Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NePLeP (Netherlandish Paintings in Ledreborg Palace: A Multi-Disciplinary Research of circa 600 Paintings)
Reporting period: 2017-04-25 to 2019-04-24
Ledreborg Palace is today one of Denmark’s finest examples of the 18th-century building and landscape architecture, and its main building contains a unique collection of original furniture and old master paintings. This undocumented collection of many hundreds of paintings is the subject of this project. It is surprising that almost all of these works are painted by seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish masters, and not by well-known ones. Instead of master pieces, this collection contains a high number of mass-produced works and copies. The contents of the collection arouse questions about this strong interest in Netherlandish painting in Denmark, and the collector’s motives for buying large amounts of lower-quality paintings.
Archival research demonstrated that the entire collection was brought together in several decades in the eighteenth-century by two generations of the same family. Most of the paintings that father and son gathered were by Netherlandish masters. Some of the paintings were at the time of purchase attributed to renowned masters such as Rubens and Rembrandt, although this did not reflect in the prices paid for them at auctions. After careful art historical research of all the paintings and art technological investigations on a selection of them, this project has been able to show that these attributions were far-fetched. The collections consists mainly of copies or altered versions of better-known paintings, works made in the manner of famous masters, and mass-produced paintings, a novel commodity of the seventeenth century.
This is not the only collection in Denmark which displays a strong emphasis on Netherlandish paintings of mediocre quality: at least two similar eighteenth-century collections are known. This research has attempted to contribute to understanding this phenomenon by focusing on this one collection. The starting point of the provenance research was a surfaced inventory from 1790, which lists each painting with detailed descriptions and the prices paid for them by the son. Why did he buy large amounts of relatively cheap paintings by minor masters rather than for example, one painting by Rembrandt? Answers include the supply of paintings in eighteenth-century Denmark, decorating fashions among the nobility, eighteenth-century knowledge of art history, and the perception of the Dutch schools at the time.
Archival research demonstrated that the entire collection was brought together in several decades in the eighteenth-century by two generations of the same family. Most of the paintings that father and son gathered were by Netherlandish masters. Some of the paintings were at the time of purchase attributed to renowned masters such as Rubens and Rembrandt, although this did not reflect in the prices paid for them at auctions. After careful art historical research of all the paintings and art technological investigations on a selection of them, this project has been able to show that these attributions were far-fetched. The collections consists mainly of copies or altered versions of better-known paintings, works made in the manner of famous masters, and mass-produced paintings, a novel commodity of the seventeenth century.
This is not the only collection in Denmark which displays a strong emphasis on Netherlandish paintings of mediocre quality: at least two similar eighteenth-century collections are known. This research has attempted to contribute to understanding this phenomenon by focusing on this one collection. The starting point of the provenance research was a surfaced inventory from 1790, which lists each painting with detailed descriptions and the prices paid for them by the son. Why did he buy large amounts of relatively cheap paintings by minor masters rather than for example, one painting by Rembrandt? Answers include the supply of paintings in eighteenth-century Denmark, decorating fashions among the nobility, eighteenth-century knowledge of art history, and the perception of the Dutch schools at the time.
Firstly, an inventory of all paintings in Ledreborg Palace has been made, including visual analysis of the front and back of the painting, identifying artists’ materials and changes over time. This resulted in factsheets of 450 paintings, including inventory number, preliminary attribution of artist, identification of subject, support, medium, measurements, condition, signature/inscriptions, signs on back, date and artistic relations with known works of art. These files served as starting point for further research, including provenance research. All 450 paintings were photographed by a professional art photographer, made possible by the receival of external funds (Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Kircheiner-Galatiusfonds). A selection of 30 paintings were studied with infrared reflectography on location to identify preliminary sketches or underdrawings as well as compositional changes (pentimenti), and eventual changes over time, in order to investigate how these compositions were copied. Another selection of 30 paintings were studied in more detail with art historical analyses, including research in several archives and documentation collections and literature with a focused on the dispersal of Dutch paintings in Denmark and the differences of practice of the mass-production of paintings between seventeenth-century Flanders and the Dutch Republic
The overall result of this project is an improved understanding of the spread of Netherlandish art. All the paintings will be accessible for researchers and the public through an open-access database with annotated records of these hitherto undocumented and unstudied paintings. Dissemination included also publications, presentations, and the organization of the fourth CATS conference and publication of its contributions in the CATS Proceedings with the title ‘Trading Paintings and Painters’ Materials 1550-1800’. Moreover, the project has provided the young professional researcher with new and essential training to become an expert in the application of both technical instruments and the socio-economical study of Netherlandish paintings.
The overall result of this project is an improved understanding of the spread of Netherlandish art. All the paintings will be accessible for researchers and the public through an open-access database with annotated records of these hitherto undocumented and unstudied paintings. Dissemination included also publications, presentations, and the organization of the fourth CATS conference and publication of its contributions in the CATS Proceedings with the title ‘Trading Paintings and Painters’ Materials 1550-1800’. Moreover, the project has provided the young professional researcher with new and essential training to become an expert in the application of both technical instruments and the socio-economical study of Netherlandish paintings.
Up until now, research about Netherlandish paintings in Denmark reflect on the one hand on the inaccessibility of information from private collections and on the other hand the focus on high art. This project demonstrated the large availability of mass produced Netherlandish paintings, suggesting that the dispersal of Netherlandish paintings in Denmark must be investigated especially within the low-quality segment.
This project constituted the first time that this type of lower-quality paintings could be analysed in detail by combining art historical methods and socio-economic theories in combination with advanced technological and scientific instruments. A selection of these paintings with multiple versions was studied to understand the conditions of their production and purchase. This analysis brought forth two different approaches of early modern mass-producers of art. One is the reproduction of well-known designs by minor masters, often executed on commission by art dealers. We see this type of mass-production in Antwerp, after designs by Rubens. These designs were used for easel paintings on panel or copper supports, or as decorations on cabinet doors. An alternative approach was revealed by the study of three Dutch paintings in the Danish collection. Pupils and assistants in the large workshop of Jacob de Wet repeated the same compositions over and over again, on supports of different sizes. These compositions do not adopt designs by recognized artists. Instead, they were presumably specifically designed by De Wet to be produced by his assistants: they were simplified versions of his own designs and were adaptable to a number of different subjects to speed up the production process. Both approaches can be labeled as mass production.
This project constituted the first time that this type of lower-quality paintings could be analysed in detail by combining art historical methods and socio-economic theories in combination with advanced technological and scientific instruments. A selection of these paintings with multiple versions was studied to understand the conditions of their production and purchase. This analysis brought forth two different approaches of early modern mass-producers of art. One is the reproduction of well-known designs by minor masters, often executed on commission by art dealers. We see this type of mass-production in Antwerp, after designs by Rubens. These designs were used for easel paintings on panel or copper supports, or as decorations on cabinet doors. An alternative approach was revealed by the study of three Dutch paintings in the Danish collection. Pupils and assistants in the large workshop of Jacob de Wet repeated the same compositions over and over again, on supports of different sizes. These compositions do not adopt designs by recognized artists. Instead, they were presumably specifically designed by De Wet to be produced by his assistants: they were simplified versions of his own designs and were adaptable to a number of different subjects to speed up the production process. Both approaches can be labeled as mass production.