Emperor Ai | Artyfarty

Emperor Ai of Han (personal name Liu Xin | 劉欣 | 25 BCE-1 CE), was an emperor of China's Han dynasty. 

Deffo not BL (1651, PD) Chen Hongshou

Emperor Ai was born to Liu Kang (劉康), Prince of Dingtao, a brother of then-reigning Emperor Cheng and son of Emperor Yuan, and his concubine Consort Ding, in 25 BC, presumably at Prince Kang's principality (roughly modern Heze, Shandong). From birth, he was raised by his paternal grandmother, Consort Fu, and not by his mother. In 8 BC, Emperor Cheng summoned several key officials to discuss with him who would be the more proper heir.  

Emperor Cheng's (33 BCE,[2016] CC3.0) Legolas1024

In 9 BC, the then-18-year-old Prince Xin impressed his uncle Emperor Cheng and also showed clear understanding of the Confucian classic Shi Jing, further impressing Emperor Cheng. At that time, the son-less Emperor Cheng was beginning to consider making either his younger brother Liu Xing, Prince of Zhongshan (中山王劉興) or his nephew Prince Xin his heir. Emperor Cheng became convinced that Prince Xin was more capable, and at the same time, Prince Xin's grandmother Consort Fu was endearing herself to Emperor Cheng's wife Empress Zhao Feiyan, her sister and Emperor Cheng's favorite Consort Zhao Hede, and Emperor Cheng's uncle Wang Gen with lavish gifts, and so the Zhaos and Wang Gen both praised Prince Xin as well.

Emperor Cheng's desire to have Prince Xin act as only his son extended to the arena of Prince Xin's relationship with his grandmother Consort Fu and his mother Consort Ding. Emperor Cheng decreed that Consort Fu (now princess dowager of Dingtao) and Consort Ding be required to remain in Dingtao and not be allowed to come to Chang'an to visit Prince Xin. Some time later, Emperor Cheng's mother Empress Dowager Wang, not wanting to continue these harsh regulations, decreed that Princess Dowager Fu be allowed to see Prince Xin, under the rationale that she, having raised him, was merely in the role of a wet nurse. Consort Ding, however, would continue to not be allowed to see Prince Xin.

He ascended the throne when he was 20, having been made heir by his childless uncle Emperor Cheng, and he reigned from 7 to 1 BC. Emperor Cheng died suddenly in April 7 BC, apparently from a stroke (although historians also report the possibility of an overdose of aphrodisiacs given to him by Consort Zhao Hede). Empress Dowager Wang, as his step-grandmother (and "legal" grandmother) became grand empress dowager, and Empress Zhao became empress dowager. He created Consort Fu, the daughter of his grandmother Princess Dowager Fu's cousin Fu Yan (傅晏), empress. Emperor Ai, aged 20 at his ascension, quickly ended Emperor Cheng's practice of delegating imperial authorities to his uncles and cousins of the Wang clan and appeared diligent in his rule. He also reduced national expenditure greatly. In addition, Emperor Ai ordered Liu Xin to compile texts of the Seven Arts (Qi Lue), a crucial historical bibliographical work, often referred to as the first systemic compiled text of the genre in Chinese history.

Emperor Ai was highly controlled by his grandmother Consort Fu, who demanded the title of Grand Empress Dowager—even though she had never been an empress previously and this led to the unprecedented and unrepeated situation of four women possessing empress dowager titles at the same time—Empress Wang Zhengjun (Emperor Cheng's mother and Emperor Yuan's wife), Empress Zhao Feiyan (Emperor Cheng's wife), Consort Fu, and Consort Ding (Emperor Ai's mother). Consort Fu's control of the political scene extended until her death in February 2 BC.

In 7 BC, under Emperor Ai's auspices, a major proposal to reduce involuntary servitude was made by several officials—princes would be limited to 200 servants (it was as many as they like before), marquesses and princesses to 100 servants (it was 200 before), and other nobility and commoners to 30 servants (it was 100 before, and that servants would be set free after a service of three years) . However, after the proposal was leaked, many slave owners pushed to have the proposal tabled, and Emperor Ai only issued a limited version of the proposal—freeing servants over age 50.

Tomb Mural of Wang Mang (c23 CE, PD) Anonymous

Initially, Grand Empress Dowager Wang decreed that Princess Dowager Fu and Consort Ding see him periodically, every 10 days. However, Princess Dowager Fu quickly began to visit her grandson everyday, and she insisted that two things be done: that she receive an empress dowager title, and that her relatives be granted titles, like the Wangs. Grand Empress Dowager Wang, sympathetic of the bind that Emperor Ai was in, first granted Prince Kang the unusual title of "Emperor Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇) and then, under the rationale of that title, granted Princess Dowager Fu the title "Empress Dowager Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇太后) and Consort Ding the title "Empress Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇后). Several members of the Fu and Ding clans were created marquesses. Grand Empress Dowager Wang also ordered her paternal nephew Wang Mang, the commander of the armed forces, to resign and transfer power to the Fus and the Dings. Emperor Ai declined and begged Wang Mang to stay in his administration. Several months later, however, Wang Mang would come into direct confrontation with now-Empress Dowager Fu. At a major imperial banquet, the official in charge of seating placed Empress Dowager Fu's seat next to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's. When Wang Mang saw this, he rebuked the official and ordered that Empress Dowager Fu's seat be moved to the side, which drew great ire from Empress Dowager Fu, who refused to attend the banquet. To soothe her anger, Wang Mang resigned, and Emperor Ai approved his resignation. After Wang Mang's resignation, the Wangs gradually and inexorably began to lose their power. At Empress Dowager Fu's behest, the Fus and the Dings were installed in their place. Empress Dowager Fu was not satisfied with what she saw was her inferior title (as only empress dowager, not grand empress dowager, and with the qualifier "of Dingtao"). Several key officials who opposed her move were reduced to commoner status without any other fault—including the prime minister Kong Guang (孔光) and the prime inspector Shi Dan (師丹)—two of the top three officials of the administration. The third one, Empress Dowager Fu's cousin Fu Xi (傅喜), who also opposed Empress Dowager Fu's actions notwithstanding his relationship with her, was removed from his position and sent back to his march.

Many regarded Emperor Ai as the most effusive homosexual emperor of the Han dynasty, although the Han Dynasty included many emperors that had male lovers. Traditional historians characterized the relationship between Emperor Ai and Dong Xian as one between homosexual lovers and referred to their relationship as "the passion of the cut sleeve" (斷袖之癖) after a story that one afternoon after falling asleep for a nap on the same bed, Emperor Ai cut off his sleeve rather than disturb the sleeping Dong Xian when he had to get out of bed. During Emperor Ai's reign, officials became aware of the promises tied to his favouritism, beginning to dress in a highly ornate fashion. Ironically, Dong was noted for his relative simplicity and given progressively higher and higher posts as part of the relationship, eventually becoming the supreme commander of the armed forces by the time of Emperor Ai's death. Dong was afterward forced to die by suicide.

In 6 BCE, Empress Dowager Fu would further display her power. Emperor Ai's cousin Liu Jizi (劉箕子), the Prince of Zhongshan (Prince Xing's son), had a congenital heart disorder, and his grandmother Feng Yuan, the princess dowager, cared for his treatment and often worshipped gods to pray for his healing. Emperor Ai, up on hearing his cousin's illness, sent imperial physicians along with his attendant Zhang You (張由) to go to Zhongshan (roughly modern Baoding, Hebei) to treat Prince Jizi. Zhang, however, was himself afflicted with a psychiatric condition (probably bipolar disorder), and when he got to Zhongshan, he suddenly, in a rage, left there and returned to Chang'an. Once he did and was ordered to explain his conduct, he made up a false reason—that he had discovered that Princess Dowager Feng was using witchcraft to curse Emperor Ai and Empress Dowager Fu. Empress Dowager Fu and Princess Dowager Feng were romantic rivals when they were both consorts to Emperor Yuan, and Empress Dowager Fu decided to use this opportunity to strike at Princess Dowager Feng. She sent a loyal eunuch, Shi Li (史立), to serve as investigator, and Shi tortured a good number of Princess Dowager Feng's relations (including her sister Feng Xi (馮習) and her sister-in-law Junzhi (君之)), some to death, but still could not build a solid case against Princess Dowager Feng. Shi Li decided to show Princess Dowager Feng who was actually behind the investigation, by referring to an incident in which then-Consort Feng defended Emperor Yuan against a bear which had broken loose. Princess Dowager Feng, realizing that Empress Dowager Fu was behind the investigation, went back to her palace and died by suicide.

In 5 BC, Empress Dowager Fu would finally get what she wanted. Emperor Ai removed the qualification "of Dingtao" from his father's posthumous title (thus making him simply "Emperor Gong"), and then gave his grandmother a variation of the grand empress dowager title (ditaitaihou (帝太太后), compared to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's title taihuangtaihou (太皇太后)) and his mother a variation of the empress dowager title (ditaihou (帝太后), compared to Empress Dowager Zhao's title huangtaihou (皇太后)), and there were therefore now four official empresses dowager in the capital, each with a full budget. That year, the new Empress Dowager Ding died.

Circa 4 BC, Emperor Ai began to favor the minor official Dong Xian, and historians largely believe that they had a homosexual relationship. Both men were married, but that would not have been seen as conflicting with a homosexual love affair, as it was typical for Chinese men of the time to have multiple sexual relationships. Ai came from a long line of emperors, all married of course, with male companions listed in their official histories. Ai bestowed honors on Dong at a rate which alarmed the court. Dong and his wife moved into the palace, and Dong's sister became an imperial consort. Dong's father was made an acting marquess (關內侯). Emperor Ai also ordered that a residence as luxurious as an imperial palace be built for Dong. All who opposed these honors for Dong were severely punished.

In 3 BC, against opposition by his prime minister Wang Jia (王嘉), Emperor Ai created Dong the Marquess of Gao'an. The following year, the prime minister submitted a report to Emperor Ai, in which he urged that the honours bestowed on Dong be curbed. This report was carefully worded to appear to be looking out for Dong. It warned that Dong might suffer the same fate of Emperor Wen's favorite lover Deng Tong (鄧通), who starved to death after his assets were confiscated by Emperor Wen's heir, or of Emperor Wu's favorite Han Yan (韓嫣), who was executed by Empress Dowager Wang after being accused of improperly assuming imperial style.

Later in 2 BC, when Wang Jia opposed the expansion of Dong's march, Emperor Ai had him accused falsely of crimes and forced him to die by suicide through fasting. 

In January 1 BC, Dong was made the commander of the armed forces—at age 22 (by East Asian reckoning) —and effectively the most powerful official in the administration. Several members of the Dong clan became important court officials as well, displacing the Fus and the Dings after Grand Empress Dowager Fu died in February 2 BC. Emperor Ai died in August 1 BC. It is not clear what the exact cause of death was, but he appeared to succumb to illnesses from which he had always suffered. On his deathbed, Ai ordered that his throne be passed on to Dong Xian, but this was ignored by imperial counselors.

Bronze moneytree from the Han dynasty (c30 CE[2016], PD) Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D.

Emperor Ai's shortcomings quickly led to the demoralization of the people towards the government and the acquisition of power by Wang Mang, in a backlash, after Ai died in 1 BC. The Grand Empress Dowager acted quickly to seize his seal and to take power back from Dong Xian, reinstating Wang Mang as the regent. Dong Xian and his wife were forced to die by suicide. Emperor Ai would officially be succeeded by his cousin, Prince Jizi, as Emperor Ping, but this was merely a pretext for Wang Mang to seize the throne. 

Emperor Ai also is an influential figure in a Chinese historical anthology called Duanxiupian (断袖篇) focusing on homosexuality in ancient China. Additionally, Emperor Ai is an important figure in Chinese pop culture, especially in online Dan Mei pieces. Online literature referring to him have been emerging on websites such as Jinjiang Literature City.[4]

Week hiatus

  because i was kinda yuck all week from cleaning

aelbert cuyp | artyfarty

Aelbert Cuyp ( 1620-1691 | Aelbert Jacobszoon Cuyp/Cuijp ) was a Dutch 17th century painter.

He was born in Dordrecht. 

His family were all artists, with his uncle Benjamin and grandfather Gerrit being stained glass cartoon designers. He painted landscapes and he inherited a considerable fortune. Cuyp's father was his first teacher and they collaborated on many paintings throughout his lifetime. The most famous of a family of painters, the pupil of his father, Jacob Gerritszoon Cuyp (1594–1651/52 | Portraitist ), he is especially known for his large views of Dutch riverside scenes in a golden early morning or late afternoon light. 

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 View of Utrecht (c.1635, PD)

His period of activity as a painter is about 1635 and 1660.

Orpheus playing for the animals (1640, PD)

Landscape_with_the_Ruins_of_Rijnsburg_Abbey.jpg (c.1640, PD)

Aelbert_Cuyp_008.jpg (1640, PD)

Sunset at Dordrecht

Mountainous landscape with the ruins of a castle (1640, PD) 

Cuyp learned tone from the exceptionally prolific Jan van Goyen, light from Jan Both and form from his father, Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp.

He is known to have been married to Cornelia Bosman in 1658, a date coinciding so directly with the end of his productivity as a painter that it has been accepted that his marriage played a role in the end of his artistic career.

Cuyp's "van Goyen phase" can be placed approximately in the early 1640s. Cuyp probably first encountered a painting by van Goyen in 1640 when van Goyen was, as Stephen Reiss points, out "at the height of [his] powers", noticeable in the comparison between two of Cuyp's landscape paintings inscribed 1639 where no properly formed style is apparent and the landscape backgrounds he painted two years later for two of his father's group portraits that are distinctly van Goyenesque. Cuyp took from van Goyen the straw yellow and light brown tones that are so apparent in his Dunes (1629) and the broken brush technique also very noticeable in that same work.  This technique, a precursor to impressionism, is noted for the short brush strokes where the colors are not necessarily blended smoothly, e.g.Cuyp's River Scene, Two Men Conversing (1641).

Flock of sheep at pasture (1645, PD)

The next phase is due to the influence of Jan Both. Sometime round 1645, Both, a native and resident of Utrecht, had just returned to his hometown from a trip to Rome. In Rome, Both had developed a new style of composition due, at least in part, to his interaction with Claude Lorrain. This new style was focused on changing the direction of light in the painting. Instead of the light being placed at right angles in relation to the line of vision, Both started moving it to a diagonal position from the back of the picture. In this new form of lighting, the artist (and viewer of the painting) faced the sun more or less contre-jour [backlighting]. Both, and subsequently Cuyp, used the advantages of this new lighting style to alter the sense of depth and luminosity possible in a painting. To make notice of these new capabilities, much use was made of elongated shadows.  Cuyp was one of the first Dutch painters to appreciate this (limited to the mid-1640s) he did, more than any other contemporary Dutch artist, maximize the full chromatic scale for sunsets and sunrises. 

Cuyp's third stylistic phase (which occurred throughout his career) is based on the influence of his father. The evidence for Aelbert's evolution to foreground figure painter is in the production of some paintings from 1645 to 1650 featuring foreground animals that do not fit with Jacob's style. While it is assumed that the younger Cuyp did work with his father initially to develop rudimentary talents, Aelbert became more focused on landscape paintings while Jacob was a portrait painter by profession. What is meant by stating that Aelbert learned from his father is that his eventual transition from a specifically landscape painter to the involvement of foreground figures is attributed to his interaction with his father Jacob. Cuyp's landscapes were based on reality and on his own invention of what an enchanting landscape should be. 

View of Dordrecht (1650, PD)

Grey Horse in a Landscape (1650, PD)

Herdsman with Cows by a River (1650, PD)

Landscape with herdsman and cattle 1650

Portrait of a Woman (1651,   PD) Cuyp School

Dordrecht Harbor by Moonlight 1651

Rooster 1651

Domestic Fowl

 

The Milkmaid

Landscape with cow and herdsman

Travellers and Herder with four cows

River view with four drinking cows 

Avenue at Meerdervoort (1652, PD)

The Page (1652)

Dordrecht Harbour  about 1655

Evening 1655

A Cuyp drawing may look like he intended it to be a finished work of art, but it was most likely taken back to the studio and used as a reference for his paintings. Often the same section of a sketch can be found in several different pictures. Conversely, paintings which came out of his workshop that were not necessarily physically worked on by Cuyp but merely overseen by him technically, were marked with A.C. to show that it was his instruction which saw the paintings' completion. Cuyp's pupils and assistants often worked on paintings in his studio, and so most of the work of a painting could be done without Cuyp ever touching the canvas, but merely approving its finality. 

After he married Cornelia Boschman in 1658, the number of works produced by him declined almost to nothing. This may have been because his wife was a very religious woman and a not very big patron of the arts. It could also be that he became more active in the church under his wife's guidance. In 1659, after his marriage, Cuyp became the deacon of the reformed church. 

(1660)

Hirt mit fünf Kühen an einem Fluß 

Cuyp was a devout Calvinist and when he died, there were no paintings of other artists found in his home in 1691.

His highly influenced style which incorporated 'Italianate lighting' from Jan Both, broken brush technique and atonality from Jan van Goyen, and his ever-developing style from his father Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp was studied acutely by his most prominent follower, Abraham van Calraet. Calraet mimicked Cuyp's style, incorporating the same aspects, and produced similar landscapes to that of the latter. 

Aert van der neer | Arty Farty

Aert (c1603-1677) was a Dutch landscape painter who specialism was night scenes. His particular skillset was in depicting moonlight and fires in winter landscapes around waterbodies.

Van der Neer was born in Gorinchem. He worked as a steward to the lords of Arkel early on in life. He became an amateur painter possibly upon contact with the Amsterdam painters Rafael and Joachim Govertsz Camphuysen, whose sister Lysbeth he married in 1629. They had six children: Grietje (1629), Eglon (~1635), Cornelia (1642), Elisabeth (1645), Pieter (1648), and Alida (1650). He also knew Aelbert Cuyp and Meindert Hobbema.

His first paintings were sold around 1639. 

Winter Landscape with Skaters (1642, PD) Aert

His Winter Landscape (1643), and the Moonlight Scene (1644) were highly regarded after his death. 

Landscape with a Windmill (1646, PD) Aert

Moonlit Landscape with a View of the New Amstel River and Castle Kostverloren (1647, PD) Aert

Moonlit Landscape with Bridge (1648, PD) Aert

Night Landscape with a River (c.16[??]49, PD) Aert

Holländische Kanallandschaft bei Mondschein mit Schlittschuhläufern und einem Lagerfeuer, an dem sich Bauern wärmen (1650, PD) Aert

Winter skating Scene (1650, PD) Aert

His 1652 witness to a city hall fire birthed a few more paintings. It seems he was  well acquainted with the canals and woods about Haarlem and Leiden, and with the reaches of the Meuse and Rhine. Dordrecht, the home of Aelbert Cuyp, is sometimes found in his pictures, and substantial evidence exists that there was friendship between the two men. 

Paintings by he and Cuyp has represented either the frozen Maes with fishermen packing herrings, or the moon reflecting its light on the river waters. These are models after which Van Der Neer appears to have worked. He carefully enlivened his friend's pictures, when asked to do so, with figures and cattle. Van Der Neer's favourite subjects were the rivers and watercourses of his native country either at sunset or after dark, realizing translucence which allows objects even distant to appear in the darkness with varieties of warm brown and steel greys, and to paint frozen water, and his daylight icescapes with golfers, sleighers, and fishermen are as numerous as his moonlights. 

Riviergezicht bij winter Rijksmuseum (c1655, PD) Riksmuseum Aert

Winter landscape with ice skaters (c.1655, PD) Aert

Flusslandschaft mit Mondschein (1655, PD) Aert

In the National Gallery, London picture Cuyp signs his name on the pail of a milkmaid, whose figure and red skirt he has painted with light effectiveness near the edge of Van Der Neer's landscape. Lysbeth and he lived in Kalverstraat during that time, but because Lysbeth had birthed 5 mouths, he opened a wine tavern by 1659, going bankrupt in 1661. 

Winter landscape, view of a town with a wide river with numerous ice skaters (1660, PD) Aert

Winter Landscape with Skaters (1665, PD) Aert

And then he died. Eglon became a painter after that, presumably taught by Lysbeth. Aerts largest of about one hundred and fifty pictures accessible to the public, are in the Hermitage at Saint Petersburg. In England they are at the National Gallery and Wallace Collection. 

Adriaen Coorte | Arty Farty

Adriaen Coorte (c.1665-1707+) was a Dutch painter of still life. He is assumed to have been born and died in Middelburg. He became a pupil of Melchior d'Hondecoeter around 1680 in Amsterdam. Hondecoeter is known for repetitions of certain birds in certain poses, and he apparently took on pupils who were set to work copying these into their compositions.

Coorte signed works after 1683. He painted small and unpretentious still-lifes in a retrograde, close-up style. From 1683 he seems to have returned to Middelburg, where he set up a workshop and signed his small, carefully balanced minimalist still lifes. He often painted on paper that was glued to a wooden panel. About 80 signed works by him have been catalogued, mostly of small arrangements of fruits, vegetables, or shells on a stone slab, lit from above, with the dark background typical of still lifes earlier in the century. 

Strawberries_and_Red_Currants_on_a_Marble_Ledge.jpg (1685)

Strawberries, Asparagus, and Gooseberries in a Niche (1685, PD) Coorte

Stilleven_met_een_vlinder%2C_abrikozen%2C_kersen_en_een_kastanje (1685)

Fruit_on_a_Stone_Table_with_Landscape_Beyond.jpg (1685)

Vanitas Still Life (1686, PD) Coorte

Stilleven_met_rode_aalbesses mispels druiven_en_een_libelle (1686)

Still_life_with_hanging_bunch_of_grapes%2C_two_medlars_and_a_butterfly.jpg (1687)

Vier abrikozen op een stenen plint (1688, PD) Coorte

Grapes%2C_Medlars%2C_Apricots_and_a_Fig.jpg (1688)

Vanitas_still_life_in_a_niche.jpg (1688)

Two peaches and a fritillary butterfly on a stone plinth (1680-1690, PD) Coorte

Peach and two Apricots (1692, PD) Coorte

Strawberries in a stone jar (1693, PD) Coorte

Still life with three peaches on a stone legde and a butterfly (1693-1695, PD) Coorte

Instead of the Chinese or silver vessels favoured by his contemporaries, his tableware is very basic pottery. Archival evidence only exists in Middelburg for his membership in the Guild of St. Luke there from 1695 onwards, when he was fined for selling a painting without being a member of the guild. His works appear frequently in contemporary Middelburg taxation inventories. 

Grapes%2C_Peaches_and_Apricots_on_a_Stone_Plinth.jpg (1695)

Asparagus (1696, PD) Coorte

Strawberries (1696, PD) Coorte

Still life with Hazelnuts (1696, PD) Coorte

Een_bakje_aardbeien_op_een_stenen_plint (1696, PD) Coorte

Perziken_en_abrikozen_op_een_stenen_richel.jpg (1696)

Five_Shells_on_a_Slab_of_Stone (1696)

Two_Large_and_Three_Small_Shells (1696)

A bowl of strawberries with gooseberries on a stone ledge / Still life with a bowl of strawberries and a spray of gooseberries (1696)

Still Life with Shells (1697, PD) Adriaen Coorte

Still Life with Asparagus (1697, PD) Adriaen Coorte

Breakfast_Piece.jpg (1697)

Shell Collection (1698, PD) Coorte

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Shells_-_1698

Asparagus, Gooseberries and Strawberries in a Window, with a view of a Bird in a Tree (1698, PD) Coorte

Still life with asparagus, a spray of gooseberries and a bowl of strawberries (1698, PD) Coorte

Black_Currants.jpg (1698)

Schelpen_op_een_stenen_plint

Pot_of_Strawberries.jpg (1700s)

Strawberries_in_a_Stone_Jar_-_after_1700.jpg

Gooseberries on a Table (1701, PD) Coorte

Still_life_with_a_spray_of_gooseberries.jpg (1702)

Still Life with Five Apricots (1704, PD) Coorte

Wild strawberries in a Wan Li bowl (1704, PD) Coorte

Chestnuts (1705)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Adriaen_Coorte_-_Chestnuts.jpg

Grapes_on_a_Stone_Ledge_1705.jpg

Green_Gooseberries_on_a_Stone_Plinth.jpg (1705)

Drie perziken op een stenen plint (1705, PD) Coorte

Three medlars with a Butterfly (1705, PD) Coorte

Coorte was apparently not well known to his contemporaries outside the small city of Middelburg and, like Vermeer a century before, he was almost entirely forgotten until the 1950s. An exhibition of 35 examples of Coorte's work in 1958 at the Dordrechts Museum, became a sensation in the Netherlands, with the poets Hans Faverey and Ed Leeflang both being inspired by the paintings.