Ah, The Wallace Collection! Even as I contemplate only tackling the highlights, the vastness of this collection overwhelms me and I know that it is a practically impossible task.
Still, today I am in London and, after a long, long time, have returned to my favorite museum. Although I do love a good museum and have been fortunate enough to have browsed through many a fine collection, The Wallace Collection is firmly at the top of my list. So I am certainly not going to let a little thing like whittling the collection down to a select few get me down. And so, I begin.
The East Gallery II
The exquisiteness of Fruit and Flowers, a masterpiece (in my opinion), situated on the North Wall of The East Gallery II of the Wallace Collection is almost enough to bring me to tears.
The Collection itself is a sheer joy and the gallery does not disappoint. I have been here all morning and it is now well into the afternoon. It is hard to find a balance between seeing it all and taking the time to absorb what I see. I pause in front of this painting by an artist that I do not remember hearing of previously and I feel like my world has suddenly changed – both broadened and narrowed concurrently.
The detail is perfect, fragile and intense and I lean in more closely to inspect the color, strokes and the little elements of surprise and delight, not hidden but certainly requiring attention to detect, like some hidden ingredient in an exotic dish that you know you may never taste again. And thus, I savor the moment.
The artist, Jan van Huysum (1682 – 1749), came from a family of artists in Amsterdam and was taught by his father, Justus van Huysum. His work focuses on landscapes and still life, however it is hard to truly see this as still life when it feels like I could reach into the frame and pluck a flower from the selection. Whilst if I didn’t know better, I would swear the butterfly’s wings just twitched ever so slightly, as if it is preparing to launch itself into flight.
This painting is in good company. The East Gallery II is dedicated to Dutch painters from the 17th Century who focused on small scale intimate scenes and domestic subjects as well as meticulous townscapes. Information displayed here tells us that “Although on the surface most of these pictures depict an orderly and well-mannered society, often they contain hidden meanings, warning their viewers of the temptations and moral traps in this world.”
I contemplate this for a while but in the end I see grapes, peaches, melon and pomegranate, hollyhock, cornflower and a poppy. Not to mention the butterflies, ladybug, eggs, ant and nest. The apparent lack of moral lesson does not disappoint.
During this time, referred to as the Dutch Golden Age, Holland was experiencing economic prosperity. With the emergence of the new urban merchant class, largely due to the opening up of trade and travel (note the likes of the Dutch East India Company), the home and domestic life became a focus. It is symbolic of a safe haven, protection from the lack of morality and Christian values that was perceived as becoming more prevalent with the increased exposure to the wider world and the mixing of the traditional classes due to the economic growth.
This reminds us of the climate of society during the times these paintings emerged when religion and religious standards influenced social and political standing. Holland, in particular, was highly religious, a time when morals were judged on all manner of personal matters that today might be considered either entirely private or thoroughly irrelevant. The influx of Protestants during this time, many of whom were skilled workers, gave rise to the Protestant work ethic based on the notions of thrift and education.
The increase in wealth of society as a whole had a welcome effect on art and culture and painting in particular enjoyed a surge of followers that could afford to commission works. This had a self perpetuating effect for society and paintings, as portraiture in particular and paintings in general, became a popular status symbol of wealth and class.
Thus, van Huysum enjoys the company of the likes of Vermeer and Rembrandt as his contemporaries as well as hanging beside Gerard ter Borch, Jan Steen and Gabriel Metsu in this particular gallery.
Further of van Huysum’s works are exhibited in the National Gallery in London, the Louvre in Paris as well as public museums across Europe and numerous private collections. Fruit and Flowers hangs beside Flowers in a Vase, also in this gallery.
Good To Know
The Wallace Collection was established in 1897 from the private collection of the Marquesses of Hertford. Although he was illegitimate, Sir Richard Wallace, whom the collection was named for, inherited the collection and the house from his father the 4th Marquee. It was Sir Richard’s widow who bequeathed the collection to the British nation and a few years later the state purchased the house such that the collection remained on display here. The Wallace Collection opened to the public in 1900.
See some of the other rooms in the Collection or explore another of my favorite museums:
- The Front State Room
- Manolo Blahnik: An Enquiring Mind
- The Smoking Room
- National Museum of Beirut
- Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
- National Gallery of Australia
Would I Return?
Yes. Absolutely and unequivocally yes.
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