“May Queen Festival”… Drawing is a moment of joy

2023-12-03 19:18:16

Sharjah: “The Gulf”

Richard Brackenburg (May 22, 1650 – December 28, 1702), a Dutch painter of the Golden Age, described by the writer Arnold Houbraken as “of a luminous heart.” He learned art in the city of Leeuwarden, the capital of the state of Frisia, during the years from 1670 to 1687. He is known for his landscapes and portraits. He painted subjects similar to those painted by his teacher, the painter Schindel, which depict an atmosphere of fun. In this aspect, his drawings were brilliantly designed and well colored. In a way similar to the style of the famous artist Adrian van Ostad.

Brackenburg was skilled in using colors and created paintings with a high degree of ingenuity and mastery. He was also described as being fully aware of how to deal with lighting during the game of color, but his only flaw was his inaccurate drawing of characters.

The Vienna Gallery houses a group of his paintings, especially “Two Peasant Scenes.” The Brooks Gallery also houses one of his famous paintings entitled “The Children’s Feast,” dated 1698, and in the Rotterdam Museum there is a painting “A Visit to a Doctor,” which he painted in 1696.

Berkenborg was a mentor to a number of artists of his time, such as: Wegerus Vitteringa, Abraham Bardanus, and Gillis de Winter. Critics classify him as one of the followers of Jan Steen (1620 – 1679) and the pioneer of painting in the Golden Age in the Netherlands.

Features

“Mai Queen Festival” is one of Brakenburg’s most prominent paintings, and in it, we glimpse the characteristics of Dutch painting in the golden period, in which the Baroque style and its characteristics were evident. The painting is a work that captivates hearts with its artistic style, which is enhanced by the details and artistic compositions of its originals. It depicts a scene from the “May Queen” festival in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century.

In this painting, Brackenburg creates an artistic scene rich in detail, rich in colors, and able to capture daily life in its time, and through it, the typical clothes and designs of the celebration can be distinguished, in addition to the faces and gestures of the characters that appear to be moving.

The artistic composition in the work is one of its most interesting characteristics, as Brackenburg uses perspective that allows the viewer to have a panoramic view of the scene. In addition, the arrangement of the characters and elements in the work creates a sense of movement and dynamism.

In terms of color, “My Queen Festival” is an example of Brackenburg’s mastery of lighting technology, which succeeds in blending dark and light colors harmoniously to create a warm and lively atmosphere.

As for the story of this work, it is also interesting, as this festival represented a popular holiday in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, where a young woman was chosen as queen, and she was celebrated through music, dancing, and eating, and this painting embodies a living example of this celebration that It was part of daily life at that time. There is an interesting note, which is that Brackenburg painted this painting at an early age, which shows his talent and skill as an artist from a young age. In short, Brakenburg’s Mai Queen Festival painting is considered a work distinguished by its artistic style and the precision of its use of colours. It was also an honest painting in terms of its documentation of the time in which it was painted, as if it were an artistic piece of daily life and celebrations in 17th-century Holland in a vibrant way.

background

There is a historical background to this festival, which was alive in the Roman period, where a celebration was held from April 27 to May 3 and celebrated the Roman goddess “Flora” / the goddess of flowers (especially the May flower), as the season was appropriate for the fertility of crops and plants. The celebration included performances. A play, during which wild rabbits and goats were released, and the celebrating crowds were pelted with types of plants and grains, such as beans and lupins.

This festival has spread throughout Europe. In England, there is an English tradition of crowning the “May Queen,” and its roots go back to the nineteenth century.

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