Allaert van Everdingen, a prominent figure of the Dutch Golden Age, carved a unique niche for himself with his dramatic and evocative depictions of Scandinavian landscapes. Born on June 18, 1621, in Alkmaar, and passing away in Amsterdam on November 8, 1675, Everdingen was not only a gifted painter but also a prolific etcher and a keen art collector. His work stands as a testament to the era's fascination with the natural world, particularly its wilder, untamed aspects, and he played a crucial role in introducing the "Nordic sublime" to Dutch art, influencing generations of artists who followed.
Early Life and Artistic Formation
Allaert, baptized as Aldert Pietersz. van Everdingen, hailed from a family with artistic inclinations. His father, Pieter Cornelisz. van Everdingen, was a notary, but his elder brothers, Jan and Caesar van Everdingen, both pursued artistic careers. Caesar, in particular, became a respected painter known for his historical and allegorical scenes, working in a classicist style quite different from Allaert's eventual specialization. This familial environment likely nurtured Allaert's early interest in art.
His formal artistic training began under Roelant Savery (1576-1639) in Utrecht. Savery, a Flemish-born painter who had worked at the imperial court in Prague, was renowned for his detailed depictions of animals, flowers, and, significantly, wild, rocky landscapes often featuring waterfalls and gnarled trees – themes that would become central to Everdingen's oeuvre. From Savery, Everdingen would have absorbed a meticulous attention to natural detail and a penchant for dramatic, almost fantastical, natural settings.
Following his time with Savery, Everdingen is believed to have studied with Pieter de Molijn (1595-1661) in Haarlem. Molijn was a leading figure in the development of Dutch tonal landscape painting, known for his more naturalistic and atmospheric depictions of the Dutch countryside, often characterized by a subdued palette and a focus on light and shadow. This tutelage would have provided Everdingen with a strong foundation in landscape composition and the rendering of atmospheric effects, balancing Savery's more exotic inclinations with a Dutch sensibility for realism. Some early works also suggest an awareness of marine painters like Jan Porcellis, particularly in his handling of stormy seas, a subject he occasionally tackled.
The Transformative Scandinavian Sojourn
A pivotal moment in Everdingen's career, and indeed in the history of Dutch landscape painting, was his journey to Norway and Sweden. This trip is traditionally dated to around 1644-1645. Accounts, perhaps embellished over time, suggest that he was shipwrecked off the coast of Norway and spent time in the region, possibly traveling as far as the Swedish coast. Whether by accident or design, this extended stay in Scandinavia provided him with a wealth of new and dramatic subject matter previously unseen in Dutch art.
The rugged mountains, cascading waterfalls, dense pine forests, and rustic wooden cabins of the Nordic countries made a profound impression on him. These were landscapes far removed from the flat, cultivated terrain of the Netherlands. He made numerous sketches during his travels, which would serve as source material for his paintings and etchings for the rest of his career. This direct experience of a wilder, more formidable nature allowed him to imbue his works with a sense of authenticity and raw power that captivated his contemporaries. Upon his return, he effectively introduced a new genre to Dutch art: the Scandinavian landscape.
Artistic Style and Thematic Focus
Everdingen's mature style is characterized by a powerful and often melancholic romanticism. He masterfully captured the grandeur and sometimes menacing beauty of the Nordic wilderness. His compositions typically feature towering, craggy rocks, often framing a dramatic waterfall that plunges into a foaming river below. Dark, coniferous forests, often with gnarled and twisted pines, add to the sense of untamed nature. Small human figures or rustic log cabins are frequently included, but they are invariably dwarfed by the overwhelming scale of the landscape, emphasizing human insignificance in the face of nature's might.
His palette often leaned towards cool blues, greens, and earthy browns, contributing to the somber and dramatic mood. He was adept at rendering the textures of rock, water, and foliage, and his use of chiaroscuro – strong contrasts between light and shadow – heightened the theatricality of his scenes. While his landscapes were based on his Scandinavian observations, they were not strictly topographical. Instead, he composed idealized and often composite scenes in his studio, aiming to evoke a particular mood or convey the sublime power of nature. This approach distinguished him from many of his Dutch contemporaries, such as Jan van Goyen or Salomon van Ruysdael, whose landscapes were generally more serene and rooted in the familiar Dutch environment.
The concept of the "sublime" – an aesthetic quality characterized by vastness, power, and an element of terror that inspires awe – is particularly relevant to Everdingen's work. His waterfalls are not gentle cascades but roaring torrents; his mountains are not picturesque hills but formidable, often barren, peaks. This engagement with the sublime prefigures later Romantic landscape painting.
Masterpieces of the Nordic Scene
Several paintings stand out as exemplary of Everdingen's unique vision. Landscape with a Waterfall, a theme he revisited many times with variations, is perhaps his most iconic subject. One such version, often dated between 1650 and 1675, showcases his typical compositional elements: a powerful cascade of water crashing over dark, moss-covered rocks, flanked by tall pine trees, under a dramatic sky. The meticulous rendering of the foaming water and the textures of the rocks demonstrates his keen observational skills, honed during his Nordic travels.
Another significant work is Rocky Landscape (Paysage rocailleux), painted around 1649, shortly after his return from Scandinavia. This piece emphasizes the monumental quality of the rock formations, with a dynamic interplay of light and shadow creating a sense of depth and drama. The inclusion of small figures, perhaps travelers or local inhabitants, serves to accentuate the imposing scale of the natural environment.
His repertoire also included coastal scenes, often depicting stormy seas and shipwrecks, which may have been inspired by his own perilous journey. These marine paintings share the dramatic intensity of his mountain landscapes. While less numerous than his Scandinavian scenes, they demonstrate his versatility and his consistent interest in the more powerful and unpredictable aspects of nature.
Everdingen the Printmaker: Disseminating the Wilderness
Beyond his paintings, Allaert van Everdingen was a highly accomplished and influential printmaker, particularly in the medium of etching. He produced over 160 etchings, many of which depicted the same Scandinavian subjects as his paintings: waterfalls, rocky gorges, pine forests, and rustic cabins. These prints were crucial in popularizing his unique imagery and extending his influence.
His etchings are characterized by a vigorous and expressive line, effectively capturing the textures of rock and foliage and the dynamic movement of water. They allowed a wider audience to experience the "exotic" Nordic landscapes he had introduced. Among his most famous series of etchings are the illustrations for Reynard the Fox, a medieval fable. These 57 prints showcase his skill in narrative and his ability to imbue animal characters with expressive qualities, though his landscape etchings remain his most significant contribution to the medium.
The accessibility and affordability of prints compared to paintings meant that Everdingen's vision could reach artists and collectors far beyond the immediate circle of those who could purchase his canvases. His printmaking activities can be compared to those of other Dutch masters like Rembrandt van Rijn, who also used etching to explore artistic ideas and reach a broader public, or the earlier, highly experimental landscape etchings of Hercules Segers.
Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Artistic Circles
After his Scandinavian travels, Everdingen settled in Haarlem, where he joined the Guild of St. Luke in 1645. Haarlem was a vibrant artistic center, home to painters like Frans Hals and fellow landscape specialists. He married Janneke Cornelisdr Brouwers in Haarlem in 1645, and they had several children. During his Haarlem period, he solidified his reputation as the foremost painter of Scandinavian landscapes.
In 1652, Everdingen moved to Amsterdam, the bustling commercial and cultural heart of the Dutch Republic. He became a citizen of Amsterdam in 1657. In this larger, more competitive art market, his specialized Nordic scenes continued to find favor. He was not only a painter and etcher but also an art dealer and collector, activities common among successful artists of the period. His own collection reportedly included works by prominent Dutch and Flemish masters.
His unique subject matter set him apart, but he was part of a rich landscape tradition. While artists like Aelbert Cuyp were known for their sun-drenched depictions of Dutch pastoral scenes, and Jan Both and Nicolaes Berchem were popularizing Italianate landscapes, Everdingen offered a dramatic, northern alternative. His most significant artistic successor in the depiction of dramatic, wooded, and often waterfall-laden landscapes was Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/29-1682). Ruisdael, who never traveled to Scandinavia himself, was profoundly influenced by Everdingen's work, adopting similar motifs such as waterfalls, pine trees, and rocky terrains, and imbuing them with his own deeply personal, melancholic sensibility. Through Ruisdael, and subsequently artists like Meindert Hobbema (who was Ruisdael's pupil), Everdingen's influence extended through Dutch landscape painting.
Anecdotes, Market Acumen, and Later Debates
The story of Everdingen's shipwreck on the Norwegian coast, while possibly romanticized, became a compelling part of his artistic persona. It lent an air of authenticity and adventure to his depictions of the wild north, suggesting that his art was born from direct, even perilous, experience. This narrative likely enhanced the appeal of his works to a Dutch audience fascinated by exploration and the exotic.
Everdingen demonstrated considerable market savvy. By specializing in Scandinavian landscapes, a genre he largely pioneered in the Netherlands, he created a niche for himself. In a highly competitive art market with many talented landscape painters, this specialization allowed him to stand out and command good prices for his work. He effectively "branded" himself as the master of the Nordic scene.
Later, in the 19th century, as nationalism grew in Scandinavia, Everdingen's works became a point of discussion. Some Swedish and Norwegian historians and critics sought to claim his depictions as integral to their own emerging national artistic identities, sometimes overlooking the Dutch context of their creation and initial reception. This highlights the enduring power of his imagery and its capacity to resonate across different cultural and historical contexts.
Legacy and Enduring Influence
Allaert van Everdingen died in Amsterdam and was buried in the Oude Kerk on November 8, 1675. He left behind a significant body of work that had a lasting impact on European art. His primary contribution was the introduction and popularization of the Scandinavian landscape into Dutch art. He showed his contemporaries that dramatic and inspiring subject matter could be found not only in the classical ruins of Italy but also in the untamed wilderness of the North.
His influence on Jacob van Ruisdael is undeniable and represents his most direct artistic legacy. Ruisdael took Everdingen's motifs and infused them with even greater emotional depth and grandeur, becoming one of the most revered landscape painters of the Dutch Golden Age. Through Ruisdael, elements of Everdingen's vision indirectly filtered into the broader stream of European landscape painting.
The fascination with the sublime and the wild, which Everdingen so powerfully expressed, would become a central theme of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and 19th centuries. While a direct line of influence to specific Romantic painters might be difficult to trace comprehensively, his pioneering exploration of nature's more awe-inspiring and untamed aspects certainly prefigured their concerns. His works are held in major museums worldwide, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Louvre in Paris, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and the National Gallery in London, attesting to his enduring importance. His paintings and etchings continue to be admired for their dramatic power, their technical skill, and their unique vision of the Nordic wilderness.
Conclusion: A Singular Vision of the North
Allaert van Everdingen stands as a distinctive and innovative figure in the rich tapestry of Dutch Golden Age art. His daring journey to Scandinavia and his subsequent dedication to depicting its rugged beauty provided a new and exciting visual vocabulary for his contemporaries and for future generations. He masterfully conveyed the sublime power of nature, from thundering waterfalls to silent, snow-laden forests, creating images that were both topographically inspired and poetically evocative. As a painter, etcher, and astute navigator of the art market, Everdingen carved out a unique and enduring legacy, forever associating his name with the wild, romantic landscapes of the North and securing his place as a significant master of his time. His art reminds us of the profound impact that direct experience of the natural world can have on artistic vision, and of the enduring human fascination with the untamed.
