Abstract (eng)
The thesis at hand deals with the contextualisation of the interior paintings by the largely unknown artist Jacobus Vrel within the art of the 17th century in Holland. This approach should establish the possibility of making new statements on Vrelʼs spatial representations and situating the artistʼs interiors within the tradition of Dutch interior painting. As no information on the artistʼs life and work exist, studies of his work are based on an investigation of the characteristics of his interiors, which will be discussed in comparison to contemporary interior painting. Vrelʼs choice of topics and the depicted scenes will be analysed in relation to Dutch genre painting, including aspects of the contemporary social situation in Holland.
The discursive and comparative studies on Jacobus Vrelʼs art lead to the conclusion that the artistʼs representation of interiors can be placed within the tradition of Dutch interior painting of the mid‑17th century. Likewise, in his depiction of persons in interiors, Vrel employs popular topics of Dutch genre and interior painting. The originality of his art lies in the fact that it is indeed comparable to those of his contemporaries, however, he develops his own specific solutions in the construction of space and his depiction of genre scenes in interiors is contrary to those of other Dutch artists.