‘Boeren huysen, stallen, schaepen en ander vee’ en ‘stilstaende dinghen’ Het boerenstalinterieur

Abstract

Stables or barns with genre imagery or still-lifes are a beloved theme in Dutch painting of the seventeenth century. This theme was depicted simultaneously in
various cities, each with different accents. In Haarlem, Adriaen and Isack van Ostade painted stable interiors with striking genre scenes of feasting, drinking, and
sometimes fighting peasants, often in a caricatured manner. In Leiden, Jan Davidsz. de Heem and Pieter Symonsz. Potter created rustic still lifes, while in Rotterdam and Dordrecht a specific genre emerged: the peasant stable interior. Open stables or
barns, where barrels, copper kettles, earthenware, and other rustic objects, usually
brightly lit, attract more attention than the people or animals working or rummaging in the semi-darkness.
The earliest, still rudimentary depiction of a peasant interior is a drawing by Herman Saftleven from 1630. It shows a barn consisting of gnarled beams and slats,
with a diagonal wickerwork across the picture plane, in front of which is a still-life of barrels, a jug, and some branches, illuminated by light falling from the left. This
depiction quickly evolved from a stable or barn with a still-life to a composition in which still-life and genre scene were simultaneously depicted. From 1634, this
specific genre was practiced in Rotterdam by Herman Saftleven and his brother
Cornelis, by Pieter de Bloot, and Hendrick Martensz. Sorgh. In Dordrecht and later Middelburg by François Ryckhals, and in Antwerp by David Teniers. Willem Kalf
probably painted at least one stable interior with a still life in Rotterdam in the same manner as Hendrick Sorgh, but in Paris he gave his own interpretation of the peasant stable interior by moving his peasant still lifes outdoors.
The question of why this specific genre emerged in Rotterdam and its surroundings has no clear answer. Perhaps the desire of the buying public for rustic depictions was a determining factor, or the genre arose due to the intensive contacts among painters from Rotterdam, Leiden, but also Middelburg and Antwerp. Another possible explanation for the brief success of this genre is the 'schilderachtigheid' of
the theme: painters could showcase all their compositional and technical skills with the depiction of various materials and objects.
Art historians debate the function and meaning of the peasant stable interior. On the one hand, many paintings are seen to contain vanitas motifs, references to mortality, such as broken dishes, extinguished candles, empty mussel shells, or

broken eggshells. On the other hand, art historians doubt our ability to immerse
ourselves in the mindset of the seventeenth-century person, making it challenging to accurately assess the meaning of this genre.

Date of Award	15 Jul 2024
Original language	Dutch
Supervisor	Leo Delfgaauw (Supervisor) & Loes van Beuningen (Examiner)