Gerrit Lundens stands as a notable figure within the bustling art world of the Dutch Golden Age. A painter active primarily in Amsterdam, his life and work offer insights into the artistic practices, market demands, and interconnectedness of artists during the 17th century. While perhaps not possessing the towering fame of some contemporaries, Lundens carved a niche for himself through his adeptness at genre painting, portraiture, and, most significantly, his meticulous copies of works by celebrated masters, most famously Rembrandt van Rijn.
Establishing the precise timeline of his life presents a minor challenge common in historical records. Gerrit Lundens was born in Amsterdam and baptized there on September 27, 1622. His date of death, however, is cited differently in various sources. Some records indicate his passing occurred on July 11, 1683, while others suggest an earlier date in 1681. While definitive confirmation remains elusive, the period of his activity firmly places him within the vibrant mid-17th century artistic milieu of the Netherlands.
Lundens's artistic identity is strongly tied to Amsterdam, the thriving commercial and cultural heart of the Dutch Republic. He spent his working life in the city, contributing to its rich tapestry of visual culture. His family background might also hold clues to his artistic inclinations; there is speculation, though not definitively proven, that his mother may have been of Italian origin. This potential connection could partly explain certain stylistic elements or thematic interests that appear subtly in his work, hinting at an awareness of artistic trends beyond the Dutch borders.
Artistic Style and Influences
Gerrit Lundens developed a style primarily focused on genre scenes and portraiture, two highly popular categories in the Dutch art market. His genre paintings often depict scenes of everyday life, capturing moments in taverns, domestic interiors, village fairs, or interactions between figures from various social strata. He demonstrated a keen eye for detail, rendering clothing, objects, and settings with considerable care, a characteristic valued by Dutch patrons who appreciated verisimilitude.
His approach to painting shows an awareness of prevailing trends. While specific details about his formal training are scarce, his work suggests familiarity with the output of other successful genre painters. For instance, some scholars note stylistic affinities or thematic parallels with artists like Adriaen van Ostade or Isack van Ostade, who specialized in peasant scenes and tavern interiors, often imbued with a lively, sometimes coarse, energy. Lundens occasionally emulated the style of artists such as Jan Miense Molenaer, known for his animated group scenes and depictions of music-making and festivities.
Beyond genre scenes, Lundens also undertook portrait commissions, although fewer examples might survive or be readily attributed compared to his genre output. His portraiture likely followed the conventions of the time, aiming for a recognizable likeness while conveying the status and character of the sitter, competing in a market dominated by masters like Rembrandt and, in Haarlem, Frans Hals.
A defining aspect of Lundens's career, however, was his work as a copyist. This practice was common in the 17th century, serving various purposes: training for the artist, providing affordable versions of famous works for collectors, or preserving compositions. Lundens excelled in this area, demonstrating a technical skill that allowed him to replicate complex compositions with high fidelity, even if his own artistic "handwriting" remained distinct from the original creator's. This talent for copying would ultimately secure his most lasting legacy.
The Enduring Copy: Lundens and Rembrandt's Night Watch
Gerrit Lundens's name is inextricably linked to one of the most iconic paintings in Western art history: Rembrandt van Rijn's The Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, universally known as The Night Watch (1642). Lundens created a smaller-scale copy of this monumental masterpiece, likely sometime between 1642 and 1655. This copy holds immense art-historical significance.
The importance of Lundens's version stems from a historical event. In 1715, Rembrandt's original painting was moved to the Amsterdam Town Hall (now the Royal Palace). To fit its new location between two doors, the large canvas was unfortunately trimmed on all four sides, most significantly on the left side, removing two figures and part of a third, and also reducing the space around the central figures. For centuries, the full scope of Rembrandt's original vision was lost.
However, Lundens's copy, believed to have been commissioned by Captain Banninck Cocq himself and executed before the trimming, preserved the original composition. Today, this invaluable copy is housed in the collection of the National Gallery, London (on loan from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). It serves as the primary visual record of the Night Watch as Rembrandt intended it, showing the complete arrangement of figures, the dynamic spatial relationships, and the full architectural backdrop.
While Lundens aimed for accuracy in reproducing the composition and details, his copy is not a slavish imitation in terms of style or technique. Art historians and technical analysts note distinct differences. Lundens's brushwork is generally smoother and less texturally varied than Rembrandt's dynamic and expressive handling of paint. His palette and use of light and shadow, while competent, do not fully capture the dramatic chiaroscuro and luminous depth that characterize Rembrandt's original. Differences in pigment choices and mixing techniques have also been observed. These variations underscore the fact that even a skilled copyist retains their own artistic identity.
The true value of Lundens's copy was dramatically highlighted in the 21st century during "Operation Night Watch," the extensive research and conservation project undertaken by the Rijksmuseum. Using high-resolution scans of both Rembrandt's original and Lundens's copy, combined with artificial intelligence, researchers were able to reconstruct the missing sections of The Night Watch. The AI was trained to translate Lundens's style into Rembrandt's, digitally recreating the lost strips based on the compositional information provided by the copy. This process involved complex adjustments to account for the stylistic discrepancies, but ultimately allowed the museum to temporarily display the original painting with digitally printed reconstructions of the missing parts, offering the public a glimpse of its original grandeur for the first time in over 300 years. This endeavor cemented Lundens's copy not just as a historical document, but as an active participant in the ongoing story and understanding of Rembrandt's masterpiece.
A Broader Oeuvre: Beyond the Famous Copy
While the Night Watch copy is his most celebrated work, Gerrit Lundens produced a range of other paintings throughout his career that merit attention. These works further illustrate his engagement with popular themes of the Dutch Golden Age and showcase his abilities as a genre painter.
Among his known works is A Surgical Operation. This painting depicts a scene likely involving a barber-surgeon attending to a patient, a theme explored by several Dutch and Flemish artists, including Adriaen Brouwer and David Teniers the Younger. Such scenes often blended observation of daily life with a touch of caricature or commentary on medical practices of the time. Lundens's handling of such subjects would typically involve careful attention to the figures' expressions and the details of the setting.
Another example is The Fair-Goers (also known as Kermis), a lively depiction of a village fair or festival. These scenes were immensely popular, offering artists the opportunity to portray a cross-section of society engaged in various activities – eating, drinking, dancing, trading, and merrymaking. Lundens captured the bustling energy of such events, populating his canvas with numerous figures and anecdotal details. One version of this subject, documented as having been sold in 1712, eventually entered the collection of the National Gallery in London.
Historical events also captured Lundens's interest, particularly those impacting his home city. He painted De brand van het oude stadhuis op de Dam (The Fire at the Old Town Hall on the Dam Square), documenting the dramatic fire that consumed Amsterdam's medieval town hall in 1652. This event paved the way for the construction of the magnificent new Town Hall (now the Royal Palace), a symbol of Amsterdam's power and prosperity. Lundens's depiction serves as a valuable visual record of this significant moment in the city's history.
His works found their way into collections across Europe. A pair of paintings titled Le jeu de main chaude la Chaussette (The Hot Cockles Game / The Slipper Game), depicting indoor games, are housed in the Musée de Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire in France. Another genre scene, The Girl on the Knees of the Man, is part of the collection at the Kremlin Museums in Moscow. These examples demonstrate the international reach of the Dutch art market and the appeal of Lundens's genre subjects to collectors beyond the Netherlands.
Furthermore, records indicate that a painting by Lundens depicting an anatomical scene was once part of the prestigious collection of the Borghese family in Rome, known for their significant patronage of artists like Caravaggio and Bernini. While now in a private collection, its presence in such an important Italian collection speaks to the circulation and appreciation of his work among discerning European connoisseurs. These varied works collectively paint a picture of Lundens as a versatile artist working within the established genres of his time, adept at capturing scenes of Dutch life, historical moments, and human interaction.
Lundens in the Dutch Golden Age
Gerrit Lundens operated within one of the most dynamic and competitive art markets in history. The Dutch Golden Age saw an unprecedented flourishing of painting, with artists specializing in various genres to cater to the tastes of a broad clientele, from wealthy merchants and civic bodies to middle-class citizens. Lundens found his place within this environment, competing and coexisting with a multitude of talented painters.
His career overlapped with giants like Rembrandt van Rijn, whose influence, particularly through the Night Watch commission, was undeniable, even if direct collaboration is undocumented. He worked alongside numerous successful genre painters. In Leiden, Gerard Dou perfected the fijnschilder (fine painting) technique, creating small, exquisitely detailed scenes, while Jan Steen, active in several cities, brought narrative wit and moralizing undertones to his lively, often chaotic, depictions of Dutch households and taverns.
In Amsterdam and Haarlem, artists like Adriaen van Ostade and his brother Isack van Ostade focused on peasant life, while figures like Gabriel Metsu and Pieter de Hooch excelled in portraying more refined domestic interiors and tranquil courtyards, often exploring subtle effects of light and space – qualities brought to their zenith by Johannes Vermeer in Delft. Lundens's work, while perhaps less innovative than some of these masters, engaged with similar themes and catered to the same market demand for scenes reflecting contemporary life.
The practice of copying, as exemplified by Lundens's Night Watch, also highlights the interconnectedness of the art world. Studios often produced copies, and artists learned by emulating successful masters. While Lundens was clearly influenced by Rembrandt's work, his imitation of painters like Molenaer suggests he drew inspiration from various sources. This network of influence and emulation was characteristic of the period. Artists were aware of each other's work, responding to market trends and stylistic innovations. Lundens's career reflects this reality – an artist contributing competently within established genres, known for both his original compositions and his skillful reproductions.
His relationship with Rembrandt remains a point of interest. Although Lundens lived and worked in Amsterdam during Rembrandt's most productive years, and famously copied his most significant public commission, there is no documentary evidence of a direct apprenticeship, collaboration, or personal interaction between the two men. Lundens was not recorded as one of Rembrandt's pupils, a group that included prominent artists like Govert Flinck and Ferdinand Bol. It seems more likely that Lundens operated independently, perhaps securing the Night Watch copy commission directly from Captain Cocq, leveraging his reputation as a skilled copyist.
Collections and Market Presence
The survival and distribution of Gerrit Lundens's works provide clues about his market presence during his lifetime and his reception by subsequent generations of collectors. His paintings entered various types of collections, ranging from civic-minded patrons like Captain Cocq to established European aristocracy and public institutions.
The presence of his most famous work, the Night Watch copy, first in the collection of the commissioning captain and eventually finding its way (via loan) into the National Gallery, London, underscores its perceived importance early on. Similarly, the acquisition of The Fair-Goers by the National Gallery points to the recognition of his quality as a genre painter by major public collections.
The inclusion of works in the Musée de Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire and the Kremlin Museums indicates that his paintings circulated internationally, appealing to tastes beyond the Dutch Republic. The historical ownership of an anatomy scene by the Borghese family in Rome is particularly noteworthy, placing his work within one of the most significant princely collections in Europe, suggesting his reputation reached the highest levels of connoisseurship.
Auction records also provide glimpses into the market for Lundens's work after his death. The mention of a sale in 1712 for The Fair-Goers shows his paintings were being traded relatively soon after his active period. More recent auction results, such as a sale noted in 2011, confirm that his works continue to appear on the art market, attracting interest from collectors of Dutch Golden Age painting. While perhaps not commanding the prices of the era's superstars, his paintings are recognized contributions to the genre painting tradition.
Collectively, the presence of his works in major museums like the National Gallery, the Rijksmuseum (even if via loan), and international institutions, alongside historical provenance involving prominent families like the Borghese, indicates that Gerrit Lundens achieved a respectable level of success and recognition both during his lifetime and posthumously. His ability to produce appealing genre scenes and highly accurate copies ensured his participation in the thriving Dutch and European art markets.
Death and Legacy
Gerrit Lundens passed away in Amsterdam, the city where he had spent his life and built his career. As mentioned earlier, there remains some ambiguity regarding the exact year of his death, with sources pointing to either July 11, 1683, or sometime in 1681. Regardless of the precise date, his death marked the end of a career dedicated to the craft of painting within the vibrant context of the Dutch Golden Age.
His legacy today is overwhelmingly defined by his connection to Rembrandt and The Night Watch. The copy he created is more than just a reproduction; it is an essential historical document, a vital tool for scholarship, and a key element in the modern understanding and restoration of one of the world's most famous paintings. Its role in the "Operation Night Watch" project, utilizing cutting-edge technology, has brought renewed attention to Lundens and the crucial function his meticulous work served across centuries.
However, to view Lundens solely through the lens of his famous copy would be incomplete. His original genre paintings and portraits demonstrate his capabilities as an artist in his own right. He was a competent painter who skillfully navigated the themes and styles popular in the 17th-century Dutch market. His depictions of daily life, festivities, and historical events contribute to our understanding of the society and culture of the time. While perhaps overshadowed by the towering figures of Rembrandt, Vermeer, or Hals, Lundens represents the many skilled artists who formed the bedrock of the Dutch Golden Age's artistic production.
In conclusion, Gerrit Lundens was a significant Amsterdam painter whose career reflects key aspects of 17th-century Dutch art: a focus on genre and portraiture, the importance of the art market, the practice of copying, and the network of influences among artists. While his fame rests largely on his invaluable copy of The Night Watch, his broader body of work confirms his place as a skilled contributor to the rich artistic heritage of the Dutch Golden Age. His life and work remind us that art history is composed not only of revolutionary geniuses but also of the many talented individuals who sustained and enriched the artistic environment of their time.
