We Gather Together

The Milkmaid

Vermeer 1658

This week's "Take This Tune" is the old Dutch hymn "We Gather Together" usually sung for Thanksgiving Day worship.  The original composer is unknown.  It was written at the end of the 1500s after The Netherlands had started to throw off Spanish domination and establish a post-reformation, Protestant culture.  In 1648, the Spanish endeavors to control Holland were finally destroyed beyond recovery.  The hymn is both thankful for blessing and militant in its view of God as a defender of the faithful, and is considered the best of these defiant musical pieces. 

William the Silent, one of the leaders of the fight against Spain, was eventually murdered by a Catholic assassin. His son, Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, assumed the leadership for more than a quarter century. His rule was called the great golden age of prosperity where rich post-reformation culture developed throughout Holland.  In 1641 he married Mary Stuart, Princess Royal of England and their son William III married his first cousin, Mary Stuart who came to rule  England as "William and Mary". 

"We Gather Together" was first published in 1626 in Haarleem.  In 1877, it was discovered by Edward Kremser, a Viennese musician who published it in his collection of hymns. The English translation was done by Theodore Baker.

This period in the 1600s also ushered in what is considered by many to be the greatest period of dutch painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer where the virtues of a well ordered, comfortable society with the family at its center are often depicted.

The Prodigal Son In The Tavern

Rembrandt 1635

A Good Reason To Smile

Last year a painting was put up for Auction in London. The gallery thought it was a Rembrandt knockoff and valued it at just $3,100. Some bidders disagreed with this judgement and the price was eventually bid up to $4.5 million for the tiny 9 1/2-inch-by-6 1/2-inch portrait of 'Rembrandt Laughing'. Yesterday after months of testing, the painting was declared authentic and valued betweeen $30 - $50 million.

Clues to its authenticity included Brush stroke, contour, materials and the monogram all point to the master's hand in addition to the unique form of the signature. A Rembrandt seldom comes on the market, so this new discovery is setting the art world on its ear. It can be viewed at the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam through June 29, on loan from the anonymous buyer.

Ernst van de Wetering, head of the Rembrandt Research Project, describes it as having a "most natural quality of light you can think of". At the time of the creation or the work, the painter was only in his early 20s and just starting to be recognized as an artist. This was an experiment of working with different expressions. What initially brought its provenance into question was that it's location could not be verified prior to 1800 when an engraver attributed it to Franz Hals not recognizing the face as Rembrandt's. Only the x-rays and in depth study of both the portrait and a second painting underneath provided clues to the true artist.

For comparison to some of the master's other works, and an excellent biography on the web, check out Rembrandt Van Rijn.