17th century dutch and flemish art

The private collection of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Christian Fassender is on loan from its home in the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna to the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. It is a sumptuous buffet of primarily 17th century Dutch and Flemish art which includes examples of still lifes, land and seascapes, portraits, genre and history paintings .The Bruce Museum director, Dr. Peter Sutton, is a specialist in this field, and his insightful comments in the catalog chronicle the history of how collections such as these have been assembled and preserved since the golden age when the Dutch were the richest people per capita in Christendom with a reputation for religious tolerance and enthusiasm for economic opportunity. Wealthy private and religious patronage supported about 3,000 artists in the Netherlands at this time. We have a bevy of works to admire from this collection that was built by the Balzer family who had an empire of companies which sold wholesale building materials from its inception in 1868.   Otto and his wife Renate, who is an ophthalmologist, have added to the collection begun by his great- grandfather. They have arranged for it to be housed in the massive spaces of the Liechtenstein Museum where curators and conservators arrange for loans and exhibitions of the works upon request.[1]

Otto himself has written, “ Collecting is a highly pleasurable urge- in the modern world the hunter-gatherer appears in the guise of the passionate collector.   The point is not to accumulate but to make critical choices. We are informed by our personal taste, and as with any love affair, there must be that spark.”[2]

janVanGoyen1651
Jan Van Goyen, A River Landscape with a Parish Church, 1651, oil on canvas. 

This river landscape by Van Goyen is an example of the strong compositions of these painters whose minute details give us such insight about what life was like in rural communities where commerce was so dependent on the water.  Van Goyen painted over 1,200 works in his lifetime and is one of the prime masters of naturalism and keen observations of the Flemish world.

peterPaulRubens
Peter Paul Rubens, Portrait of a Capuchin Monk, c. 1615, oil on canvas.

This portrait by Rubens of a monk is a classic late work by the master who was a devoted Catholic and a friend to many of the monks in his environs.  The simplicity of this work is in contrast to the vibrant still lifes and landscapes of the wealthy burghers and a reminder of the role of the church which nourished the lives of the faithful in the golden age which embraced both the Catholic and the Protestant traditions side by side. Infrared reflectography of this work revealed how Rubens altered the neckline of the monk’s habit to suit his balance in the composition- a nod to the wonders of modern science and how much they contribute today to our understanding of the artist and his craft.

The vast diversity of works in this collection is awaiting each visitor to the Bruce Museum. Detailed observation of each entry takes time and discipline but will reap great pleasure to all who venture forth to see this masterful assemblage during its visit.  In the recent Valhalla train accident, the field of Dutch art lost one of its finest scholars, Walter Liedtke, from the Metropolitan Museum whose last publication was a short essay on this collection. We honor his scholarship and dedication during his lifetime to the field of Dutch art in the Golden Age.[3]

Sharon Lorenzo

Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut   Sept. 20, 2014 – April 12, 2015



[1] Peter Sutton, Introduction, The Hohenbuchau Collection of Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Golden Age, 2014, 34.

[2] Otto C. Fassbender, A Lifetime of Collecting, 24.