Time for Sitting Outdoors with Flowers & Dogs

William Marshall (British printmaker, 1617-1649) Woman with Flower Basket & Intrigued Dog

May-June by Italian Printmaker Alessandro Temini active 1650

Maggio, Gemelli, Tatto by Italian Printmaker Alessandro Temini active 1650

1630 The Air by Abraham Bosse (French, c 1602-04–1676)

1630 The Air by Abraham Bosse (French, c 1602-04–1676)

Showing the bounty of - Earth by Abraham Bosse (French, c 1602/1604–1676)

The Earth by Abraham Bosse (French, c 1602/1604–1676)

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

Barend van Kalraet (Dutch artist, 1649-1737) Lady by a Fountain with a Parott

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain.  In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nourish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain.  Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls.  He could not only interpret nature, he could control it.  And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady might be sexually appealing for the right marriage partner.

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

Nicolaes Maes (Dutch artist, 1634-1693) Catherine Peels

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain.  In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nourish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain.  Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls.  He could not only interpret nature, he could control it.  And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady might be sexually appealing for the right marriage partner.

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

1650 Attr David Des Granges (British artist, 1611-c.1671) Portrait of Elizabeth, Countess of Carnarvon(1633-1678)

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain.In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nourish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain. Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls. He could not only interpret nature, he could control it. And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady might be sexually appealing for the right marriage partner.

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

Nicolaes Maes (Dutch artist, 1634-1693) Young Lady by a Fountain

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain.In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nourish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain. Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls. He could not only interpret nature, he could control it. And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady might be sexually appealing for the right marriage partner.

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

Style of Caspar Netscher (Dutch artist, 1639-1684) Portrait of a Young Lady at a Fountain

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain.In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nurish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain. Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls. He could not only interpret nature, he could control it. And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady was becoming sexually available for the right marriage partner.

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

Peter Lely (English artist, 1618-1680) Unknown Lady at Fountain

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain.In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nourish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain. Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls. He could not only interpret nature, he could control it. And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady might be sexually appealing for the right marriage partner.

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

1661 Peter Lely (English artist, 1618-1680) Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, 1637 - 1671. Became The First wife of James VII and II.

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain.In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nourish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain. Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls. He could not only interpret nature, he could control it. And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady might be sexually appealing for the right marriage partner.

17C Garden Fountains Predict the Perfect, Proper Wife

1664 Nicolaes Maes (Dutch artist, 1634-1693) Young Lady by a Fountain

Nicolaes Maes (Dutch artist, 1634-1693) Young Lady by a Fountain (For those who did not like a blond, serious sitter, Maes apparently painted this more cheerful brunette.)

By the 17C & 18C, artists portrayed women & girls, often the eligible daughters of the patrons commissioning the portraits, near a fountain. In these fountain settings, the young lady is often depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. At the center of Arcady is the Garden of Love, where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain. The young lady places her hand in the flowing water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyke & Lely & it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife & mother, recalling Proverbs, Chapter 5, Verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, & rejoice in the wife of thy youth."

Garden fountains were originally purely functional, connected to natural springs or aqueducts & used to provide water for drinking; water for bathing & washing; & water to nurish growing plants. The painting would announce to the viewer that the parent/patron had enough money, taste, & technological expertise to channel the water through an artistic garden fountain.  Water was now not just a necessary component of nature, the garden planner could make it an integral component of art both outdoors in his garden & indoors in the paintings on his walls.  He could not only interpret nature, he could control it.  And in this painting, he could announce his "natural" superiority, & might chose to have the portrait he has commissioned suggest that his young lady might be sexually available for the right marriage partner.

Gone Fishing - in 1600s England

Wenceslaus Hollar (European-born English artist, 1607-1677) Angling

Wenceslaus Hollar (European-born English artist, 1607-1677) River Fishing

Wenceslaus Hollar (European-born English artist, 1607-1677) Salmon Fishing

All about the Wine & Spirits - 1600s

 1600s David Teniers the Younger (Flemish artist, 1610–1690) Vintner

 1690 Studio of David Teniers the Younger (Flemish artist, 1610–1690)  Autumn

 David Teniers II (Flemish, 1610 - 1690) & workshop, Allegory of Autumn 1644

 David Teniers III (1638-1685), and workshop, Allegory of Autumn

The Toper, but may be intended as a personification of Autumn, copy of Teniers's Autumn of about 1644.

Paar dat wijn drinkt, Anonymous, Crispijn van de Passe (I), Maerten de Vos, 1574 - 1687

Liquor seller by David Teniers II (Flemish, 1610 - 1690) ca. 1640

Liquor seller by David Teniers (II), ca. 1640

1600s Spanish children trapped in the bodies & costumes of their elders

 1550s Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) Carlos, Prince of Asturias, also known as Don Carlos (1545-1568), was the eldest son and heir-apparent of King Philip II of Spain

During this period, children of titled or landed nobles were dressed as miniature adults reflecting their particular social status, where children were often married or promised in marriage at very young ages to cement social, political, & economic alliances.  The portrait of an heir asserts their position of birth, wealth, & power of the family.  From the 16C to the 18C, sumptuary laws dictated what people of an established social status were allowed to wear, such as rich textiles, laces, jewelry, & accessories.  It was hoped that these laws would maintain the social order with the aristocracy at the top of the heap.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, these mandates were difficult to enforce.  

 1560s Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) Portrait of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria (1552-1612)

  1569 Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) Infanta Isabella, daughter of King Philip of Spain

 1570s Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566–1633) and her monkey

 1570s Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) Of Austria Archduke Wenceslaus of Austria (1561-1578) He was the young Grand Prior of the Order of Malta.

 1575 Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588)  Portrait of Infante Ferdinand of Spain holding a bird

 1575 Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) Infantas Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela of Spain

 1579 Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588)  Infantes Don Diego and Don Felipe Detail

 1580 Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) The Infant Don Felipe

 1580s Attributed to Alonso Sanchez Coello (Spanish painter, ca.1531-1588) Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catharina, Daughters of Philip II, King of Spain.  Also portrayed are a bird & dog.

 1602 Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish artist, 1553–1608)  Infantin Anna (1601-1666) Ana Maria Mauricia Infanta, daughter of Philip III and Margaret of Austria, was the eldest of 8 children.

 1602 Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish artist, 1553–1608)  Infantin Anna (1601-1666) Ana Maria Mauricia Infanta, daughter of Philip III and Margaret of Austria, was the eldest of 8 children. Detail

 1602 Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish artist, 1553–1608)  Portrait of the Infanta Ana Mauricia of Austria. (Daughter of Philip III and Margaret of Austria, Styria kings)  There were a few exceptions to the adult-clothes-only rule, including toddler dresses, coral teething necklaces & pieces of coral, such as the one being held here, for teething purposes

 1604 Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish artist, 1553–1608) Infant Anna

 1607 Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish artist, 1553–1608)  Infantin Maria Anna (1606-1646)

 1607 Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish artist, 1553–1608) The Infantes Don Felipe and Doña Anna

 1610 Bartolomé González y Serrano (1564–1627), A 9-year old Anne of Austria, future Queen of France, and her brother, a 5-year old Philip, future Philip IV, the King of Spain portrayed with a small dog

 1612 Bartolomé González y Serrano (1564–1627), Alfonso, the son of Philip III of Spain

 1612 Bartolomé González y Serrano (1564–1627), Infante Carlos (1607-1632) with his sister, Infanta Maria Anna (1606-1646)

  1612 Bartolomé González y Serrano (1564–1627), The children of Philip III of Spain (Ferdinand, Alfonso and Margarita)

 1613 Bartolomé González y Serrano (Spanish artist, 1564–1627) Portrait of Alfonso el Caro and Ana Margarita with dog

1600s Families by Gonzales Coques c.1615-1684

Gonzales Coques (Flemish Baroque Era Painter, ca.1615-1684) A Family Group by a Garden Fountain

Gonzales Coques (Flemish Baroque Era Painter, ca.1615-1684) A Family in a Garden Landscape

Gonzales Coques (Flemish Baroque Era Painter, ca.1615-1684) Family in Garden Landscape

Gonzales Coques (Flemish Baroque Era Painter, ca.1615-1684) Family of Jan Baptista Anthonie

Gonzales Coques (Flemish Baroque Era Painter, ca.1615-1684) Family Portrait

Gonzales Coques (Flemish Baroque Era Painter, ca.1615-1684) Gentleman with two daughters 1664

1662 Married Couple in the Park attributed to Gonzales Coques (Flemish Baroque Era Painter, ca.1615-1684)