daily life, Netherland, art
It is not easy to value daily routine. It is easy to think that ‘daily life’ is just passing by moments. The moments that come to mind only when I close my eyes and try to remember them in front of my diary. It is a repetition of trivial moments that are forgotten without doing so. At least that was my daily routine.
There were times when I realized the importance of everyday life and missed those moments. It was when some tragic event happened and its daily lives disappeared in an instant. But the busy reality quickly made me adapt to the new environment and become dull again in my repeated day. When I opened my notebook with a pen to keep a diary for the first time in a long time, I quickly covered my face with frowns or wrote down a few months of impressive events or serious reflection on myself. My day was considered trivial enough not to fill a page of notes, and with a deep sense of futility the day had gone so far.
paintings that paid attention to such ‘daily life’
But most of all, there is an art form that was created by recording each and every one of them in love with such “daily life.” It is the Dutch genre of the 17th century. The above seemingly peaceful painting is one of the works of the 17th century Dutch painter Peter de Hoch.
In the picture above, the main character of the painting is a woman and a child believed to be her daughter under a calm, warm yellow-colored window inside the house, the most familiar and comfortable space. The woman with a light smile seems to sit calmly and do housework and the child seems to help her by the side. It is a common correct, peaceful, and very everyday scene of the time. The characteristic of genreization is that this painting means everything.
Usually, works of art are intertwined with complex social and political relationships or hidden from the artist’s intentions, making him try to find many stories in them. Furthermore, in the 17th century, religious or historical painting was widely popular. However, the painting does not contain any religious or historical meaning. It looks so ordinary and natural, as if it were just a snap of the everyday moments of ordinary people.
The same is true of this painting, which is a work by Dutch folk painter Jan Steen. It is a noisy and packed house scene for many people. The girl, dressed in glittering gold, has a bright look on her face as if she is very pleased with the candy basket and the baptismal John doll she received. The crying boy next to the child doesn’t know what reason he’s crying, but the little boy with curly hair smiling at him is mischievous. Maybe the crying child didn’t get a gift from St. Nicholas, the origin of Santa Claus? As such, various emotions such as laughing, crying, surprised, or laughing at a large family, or a friendly neighbor, are expressed in a lively manner. It looks warm and beautiful to see ordinary people gather together and mingle in a noisy atmosphere where laughter and words are likely to continue.
The Dutch genre painting in the 17th century, which paid attention to the daily lives of ordinary people, is the first realistic painting style that depicts reality, breaking away from the mixed forms of imagination such as religious or historical painting. So how could the nameless common people, who have been treated as extras so far away from religion, mythology and historical figures, be the main characters?
The background can be seen by looking at Dutch society in the 17th century. In the 17th century, the Netherlands saw its continued war boost trade, which resulted in the accumulation of wealth among the middle class, who were the main states of trade activity. In addition, open trade activities, along with the influence of Calvinism and capitalism, have led to tolerance for other cultures and other religions. In other words, it was the 17th century in the Netherlands when wealth accumulation and cultural development were most active. Therefore, in the field of art, it broke away from existing customs and forms and came to mind a new style, genreization.
a genre of virtue and vice
The reason why it can be said that the genre only depicts the daily lives of ordinary people is because it captures all aspects of ordinary people. The image of a woman calmly doing housework or educating a child in the interior was considered to be a family virtue in that era that represented patience, obedience and humility.
On the other hand, if you look at the picture above, you can see that children enjoy drinking in a place where they coexist. These things were evil in the Party era. Their faces, however, seem to be very cheerful and cheerful.
The work also shows people committing the evil of ‘drinking.’ However, the subtle orange color that penetrates through the windows makes them warm. The figure goes beyond peace and somehow even looks noble. This seems to be an approval for a complex life in which vice and virtue are bound to be mixed, not a one-sided accusation of vice, even if it contains evil. As the elements of evil are overwhelmed by peaceful scenery and daily beauty, evil also seems to be sublimated into one beauty.
Also, it is the daily life of women that the genre mainly deals with. The above is the work of Johannes Vermeer, who painted the famous Girl with Pearl Earrings. It is literally a woman pouring milk. Who can think of leaving it as a work, paying attention to the way women pour milk? The woman, who is practicing a moment of everyday life, was portrayed by Vermeer as the main character of the work, warm and delicate. As such, genre painting has made ordinary women and their everyday moments into the main characters of the times.
Of course, like the works introduced above, women in the genre not only do household chores or dress up, but also enjoy drinking and prostitution as the main agents of pleasure. But the beautiful harmony of light and color, a characteristic of genre painting, seems to glorify every woman in the work, regardless of virtue or vice. This also had a significant impact on raising the status of women at that time. Since the Netherlands was a patriarchal society in the 17th century, women’s daily lives were not receiving any attention before the genre.
The fleetingness of life, so that our daily lives can be admired.
‘미미’ and ‘악악.’ We want to preserve virtue and eliminate vice. But when we look at our real lives, we cross the line between virtue and vice. Genreization has not only light, temperance, joy, happiness and stillness, but also darkness, desire, despair, sadness and confusion. And all of this happens in the everyday lives of ordinary people. Embracing both virtue and vice, it exudes a fullness and innocence for life. It is as if to say that life is bound to develop between virtue and vice.
I felt the fleetingness of life when I saw the genre. For those who abandon their day today hoping only for tomorrow more than anything else about the future, the admiration for such moments of the day makes life very valuable in reality, which consists of those moments. Dutch painters in the 17th century did not say any grandiose or hidden meaning. I just praised my daily life itself so that I could fully enjoy the “moment of the day.” The moments of everyday life are worth loving forever.