Bohemia, which confirmed Hapsburg possession of Austria, Styria, and Carniola. In 1282, Rudolf declared these lands to be hereditary in the Hapsburg line. In 1333, the Hapsburgs annexed Carinthia to their dominion, Tyrol in 1363, Istria in 1374, and Trieste in 1382. In 1483, Albert V of Austria, who married the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, was elected as the German king. From this point onward, every German king and Holy Roman Emperor, with one exception, came from the House of Hapsburg.
In 1453, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III raised Austria to an archduchy and, in 1471, acquired Fiume. Maximilian I married Mary of Burgundy, obtaining the Low Countries, and Philip I married Juana of Castile, bringing Spain into Hapsburg dominion. In 1521, Emperor Charles V split the Hapsburg empire in half, giving the Austrian dominion to his brother, Ferdinand I. The rest of the territories went to his son and successor, King Philip II of Spain. Titian, Pieter Coecke, Bernard van Orley, El Greco, Juan Fernández de Navarrete, Alonso Sánchez Coello, Vicente Carducho, Diego Velázquez, Jusepe de Ribera, and Peter Paul Rubens are among the artists who benefited from Hapsburg patronage.
Known in Italy as Giovanni Acuto, a British mercenary who commanded the Florentine army against Pisa. Hawkwood was born in Essex, England, and began his military career in France. In 1364, he led the Pisan army in the war against Florence, but in 1377, after having served in the papal troops, he switched to the Florentine side, only to lose his life. While leading the Florentine army, Hawkwood was granted tax exemption and citizenship, and upon his death, he received the state funeral reserved for Florentine heroes. The Florentines also planned a large marble monument in his honor, but the idea was abandoned when England reclaimed Hawkwood’s remains. Hawkwood was finally memorialized in 1436, when Paolo Uccello painted a fresco in the Cathedral of Florence depicting the hero on horseback. The monochromatic palette Uccello used grants the illusion of a bronze monument, a fitting substitution for the earlier marble project. An inscription Uccello included in the fresco lauds Hawkwood as an able military commander. The work served to ascertain that Florence valued those who served it and bestowed upon them the highest honors.
Dutch master born in Heemskerck who worked with Jan van Scorel in Haarlem and Utrecht, and who, like his master, traveled to Rome (1532), where he spent several years studying the works of the Italians. There, van Heemskerck created a number of drawings of antiquities and contemporary art that are invaluable, as they record lost monuments, as well as the construction of New St. Peter’s, which took place during his stay. In 1537, van Heemskerck settled in Haarlem, where three years later he was appointed dean of the local guild. He remained there for the rest of his life, save for a stay in Amsterdam from 1572 to 1573, when the Spaniards seized Haarlem.
Van Heemskerck painted his Family Portrait (c. 1530; Kassel, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen) before his departure to Rome. It denotes the influence of van Scorel, so much so that at one time it was attributed to the latter. His St. Luke Painting the Virgin (1532; Haarlem, Frans Halsmuseum), also created before his departure to Italy, presents classicized figures, although it was not until van Heemskerck was exposed to Italian art firsthand that he truly mastered this vocabulary. His Entombment Triptych (1559–1560; Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts) demonstrates his assimilation of the Italian Mannerist style, in particular that of Agnolo Bronzino.
The mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who, in 313, issued the Edict of Milan, allowing Christians to practice their faith freely in the Roman Empire. St. Helena converted to Christianity at the age of 63, built a number of churches, and helped the poor and the sick. She also traveled to Palestine, where she discovered the true cross on which Christ was crucified. In Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross in the Cappella Maggiore at San Francesco, Arezzo (c. 1454–1458), St. Helena is one of the main protagonists. Cornelis Engelbrechtsz depicted her in his Constantine and St. Helena (c. 1510–1520; Munich, Alte Pinakothek) with youthful features and holding the cross as her attribute, as did Andrea Bolgi in his sculpture for the crossing (where the nave and transept cross) of St. Peter’s, Rome (1629–1630). Paolo Veronese rendered the Dream of St. Helena (c. 1580; Vatican, Pinacoteca), which led to the finding of the cross, an unconventional depiction that inspired Baroque representations of a single, heroic female saint occupying most of the pictorial space.
The daughter of Jan Sanders van Hemessen, who trained her as a painter. Caterina specialized in portraiture, as did many other female artists of the era, as well as religious subjects. In the 1540s, she is known to have served Mary of Hungary, sister of Charles V and regent of the Netherlands, as court painter. In 1554, Caterina married Christian of Morien, organist at the Cathedral of Antwerp. In 1556, Mary of Hungary resigned her post and returned to Spain, taking Caterina and Christian with her. When Mary died in 1558, she left a sizeable pension for Caterina, and the couple returned to Antwerp.
Caterina’s best-known work is her self-portrait of 1548, now at the Basel Kunstmuseum. This is an unusual rendition in that she presents herself in the act of painting, with palette and brushes in hand, and seated in front of her easel, at the time an unexpected subject in female portraiture. The National Gallery in London houses the portraits of unidentified sitters, one of a lady with her dog (1551) and the other of a man holding his sword (1552). Both show the figures in three-quarter view, against a dark background, and both are small-scale works, typical of Caterina’s oeuvre. At the Bowes Museum in Durham is a portrait of a woman from the 1550s, again in three-quarter pose, yet now set against a light blue background, upon which she casts a shadow. The woman is shown playing with the ring on her finger, which suggests that this is a marriage portrait.
Netherlandish artist from the region of Antwerp who became dean of the Guild of Painters in that city in 1548. In 1551, van Hemessen moved to Haarlem, where he spent the rest of his life. He is the father and teacher of Caterina van Hemessen, who specialized in portraiture and religious subjects. Jan is best known for his crude, often comical figure types, crowded into the pictorial space. One of his favorite subjects was the story of the prodigal son, with the version in the Brussels Musées Royaux of 1536 providing one of the best examples. He also painted genre scenes, for example, The Surgeon (c. 1555) in the Prado, Madrid. Other works by van Hemessen include Jesus Summons Matthew to Leave the Tax Office (1536; Munich, Alte Pinakothek), the Mocking of Christ (c. 1560; Douai, Museé de la Chartreuse), and Christ Driving the Merchants from the Temple (1556; Nancy, Musée des Beaux-Arts).
The first French monarch from the Bourbon dynasty. Raised a Protestant, Henry IV converted to Catholicism in 1593, and was crowned king of France the following year. He ended the Wars of Religion in 1598, when he signed the Treaty of Nantes, which guaranteed religious freedom to the Protestant Huguenots in France. In 1600, Henry married Marie de’ Medici, and, in 1610, he was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic who opposed his policies.
One of Henry’s great concerns was the improvement of the city of Paris. He widened and paved its streets, built new quarters, and renovated old ones. The Pont Neuf and Place Dauphine (both beg. 1598), projects begun by Henry III and interrupted by civil strife, were completed under Henry IV’s reign. Henry conceived the Place Royale (now Place des Vosges; 1605) as the locus for Parisians to gather during feasts and suitable housing for the aristocracy. The Place’s urban planning became the prototype to emulate in other cities of France and the rest of Europe. Covent Garden in London (c. 1630) is one of those projects based on the French urban model.
The mythological hero whose attributes are the club and lion skin, and who is known for his 12 labors. Juno, jealous of Hercules’ mother, Alcmena, sent two serpents to kill the infant hero. Blessed with great strength from birth, Hercules crushed the serpents to death. He married Megara and killed his three children in a fit of madness caused by Juno. To atone for his actions, he accomplished his 12 labors: killing the Nemean lion, Lernean Hydra, and man-eating Stymphalian birds; capturing the Cerynean stag, Erymanthian boar, man-eating mares of Diomedes, and Cretan bull; cleaning the stables of Augeas; obtaining the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, and the three apples from the Garden of Hesperides; fetching the cattle of Geryon; and bringing Cerberus from the underworld to earth. These labors branded him as the symbol of courage and strength.
Hercules is a favored mythological subject in art. Tintoretto depicted him as a child suckling on Juno’s breast in the Origin of the Milky Way (c. 1570; London, National Gallery). Peter Paul Rubens painted Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion (1608; Bucharest, Muzeul National), and Albrecht Dürer presented Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds (1500; Nuremberg, Germanisches National Museum). Lucas Cranach the Elder (1537; Brunswick, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum) and Laurent de La Hyre (c. 1638; Heidelberg, Kurpfälzisches Museum) depicted Hercules and Omphale, with the queen of Lydia, who took him as her slave, donning his clothes and dressing him as a woman.
On his way to obtain the apples of Hesperides, one of his 12 labors, Hercules was challenged to a fight by Antaeus, the son of Gaia and Neptune. As the son of the earth goddess, Antaeus’ strength increased each time Hercules threw him to the ground. Having discovered the giant’s secret, Hercules lifted Antaeus and crushed him. Antonio del Pollaiuolo depicted the scene twice. His earliest rendition is the painting of c. 1460 (Florence, Uffizi), among the first large-scale mythological renderings of the Renaissance. The second is a sculpture in bronze (1470s; Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello) that elaborates further on the violent movements and Antaeus’ agony as he is defeated by Hercules.
Cardinal Odoardo Farnese summoned Annibale Carracci to Rome from Bologna in c. 1595 to decorate his newly built Palazzo Farnese. Hercules at the Crossroads is the first major work Carracci carried out in the palace. The scene, painted on canvas, was intended to be mounted on the ceiling of the cardinal’s camerino (studio) and shows Hercules at the crossroads, pondering the proper path to take. Virtue, on the left, points to a trail up a mountain, while a poet next to her prepares to sing Hercules’ praises should he accept what she has to offer. On the right, Pleasure entices the hero to a life of vice by presenting to him playing cards, theater masks, and musical instruments. The scene is based on the story by Prodicus, the 5th-century B.C.E. sophist philosopher, as recorded by Xenophon in the Memo- rabilia, meant to guide young men to choose virtue over vice. As such, the image points to the proper choice Cardinal Farnese made when he took the religious path.
German artist from Nördlingen, where he can be traced in 1459. Herlin’s name is listed in the city’s tax rolls from that date until 1499, save for 1467, when he was in Rothenburg, working on an altarpiece for the Church of St. James. He rendered the St. George Altarpiece for Nördlingen’s city church from 1462 to 1465, and the St. Blasius Altarpiece for the Church of St. Blasius in Bopfingen in 1472. These paintings reveal Herlin’s debt to the Flemish School, particularly Rogier van der Weyden.
Herlin’s strongest work is the Family Altarpiece (1488; Nördlingen, Städtisches Museum), which shows the enthroned Virgin and Child against a brocaded cloth of honor. To their right, St. Margaret presents a female donor and her daughters, while to the left, St. Luke sponsors her husband and sons. In the distance is a cityscape seen through an archway, with each detail clearly rendered. This, the heavy draperies with angular folds, the hierarchic proportions, and the nonidealized figure types were borrowed from Flemish examples. The posture of the Christ Child makes specific reference to the art of Hans Memling.
Spanish architect, mathematician, and geometrician who authored the Discurso sobre la figura cúbica and Libro del saber de astronomía (1562). Of noble descent, Herrera studied philosophy at the University of Valladolid. In 1548, he became part of the retinue of Philip II of Spain, who had not yet ascended the throne. In this capacity, he traveled to Flanders, Germany, and Italy, where he was exposed to the local art and architecture. In 1558, Philip ascended the throne and appointed Herrera tutor to his son, Carlos, Prince of Asturias. In 1563, Herrera worked on the building of El Escorial under the direction of Juan Bautista de Toledo, and when Bautista de Toledo died in 1567, Herrera took over the task of completing the monastery complex. In 1579, he was appointed the crown’s surveyor, and in 1583, he established the Academia de Matemáticas y Deliniación, becoming its first director. His other architectural works include the south façade of the Alcázar of Toledo (1571–1585), the Lonja de Sevilla (Merchant’s Exchange, 1583), the Puente de Segovia in Madrid (1582–1584), and the Cathedral of Valladolid (1589).
German Renaissance master, member of a family of painters from Augsburg that included his brother Sigmund and his son Hans Holbein the Younger. Holbein’s training and early career remain a mystery. In 1493, he is documented as an established master in his native city, working on an altarpiece for the Weingarten Abbey, now dispersed. The work clearly shows the influence of Flemish art in the angular treatment of the drapery folds, brilliant colors, and heavy patterning. These features are also seen in his Death of the Virgin (1490–1495; Basel, Kunstmuseum), part of the St. Afra Altarpiece, which has prompted scholars to suspect a visit by Holbein to the Netherlands.
In 1499, Holbein was working at the Convent of St. Catherine in Augsburg, rendering the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. In 1504, he further contributed the Basilica of St. Paul, the two paintings part of a series depicting Roman pilgrimage basilicas to be used by those who could not visit Rome as sites of pilgrimage and prayer. Holbein also worked in Ulm and Frankfurt (1500–1501). He was back in Augsburg in 1502, when he painted the altarpiece for the monastery of Kaisheim at Donauwörth. In this work, the figures are more elongated, and the ampler spatial arrangement of the figures now points to Italian influence.
Between 1503–1521, Holbein, who went in debt, was the defendant in five lawsuits. In 1516, he moved to Isenheim, where he rendered the Altarpiece of St. Sebastian (1515–1517; Munich, Alte Pinakothek), which shows greater Italianate elements than his Kaisheim Altarpiece, especially in the figure types, which are more monumental and elegant, increased contrast of light and dark, and greater anatomical detail of the nude saint. After his move to Isenheim, not much else is known of Holbein, except that he is recorded in the Augsburg guild records of 1524 as deceased.
German painter from Augsburg, trained by his father, Hans Holbein the Elder, who was also a painter. In c. 1514, Holbein the Younger went to Basel where he entered the workshop of Hans Herbster. There he gained a reputation as a book illustrator, becoming employed by publisher Johann Froben in 1516. In the years that Holbein was active, the Reformation had eliminated the need for altarpieces in the North as Protestants do not decorate their churches. Although Holbein did execute some religious works, he adapted to this situation in the art market by specializing in portraiture.
In 1516, he painted the diptych portrait of Jakob Meyre and His Wife Dorothea Kannengiesser (Basel, Kunstmuseum). Here the figures are set in an Italianate architectural backdrop, their faces modeled in great detail. In 1521, humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam visited Basel, and Holbein painted his portrait (c. 1523; Paris, Louvre), showing him in profile at a desk, writing. In 1526, prompted by the worsening art market in Basel, Holbein left for England, where, armed with letters of recommendation from Erasmus, he was able to obtain commissions from Sir Thomas More. For More, Holbein painted a family portrait, now known only through a drawing (1526; Basel, Kupferstichkabinett) he sent back to Erasmus in Basel—the earliest informal group portrait so far recognized. From this, Holbein created various single portraits of the More family, including the famed Sir Thomas More (1527) in the Frick Collection, New York.
During a second trip to England (1532), Holbein painted one of his most remarkable portraits, The Ambassadors (1533; London, National Gallery), which depicts the French Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve, bishop of Lavour, surrounded by books and instruments that cast the sitters as intellectuals. The most remarkable feature in this work is the anamorphic skull that floats in the foreground, thought to refer perhaps to Dinteville’s heraldic device. In 1536, Holbein became court painter to Henry VIII of England. His portrait of the king in wedding attire is in the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome, and dates to 1539–1540. Holbein not only worked for the king as a portraitist, but also as a mural painter, miniaturist, engraver, and jewelry and costumes designer. Holbein died in England in 1543, from the plague.
The Holy Trinity is the encapsulation of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost into one being. During the Renaissance, the Holy Trinity came to be represented as a figure of God holding the crucified Christ, between them the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. Masaccio’s Holy Trinity at Santa Maria Novella in Florence (1427) provides an exceptional example of this subject type. Albrecht Dürer’s Adoration of the Holy Trinity (1508–1511; Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum) and El Greco’s Holy Trinity (1577–1579; Madrid, Prado), a painting inspired by Dürer’s version, also provide noteworthy examples of the theme.
Painted by Masaccio using one-point linear perspective, one of the earliest examples to make use of this technique. The scene unfolds in a chapel that convincingly recedes into space, with the vanishing point in the center of the masonry altar below it. The crucified Christ is presented as the Savior by God the Father, who stands on a platform. At either side are the Virgin, who brings her son to our attention, and St. John, who clasps his hands together. The work was commissioned by the Lenzi, included at either side of the painted chapel kneeling in prayer.
Here Masaccio introduced the pyramidal composition, which would become standard in Renaissance art. His placement of the figures follows a hierarchic order, with God the Father at the highest point, below him his son, then the Virgin and St. John, and finally the donors, who occupy the space outside the painted chapel. Below the scene is a fictive tomb with a skeleton and inscription that reads, “I once was what you are, what I am you will become.” With this, the image warns the viewer that life is temporary and only through Christ can salvation be attained. The work incorporates into painting the architectural principles of rationality, order, symmetry, and balance introduced by Filippo Brunelleschi, Masaccio’s contemporary.
Dutch painter; member of the Utrecht Caravaggist group. Honthorst was born in Utrecht and went to Rome in c. 1610–1612, where he entered in the service of Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani. He also worked for the Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany, as well as Cardinal Scipione Borghese. While in the papal city, Honthorst painted mainly religious subjects in the Caravaggist mode. He was particularly fond of nocturnal scenes, with Samson and Delilah (c. 1615; Cleveland Museum of Art) and Christ before the High Priest (c. 1617; London, National Gallery) providing two examples. Upon his return to Utrecht in 1620, he changed to genre, as did most of the Utrecht Caravaggists. His Merry Fiddler (1623; Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum) derives from Caravaggio’s single male figures and musicians. Like Caravaggio’s Bacchus (1595–1596; Florence, Uffizi), he offers the viewer a drink. This representation, however, lacks Caravaggio’s erotic undertones, instead presenting a jolly, festive mood. The single musician type was popularized by Honthorst and the Utrecht Caravaggists in the Netherlands.
In 1628, Honthorst went to England to work for Charles I, rendering Apollo and Diana for the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace (now Hampton Court, Royal Collection). For this work, he was awarded a lifetime pension. In the 1630s, he was working on a series of paintings for King Christian IV of Denmark that were unfortunately lost in a fire. They represented scenes based on Heliodorus’ Aethiopica, written in the 3rd century. In 1638, Honthorst also worked for Stadholder Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, decorating the Huis Ter Nieuburch. The portrait, putti, and garlands he painted for this location were destroyed in 1785, and are only known through engravings. In 1650, he rendered the Allegory of the Marriage of Frederick Henry and Amalia van Solms for the Oranjezaal at Huis ten Bosch.
Born in Feldkirch, Austria. Huber was a member of the Danube School of masters from the first half of the 16th century, active in the region between Regensburg and Vienna, in the Danube River valley. His early works show the influence of Lucas Cranach the Elder, also part of this group, and by 1510, the influence of Albrecht Altdorfer is also perceived in his works. In fact, like Altdorfer, Huber left a number of drawings that record the landscape along the Danube using a lyrical visual language. Sometime after 1515, Huber became court painter to Wigeleus Fröschl, Bishop of Passau, where he remained for the rest of his life. By 1529, he was also working as Count Nicolaus von Salm’s architect, and by 1541, he had received the appointment of official architect of the city of Passau; none of his buildings have survived.
Huber’s Raising of the Cross (1522–1525; Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum) presents the Crucifixion in the process of taking place, with Christ on the cross being raised toward the viewer. This is a crowded scene full of action, with figures and objects featuring well-delineated contours and marked contrasts of dark and light, typical of his style. Christ is so heavily foreshortened that he appears rather flat, a feature also seen in Huber’s Lamentation (1524; Paris, Louvre) and Christ on the Mount of Olives (1530; Munich, Alte Pinakothek). In these three works, a hazy, fertile landscape serves as backdrop to the religious events.
Huber was also a portraitist. An example of this is the portrait of humanist and theologian Jacob Ziegler (c. 1540; Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum), who is identified by a prominent inscription on the top portion of the painting. Ziegler was an itinerant scholar who spent some time at the court of Ernst of Bavaria, who succeeded Fröschl as bishop of Passau. In this work, as in Netherlandish portraiture, the head and hands of the figure are given prominence, and again we see a poetic landscape in the background.
Spanish painter from Tarragona whose manner is closely tied to the International Style. Jaime was trained by his uncle, Pere Huguet, who moved with him to Barcelona in 1434, near the studio of Bernardo Martorell. He was active in Zaragoza and Tarragona until 1448, when he returned to Barcelona, becoming the city’s leading master in the years before his death. His influence spread to other parts of Spain, including Gerona, Lérida, and Aragon. Among his works are the Flagellation of Christ (1450s; Paris, Louvre), painted for the Cathedral of Barcelona; the St. Vincent Altarpiece (late 1450s; Barcelona, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya), originally meant for the Church of Sarriá, Barcelona; and the Retable of Sts. Abdón and Senén (1459–1460) in the Church of Santa María, Tarrasa.
Dutch poet, musician, and statesman from The Hague. Huygens was secretary to Stadholder Frederik Hendrik, prince of Orange, from 1625 to 1647, serving as well as his artistic advisor. He also worked for William II, Frederik’s successor. His father Christiaan, secretary of the Council of State of the Dutch Republic, had encouraged a broad education for his young son. Huygens therefore was exposed to art, music, science, and languages. He was also well traveled. Among the places he visited were London, Brussels, Paris, and Venice, where he went on diplomatic mission. King James I of England knighted him in 1621 for his musical talents. It was Huygens who sought out the young Rembrandt in 1629. In his autobiography, he praised the master’s Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of Silver (1629; Yorkshire, Mulgrave Castle) for its effective conveyance of deep emotion. He also referred to Rembrandt as the greatest of history painters.
In Latin, The Dream of Polyphilus. Thought to have been written by Dominican friar Francesco Colonna and published in Venice in 1499, the Hypnerotomachia Polifili is an architectural work of fiction amply illustrated with woodcuts. The hero in the story is Polyphilus, who wanders through fantastic places in search of his love, Polia, whom he finally finds in the gardens of Adonis. The book is of particular interest to architectural historians, as the woodcuts included illustrate monuments from antiquity, revealing Renaissance attitudes toward them. The woodcut of the Island of Cythera, for example, includes a colosseum similar to that in Rome, and the temple of Venus is based on the Early Christian Santa Costanza, also in the papal city. The temple of the sun is a replica of the Greek Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, and the Polyandron necropolis for dejected lovers relies completely on a survey of the Greek ruins in Delos composed by Ciriaco d’Ancona in 1445. As Polyphilus wanders through these sceneries, he measures the structures and studies their inscriptions, hoping to learn the mysteries of the ancient past. The Hypnerotomachia gained great popularity at the end of the 16th century, as attested by the fact that it was translated into various languages.
French painter; one of the founding members of the French Academy (1648). La Hyre’s early works were influenced by Francesco Primaticcio and the Fontainebleau School, this followed by a Caravaggist phase. In his mature years, he adopted a more classicized style similar to that of Nicolas Poussin and Eustache Le Sueur, his competitor. The elongated forms of his Hercules and Omphale (c. 1638; Heidelberg, Kurpfälzisches Museum) and their overstated poses belong to La Hyre’s Mannerist stage. His Allegory of the Regency of Anne of Austria (1648; Versailles, Musée du Château) is a mature work with rich tones of blue, red, and gold, common to his art. The work is an allegory of the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. It shows France seated and crowned by Victory. Peace, depicted as a young boy, burns the weapons and armors of war, while the hovering Fame blows her trumpet to announce the end of hostilities and France’s victory. To the same period belongs his Cornelia Refusing the Crown of Ptolemy (1646; Budapest, Szépművészeti Múzeum), a scene filled with classicized figures and setting, the story told through elegant rhetorical gestures.
La Hyre also rendered a number of poetic landscapes, among them Diana and Her Nymphs (1644; Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum) and Laban Searching Jacob’s Baggage for the Stolen Idols (1647; Paris, Louvre). These works were rendered at a time when landscape was becoming as important as other genres, and La Hyre did much to contribute to its rise.