QUIRINGH VAN BREKELENKAM (Zwammerdam [?] near Leiden circa 1623 - Leiden 1669 [?] or after)
The Kannekijker (One who peers wistfully into the bottom of an empty jug)
signed and dated in the lower center on the edge of the table Quierijn . 1664
oil on panel
12 2/3 x 11 inches (32.4 x 28 cm.)
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Switzerland
Private Collection, The Netherlands, until the present time
Although very little is known about the life of Quiringh van Brekelenkam it is likely that he received his artistic training in Leiden. In 1648 he joined the newly founded Guild of St. Luke in Leiden. It is also from this year that his earliest dated work is known, Domestic Cares in the Stedelijk Museum, Leiden. His career spanned two decades from 1648-1668, and with the exception of a few still lifes and portraits, Brekelenkam devoted himself to genre.[1]
During the first decade of his career the artist painted simple domestic scenes as well as hermits. These works reflect his close ties to the Leiden school of fijnschilders, a group of artists centered around Gerrit Dou, but as early as the 1650s Brekelenkam would begin to formulate a more individualized style, one which would reflect the influence of Gabriel Metsu. From 1653 – 1664 Brekelenkam’s works featured depictions of the workshops and stalls of different crafts and tradesman. No other contemporary Dutch artist would represent these subjects as often. Starting in the 1660s he would also paint the newly fashionable conversation pieces in elegant interiors. An additional category, to which our painting belongs of half-length depictions of men, were also only done in the 1660s. Brekelenkam rarely worked for individual patrons, but instead in an open market whose main outlets consisted of auctions and dealers. As competition was fierce, artists tried to stand out by specializing in certain subjects or by the introduction of original themes, which would then be associated exclusively with their name.[2]
The majority of the half–length paintings of men show them scaling or gutting fish, while only a small number depict them reading, sharpening quills, eating, or smoking and drinking.[3] Our painting titled The Kannekijker literally means, “ ‘one who looks into the can’ in order to determine whether or not a last drop can be wrung from the empty vessel”. It was an often used literary and artistic device, discernable in such works as Merry Companies from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for enhancing the wit and humor of the scene.[4] Employing the upright format Brekelenkam favored during this period and much in vogue at the time,[5] a sympathetic bearded old man is shown leaning on a wooden table. He peers into the bottom of an open stoneware jug that he holds in his right hand, while his left rests on a pipe. Spread before him on the table are a red fur trimmed hat, a tobacco box, and a brazier. A fishing pole leans against the door to his right, with a basket and serving dish on top of the cupboard visible to his left. Brekelenkam delighted in including objects in his compositions, feeling they added “great visual interest”, and paid special attention to the highlights and lustre of these pieces.[6]
As here, in the 1660s the artist often placed his figures in the foreground. Typical of this period is also a palette dominated by hues of brown, ochre and gray. As depicted in this panel, “The light enters the picture from the viewer’s own space.” By this point Brekelenkam had developed a distinctive hand characterized by broad fluid brush strokes, thinly applied paint, carefully crafted figures and objects with slightly blurred faces and contours, clothing consisting of a few well modeled folds, all covered in a fine glaze.[7]
In this work the slight blurring of the kannekijker’s face is particularly suitable as it adds to the poignancy of the scene. In the rendering of this subject no overt warning against the evils of drinking and smoking are evident as during the course of the seventeenth century they had come to be acceptable habits, albeit if done in moderation. Executed at the height of his powers this charming panel of The Kannekijker dated 1664, belongs to a group of works from 1660 – 1664 that featured subjects Brekelenkam seldom or never repeated. Such artistic freedom must have been the reward of financial success and a sustained market.[8]
[1] Angelika Lasius, Quiringh van Brekelenkam, Davaco, Doornspijk, 1992, pp. 7-8, 15, 69.
[2] Ibid, pp. 32, 37, 69, 148.
[3] Ibid, p.32.
[4] Nanette Salomon, Shifting Priorities: Gender and Genre in Seventeenth Century Dutch Painting, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 2004, p. 31.
[5] Angelika Lasius, op.cit., pp. 23, 26, 48.
[6] Ibid., pp. 26, 48, 69, 148.
[7] Ibid., pp. 69, 148.
[8] Ibid., pp. 65-66, 70.