ABRAHAM BLOEMAERT (Gorinchem 1566 – Utrecht 1651)
Farmstead with a Fire
Signed A. Bloemaert.fe: in the lower right
oil on panel
24 ¼ x 34 ½ inches (60.5 x 87.8 cm.)
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Aristotle believed that fire is one of the four elements essential for life. Along with water, air and earth, many people still embrace this idea, believing that these components hold mystic powers and are the key to humankind. Given the wide range of symbols used around the world in art, none are more recognized and open to interpretation than fire. Repeatedly seen in the art of Western and Eastern cultures, fire’s meaning is frequently vague and often double-sided.
The Greeks tied the symbol of fire to the story of Prometheus, which describes how he tricked Zeus and stole fire from him to give it to man, thus enabling mankind to form civilisations. Time and again the stories of Ancient Greece are also found in other cultures, with this one being no different. The Polynesians have a ‘tricky’ figure with a similar story as do the Scandinavians. As Hans Biedermann notes in his The Wordsworth Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them, these trickster-figures are probably associated with fire because of its unstable and ambiguous nature. Of the four elements, fire is the only one that man can generate, which for some indicated a kinship between man and the gods.
In Christian art and scripture, fire is not always looked upon so optimistically. Most Christians associate fire with the fires of hell, everlasting torment and punishment for sins. Although, fire in Purgatory purges the soul of sins – an important message in the Roman Catholic doctrine, it is still not an extremely upbeat connotation. Fire was used often artistically to represent sin, evil, and destruction but at times, it was also used to signal rebirth (think Phoenix), hope and purification. With so many possible meanings, it can become difficult to interpret the message an artist is trying to send, however when there are bodies burning, the point is pretty clear!
That brings us to our striking picture by Abraham Bloemaert (Utrecht 1566 – Utrecht 1651). Bloemaert honed his craft painting in the Mannerist style, no doubt influenced by the Italians, and later focused on Caravaggism, brought back to Utrecht by his students (Hendrick ter Brugghen and Gerard van Honthorst). His subjects are varied, with approximately 209 paintings known by the artist, only 42 being landscapes, while other subjects included Biblical, classical and genre themes. So, what possessed Bloemaert to paint a farmhouse on fire? The details of the image and the completeness of the composition send a strong message that this was something important.
There is no mention in Bloemaert’s history of a tragedy of this sort. Given something like this would have greatly affected him and the clear attention he has given this picture, we must assume this is not his own experience. However, we do know he was a devout Catholic. Is this a religious picture in disguise? Could this be a punishing of sins disguised as a relatable rural landscape? The farm appears to have already burnt, but it is clear there is a fire raging behind it. Was the farm the source of the fire or did it just pass through? The figures look shocked and distraught. Could they have prevented this destruction or were they just innocent bystanders? If this is a scene cloaked in morality, is the artist sending a message of damnation or of cleansing?
This is always the best part about art – the answer is whatever you want it to be, the meaning is however you interpret it. Bloemaert must have been aware of the ambiguity of using fire as a symbol. Without a very clear message, this could be a master work in the realities of farm life or a more powerful damnation of mankind. The interpretation is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe that is exactly what Bloemaert wanted. A guilty conscious sees hell and a clear one sees enlightenment. What do you see?
26 January, 2022