JOHANNES CHRISTOFFEL VAARBERG (Weesp 1825 – Amsterdam 1871)

The Studio of Paulus Potter signed and dated in the lower center J.C. Vaarberg 57 oil on panel 21 x 16 inches (53.3 x 40.8 cm.)

PROVENANCE Private Collection, New York, until the present time

Paulus Potter (1625–1654) was dubbed the “Raphael of the Cows” by an art critic in the nineteenth century. Renowned for paintings of animals in a landscape, Potter’s The Young Bull in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, in the nineteenth century rivaled the fame of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch and to this day is possibly the museum’s most popular work. In 1649 Potter was living in The Hague in a home rented from Jan van Goyen. In 1650 he married Adriana van Balckeneyde, the daughter of the leading architect of the city, Claes Dircksz. Van Balckeneyde. Through Van Balckeneyde’s connections Potter received important commissions. Johannes Christoffel Vaarberg’s The Studio of Paulus Potter in all likelihood depicts a notorious incident in what was otherwise a very successful career. Potter received a commission from the Stadtholder Frederick Hendrick’s widow, Amalia van Solms, for a chimney piece for the Princess’s private apartments in the Oude Hof. The result was a spectacular sunlit farmyard scene with a profusion of animals. Near the center of the composition, Potter included the very realistic barnyard detail of a cow urinating. This unfortunately set off a whispering campaign about the painting’s unsuitability and ultimately led to the Princess’s rejection of the work. The painting at some point was also dubbed “The Pissing Cow.”

1 Its correct

title is The Farm and it is now one of the treasures of the Hermitage Collection (inventory no. 820).

Vaarberg recreates Potter’s studio in meticulous detail, emulating the style of the Master. Adriana is viewed probably delivering the unfortunate news while Potter defensively points to the painting of a bull he has just started. Vaarberg has admirably captured the artist’s face, known from a portrait done of Potter in 1654 by Bartholomeus van den Helst and now in the Mauritshuis. Their dress reflects a romanticized interpretation of seventeenth century attire. Two dogs protectively hover nearby. Spread across the black and white checkerboard floor are an overstuffed portfolio of drawings that testify to Potter’s reputation as a prolific draftsman, his paint-box, palette, brushes, unstretched canvas and a book of engravings. In the right foreground are props that could be incorporated into the painting including a walking stick, hunter’s horn and pouch along with assorted greenery. In the background an apprentice diligently primes a canvas. To 1 Biographical information taken from Jakob Rosenberg, Seymour Slive, and E. H. ter

Kuile, Dutch Art and Architecture, 1600 – 1800, Penguin, Baltimore, MD, 1960, p. 160; “Paulus Potter” in Dutch Painting of the Golden Age from the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, exhibition catalog, National Gallery of Art, Washington, starting April 1982, and traveling, p. 96; Amy L. Walsh, “Paulus (Pietersz.) Potter” in From Rembrandt to Vermeer, 17th Century Dutch Artists, Grove Art, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2000, p. 258; and Walter Liedtke, “Painting in Delft from about 1600 to 1650” in Vermeer and the Delft School, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2001, p. 87.

the right, a mantelpiece is festooned with decorative objects, adjacent to a winding wooden staircase, next to a lit hallway. Sunlight pours in from an unseen source in the upper left-hand corner, spotlighting the sitters and artistic implements.

Vaarberg lived and worked in Amsterdam starting in 1848. He is thought to have studied at the Academy in Amsterdam. Although he painted portraits and contemporary genre, he excelled at recreating historical scenes with dramatic use of light often emanating from candles or lamps.

2 By employing traditional seventeenth-century compositional

techniques, Vaarberg succeeded in capturing their essence. His work reflects a period when historical paintings were exceedingly popular. In order to make this subject matter more accessible, painters often chose to represent incidents from the lives of the famous as opposed to major events. These works emphasized personal character and experiences with which the viewer could empathize,

3 as in our painting which deals with the theme of

rejection and ultimate vindication.

Johannes Frederick Hulk, Jr., was a student of Vaarberg. From 1848–1871 Vaarberg exhibited works in Amsterdam, The Hague, Groningen, Rotterdam and Leeuwarden. A painting by the artist is in the Museum Paul Tetar van Elven in Delft.

4

2 Biographical information taken from Pieter A. Scheen, “Johannes Christoffel

Vaarberg” in Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars 1750–1880, Uitgeverij Pieter A. Scheen BV, ‘s-Gravenhage, 1981, p. 532.

3 Mary Cowling, “History Painting” in Paintings from the Reign of Victoria, The Royal Halloway Collection, London, Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia, 2008, p. 69.

4 Pieter A. Scheen, op. cit., p. 332.