Rojtman Collection


	Masterpieces from The Rojtman Foundation Collection November 7, 1996-April 6, 1997 In celebration of the forty-year relationship between The Rojtman Foundation and Marquette University, the Haggerty Museum of Art has organized this exhibition of Flemish and Dutch Old Master paintings. The exhibition, arranged exclusively for the Haggerty Museum, consists of seven paintings chosen by Lillian Rojtman Berkman, president of The Rojtman Foundation, and myself. The works chosen, among the favorites of the current Foundation president, represent the finest works in the collection. Marc B. Rojtman (1917-67) was born in Danzig, Germany and grew up in Paris. His love for art began early in life in the family home where he was surrounded by Old Master paintings. "I believe that my own childhood environment at home, followed by an intensive study of art history in school and untold visits to the greatest European museums, to which I was taken from the age of nine, have helped me acquire an appreciation and love for art that has played an important role in my personal and business life," Rojtman declared.1 He came to New York in 1938 to study at New York University. There he met Lillian Duban, who became his wife in 1946. She shared his love for art and continues to honor her late husband as president of The Rojtman Foundation. When the Rojtmans arrived in Milwaukee in 1956, they brought a collection of Old Master paintings unparalleled in Wisconsin. The artists represented included Rubens, Titian, Rembrandt, Frans Hals, van Dyck, Caravaggio, Jacob van Ruisdael, and numerous others. The collection had been amassed by Rojtman's family in Europe and was transferred to the United States in his care. From 1956 to 1963 it was housed in the Rojtmans' French-style chateau on Lake Drive in Milwaukee. The portrait of Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, one of the paintings featured in the exhibition, once hung above the fireplace in the living room of the Rojtman mansion, and other paintings were visible throughout the home.2 Soon after their arrival in Wisconsin, where Mr. Rojtman was to lead J. I. Case Company, which had acquired his very successful American Tractor Corporation, the Rojtmans turned their attention to the establishment of a charitable foundation to share their collection with the public. The Rojtman Foundation was established in 1956 to advance education in the arts. Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison were designated as recipients of Old Master paintings to help carry out the Foundation's educational plans. In 1961, Marc Rojtman expressed the sentiments and the philosophy that The Rojtman Foundation was intended to foster: Although as a collector I hate to part with any of my paintings, . . . I derive great satisfaction from knowing that thousands of students are able to view firsthand, as part of their daily student activities, some of the western world's heritage of Old Masters. Few things in life are as important as environment. The fact that these Old Masters have become part of the environment of thousands of students will help them develop an appreciation and understanding of art that textbooks alone cannot possibly impart. . . . Appreciation of art is not what many people thinkjust a pastime or an intellectual hobby. It has deep-rooted importance in the most practical aspects of widely different kinds of creative work.3 Rojtman thus saw a connection between the design of industrial machinery, such as the tractors made by his company, and the qualities of proportion, balance, and a sense of aesthetics so predominant in the Old Master paintings. Since its inception in 1956, The Rojtman Foundation has regarded Marquette University, and now the Haggerty Museum of Art, as one of the principal venues for its gifts of art and the support of art education. Although paintings from the Rojtman collection have been displayed in exhibitions throughout the world, Marquette has consistently been one of the principal exhibition sites of The Rojtman Foundation collection. This gesture reflects in part the ties formed with Marquette during the Rojtmans' stay in Milwaukee, when they enjoyed some of their happiest times. This relationship resulted in a gift of some twenty Old Master paintings that formed the nucleus of the Marquette University art collection and, for a time, provided the basis for a distinguished art history lecture series. The gifts began in the late 1950s and brought firsthand experience to the students of Marquette and surrounding schools, as the Rojtmans had intended. Ultimately, these paintings provided the rationale for the Haggerty Museum of Art, which opened in 1984. Lillian Rojtman Berkman echoed her late husband's sentiment at the groundbreaking ceremonies for this important addition to Marquette and Milwaukee when she announced that the Foundation would provide further gifts of art to help make the University a major midwestern repository of Old Masters. She affirmed her intent to continue Marc Rojtman's plans to help make Wisconsin one of the leading art centers in the country. Mrs. Berkman was awarded the Marquette University Kairos Award for distinguished service in the fine arts in 1992 and received an honorary doctorate in 1996. She remains active in plans for the future of the Haggerty Museum. Gerard David Netherlandish (c. 1460-1523) Madonna and Child, c. 1498 Oil on panel 46 3/8 x 34 1/2 in. The works in the exhibition represent a cross section of religious, classical, and landscape genres from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Madonna and Child, c. 1498,was attributed by the distinguished art historian Max Friedlander to Gerard David (c. 1460-1523).4 David, a Flemish painter of Dutch origin, lived in Bruges after 1484 where he worked as a master painter. His pictures often represent domestic scenes in the life of Christ. Typically, the picture in the exhibition shows the Madonna and Child seated in front of a courtyard. The courtyard facade in the foreground, as well as the buildings seen in the distance, show elaborate architectural details representative of a typical Flemish town such as Bruges. Mary wears a red dress and blue robe, red to denote passion and suffering, and blue clarity and truth. Joseph is shown chopping wood outside the courtyard. The iconography of the painting incorporates various symbols. An ostrich egg symbolizes the Virgin birth, and a pair of pincers in a wicker basket refers to the instrument used to extract the nails from the cross. The purple iris with its blade-shaped leaves can be read as the soldier's sword set to pierce Christ's side.5 Violets and Mary's downcast eyes suggest the Virgin's shyness, and the strawberries her sweetness. The overall solemnity of the picture portends the fate of her Son on the cross. Sir Peter Paul Rubens Flemish (1577-1640) Portrait of the Emperor Charles V in Armor (after Titian), c. 1603 Oil on canvas 36 1/2 x 30 in. Provenance: Sale, Palais de Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 24 June 1953, lot 36. Diana's Return from the Hunt Oil on panel 29 x 41 1/4 in. Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), represented in the exhibition by two paintings, was the most renowned of all Flemish painters. He established his studio in 1598 at the age of twenty-one. In the same year he became a master of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. Rubens traveled to Italy in 1600, stopping in Venice to see the works of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese before settling in Rome, and later traveling on to Spain in 1603. He settled in Antwerp in 1608, where he achieved fame as a painter, scholar, and diplomat. His home and studio were a center of social and intellectual life. His paintings can be seen in major museums throughout the world, a testimony to his success in business and in art. The two works by Rubens from the Rojtman collection represent very different aspects and time periods in his work. His Portrait of the Emperor Charles V in Armor, c. 1603, is believed to have been painted during Rubens's first diplomatic mission to Spain where he was sent by the Duke of Mantua to win the favor of King Philip III. The work, after a painting of Charles V on horseback by Titian now in Madrid, is one of twenty-one works painted by Rubens after the Venetian master. The emperor is represented in half-figure. His right hand, visible at the lower edge, is covered by a gauntlet. The cuirass of his armor is crossed with a sash with stripes in gold thread.6 A smaller version of the picture exists in the Prince's Gate Collection of the Courtauld Institute Galleries in London. The Rojtman version corresponds more closely to an engraving of the painting by Theodor van Kessel.7 Diana's Return from the Hunt is thought to be the model for a larger painting on the same subject which is in the Dresden Museum. This painting reflects Rubens's knowledge of classical myth and reveals his fluid hand and his ability to transform the painting surface into a lush and sensuous composition. The subtle contrast of moods revealed between the shy handmaidens and the robust earthiness of the satyrs heightens the viewer's interest.8 Sir Anthony van Dyck Flemish (1599-1641) Amarillis and Mirtillo, c. 1617-20 Oil on canvas 48 3/4 x 56 in. Provenance: Collection of the Right Honorable Earl of Powis Venus and Amor, c. 1638-40 Oil on canvas 41 x 49 1/8 in. Provenance: Collection of Dr. Paul Baecher, Prague Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), born in Antwerp, was also a highly influential Flemish painter. After an apprenticeship with Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632) begun at the age of eleven, he was admitted as a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1618. He subsequently worked in Rubens's workshop for two years where he absorbed the influence of this other great Flemish master. He later worked in Italy, returning to Antwerp from 1628-32, and in England, where he became court painter to Charles I. He was knighted by Charles I, and remained in England from 1632 until his death. The two van Dyck paintings in the exhibition, one from his early days in Antwerp (1617-20) and the other from his late English period (1632-41), represent the artist's handling of mythological subjects. Amarillis and Mirtillo, which has been tentatively dated 1617-20, is a rare example of van Dyk's non-religious figural compositions. The design of the picture is influenced by Titian's Bacchanal (Prado, Madrid), and the bright colors and dramatic effects suggest the influence of Rubens. The painting is based on the main event in Giovanni Battista Guarini's 1590 poem, "Il pastor fido." Mirtillo, disguised as "a girl among other girls," has just won the prize in a kissing competition, and he is handing the crown over to Amarillis. This type of painting represents a departure from van Dyck's usual religious subjects and portraits. Other versions of the painting can be found in the Gotenburg Museum and in the Turin Museum. The Rojtman picture is considered to be similar in composition and quality to the version in the Turin Museum. It lacks the image of a huge eagle found in the Gotenburg painting.9 Venus and Amor, also known as Portrait of a Lady in Mythological Disguise, was characterized by the Viennese art historian Gustav Glück as "an extraordinarily effective and pleasing example of a beautiful Anthony van Dyck composition from his English period."10 The mythological figures have been identified by Glück as Venus in the armor of Mars, accompanied by Amor. This interpretation is based on a comparison with a similar composition formerly in the Hamilton Palace Collection of the Duke of Hamilton.11 In the Rojtman painting, a vase of flowers replaces an element found in the composition of the Hamilton painting where the lady rested her hands on a helmet. An alternative reading of the painting suggests a portrait of a lady in the guise of the mythological Flora, goddess of flowers. In any event, the real identity of the lady has been proposed as Mary Villiers, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, later the Duchess of Lenox and Richmond. Another possibility that has been suggested is that the sitter is Cecilia Croft, the wife of the writer Thomas Killigrew, based on a comparison of the painting with van Dyck's double portrait Mrs. Killigrew and Lady Morton.12 Venus and Armor exhibits fresh atmospheric charm and precision of detail, making it a fine example of van Dyck's portraits of the English aristocracy. Despite its English subject, the French character of the landscape offers the possibility that the work was completed on French soil.13 Jacob van Ruisdael Dutch (1628/9-82) Seascape Oil on canvas 39 x 52 in. Water Mills in Holland, c. 1647-50 Oil on panel 20 ? x 26 ? in. Jacob van Ruisdael, born in Haarlem in 1628/9, became a member of the Haarlem Guild in 1648. He was one of the masters of Dutch landscape. He painted a rich variety of themes including the seascapes and mills represented in this exhibition, as well as forests, panoramic views, winter scenes, and town views. Goethe referred to Ruisdael as a visual poet. In 1657 Ruisdael moved to Amsterdam. He later qualified as a physician and practiced in Amsterdam. As a person, he was reclusive and melancholy in disposition, and deeply immersed in his work. His paintings in the exhibition, Seascape and Water Mills in Holland, exemplify two of Ruisdael's dominant themes. The dramatic composition of Seascape portrays an ailing ship hovering close against a steep rocky cliff. Ominous clouds and rough waves threaten the safety of survivors adrift in a small boat between the floundering mainship and the dark cliffs. At risk also is a lone figure grasping a rope while being hoisted up the side of the cliff by rescuers standing near the edge. The drama of the scene is heightened by the fragile lookout tower located at the peak of the cliff and surrounded by swirling dark clouds. A line of figures move down the slope and into the landscape to the right of the dominant cliff. Below, the broken mast and collapsed sails lie strewn across the wind-tossed shipwreck. The untypical Dutch landscape in this picture may have been inspired by motifs brought from Sweden to Holland in the 1640s by Allart van Everdingen (1621-75).14 The tranquil landscape of Water Mills in Holland is in sharp contrast to Ruisdael's Seascape. The painting depicts the ruins of a water mill, with water wheels to the right and left of a slow moving stream falling gently into a languid pool below. The mystery here lies in the quiet sense of an arrested temporal state evoked in part by the architectural elements, already established as ruins, and the frozen quality of the surrounding foliage. Here, as in Seascape, the miniscule human figures in the picture are diminished by man's ineluctable nemeses: the forces of nature and the passage of time. The two Rojtman paintings seen together in this exhibition reveal in different ways Ruisdael's attempt to show man's insignificance beside the power and majesty of nature. Seascape displays the brute forces of nature that reign over mankind, whereas Water Mills reveals the quiescent decay of the man-made environment through natural entropy. These two themes are simultaneously displayed in Ruisdael's masterpiece, The Jewish Cemetery, 1663, located in the Art Institute of Detroit. Seen in the context of the prior Rojtman gifts to the Marquette University art collection, the works in the exhibition reveal the broader dimensions of the Rojtman collection. It is fitting that the Haggerty Museum at Marquette University has been chosen as the site to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Foundation. This exhibition marks a continuation of the partnership that began in the 1950s and remains strong today. Curtis L. Carter Director 1. "Gift of Eight Old Masters Swells Art Treasure Collection of Marquette and University of Wisconsin," press release, 8 January 1961, Marquette University Committee on the Fine Arts/Haggerty Museum Archives. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Max Friedlander, letter of certification, Amsterdam, 1956. 5. Gertrude Grace Sill, Themes and Variations in Christian Art (Fairfield, Connecticut: Fairfield University Art Gallery), 4. 6. Ludwig Burchard, letter of authentication, London, July 1959. 7. David Freedberg, Peter Paul Rubens: Oil Paintings and Oil Sketches (New York: Gagosian Gallery, 1994-95), 48. 8. Max Rooses, L'Oeuvre de P. P. Rubens, vol. 3, no. 597, pl. 189. 9. Ludwig Burchard, certificate, London, 5 July 1957. 10. Gustav Glück, certificate, Vienna, 12 March 1933. 11. Glück, Klassiker der Kunst, van Dyck, 564, note s. 408. 12. Leo van Puyvelde, Van Dyck (Brussels, 1950), 66. 13. Glück, certificate, 1933. 14. Madlyn Millner Kahr, Dutch Painting in the Seventeenth Century (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), 212. © 1996 Marquette University

Masterpieces from The Rojtman Foundation Collection
November 7, 1996-April 6, 1997

In celebration of the forty-year relationship between The Rojtman Foundation and Marquette University, the Haggerty Museum of Art has organized this exhibition of Flemish and Dutch Old Master paintings. The exhibition, arranged exclusively for the Haggerty Museum, consists of seven paintings chosen by Lillian Rojtman Berkman, president of The Rojtman Foundation, and myself. The works chosen, among the favorites of the current Foundation president, represent the finest works in the collection.

Marc B. Rojtman (1917-67) was born in Danzig, Germany and grew up in Paris. His love for art began early in life in the family home where he was surrounded by Old Master paintings. "I believe that my own childhood environment at home, followed by an intensive study of art history in school and untold visits to the greatest European museums, to which I was taken from the age of nine, have helped me acquire an appreciation and love for art that has played an important role in my personal and business life," Rojtman declared.1 He came to New York in 1938 to study at New York University. There he met Lillian Duban, who became his wife in 1946. She shared his love for art and continues to honor her late husband as president of The Rojtman Foundation.

When the Rojtmans arrived in Milwaukee in 1956, they brought a collection of Old Master paintings unparalleled in Wisconsin. The artists represented included Rubens, Titian, Rembrandt, Frans Hals, van Dyck, Caravaggio, Jacob van Ruisdael, and numerous others. The collection had been amassed by Rojtman's family in Europe and was transferred to the United States in his care. From 1956 to 1963 it was housed in the Rojtmans' French-style chateau on Lake Drive in Milwaukee. The portrait of Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, one of the paintings featured in the exhibition, once hung above the fireplace in the living room of the Rojtman mansion, and other paintings were visible throughout the home.2

Soon after their arrival in Wisconsin, where Mr. Rojtman was to lead J. I. Case Company, which had acquired his very successful American Tractor Corporation, the Rojtmans turned their attention to the establishment of a charitable foundation to share their collection with the public. The Rojtman Foundation was established in 1956 to advance education in the arts. Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison were designated as recipients of Old Master paintings to help carry out the Foundation's educational plans.

In 1961, Marc Rojtman expressed the sentiments and the philosophy that The Rojtman Foundation was intended to foster:

Although as a collector I hate to part with any of my paintings, . . . I derive great satisfaction from knowing that thousands of students are able to view firsthand, as part of their daily student activities, some of the western world's heritage of Old Masters.

Few things in life are as important as environment. The fact that these Old Masters have become part of the environment of thousands of students will help them develop an appreciation and understanding of art that textbooks alone cannot possibly impart. . . .

Appreciation of art is not what many people thinkjust a pastime or an intellectual hobby. It has deep-rooted importance in the most practical aspects of widely different kinds of creative work.3

Rojtman thus saw a connection between the design of industrial machinery, such as the tractors made by his company, and the qualities of proportion, balance, and a sense of aesthetics so predominant in the Old Master paintings.

Since its inception in 1956, The Rojtman Foundation has regarded Marquette University, and now the Haggerty Museum of Art, as one of the principal venues for its gifts of art and the support of art education. Although paintings from the Rojtman collection have been displayed in exhibitions throughout the world, Marquette has consistently been one of the principal exhibition sites of The Rojtman Foundation collection. This gesture reflects in part the ties formed with Marquette during the Rojtmans' stay in Milwaukee, when they enjoyed some of their happiest times.

This relationship resulted in a gift of some twenty Old Master paintings that formed the nucleus of the Marquette University art collection and, for a time, provided the basis for a distinguished art history lecture series. The gifts began in the late 1950s and brought firsthand experience to the students of Marquette and surrounding schools, as the Rojtmans had intended. Ultimately, these paintings provided the rationale for the Haggerty Museum of Art, which opened in 1984. Lillian Rojtman Berkman echoed her late husband's sentiment at the groundbreaking ceremonies for this important addition to Marquette and Milwaukee when she announced that the Foundation would provide further gifts of art to help make the University a major midwestern repository of Old Masters. She affirmed her intent to continue Marc Rojtman's plans to help make Wisconsin one of the leading art centers in the country. Mrs. Berkman was awarded the Marquette University Kairos Award for distinguished service in the fine arts in 1992 and received an honorary doctorate in 1996. She remains active in plans for the future of the Haggerty Museum.

Gerard David

Netherlandish (c. 1460-1523)

Madonna and Child, c. 1498

Oil on panel

46 3/8 x 34 1/2 in.

The works in the exhibition represent a cross section of religious, classical, and landscape genres from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Madonna and Child, c. 1498,was attributed by the distinguished art historian Max Friedlander to Gerard David (c. 1460-1523).4 David, a Flemish painter of Dutch origin, lived in Bruges after 1484 where he worked as a master painter. His pictures often represent domestic scenes in the life of Christ. Typically, the picture in the exhibition shows the Madonna and Child seated in front of a courtyard. The courtyard facade in the foreground, as well as the buildings seen in the distance, show elaborate architectural details representative of a typical Flemish town such as Bruges. Mary wears a red dress and blue robe, red to denote passion and suffering, and blue clarity and truth. Joseph is shown chopping wood outside the courtyard. The iconography of the painting incorporates various symbols. An ostrich egg symbolizes the Virgin birth, and a pair of pincers in a wicker basket refers to the instrument used to extract the nails from the cross. The purple iris with its blade-shaped leaves can be read as the soldier's sword set to pierce Christ's side.5 Violets and Mary's downcast eyes suggest the Virgin's shyness, and the strawberries her sweetness. The overall solemnity of the picture portends the fate of her Son on the cross.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Flemish (1577-1640)

Portrait of the Emperor Charles V in Armor

(after Titian), c. 1603

Oil on canvas

36 1/2 x 30 in.

Provenance: Sale, Palais de Beaux-Arts, Brussels,

24 June 1953, lot 36.

Diana's Return from the Hunt

Oil on panel

29 x 41 1/4 in.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), represented in the exhibition by two paintings, was the most renowned of all Flemish painters. He established his studio in 1598 at the age of twenty-one. In the same year he became a master of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. Rubens traveled to Italy in 1600, stopping in Venice to see the works of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese before settling in Rome, and later traveling on to Spain in 1603. He settled in Antwerp in 1608, where he achieved fame as a painter, scholar, and diplomat. His home and studio were a center of social and intellectual life. His paintings can be seen in major museums throughout the world, a testimony to his success in business and in art.

The two works by Rubens from the Rojtman collection represent very different aspects and time periods in his work. His Portrait of the Emperor Charles V in Armor, c. 1603, is believed to have been painted during Rubens's first diplomatic mission to Spain where he was sent by the Duke of Mantua to win the favor of King Philip III. The work, after a painting of Charles V on horseback by Titian now in Madrid, is one of twenty-one works painted by Rubens after the Venetian master. The emperor is represented in half-figure. His right hand, visible at the lower edge, is covered by a gauntlet. The cuirass of his armor is crossed with a sash with stripes in gold thread.6 A smaller version of the picture exists in the Prince's Gate Collection of the Courtauld Institute Galleries in London. The Rojtman version corresponds more closely to an engraving of the painting by Theodor van Kessel.7 Diana's Return from the Hunt is thought to be the model for a larger painting on the same subject which is in the Dresden Museum. This painting reflects Rubens's knowledge of classical myth and reveals his fluid hand and his ability to transform the painting surface into a lush and sensuous composition. The subtle contrast of moods revealed between the shy handmaidens and the robust earthiness of the satyrs heightens the viewer's interest.8

Sir Anthony van Dyck

Flemish (1599-1641)

Amarillis and Mirtillo, c. 1617-20

Oil on canvas

48 3/4 x 56 in.

Provenance: Collection of the Right Honorable Earl of Powis

Venus and Amor, c. 1638-40

Oil on canvas

41 x 49 1/8 in.

Provenance: Collection of Dr. Paul Baecher, Prague

Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), born in Antwerp, was also a highly influential Flemish painter. After an apprenticeship with Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632) begun at the age of eleven, he was admitted as a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1618. He subsequently worked in Rubens's workshop for two years where he absorbed the influence of this other great Flemish master. He later worked in Italy, returning to Antwerp from 1628-32, and in England, where he became court painter to Charles I. He was knighted by Charles I, and remained in England from 1632 until his death.

The two van Dyck paintings in the exhibition, one from his early days in Antwerp (1617-20) and the other from his late English period (1632-41), represent the artist's handling of mythological subjects. Amarillis and Mirtillo, which has been tentatively dated 1617-20, is a rare example of van Dyk's non-religious figural compositions. The design of the picture is influenced by Titian's Bacchanal (Prado, Madrid), and the bright colors and dramatic effects suggest the influence of Rubens. The painting is based on the main event in Giovanni Battista Guarini's 1590 poem, "Il pastor fido." Mirtillo, disguised as "a girl among other girls," has just won the prize in a kissing competition, and he is handing the crown over to Amarillis. This type of painting represents a departure from van Dyck's usual religious subjects and portraits. Other versions of the painting can be found in the Gotenburg Museum and in the Turin Museum. The Rojtman picture is considered to be similar in composition and quality to the version in the Turin Museum. It lacks the image of a huge eagle found in the Gotenburg painting.9

Venus and Amor, also known as Portrait of a Lady in Mythological Disguise, was characterized by the Viennese art historian Gustav Glück as "an extraordinarily effective and pleasing example of a beautiful Anthony van Dyck composition from his English period."10 The mythological figures have been identified by Glück as Venus in the armor of Mars, accompanied by Amor. This interpretation is based on a comparison with a similar composition formerly in the Hamilton Palace Collection of the Duke of Hamilton.11 In the Rojtman painting, a vase of flowers replaces an element found in the composition of the Hamilton painting where the lady rested her hands on a helmet. An alternative reading of the painting suggests a portrait of a lady in the guise of the mythological Flora, goddess of flowers. In any event, the real identity of the lady has been proposed as Mary Villiers, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, later the Duchess of Lenox and Richmond. Another possibility that has been suggested is that the sitter is Cecilia Croft, the wife of the writer Thomas Killigrew, based on a comparison of the painting with van Dyck's double portrait Mrs. Killigrew and Lady Morton.12

Venus and Armor exhibits fresh atmospheric charm and precision of detail, making it a fine example of van Dyck's portraits of the English aristocracy. Despite its English subject, the French character of the landscape offers the possibility that the work was completed on French soil.13

Jacob van Ruisdael

Dutch (1628/9-82)

Seascape

Oil on canvas

39 x 52 in.

Water Mills in Holland, c. 1647-50

Oil on panel

20 ? x 26 ? in.

Jacob van Ruisdael, born in Haarlem in 1628/9, became a member of the Haarlem Guild in 1648. He was one of the masters of Dutch landscape. He painted a rich variety of themes including the seascapes and mills represented in this exhibition, as well as forests, panoramic views, winter scenes, and town views. Goethe referred to Ruisdael as a visual poet.

In 1657 Ruisdael moved to Amsterdam. He later qualified as a physician and practiced in Amsterdam. As a person, he was reclusive and melancholy in disposition, and deeply immersed in his work.

His paintings in the exhibition, Seascape and Water Mills in Holland, exemplify two of Ruisdael's dominant themes. The dramatic composition of Seascape portrays an ailing ship hovering close against a steep rocky cliff. Ominous clouds and rough waves threaten the safety of survivors adrift in a small boat between the floundering mainship and the dark cliffs. At risk also is a lone figure grasping a rope while being hoisted up the side of the cliff by rescuers standing near the edge. The drama of the scene is heightened by the fragile lookout tower located at the peak of the cliff and surrounded by swirling dark clouds. A line of figures move down the slope and into the landscape to the right of the dominant cliff. Below, the broken mast and collapsed sails lie strewn across the wind-tossed shipwreck. The untypical Dutch landscape in this picture may have been inspired by motifs brought from Sweden to Holland in the 1640s by Allart van Everdingen (1621-75).14

The tranquil landscape of Water Mills in Holland is in sharp contrast to Ruisdael's Seascape. The painting depicts the ruins of a water mill, with water wheels to the right and left of a slow moving stream falling gently into a languid pool below. The mystery here lies in the quiet sense of an arrested temporal state evoked in part by the architectural elements, already established as ruins, and the frozen quality of the surrounding foliage. Here, as in Seascape, the miniscule human figures in the picture are diminished by man's ineluctable nemeses: the forces of nature and the passage of time.

The two Rojtman paintings seen together in this exhibition reveal in different ways Ruisdael's attempt to show man's insignificance beside the power and majesty of nature. Seascape displays the brute forces of nature that reign over mankind, whereas Water Mills reveals the quiescent decay of the man-made environment through natural entropy. These two themes are simultaneously displayed in Ruisdael's masterpiece, The Jewish Cemetery, 1663, located in the Art Institute of Detroit.

Seen in the context of the prior Rojtman gifts to the Marquette University art collection, the works in the exhibition reveal the broader dimensions of the Rojtman collection. It is fitting that the Haggerty Museum at Marquette University has been chosen as the site to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Foundation. This exhibition marks a continuation of the partnership that began in the 1950s and remains strong today.

Curtis L. Carter

Director
1. "Gift of Eight Old Masters Swells Art Treasure Collection of Marquette and University of Wisconsin," press release, 8 January 1961, Marquette University Committee on the Fine Arts/Haggerty Museum Archives.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Max Friedlander, letter of certification, Amsterdam, 1956.

5. Gertrude Grace Sill, Themes and Variations in Christian Art (Fairfield, Connecticut: Fairfield University Art Gallery), 4.

6. Ludwig Burchard, letter of authentication, London, July 1959.

7. David Freedberg, Peter Paul Rubens: Oil Paintings and Oil Sketches (New York: Gagosian Gallery, 1994-95), 48.

8. Max Rooses, L'Oeuvre de P. P. Rubens, vol. 3, no. 597, pl. 189.

9. Ludwig Burchard, certificate, London, 5 July 1957.

10. Gustav Glück, certificate, Vienna, 12 March 1933.

11. Glück, Klassiker der Kunst, van Dyck, 564, note s. 408.

12. Leo van Puyvelde, Van Dyck (Brussels, 1950), 66.

13. Glück, certificate, 1933.

14. Madlyn Millner Kahr, Dutch Painting in the Seventeenth Century (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), 212.