‘Dulle Griet’ in seventeenth-century Flemish painting: a risible image of popular peasant culture

This article investigates the representation of “dulle Griet” by the seventeenth-century artists David II Teniers and David III Ryckaert in the context of Catholic Flanders. In a society preoccupied with hierarchical order both the state and church aimed to root out archaic beliefs and customs, and to save society from witchcraft. The representations of mad Meg are interpreted as comic archaisms satirising the magical culture of the peasants to confirm the superiority of the urban elite. While these imaginative inventions heightened their artistic prestige and social standing, it is argued that the painters also contributed to the efforts to demystify the ideology of witch hunting

David III Ryckaert : a seventeenth-century Flemish painter

This thesis in two volumes is a study of the paintings of David ill Ryckaert (1612- 1661 ). Ryckaert grew up in a family of artists, and painted within a close community of fellow artists. According to several twentieth-century critics, Ryckaert was no more than a minor imitator of other Flemish painters. Underlying such relegation of Ryckaert is an uncritical and distinctly Modernist glorification of originality, or merely novelty. The chief argument of this thesis is that a careful reconstruction of the socio-cultural circumstances ofRyckaert's work calls into question the destructive employment of originality as a criterion of artistic greatness. Much of the vocabulary of Flemish art of the time was established. Artists thus proved their excellence both to fellow painters and a public fully conversant with the artistic traditions of subject and style, if such pictorial conventions were notably refmed or treated with a remarkable grace. Embracing the criteria of personal style and the beauty of the work, this environment is clearly averse to the blank veneration of new or original art. I argue that the term originality is itself dangerous therefore and that to neglect Ryckaert's work as that of a minor imitator is invalid and unhelpful. A careful examination of Ryckaert's known oeuvre reveals that his work is distinguished by a fine modelling, harmonious composition and a warm palette with colourful highlights. Although he relied on an established iconographic repertory, he maintained creative variation, thereby ensuring a steady demand. Ryckaert's imitation of other artists' work requires us to adjust twentieth-century criteria which tend to be pejorative of those who borrow from fellow artists. In fact Ryckaert could be said to have refmed his individuality as a painter through the testing creative encounter with and imitation of other artists.ArtD.Litt. et Phil. (History of Art

Post-Africanism and contemporary art in South African townships

Paper presented at the Colloquium organised by SAVAH under the aegis of CIHA, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 12 – 15 January 2011The aim of this paper is to investigate the possibilities offered by Post-Africanism – a new perspective coined by Denis Ekpo and proposed as an alternative to postcolonialism. He defines Post-Africanism as an attempt „to seek newer, fresher conditions for a more performative African intellectual engagement with Africa, modernity and the West‟ (Ekpo 2010:182). In this paper I use the Post-Africanist approach to reconsider contemporary art produced in South African townships. In line with Ekpo‟s deconstruction of Africanism I investigate parallel notions identifiable in selected works. By diagnosing certain characteristics as symptoms of Africanism and realising their crippling effects, it is possible to suggest a way forward in the form of Post-Africanism. Ekpo postulates that, if artists are no longer weighed down by the historical burdens of the past (i.e. decolonisation), they become enabled to promote Africa‟s new cultural health by embracing all of modernity‟s cultural resources.Art History, Visual Arts and Musicolog

Ryckaert at work: A Flemish painter’s view of labour

In his depictions of men at work, David III Ryckaert reveals an acute awareness of social differentiation on the basis of professional identity. The craftsman is invariably depicted as an example of industry and diligence, a view strengthened by the inclusion of the artisan’s spinning wife. Ryckaert, however, made sure to remind the viewer of the fundamental baseness of the labouring classes, whereas professions of a more intellectual nature (such as artists) were treated with greater respect. This reflects the artist’s desire, shared by his clients, to consolidate and justify the social order. By using his art ‘tot leeringh vande jeught’ (to instruct the youth), he actively contributed to the shaping of social norms

Anthony Van Dyck and the trope of the black attendant

This article examines Van Dyck’s use of the motif of the African attendant in his extant oeuvre in order to establish patterns and strategies of representation of the racial other. It reveals the artist’s paternalistic interpretation of a trope that was aesthetically informed by examples set by Titian and Rubens but adapted to the tastes of his patrons as determined by the fashion of the time and place. By considering the iconography in conjunction with the reception of the works I disclose the varying connotations of the motif demonstrating the artist’s wit in developing early visual forms of racial humour. These unique adaptations expose Van Dyck’s use of ridicule as a pattern of paternalism rooted in his social ambitions and Christian convictions yet always subject to the conditions of display. The value of this research lies in its contribution both to Van Dyck scholarship and to the history of race and racism in early modern Western Europe

‘Dulle Griet’ in seventeenth-century Flemish painting: a risible image of popular peasant culture

This article investigates the representation of “dulle Griet” by the seventeenth-century artists David II Teniers and David III Ryckaert in the context of Catholic Flanders. In a society preoccupied with hierarchical order both the state and church aimed to root out archaic beliefs and customs, and to save society from witchcraft. The representations of mad Meg are interpreted as comic archaisms satirising the magical culture of the peasants to confirm the superiority of the urban elite. While these imaginative inventions heightened their artistic prestige and social standing, it is argued that the painters also contributed to the efforts to demystify the ideology of witch hunting