RKD STUDIES

With this analysis of the striking development in Van Hoogstraten’s use of contour and tonal washes, some correction is required of the dating of drawings proposed by Sumowski. He places a large number of sheets in ‘the early 1650s’, already problematic given that Van Hoogstraten left on travel in May 1651 and very likely did not continue making compositional drawings while underway, the more so because his great success lay with illusionistic works. More significantly is that for various of these drawings, there is no clear connection to secure works, and specifically not to the dated sheets of 1650 and 1653. In this study, it has been possible to make such a connection for some of these works, but for others the comparison makes it clear that they should be placed earlier, to around 1648/49.¹

Finished Study Drawings: Nude Model Studies
In his treatise Van Hoogstraten writes about drawing from the nude model, referring specifically to his early years as a pupil. He famously complains, without referring directly to Rembrandt, about the inelegant poses stuck in these drawings, claiming that it cost as much effort to draw an elegant one. He encouraged young artists to seek out opportunities to draw from the model ‘in de warme stooven’ (in the warm chambers), likely meaning a heated chamber (Stübchen in German), not a stove, or steam bath (stoof) such as popular in Burgundian times.² A number of nude studies of male and female figures can be attributed to him during his early years, specifically because they employ a manner similar to his finished narrative drawings from this period. Three of them were even done in the same study session where Rembrandt made etchings of the same poses, as part of the study of male models, in 1646 and subsequent years [54][55][56]. Familiar here too are the thick contours and extensive washes, as well as the smoothly modelled forms. In one, we even recognize the face of Willem Drost (1633-1659), who was starting his instruction in Rembrandt’s studio under the tutelage of Van Hoogstraten, and also appears in a finished painted portrait by him [57].

54
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Standing frontal male nude, c. 1646
Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv./cat.nr. RF 4713

55
Leonaert Bramer
The family of Darius before Alexander the Great
Amsterdam, art dealer Dr. A. Wieg Fine Art

56
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Seated male nude with hands folded in front, c. 1646
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, inv./cat.nr. B 12 res

Female Nude Studies: An Independent Context, c. 1648
Among the nude studies by Samuel van Hoogstraten there are two that depict female models, in much the same manner as the male nudes [58][59]. Here the situation is not as clear, as it appears that Rembrandt only started organizing sessions with female models, (usually prostitutes on their off hours), much later, probably only starting around 1654 or even as late as 1658 (the date of his earliest prints), likely owing to moral hesitation.³ He lagged considerably behind his pupil Govert Flinck (1615-1660), who pioneered the study of the female nude from life in European art, in the late 1630s. It appears Samuel van Hoogstraten also jumped ahead of Rembrandt, with his well-known female nude study in the Louvre [58]. Stylistically, it must date to around 1647/48, and was much more likely made in Amsterdam and not after his return to Dordrecht. During this period in Amsterdam, other female nude study sessions were organised, of which Flinck continued to be part. Van Hoogstraten seems to have worked independently but casts a line to his teacher Rembrandt in this drawing, by showing the model laughing. With this candid emotional reaction to finding oneself naked in company, Van Hoogstraten was still following the spirit of instruction under Rembrandt. Even more specifically, however, this appears to be some form of response to Rembrandt’s famously confrontational Female nude seated on a mound. But instead of the provocative grin there, Van Hoogstraten renders a naturalistic and disarming expression, yielding one of the most persuasive renderings of emotion in his entire oeuvre, and generally one of the more memorable images of the age.

58
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Seated, laughing, female nude, c. 1646
Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv./cat.nr. RF 4193

59
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Seated female nude, c. 1646
Chicago (Illinois), The Art Institute of Chicago, inv./cat.nr. 1989.203

Finished Study Drawings: Animals, and Architecture

During his period with Rembrandt, Van Hoogstraten was also witness to his study of lions, which could be viewed at the Autumn Fair in the city, for a fee. It appears that he went together with the master, to judge from the evidence of his drawing, which shows the same kind of lion in a similar pose as a drawing by Rembrandt, particularly in the inclined head, but taken from another angle, nearly opposite [60][61]. His drawing is more worked up, with washes and cast shadows to indicate the ground, yielding a finished drawing comparable to the nude studies and compositional studies. Around the same time he also drew a camel, likely at the same annual market, this time independently of Rembrandt, producing several sheets, again with greater polish than Rembrandt [62].⁴

A little earlier, while Van Hoogstraten was still his pupil (or “disciple”) around 1644/45, Rembrandt made his drawing of the Montelbaanstoren, which stood not far from his house. This may have prompted his disciple to make a drawing of a tower as well, this time that of the Westerkerk, viewed from the north: at a far distance, as he advised in his treatise [63].⁵ This sheet has also been given to Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693)on account of the added inscription, however the careful handling, rich buildup, and the controlled and smooth contours fit in with Van Hoogstraten’s work around 1648, when he depicted himself making exactly such a drawing, in a large painting in St. Petersburg [64].⁶ He would later demonstrate a strong orientation towards architecture in various perspectives, and also depicted the interior of Westminster Cathedral in 1663.

60
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Lion lying down, c. 1648
Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum, inv./cat.nr. TA 10286

61
Rembrandt
Lying lion, c. 1660
Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, inv./cat.nr. A 4524

62
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Study of a camel, c. 1645-1650
Paris, Fondation Custodia - Collection Frits Lugt, inv./cat.nr. 9027

63
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten attributed to Nicolaes Maes
The tower of the Westerkerk in Amsterdam, c. 1650-1670
Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum, inv./cat.nr. TA 10288

64
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Self-portrait, c. 1648
Sint-Petersburg, Hermitage, inv./cat.nr. ГЭ-788

Study Sheets: Sketches from Life
During this early period Van Hoogstraten made other studies from life as well, of an entirely different type. He produced several sheets of multiple small studies of figures. In this he followed his master Rembrandt, who not only filled various sheets with such small and quick studies, but even made several “study sheet” etchings, disseminating this artistic practice among a wider audience of art lovers and connoisseurs. His ambitiously competitive pupil may even have been trying to outdo his master on this count. Van Hoogstraten of course had to grapple with Rembrandt’s unusual talent in quick drawing from life. With inspired results: he produced some of the most engaging study sheets by a pupil, including one with various male and female figures centered on a seated old woman with a tray, likely a market seller in public [65]. To the left of her, the artist strikingly captured the curious expression of a boy in a hat, scratching his head, revealing considerable ability developed in the orbit of Rembrandt. The technique, with a range of lines and washes, and with thicker, bulging contours, confirms Sumowski’s dating of this activity in the late 1640s, not long after his departure from the studio.⁷ Another equally evocative study sheets employs looser, quickly dragged lines to render a bearded man in a fur hat, and a hatted man in lost profile [66]. None of the remaining known examples reflect the later development of Van Hoogstraten’s drawing hand however, and he appears to have no longer seen potential in such spontaneous observations of human behaviour ‘nae ‘t leven’ (from life), as part of his study of the visible world.⁸

65
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Several figure studies, c. 1648-1650
Private collection

66
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Face of an old woman and five figures, c. 1648-1650
Private collection