Paulus van Vianen

For the European cabinets of curiosities, Paulus van Vianen created narrative objects with more than one meaning. Here two poems from classical antiquity represent an abstract concept. The rape of the nymph Callisto is the subject of the ewer, the hunter Actaeon’s accidental voyeurism that of the basin. Seeing the consequences of unchaste behaviour, the viewer understands why it should be avoided at all costs.

The entire story of Diana and Actaeon unfolds here; on the front we see how the hunter accidentally happens upon the bathing Diana and her companions, for which he is cursed by her. On the back we see the end of the story: Actaeon is turned into a stag, and is killed by his fellow hunters.

Around 1600 the story of Diana and Actaeon played an essential role in the competition between the arts. Because the hunter’s transformation took place through the words spoken by the goddess, this story was used to demonstrate how the visual arts could emulate poetry. The characters speak through their poses and gestures. Paulus van Vianen also gave the animals and the landscape an active voice.

Paulus van Vianen’s depictions are populated by men and women whose bodies have not been idealized. These are not classical statues in standard poses, but real women of flesh and blood. Sometimes they even seem to move – the young woman at the right come to see what is happening, counterbalancing the bundle of clothes she holds in front of her with her body.

The various elements from which Paulus van Vianen constructed his compositions were directly observed. On his travels through Central Europe he drew landscapes, groups of trees and houses after life. He then used the sketches as the basis for his silver works of art, thereby creating an utterly convincing setting.

Depth and different structures are not suggested by variations of colour or contrasts of light and dark, but by minimal distinctions in height and numerous matt and glossy gradations. By taking advantage of the metal’s own qualities, the art of painting could be equalled.

Paul van Vianen infused anthropomorphic shapes and ornaments with various associations. In his hands, the motifs took on an independent life, evoking the pleasures of the flesh, or, alternately, its fragility. We now call this combination of vision, dream and nightmare the kwab, or auricular style.

Quite exceptionally, Paulus van Vianen did everything himself: he came up with the concepts, designed the scenes and the ornaments, and made the pieces in his own workshop. He was admired in his own time for this combination of brilliant creativity and sublime craftsmanship. Both in the Netherlands and abroad he was regarded as the paragon of an artist in silver.

When Paulus van Vianen died unexpectedly in Prague in May 1613, the Amsterdam Gold- and Silversmiths’ Guild decided to create this commemorative monument in silver for him. Van Vianen’s conception of his craft became the new benchmark for gold- and silversmithing as an art form in the 17th century.

The appreciation of Paulus van Vianen’s art in the 17th century emerges from an Amsterdam appraisal of this ewer and basin. In 1637, this work of art was assessed at 11,637 guilders, that is 46 times the value of the metal itself. In 1642, in comparison, 1200 guilders was paid for one of the most expensive paintings of the time, Rembrandt’s Night Watch.