Carel Fabritius
Encyclopedia
Carel Fabritius was a Dutch
painter and one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils.
, the ten-year old polder
, as the son of a schoolteacher. Initially he worked as a carpenter (Latin fabritius). In the early 1640s he studied at Rembrandt's studio in Amsterdam
, along with his brother Barent Fabritius
. In the early 1650s he moved to Delft
, and joined the Delft painters' guild in 1652. He died young, caught in the explosion of the Delft gunpowder magazine on October 12, 1654, which destroyed a quarter of the city, along with his studio and many of his paintings. Only about a dozen paintings have survived. According to Houbraken, his student Mattias Spoors and the church deacon Simon Decker died with him, since they were working on a painting together at the time. In a poem written by Arnold Bon to his memory, he is called Karel Faber.
Of all Rembrandt's pupils, Fabritius was the only one to develop his own artistic style. A typical Rembrandt portrait would have a plain dark background with the subject defined by spotlighting. In contrast, Fabritius' portraits feature delicately lit subjects against light-coloured, textured backgrounds. Moving away from the Renaissance
focus on iconography
, Fabritius became interested in the technical aspects of painting. He used cool colour harmonies to create shape in a luminous style of painting.
Fabritius was also interested in complex spatial effects, as can be seen in the exaggerated perspective of A View in Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller's Stall (1652). He also showed excellent control of a heavily loaded brush, as in The Goldfinch (1654). All these qualities appear in the work of Delft's most famous painters, Vermeer
and de Hooch
; it is likely that Fabritius was a strong influence on them.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
painter and one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils.
Biography
Fabritius was born in BeemsterBeemster
Beemster is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Also, the Beemster is the first so-called polder in the Netherlands that was reclaimed from a lake, the water being extracted out of the lake by windmills. The Beemster Polder was dried during the period 1609 through...
, the ten-year old polder
Polder
A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
, as the son of a schoolteacher. Initially he worked as a carpenter (Latin fabritius). In the early 1640s he studied at Rembrandt's studio in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, along with his brother Barent Fabritius
Barent Fabritius
Barent or Bernard Pietersz Fabritius , was a Dutch painter.Fabritius was born at Middenbeemster, North Holland, the son of Pieter Carelsz. Fabritius. He studied with his brother Carel Fabritius, and probably with Rembrandt as well...
. In the early 1650s he moved to Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, and joined the Delft painters' guild in 1652. He died young, caught in the explosion of the Delft gunpowder magazine on October 12, 1654, which destroyed a quarter of the city, along with his studio and many of his paintings. Only about a dozen paintings have survived. According to Houbraken, his student Mattias Spoors and the church deacon Simon Decker died with him, since they were working on a painting together at the time. In a poem written by Arnold Bon to his memory, he is called Karel Faber.
Of all Rembrandt's pupils, Fabritius was the only one to develop his own artistic style. A typical Rembrandt portrait would have a plain dark background with the subject defined by spotlighting. In contrast, Fabritius' portraits feature delicately lit subjects against light-coloured, textured backgrounds. Moving away from the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
focus on iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
, Fabritius became interested in the technical aspects of painting. He used cool colour harmonies to create shape in a luminous style of painting.
Fabritius was also interested in complex spatial effects, as can be seen in the exaggerated perspective of A View in Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller's Stall (1652). He also showed excellent control of a heavily loaded brush, as in The Goldfinch (1654). All these qualities appear in the work of Delft's most famous painters, Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
and de Hooch
Pieter de Hooch
Pieter de Hooch was a genre painter during the Dutch Golden Age. He was a contemporary of Dutch Master Jan Vermeer, with whom his work shared themes and style.-Biography:...
; it is likely that Fabritius was a strong influence on them.
List of works
- 1640 Abraham de Potter, oil on canvas, 68.5 x 57 cm, RijksmuseumRijksmuseumThe Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
Amsterdam - ca. 1640 The Beheading of John the Baptist, oil on canvas, 149 x 121 cm, RijksmuseumRijksmuseumThe Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
Amsterdam - 1643 The Raising of Lazarus, oil on canvas, Warsaw National Museum, WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
- 1643/45 Hagar and the Angel, oil on canvas, 157.5 x 136 cm, ResidenzgalerieResidenzgalerieThe Residenzgalerie is an art gallery in the Alte Residenz, Salzburg, Austria. Its collection includes works by Rembrandt, Carel Fabritius, Carlo Saraceni and Hieronymus Francken II.-History:...
Salzburg - c. 1644 Portrait of a Seated Woman with a HandkerchiefPortrait of a Seated Woman with a HandkerchiefPortrait of a Seated Woman with a Handkerchief is a painting at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Today it is attributed to Carel Fabritius, but previoulsy it had long been considered a work by Rembrandt....
, Art Gallery of OntarioArt Gallery of OntarioUnder the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
, Toronto - 1645 - 47 Mercury and Aglauros oil on canvas, 72.4 x 91.1 cm, Museum of Fine ArtsMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
Boston - 1646 Portrait of an old man, oil on board, musée du Louvre
- 1646 - 1651 A Girl with a Broom, oil on canvas, 107.3 x 91.4 cm, signed as Rembrandt, National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
Washington D.C - 1650 Self-portrait, oil on panel, 65 x 49 cm, Museum Boijmans Van BeuningenMuseum Boijmans Van BeuningenThe Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the main art museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The museum began in 1847 with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans . Much of the museum's original collection was destroyed in a disastrous 1864 fire...
Rotterdam - 1652 A View of Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller's Stall, oil on canvas on panel, 15.4 x 31.6 cm, National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
London - 1654 The Goldfinch, oil on panel, MauritshuisMauritshuisThe Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis is an art museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. Previously the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau, it now has a large art collection, including paintings by Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter and Frans...
The Hague - 1654 The Sentry, oil on canvas, 68 x 58 cm, Staatliche Museum SchwerinStaatliche Museum SchwerinThe Staatliches Museum Schwerin is an art gallery and museum in Schwerin in Germany. It was established by Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1882 its historicist Haupthaus as the Staatsgalerie next to the Staatstheater...
Schwerin - 1654 Young Man in a Fur Cap, oil on canvas, 70.5 x 61.5 cm, National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
London (probably a self-portrait)
External links
- Description of the View of Delft at the National Gallery London
- Carel Fabritius at Artcyclopedia
- Works and literature on Carel Fabritius