Holy Family in an interior

Ferdinand Bol (1616–80) was a Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman. Although his surviving work is rare, it displays Rembrandt's influence; like his master, Bol favored historical subjects, portraits, numerous self-portraits, and single figures in exotic finery. By the mid-17th century, he had eclipsed Rembrandt in his popularity, receiving more official commissions than any other artist in Amsterdam, no mean feat in what surely - second only to Rome - was the world art capital at this time.

With some sixteen recorded works made between 1642-51, Bol's etching constituted a small but significant aspect of his oeuvre. Most of them are studies of older people, powerfully depicting serious men – saints or philosophers – who often seem, like Hamlet or King Lear, to be pondering the meaning of human existence. Without having the same aura as those of Rembrandt, Bol's etchings are nonetheless extremely expressive, often spiritual, executed in a bold and free manner with judicious management of light and shadow. Sometimes, as in this work, Bol moves away from his prophets and philosophers to present the viewer with a totally different theme.

This dark and subtle etching is one of the artist's most expressive. The muted light that glows through the large window on the right gently illuminates the mother and child and picks out the edges of objects within the background shadows. Just distinguishable behind the nursing Virgin Mary is Joseph at the ready with a cloth in his hands. Bol created such delicate tonal effects within a considerably obscured composition by slightly varying the dense etched hatchings and enhancing it with drypoint and burin. The 17th-century Dutch household setting reveals little of the religious nature of this scene; the Virgin, however, wears archaic dress characteristic of biblical figures in works of this period.

Bol, who discreetly signed and dated the print in one of the oval windowpanes, went to Amsterdam to study with Rembrandt in about 1636. Although he produced this print shortly after he left Rembrandt's studio and established himself as an independent artist, the striking chiaroscuro still bears strong stylistic connections to his master's work. The subject also relates to Rembrandt thematically, notably on his etched and painted domestic scenes featuring the Holy Family: the obvious parallel is the much loved painting <em>The Holy Family by Night</em> (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), which the Rembrandt Research Project declared to be not by the master. Also highly influential is the domestic character - and of course dramatic chiaroscuro (a lot more 'scuro' than 'chiaro') - of Bol's teacher, Rembrandt's etching, <em>St Jerome in a dark chamber</em> (Te Papa 1869-0001-437) which, significantly, predates the Bol by just one year. Even the cat in the shadows at lower right is a reference to the lion found in the same position in Rembrandt's vision of St Jerome's study.

Sources:

The Met, 'Holy Family in an Interior', https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/334637

Spaightwood Galleries, Inc., 'Old Master Prints: Ferdinand Bol...', http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Bol.html

Wikipedia, 'Ferdinand Bol', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Bol

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   September 2018