158
114 William Van Der Hagen (FL. 1720-1745)
Capriccio with Figures and Ruins
Oil on canvas, 129 x 97cms
Signed and dated 1737
€25,000 - 35,000
Capriccio paintings, usually consisting of classical ruins juxtaposed ar-
tificially in an imaginary landscape, belong to a sub-genre of landscape
painting, produced in Rome from the seventeenth century by such art-
ists as Claude Lorraine (1600-82). In the early eighteenth century they
were to become a speciality of the artist Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-
1765). Often acquired by those on the Grand Tour, their purpose was to
provide an evocation of the remains of architectural glories of ancient
Rome.
William Van der Hagen, the artist of this painting, was a member of
a family of painters of Dutch origin, active in London from the sev-
enteenth century. He was first recorded in Dublin in September 1722,
when he was employed as a scene painter by the Smock Alley Theatre.
A versatile artist, he also painted: altarpieces for St Michan’s Church,
Dublin (1724) and St Patrick’s Church,Waterford (1736); architectural
capricci, including for Beaulieu House; panoramic views of the cities
of Waterford and Drogheda, as well as landscape prospects to form the
background of projected tapestries for the House of Lords, one repre-
senting the Battle of the Boyne (Bank of Ireland, Dublin). In Waterford
he also received several commissions for decorative painting, such as for
Curraghmore, seat of the Marquess of Waterford, for whom he painted
the staircase, as well as an entire room on the ground floor with land-
scapes, surmounted by a fictive dome. His last work appears to have
been a view of the waterfall at Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow, which was
engraved by John Brooks in 1745. Announcing the publication of the
engraving, Faulkner’s Dublin Journal described it as being after ‘
the late
ingenious Mr. Vander Egan
(9-13 April 1745).
This example of one of his architectural capricci, is shown against a
dramatic mountainous background complete with a river and lake, the
composition recalling the elements of a stage set. Painted with Van der
Hagen characteristic precision of detail, the scene contains architectural
elements reminiscent of remains at Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, such as its
large baths, seen in the ruins of a large double-height building on the
left, as well as the rectangular pool in the centre of the painting. In the
background can be seen a temple in the form of a rotunda, with com-
posite columns. To the right stands an honorific column surmounted
by an urn, similar to one in the Forum, Rome, dedicated to Phocas (608
AD). The tombs and sacral elements, as well as the decayed buildings
with overgrowth, serve to remind the educated viewer of the transience
of life and the glories of a past civilization.
Typical of Van der Hagen’s work, is that the view is enlivened by hu-
mans, animals and birds. Figures provide interest as far as the eye can
see, from the Franciscan monk astride a donkey clutching his rosary
beads in the foreground, to those further away engaged in activites at
the water’s edge, to the minute figures visiting the temple in the back-
ground. Elongation of figures is also a mannerism of the artist, seen here
in the tall figure of the woman in the straw hat in the foreground. In the
same group, the bent leg of the wounded beggar on the ground, strongly
resembles the pose of a boy included in a similar landscape by Van der
Hagen in a private collection.
Less than ten paintings by Van der Hagen are known and even less
are signed. One in the National Gallery of Ireland is another
capriccio
,
which similarly includes architectural ruins, pastoral figures, animals
and well painted foliage placed against the light. As the first profes-
sional landscape painter in Ireland, Van der Hagen’s Claudean-style
topographical views were important, in inspiring later generations of
landscape painters in Ireland, in particular Joseph Tudor (c. 1695-1759)
and Robert Carver (c. 1730-91).
Further Reading:
Mia Craig, ‘The Van der Hagen Problem in the British Isles’, unpub-
lished BA thesis (TCD, 1992); Nicola Figgis and Brendan Rooney,
Irish Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 2001, pp.
455-57; Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, Ireland’s Painters,
New Haven and London, 2002, pp. 68-71.
Dr. Nicola Figgis
