Tilman van Gameren was the most
successful apprentice of Jacob van Campen, the architect of the
Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Until recently hardly
anybody had heard of his work. But ten years ago the artistic
legacy of Tilman van Gameren was dug out of some archives in Warsaw
by accident. This summer an exhibition is dedicated to this
forgotten Dutchman who scattered variations on the Dutch Royal
palaces all over Poland.
Tilman van Gameren (1632 – 1706) was born in the city of Utrecht, but at the pinnacle of the Dutch Golden Age he set off for the sunny hills of Italy in a rickety coach, like so many other Dutch artists did. In Venice he made a bit of a name as a painter of battle scenes, but a real breakthrough failed to occur. Everything changed when he met the Polish prince Lubomirski in 1660. Tilman van Gameren joined him as a construction engineer for fortresses; a trade both men presumably were trained for in Leiden. Once in Warsaw, the Dutchman soon became a rising star at the court. Ten years later he had made his fame in Poland as the court architect for palaces, gardens, country houses and churches in and around Warsaw.
Palladio and Scamozzi
His
fondness for strict symmetry probably dates back to the time he
lived in The Netherlands. He must have picked it up from his master
Jacob van Campen, who introduced The Netherlands to the
Classicistic principles of the Italian architects Palladio and
Scamozzi. But other architects like Pieter Post, who designed the
Hague palace ‘Huis ten Bosch', and Philips Vingboons and
Daniel Stalpaert may also have influenced him. They all believed
harmonious proportions would create perfect beauty.
A la Versailles
These Dutch-Italian influences and
also the baroque style that Tilman van Gameren had come across in
Venice inspired him when making his designs for the Polish
nobility. In the Amsterdam Royal Palace, his sketches - some
drafts, some very detailed - are now on show. They range from gaudy
monumental graves with dancing skeletons to large French gardens
à la Versailles. He was a very versatile architect
indeed.
Variations on Huis ten Bosch
Van
Gameren's Krasinski Palace, more an oversized villa, is his most
famous creation. Its façade is divided into five parts with
pilasters ordered in taut lines. The middle part has a
crowning in the shape of a triangular fronton, with elegant
sculptures referring to the fancied Roman ancestry of the Krasinski
family. The edifice looks like a copy of the Royal Palace on
Dam Square in Amsterdam. It's symmetrical, with a clear
proportionality of cubic content and calibration. The interior was
designed according to the latest French fashion.
Greek Cross with a Dome
Many Classicistic variations
on Huis ten Bosch are to be found in the area around Warsaw, such
as the Arcadia pavilion in the garden of Ujazdow castle. They're
all Van Gameren's creations. But for churches, the Dutch court
architect preferred a central building – a Greek cross or a
square – with a dome on top. The Church of the Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament and the Church of the Bernardines are the
best-preserved examples of his church architecture.
Comedies and Poems
It's the first time that a selection of Van
Gameren's wonderful drawings has been exhibited in Amsterdam. It's
a shame the exhibition has such a cheap look about it, with what
seems like curly cardboard table-legs supporting the display cases.
Of no other 17th century architect such a rich
collection has been preserved. The designs are striking because of
their clear arrangement and simplicity. The exhibition leaves you
with the impression that Van Gameren never stopped, and worked like
a madman for forty years. He hardly ever found time to unwind,
except sometimes with a comedy or a poem by the Dutch dramatist and
poet Bredero.
- ‘Tilman van Gameren (1632-1706)', Royal Palace, Dam, Amsterdam
Tags: Amsterdam, Classicism, Dam, jacob van campen, krasinski, Palladio, Poland, tilman van gameren, Warsaw