The Paintings of Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588–1629)

Catalogue raisonné

Authors
Leonard J. Slatkes
Wayne Franits | Syracuse University
Hardbound – Available
ISBN 9789027249616 | EUR 340.00 | USD 510.00
 
e-Book – Not for resale
ISBN 9789027292292
 
The Paintings of Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588–1629), is the first major study of this important early seventeenth-century master since Benedict Nicolson’s classic monograph of 1958. It comprises two chapters that explore ter Brugghen’s development as an artist and the reception of his work among contemporaries, followed by a truly monumental catalogue raisonné of ter Brugghen’s 89 authentic paintings, 54 pictures associated with the artist and/or his workshop, 141 rejected works, 42 lost works, and lastly, 10 drawings that have been linked to ter Brugghen directly or related to his paintings.

Already celebrated during his lifetime, and avidly collected by elite cognescenti in the Dutch Republic and abroad, ter Brugghen executed a dazzling variety of paintings, ranging from Bible subjects and saints, to fascinating mythological images, as well as scenes of daily life, including musicians. Although his knowledge of paintings by Caravaggio that he had seen during his early sojourn in Rome always remained acute, these experiences were continually tempered by his awareness of older Northern European artistic traditions and conventions, with the result that ter Brugghen created pictures whose subject matter and style are fascinating, and at times, unique.

Until his untimely death in August of 2003, Leonard J. Slatkes was Distinguished Professor of Art History at Queens College of the City University of New York, NY. He was an internationally renowned expert on the art of the Dutch Caravaggisti, to whom he had devoted many essays, books, and exhibition catalogues. Slatkes had begun conducting research on ter Brugghen’s paintings in the 1960's, with the expectation of eventually publishing a new monograph on the artist. Wayne Franits, a former student of Slatkes’s, is currently Professor of Fine Arts at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. He has authored numerous publications on seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish art.

[OCULI: Studies in the Arts of the Low Countries, 10] 2007.  xx, 471 pp., 204 bl/wh ills. + 17 full color ills.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/oculi.10
Table of Contents
“Für den Benutzer des Bandes bleibt der Gewinn, Slatkes’ auβerodentliche Kenntnis auf dem Gebiet der Caraviggisti und sein in Jahrzehnten zusammengetragenes Material zusammengefaβt zu sehen, wenngleich der Katalogteil der Publikation – als Folge der Umstände ihrer Entstehung – manchmal etwas bruchstückhaft wirkt. Insofern wäre fallweise ein stärkeres editorisches Eingreifen des Coautors, dessen verständliche Zurückhaltung indes allen Respekt verdient, wünschenswert gewesen. Franits hat nicht nur das Fortbestehen des reichen, von Slatkes erarbeiteten materials gesichert, sondern durch seine eigenen Beiträge dem Buch eine solide Grundlage verliehen, auf welche die zukünftige Forschung erbauen kann.”
“At last, ter Brugghen has received the monograph he deserves. It is the work of the late Slatkes and of Franits, who saw it to completion. As the foremost of the Utrecht artists whose work reflects developments in Italian painting around 1600 and who are generally termed Dutch caravaggisti, ter Brugghen has long been appreciated as an innovative painter who crafted stunningly beautiful compositions that reflect his study of Netherlandish, north Italian, and Caravaggesque sources. A number of articles have examined his place in the fascinating intersection of the north European artists with Italy. However, full assessments of ter Brugghen's development and critical reception in the 17th century have long been needed, as has a rigorous catalogue raisonné of his oeuvre. This thoroughly researched catalog of 89 paintings fulfills that need. Ter Brugghen's years in Italy (ca. 1608-14) must be regarded as formative in his development, even though none of his works prior to his return to Utrecht survives for comparison between his earlier training and his paintings. American museums have the distinction of owning some of his finest paintings. Consequently, this study has a particularly strong interest for American libraries that support art historical research. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through professionals.”
“This book represents a monumental achievement. Dr. Franits deserves enormous praise for making Leonard Slatkes's years of research on this profound and poetic Caravaggesque painter available to a wider audience, and for presenting the material sympathetically but with an independent eye.”
“While justly celebrated in the seventeenth century, Hendrick ter Brugghen had to wait until our own era for the profoundly expressive qualities of his oeuvre to be truly appreciated again. Today's connoisseurs agree that he is one of the most outstanding and fascinating artists of the Golden Age of Dutch painting, even on a par with Rembrandt, Hals, and Vermeer. The renowned Caravaggist expert Leonard J. Slatkes devoted a lifetime to studying the complexities of ter Brugghen's life and work. Tragically, his sudden death in 2003 left his planned monograph on the artist unfinished. Now his erstwhile student, Wayne Franits, has succeeded in exemplary fashion in bringing Slatkes's project to fruition.”
“The book by Leonard J. Slatkes and Wayne Frantis is a new tribute to one of the most puzzling Dutch painters of the Golden Age.”
“Il convient de saluer ce travail ambitieux et important pour notre connaissance future de la peinture hollandaise et de ce que l’on appelle le 'caravagisme international'.”
“Hendrick ter Brugghen was the most important Caravaggesque painter in the Netherlands. His work, at once dramatic and poetic, made a great impression on Rubens and influenced Dutch artists as various as Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. In recent decades there has been no greater scholar of Dutch and Flemish Caravaggesque painting than the late Leonard Slatkes. We owe a great debt to Wayne Franits who, with sensitivity and meticulous scholarship, has seen Slatkes’s monograph on ter Brugghen through to publication.”
Subjects

Art & Art History

General studies in art & art history

Main BIC Subject

ACQB: Art & design styles: Baroque

Main BISAC Subject

ART016000: ART / Individual Artists / General
ONIX Metadata
ONIX 2.1
ONIX 3.0
U.S. Library of Congress Control Number:  2007019854 | Marc record