Mauritshuis, a museum in The Hague, Netherlands, has an exquisite collection of Dutch Golden Age paintings. For a long time, the “crown jewel” of their collection was Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Everything changed in 2013 with the publication of Donna Tartt’s novel “The Goldfinch,” which became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize. The book takes its title from an artwork by the 17th-century Dutch artist Carel Fabritius.
Rembrandt’s Pupil
Carel Fabritius (1622–1654) was one of the leading Dutch artists of his day. The full extent of his genius remains enigmatic for two reasons: He died tragically at the age of 32 and much of his work has not survived. Despite these limitations, he is acknowledged as Rembrandt’s most talented pupil and an inspiration to Vermeer.
Fabritius was born in the town of Middenbeemster, north of Amsterdam. His first art instruction was most likely received from his father, a clergyman and schoolmaster who was also a part-time artist. In 1641, the 19-year-old Fabritius moved to Amsterdam. For around 20 months, he trained under Rembrandt and may have worked as an assistant for the older artist during part of that time period.
Afterwards, Fabritius returned to his hometown for several years. His early history paintings reflect Rembrandt’s style, with bravura brushstrokes, dark colors, and dramatic lighting. Fabritius later developed his own innovative artistic voice. Much of his later works feature dark figures against light backgrounds, bright colors, cool lighting, as well as combinations of thin glazes with measured impasto (thick applications of paint) to conjure depth and texture.
The young artist was also interested in optical effects, which he explored in both cityscape and portraiture. Regarding “A View of Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller’s Stall,” the general consensus among art historians is that the picture was created with the intention that it be placed in a viewing box. Spectators would look at it through a lens or peephole, giving the illusion of a three-dimensional vista.
In an otherwise conventional picture, “Portrait of Abraham de Potter, Amsterdam Silk Merchant,” Fabritius includes a trompe l’oeil illusion: The sitter is placed in front of a plastered wall and at the top right is a painted nail that looks like it is actually protruding from the canvas.
Trompe l’oeil dates to antiquity—the earliest murals of this technique were found in archeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The descriptive term used today comes from French and literally translates as “trick/deceive the eye.” To make a two-dimensional object appear fully lifelike is one of the greatest challenges for an artist. Painterly experimentations with trompe l’oeil were highly popular in the 1600s, particularly in the Netherlands, and Fabritius was one of the most skilled artists to utilize pictorial illusionism.
The European Goldfinch
Goldfinches are small songbirds commonly found in Europe and other parts of the world. Their coloring is characterized by black wings with yellow stripes and a red patch by the eyes and beak. Legend ascribes that this spot came from a splash of Christ’s blood when a thorn was removed from his head along the way to Calvary. In art history, goldfinches have featured in religious paintings of the Christ Child as a harbinger of the Passion.In 17th-century Holland, goldfinches were popular pets that were often taught tricks. A common one was drawing their own drinking water with a thimble-sized cup, and another was opening the feeding-box. Fabritius depicted his exquisitely tranquil goldfinch chained to such a box against a whitewashed wall. This constraint is potentially a moralizing message regarding domesticity and flight.
The distinguishable brushwork employed by Fabritius is mesmerizing. Using minimal visible strokes, he captures the essence of the bird’s downy form. The yellow accent feathers were fabricated by adding the color over black paint. Then, the artist used his brush handle to make a scratch in the wet paint, a technique from Rembrandt.
Delft’s Explosion
On the morning of Oct. 12, 1654, the Delft municipal gunpowder warehouse containing about 90,000 pounds of material exploded. Almost a third of the city was destroyed, over 500 people were killed, and thousands were injured. The destruction was captured in a painting done later that year by Egbert van der Poel. It is a sobering companion to Fabritius’ cityscape from two years earlier.
On that fateful October day, Fabritius was at work in his studio, situated close to the warehouse. He was gravely injured in the explosion and ultimately died of his wounds. Scholars believe much of his work would have been housed in the studio and destroyed in the explosion.
Mauritshuis’ 2003 restoration of “The Goldfinch” revealed intriguing information. Microscopic damage was uncovered, leading to the theory it had been in the studio’s rubble. During this conservation effort, the picture was examined by CT scan, becoming the first painting to undergo such analysis.
The old and dirty yellow varnish was removed and the original light background recovered. The Museum wrote, “X-ray and infrared imaging have shown that the bottom perch was added afterwards, over the white background, undoubtedly to enhance the trompe-l’oeil effect.”
After Fabritius’ death, he fell into obscurity. This paralleled the initial fate of Vermeer, a fellow Delft artist. Vermeer, whose work explored stillness and light in the vein of Fabritius, was rediscovered in the mid-19th century by the French art critic Théophile Thoré-Bürger. In addition, Thoré-Bürger championed Fabritius, initially on the merit of “The Goldfinch,” which he discovered in a private collection. Before this time, art by Fabritius was usually assigned to Rembrandt’s authorship.
Art historians ponder whether, if Fabritius had lived, he would have surpassed Rembrandt and Vermeer, the two towering figures of the Dutch Golden Age. For an artist whose career spanned a mere 12 years, Fabritius left an indelible mark in on art history.
