The
Dutch Golden Age

Dutch Golden Age (Dutch: Gouden Eeuw [ˈɣʌu̯də(n) ˈeːu̯])
was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the
17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were
among the most acclaimed in the world. The first section is
characterized by the Thirty Years' War, which ended in 1648. The
Golden Age continued in peacetime during the
Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic until the
end of the century.
The transition by the
Netherlands

Netherlands to the foremost maritime and
economic power in the world has been called the "Dutch Miracle" by
historian K. W. Swart.[1]
Contents
1 Causes of the Golden Age
1.1 Migration of skilled workers to Netherlands
1.2
Protestant

Protestant work ethic
1.3 Cheap energy sources
1.4 Birth and wealth of corporate finance
1.5 Geography
2 Monopoly on trade with Japan
3 European Great Power
4 Other industries
5 National consciousness
6 Social structure
6.1 Women's roles
6.1.1 Unmarried women
6.1.2 Married women and mothers
6.1.3 Old women and widows
7 Religion
8 Science
9 Culture
9.1 Painting
9.2 Architecture
9.3 Sculpture
9.4 Literature
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 External links
Causes of the Golden Age[edit]
Rembrandt

Rembrandt The Night Watch (1642)
In 1568, the Seven Provinces that later signed the Union of Utrecht
(Dutch: Unie van Utrecht) started a rebellion against Philip II
of
Spain

Spain that led to the Eighty Years' War. Before the Low Countries
could be completely reconquered, a war between
England

England and Spain, the
Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604, broke out, forcing Spanish troops to
halt their advances and leaving them in control of the important
trading cities of
Bruges

Bruges and Ghent, but without control of Antwerp,
which was then arguably the most important port in the world. Antwerp
fell on August 17, 1585, after a siege, and the division between
the Northern and Southern
Netherlands

Netherlands (the latter mostly modern
Belgium) was established.
The United Provinces (roughly today's Netherlands) fought on until the
Twelve Years' Truce, which did not end the hostilities. The Peace of
Westphalia in 1648, which ended the
Eighty Years' War

Eighty Years' War between the
Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic and
Spain

Spain and the
Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War between other
European superpowers, brought the
Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic formal recognition
and independence from the Spanish crown.
Migration of skilled workers to Netherlands[edit]
Fishing for Souls (Zielenvisserij), 1614, a satirical allegory of
Protestant-Catholic struggles for souls during the Dutch Revolt
(Rijksmuseum)
Under the terms of the surrender of
Antwerp

Antwerp in 1585, the Protestant
population (if unwilling to reconvert) were given four years to settle
their affairs before leaving the city and
Habsburg

Habsburg territory.[2]
Similar arrangements were made in other places. Protestants were
especially well-represented among the skilled craftsmen and rich
merchants of the port cities of Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp. More moved
to the north between 1585 and 1630 than Catholics moved in the other
direction, although there were also many of these. Many of those
moving north settled in Amsterdam, transforming what was a small port
into one of the most important ports and commercial centres in the
world by 1630.
In addition to the mass migration of natives from the Southern
Netherlands, there were also significant influxes of non-native
refugees who had previously fled from religious persecution,
particularly
Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews from
Portugal

Portugal and Spain, and later
Huguenots

Huguenots from France. The
Pilgrim Fathers

Pilgrim Fathers also spent time there
before their voyage to the New World.
Protestant

Protestant work ethic[edit]
Main article:
Protestant

Protestant work ethic
Economists
Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O'Rourke attribute part of the
Dutch ascendancy to its
Protestant work ethic

Protestant work ethic based on Calvinism,
which promoted thrift and education. This contributed to "the lowest
interest rates and the highest literacy rates in Europe. The abundance
of capital made it possible to maintain an impressive stock of wealth,
embodied not only in the large fleet but in the plentiful stocks of an
array of commodities that were used to stabilize prices and take
advantage of profit opportunities."[3]
Cheap energy sources[edit]
A river landscape with fishermen in rowing boats, windmills beyond,
1679
Several other factors also contributed to the flowering of trade,
industry, the arts and the sciences in the
Netherlands

Netherlands during this
time. A necessary condition was a supply of cheap energy from
windmills and from peat, easily transported by canal to the cities.
The invention[4] of the windpowered sawmill enabled the construction
of a massive fleet of ships for worldwide trading and for military
defense of the republic's economic interests.
Birth and wealth of corporate finance[edit]
Syndics of the Drapers' Guild
_van_het_Amsterdamse_lakenbereidersgilde_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/600px-Rembrandt_-_De_Staalmeesters-_het_college_van_staalmeesters_(waardijns)_van_het_Amsterdamse_lakenbereidersgilde_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
Syndics of the Drapers' Guild by
Rembrandt

Rembrandt depicting wealthy Amsterdam
burghers.
In the 17th century the Dutch — traditionally able seafarers and
keen mapmakers — began to trade with the Far East, and as the
century wore on, they gained an increasingly dominant position in
world trade, a position previously occupied by the Portuguese and
Spanish.[5]
In 1602 the
Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische
Compagnie or VOC) was founded. It was the first-ever multinational
corporation, financed by shares that established the first modern
stock exchange. The Company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade,
which it would keep for two centuries, and it became the world's
largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were
imported in bulk and brought huge profits due to the efforts and risks
involved and seemingly insatiable demand. This is remembered to this
day in the Dutch word peperduur (as expensive as pepper), meaning
something is very expensive, reflecting the prices of spices at the
time. To finance the growing trade within the region, the Bank of
Amsterdam

Amsterdam was established in 1609, the precursor to, if not the first
true central bank.[6]
Although the trade with the
Far East

Far East was the more famous of the VOC's
exploits, the main source of wealth for the Republic was in fact its
trade with the Baltic states and Poland. Called the "Mothertrade"
(Dutch: "Moedernegotie"), the Dutch imported enormous amounts of bulk
resources like grain and wood, stockpiling them in
Amsterdam

Amsterdam so
Holland would never lack for basic goods, as well as being able sell
them on for profit. This meant that unlike their main rivals the
Republic wouldn't face the dire repercussions of a bad harvest and the
starvation it accompanied, instead profiting when this happened in
other states (bad harvests were commonplace in
France

France and
England

England in
the 17th century, which also contributed to the Republic's success in
that time). In time the Dutch traders gained such a dominant position
in Poland and the Baltic they all but turned into de facto satellite
states.
Geography[edit]
According to
Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O’Rourke, geography favored
the Dutch Republic, contributing to its wealth. They write, "The
foundations were laid by taking advantage of location, midway between
the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic. Seville and Lisbon and the Baltic
ports were too far apart for direct trade between the two terminal
points, enabling the Dutch to provide profitable intermediation,
carrying salt, wine, and cloth and later silver, spices, and colonial
products eastward while bringing Baltic grains, fish, and naval stores
to the west. The Dutch share of European shipping tonnage was
enormous, well over half during most of the period of their
ascendancy."[3]
Monopoly on trade with Japan[edit]
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Amsterdam's dominant position as a trade centre was strengthened in
1640 with a monopoly for the
Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company (VOC) for trade
with
Japan

Japan through its trading post on Dejima, an island in the bay of
Nagasaki. From here the Dutch traded between China and
Japan

Japan and paid
tribute to the shōgun. Until 1854, the Dutch were Japan's sole window
to the western world. The collection of scientific learning introduced
from
Europe
.svg/400px-Eurasia_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Europe became known in
Japan

Japan as
Rangaku

Rangaku or Dutch Learning. The
Dutch were instrumental in transmitting to
Japan

Japan some knowledge of the
industrial and scientific revolution then occurring in Europe. The
Japanese purchased and translated numerous scientific books from the
Dutch, obtained from them Western curiosities and manufactures (such
as clocks) and received demonstrations of various Western innovations
(such as electric phenomena, and the flight of a hot air balloon in
the early 19th century). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch
were arguably the most economically wealthy and scientifically
advanced of all European nations, which put them in a privileged
position to transfer Western knowledge to Japan.
European Great Power[edit]
The Trip brothers, arms traders, built the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam,
currently the seat of the Royal
Netherlands

Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences, which is a typical example of 17th-century architecture.
The Dutch also dominated trade between European countries. The Low
Countries were favorably positioned at a crossing of east-west and
north-south trade routes, and connected to a large German hinterland
through the
Rhine

Rhine river. Dutch traders shipped wine from
France

France and
Portugal

Portugal to the Baltic lands and returned with grain for countries
around the Mediterranean Sea. By the 1680s, an average of nearly 1000
Dutch ships entered the
Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea each year,[7] to trade with markets
of the fading Hanseatic League. The Dutch were able to gain control of
much of the trade with the nascent English colonies in North America;
and after the end of war with
Spain

Spain in 1648, Dutch trade with that
country also flourished.
Other industries[edit]
National industries expanded as well. Shipyards and sugar refineries
are prime examples. As more and more land was utilized, partially
through transforming lakes into polders such as the Beemster, Schermer
and Purmer, local grain production and dairy farming soared.
National consciousness[edit]
The outcome of the revolt against Spain, better known as the Eighty
Years' War, that had been fought over religious freedom and economic
and political independence, and ended in total independence of the
reformist northern provinces (see also Dutch Republic), almost
certainly would have boosted national morale. Already in 1609 much of
this was accomplished, when a temporary truce was signed with Spain,
which would last for 12 years.
Social structure[edit]
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Canal in Leiden
In the
Netherlands

Netherlands in the 17th century, social status was largely
determined by income. The landed nobility had relatively little
importance, since they mostly lived in the more underdeveloped inland
provinces, and it was the urban merchant class that dominated Dutch
society. The clergy did not have much worldly influence either: the
Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church had been more or less suppressed since the onset
of the
Eighty Years' War

Eighty Years' War with Spain. The new
Protestant

Protestant movement was
divided, although exercising social control in many areas to an even
greater extent than under the Catholic Church.
That is not to say that aristocrats were without social status. On the
contrary, wealthy merchants bought themselves into the nobility by
becoming landowners and acquiring a coat of arms and a seal.
Aristocrats also mixed with other classes for financial reasons: they
married their daughters to wealthy merchants, became traders
themselves or took up public or military office. Merchants also
started to value public office as a means to greater economic power
and prestige. Universities became career pathways to public office.
Rich merchants and aristocrats sent their sons on a so-called Grand
Tour through Europe. Often accompanied by a private tutor, preferably
a scientist himself, these young people visited universities in
several European countries. This intermixing of patricians and
aristocrats was most prominent in the second half of the century.
After aristocrats and patricians came the affluent middle class,
consisting of
Protestant

Protestant ministers, lawyers, physicians, small
merchants, industrialists and clerks of large state institutions.
Lower status was attributed to farmers, craft and tradesmen,
shopkeepers, and government bureaucrats. Below that stood skilled
laborers, maids, servants, sailors, and other persons employed in the
service industry. At the bottom of the pyramid were "paupers":
impoverished peasants, many of whom tried their luck in a city as a
beggar or day laborer.
Workers and laborers were generally paid better than in most of
Europe, and enjoyed relatively high living standards, although they
also paid higher than normal taxes. Farmers prospered from mainly cash
crops needed to support the urban and seafaring population.
Women's roles[edit]
A family portrait, second half of the 17th century
The central role of women in the 17th-century Dutch household revolved
around the home and domestic tasks.[8] In Dutch culture, the home was
regarded as a safe-haven from the lack of Christian virtue and
immorality of the outside world.[9] Additionally, the home represented
a microcosm of the Dutch Republic, in that the smooth running of an
ideal household reflected the relative stability and prosperity of the
government.[9] The home was an integral part of public life in Dutch
society. Public passersby could clearly view the entrance halls of
Dutch homes decorated to show off a particular family's wealth and
social standing. The home was also a place for neighbors, friends, and
extended family to interact, further cementing its importance in the
social lives of 17th-century Dutch burghers.[9] The physical space of
the Dutch home was constructed along gender lines. In the front of the
house, the men had control over a small space where they could do
their work or conduct business, known as the voorhuis, while women
controlled most every other space in the house, such as the kitchens
and private family rooms.[10] Although there was a clear separation in
spheres of power between husband and wife (the husband had authority
in the public realm, the wife in the domestic and private),[citation
needed] women in 17th-century Dutch society still enjoyed a wide range
of freedoms within their own sphere of control.[8][9] Unmarried young
women were known to enjoy various freedoms with their lovers and
suitors, while married women enjoyed the right to publicly shame their
husbands who patronized brothels.[citation needed] Moreover, married
women could legally reject the sexual desires of their husbands if
there were proof or reason to believe that a sexual encounter would
result in transmission of syphilis or other venereal diseases.[8][9]
Dutch women were also allowed to take communion alongside men, and
widows were able to inherit property and maintain control over their
finances and husband's wills.[9] However, a woman's sphere of
authority still primarily lay in household duties, despite historical
evidence showing certain cases of wives maintaining considerable
control in family businesses.[8] Manuals written by men instructing
women and wives in various aspects of domestic duties proliferated,
the most popular being Jacob Cat's Houwelyck.[10] As evidenced by
numerous 17th-century Dutch genre paintings, the most important
domestic tasks performed by women included supervising maids, cooking,
cleaning, needlework, and spinning.[10]
Unmarried women[edit]
The Dancing Couple, by Jan Steen, 1663
As seen in art and literature at the time, unmarried young women were
valued for maintaining their modesty and diligence as this time in a
woman's life was regarded to be the most uncertain.[8] From a young
age, burgher women were taught various household related duties by
their mothers, including reading, so as to prepare them for their
lives as housewives.[8]
Dutch art

Dutch art at this time shows the idealized
situation in which an unmarried young girl ought to conduct herself in
situations such as courtship, which commonly included themes relating
to gardens or nature, music lessons or parties, needlework, and
reading and receiving love letters.[10] However, ideals of the young
women espoused by genre painting and Petrarchian poetry did not
reflect the reality. Accounts from travelers described the various
freedoms young women were provided in the realm of courtship. The
prevalence of Calvinist sermons regarding the consequences of leaving
young women unsupervised also spoke to a general trend of a lack of
parental oversight in the matters of young love.[8]
Married women and mothers[edit]
Dutch writers, such as Jacob Cats, held the prevailing public opinion
concerning marriage. He and other cultural authorities were influenced
by Calvinist ideals that stressed an equality between man and wife,
considered companionship a primary reason for marriage, and regarded
procreation as a mere consequence of that companionship.[8] However,
non-egalitarian ideas still existed regarding women as the weaker sex,
and the image of the turtle was commonly used to express the separate
spheres and strengths of both genders.[8] In addition to supervising
maids, cooking, cleaning, and prating needlework, women were also
encouraged to maintain some financial control over domestic affairs,
such as going to market and buying their own food.[8] Maternity and
motherhood were also highly valued in Dutch culture. Mothers were
encouraged to breastfeed their children, as using a wet nurse would
prevent a bond from forming between mother and child. The Dutch also
believed that a mother's milk came from the blood originally in her
womb and that feeding the infant such substances would also reap
physiological and health related benefits.[8] Seventeenth-century
Dutch society also dictated that children should first begin to learn
religion at home. Therefore, along with their husbands, women used
family meal times to discuss religious topics and to focus on
prayer.[8]
Old women and widows[edit]
Seventeenth-century Dutch culture maintained contradictory attitudes
regarding the elderly, in particular elderly women. Some Dutch writers
idealized old age as a poetic transition from life to death. Others
criticized aging as an illness in which one is gradually deteriorating
until they reach their final destination, while some lauded the
elderly as wise and people who deserve the highest forms of
respect.[8] However, treatises on behavior for elderly women and
widows stressed not necessarily their inherent wisdom, but that they
should maintain piety, practice moderation, and live a relatively
secluded life.[8][9] Unlike other European artistic traditions, Dutch
art rarely depicts elderly women as disgusting or grotesque creatures,
but rather they are idolized as figures of piety and purity whom the
younger generations of women can look up to.[9]
Religion[edit]
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Interior of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, c. 1664
Calvinism

Calvinism was the state religion in the Dutch Republic, though this
does not mean that unity existed. Although the
Netherlands

Netherlands was a
tolerant nation compared to neighboring states, wealth and social
status belonged almost exclusively to Protestants. The cities with a
predominantly Catholic background, such as Utrecht and Gouda, did not
enjoy the benefits of the Golden Age. As for the
Protestant

Protestant towns,
unity of belief was also far from standard. In the beginning of the
century bitter controversies between strict Calvinists and more
permissive Protestants, known as Remonstrants, split the country. The
Remonstrants

Remonstrants denied predestination and championed freedom of
conscience, while their more dogmatic adversaries (known as
Contra-Remonstrants) gained a major victory at the Synod of Dort
(1618–19). The variety of sects may well have worked to make
religious intolerance impractical.
Renaissance

Renaissance Humanism, of which Desiderius
Erasmus

Erasmus (c. 1466–1536) was
an important advocate, had also gained a firm foothold and was
partially responsible for a climate of tolerance.
Tolerance towards Catholics was not so easy to uphold, as religion had
played an important part in the
Eighty Years' War

Eighty Years' War of independence
against
Spain

Spain (with political and economic freedom being other
important motives). Intolerant inclinations, however, could be
overcome by money. Thus Catholics could buy the privilege of holding
ceremonies in a conventicle (a house doubling inconspicuously as a
church), but public offices were out of the question. Catholics tended
to keep to themselves in their own section of each town, even though
they were one of the largest single denominations: for example, the
Catholic painter
Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer lived in the "Papist corner" of the
town of Delft. The same applied to Anabaptists and Jews.
Overall, the country was tolerant enough to attract religious refugees
from other countries, notably Jewish merchants from
Portugal

Portugal who
brought much wealth with them. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes
in
France

France in 1685 resulted in the immigration of many French
Huguenots, many of whom were shopkeepers or scientists. However, some
figures, such as the philosopher
Baruch de Spinoza

Baruch de Spinoza (1632–1677),
experienced social stigma.
Science[edit]
See also: List of scientists from the Dutch Golden Age
Astronomer, by Gerrit Dou, c. 1650
Due to its climate of intellectual tolerance, the Dutch Republic
attracted scientists and other thinkers from all over Europe. In
particular, the renowned University of
Leiden

Leiden (established in 1575 by
the Dutch stadtholder Willem van Oranje as a token of gratitude for
Leiden's fierce resistance against
Spain

Spain during the Eighty Years' War)
became a gathering place for intellectuals. Jan Amos Comenius, the
Czech educator and writer, was known for his theories of education,
but also as a pioneer of Czech
Protestantism

Protestantism during the 17th century.
To escape the Counter-Reformation, he migrated to the Dutch Republic
and is buried in Naarden, North Holland. Comenius accepted the
invitation of Laurens de Geer to visit Amsterdam, where he lived the
last 14 years of his life (1656–1670). He published his most
important works there: 43 volumes in all, about half of his total
output. French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes
(1596-1650) lived in Holland from 1628 until 1649. He also had his
most important works published in
Amsterdam

Amsterdam and Leiden. Another
French-born philosopher, Pierre Bayle, left
France

France in 1681 for the
Dutch Republic, where he became a professor of history and philosophy
at the Illustrious School of Rotterdam. He lived in Rotterdam until
his death in 1706. As
Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell noted in his A History of
Western Philosophy (1945), "He [Descartes] lived in Holland for twenty
years (1629–49), except for a few brief visits to
France

France and one to
England, all on business. It is impossible to exaggerate the
importance of Holland in the 17th century, as the one country where
there was freedom of speculation. Hobbes had to have his books printed
there; Locke took refuge there during the five worst years of reaction
in
England

England before 1688; Bayle (of the Dictionary) found it necessary
to live there; and Spinoza would hardly have been allowed to do his
work in any other country."
Dutch lawyers were famous for their knowledge of international law of
the sea and commercial law.
Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius (1583–1645) played a
leading part in the foundation of international law. He invented the
concept of the "Free seas" or Mare liberum, which was fiercely
contested by England, the Netherlands' main rival for domination of
world trade. He also formulated laws on conflicts between nations in
his book
De iure belli ac pacis

De iure belli ac pacis ("On law of war and peace").
Portrait

Portrait of
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
._Natuurkundige_te_Delft_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-957.jpeg/440px-Anthonie_van_Leeuwenhoek_(1632-1723)._Natuurkundige_te_Delft_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-957.jpeg)
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek by Jan Verkolje.
Christiaan Huygens

Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) was a famous astronomer, physicist
and mathematician. He invented the pendulum clock, which was a major
step forward towards exact timekeeping. Among his contributions to
astronomy was his explanation of Saturn's planetary rings.[11] He also
contributed to the field of optics. The most famous Dutch scientist in
the area of optics is Anton van Leeuwenhoek, who was the first to
methodically study microscopic life—he was the first person to
describe bacteria—thus laying the foundations for the field of
microbiology.[12] The "microscopes" were simple magnifiers, not
compound microscopes.[13] His skill in grinding lenses (some as small
as 1mm in diameter) resulted in a magnification as high as 245x.
Today, grinding and polishing is done with machinery or in-house
tooling to create optics for microscopes and other optics.[14]
Famous Dutch hydraulic engineer
Jan Leeghwater

Jan Leeghwater (1575–1650) gained
important victories in the Netherlands' eternal battle against the
sea. Leeghwater added a considerable amount of land to the republic by
converting several large lakes into polders, pumping the water out
with windmills.
Again due to the Dutch climate of tolerance, book publishers
flourished. Many books on religion, philosophy and science that might
have been deemed controversial abroad were printed in the Netherlands
and secretly exported to other countries. Thus during the 17th century
the
Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic became more and more Europe's publishing house.
Culture[edit]
Osias Beert

Osias Beert the Elder, Dishes with Oysters, Fruit, Candy and Wine, c.
1620/1625
Cultural development in the Low Countries stood out from neighbouring
countries. With some exceptions (notably Dutch playwright Joost van
den Vondel) the
Baroque

Baroque movement did not gain much influence. Its
exuberance did not fit the austerity of the largely Calvinistic
population. The major force behind new developments was the citizenry,
notably in the western provinces: first and foremost in Holland, to a
lesser extent
Zeeland

Zeeland and Utrecht. Where rich aristocrats often became
patrons of art in other countries, because of their comparative
absence in the
Netherlands

Netherlands this role was played by wealthy merchants
and other patricians.
Centres of cultural activity were town militia (Dutch: schutterij) and
chambers of rhetoric (rederijkerskamer). The former were created for
town defence and policing, but also served as a meeting-place for the
well-to-do, who were proud to play a prominent part and paid well to
see this preserved for posterity by means of a group portrait. The
latter were associations at a city level that fostered literary
activities, like poetry, drama and discussions, often through
contests. Cities took pride in their associations and promoted them.
In the Dutch Golden Age, the meals of the middle class consisted of a
rich variety of dishes.[15][16] During the 15th century haute cuisine
began to emerge, largely limited to the aristocracy, but from the 17th
century onward dishes of this kind became available to the wealthy
citizens as well. The
Dutch Empire

Dutch Empire enabled spices, sugar, and exotic
fruits to be imported to the country. By the late 17th century, tea
and coffee consumption were increasing and becoming part of everyday
life. Tea was served with sweets, candy or marzipan and cookies.[17] A
rich Dutch mealtime of the time contained many extravagant dishes and
drinks.[17]
Painting[edit]
Main article:
Dutch Golden Age

Dutch Golden Age painting
Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring
Dutch Golden Age painting

Dutch Golden Age painting followed many of the tendencies that
dominated
Baroque

Baroque art in other parts of Europe, such as Caravaggesque
and naturalism, but was the leader in developing the subjects of still
life, landscape, and genre painting. Portraiture was also popular, but
history painting – traditionally the most-elevated genre –
struggled to find buyers. Church art was virtually non-existent, and
little sculpture of any kind was produced. While art collecting and
painting for the open market was also common elsewhere, art historians
point to the growing number of wealthy Dutch middle-class and
successful mercantile patrons as driving forces in the popularity of
certain pictorial subjects.[18]
This trend, along with the lack of
Counter-Reformation

Counter-Reformation church
patronage that dominated the arts in Catholic Europe, resulted in the
great number of "scenes of everyday life" or genre paintings, and
other secular subjects. Landscapes and seascapes, for example, reflect
the land reclaimed from the sea and the sources of trade and naval
power that mark the Republic's Golden Age. One subject that is quite
characteristic of Dutch
Baroque

Baroque painting is the large group portrait,
especially of civic and militia guilds, such as
Rembrandt

Rembrandt van Rijn's
Night Watch. A special genre of still life was the so-called
pronkstilleven (Dutch for 'ostentatious still life'). This style of
ornate still-life painting was developed in the 1640s in
Antwerp

Antwerp by
Flemish artists such as Frans Snyders, Osias Beert, Adriaen van
Utrecht and a whole generation of
Dutch Golden Age

Dutch Golden Age painters. They
painted still lifes that emphasized abundance by depicting a diversity
of objects, fruits, flowers and dead game, often together with living
people and animals. The style was soon adopted by artists from the
Dutch Republic.[19]
Today, the best-known painters of the
Dutch Golden Age

Dutch Golden Age are the
period's most dominant figure Rembrandt, the
Delft

Delft master of genre
Johannes Vermeer, the innovative landscape painter Jacob van Ruisdael,
and Frans Hals, who infused new life into portraiture. Some notable
artistic styles and trends include Haarlem Mannerism, Utrecht
Caravaggism, the School of Delft, the
Leiden

Leiden fijnschilders, and Dutch
classicism.
Architecture[edit]
Main article: Dutch
Baroque

Baroque architecture
The Kaaswaag (Cheese Weigh House) in Gouda, finished in 1667, was
designed by architect
Pieter Post
,_portrait_by_Pieter_Nolpe.png)
Pieter Post (1608–1669), as was the Waag in
Leiden.
Dutch architecture was taken to a new height in the Golden Age. Cities
expanded greatly as the economy thrived. New town halls, weighhouses
and storehouses were built. Merchants who had made their fortune
ordered a new house along one of the many new canals that were dug out
in and around many cities (for defense and transport purposes), a
house with an ornamented façade that befitted their new status. In
the countryside, many new castles and stately homes were built; but
most of them have not survived.
Early in the 17th century late Gothic elements still prevailed,
combined with
Renaissance

Renaissance motives. After a few decades French
classicism gained prominence: vertical elements were stressed, less
ornamentation was used, and natural stone was preferred above bricks.
In the last decades of the century this trend towards sobriety
intensified. From around 1670 the most prominent feature of a house
front was its entrance, with pillars on each side and possibly a
balcony above it, but no further decoration.
Starting at 1595, Reformed churches were commissioned, many of which
are still landmarks today.
The most famous Dutch architects of the 17th century were Jacob van
Campen, Pieter Post, Pieter Vingbooms, Lieven de Key, and Hendrick de
Keyser.
Sculpture[edit]
See also: List of sculptors from the Dutch Golden Age
Dutch achievements in sculpture in the 17th century are less prominent
than in painting and architecture, and fewer examples were created
than in neighbouring countries, partly because of their absence in the
interiors of
Protestant

Protestant churches, as objections to the Roman Catholic
veneration of statues had been one of the contentious points of the
Reformation. Another reason was the comparatively small class of
nobles. Sculptures were commissioned for government buildings, private
buildings (often adorning house fronts) and the exteriors of churches.
There was also a market for grave monuments and portrait busts.
Hendrick de Keyser, who was active at the dawn of the Golden Age, is
one of the few prominent home-grown sculptors. In the 1650s and 1660s,
the Flemish sculptor Artus I Quellinus, along with his family and
followers like Rombout Verhulst, were responsible for the classicizing
decorations for the
Amsterdam

Amsterdam city hall (now the Royal Palace,
Amsterdam). This remains the major monument of Dutch Golden Age
sculpture.
Literature[edit]
The Golden Age was also an important time for developments in
literature. Some of the major figures of this period were Gerbrand
Bredero, Jacob Cats, Pieter Hooft, and Joost van den Vondel.
See also[edit]
List of people from the Dutch Golden Age
First Stadtholderless Period
Tulip mania
Flemish painting
Dutch Golden Age

Dutch Golden Age painting
Vermeer's Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global
World
Notes[edit]
^ Swart, Koenraad Wolter (1969). The miracle of the
Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic as
seen in the seventeenth century. London: H.K.Lewis & Co
Ltd. . Available online: http://www.dianamuirappelbaum.com/?p=583
^ Boxer Charles Ralph, The Dutch seaborne empire, 1600–1800, p. 18,
Taylor & Francis, 1977 ISBN 0-09-131051-2,
ISBN 978-0-09-131051-6 Google books
^ a b "Commodity Market Integration, 1500–2000" (PDF).
^ Saag Molens were invented in Uitgeest, according to the
"Haarlemmermeer boeck" by Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater
^ The maps used by
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba to
attack Dutch cities were made by Dutch mapmakers.
^ Quinn, Stephen. Roberds, William. The Big Problem of Large Bills:
The Bank of
Amsterdam

Amsterdam and the Origins of Central Banking. August,
2005."Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on
2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
^ Baltic Connections: Mercantilism in the West Baltic
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Koot, Gerard (2015). "The Portrayal of
Women in Dutch Art of the Dutch Golden Age: Courtship, Marriage and
Old Age" (PDF). University of Massachusetts.
^ a b c d e f g h Schama, Simon (1980). "Wives and Wantons: Versions
of Womanhood in 17th Century Dutch Art" (PDF). The Oxford Art Journal.
Washington University in St. Louis.
^ a b c d Franits, Marjorie Wieseman ; with contributions by H.
Perry Chapman, Wayne E. (2011). Vermeer's women : secrets and
silence. Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum. ISBN 9780300178999.
^ Bond, Peter (2010). Distant Worlds: Milestones in Planetary
Exploration (illustrated ed.). Springer
Science

Science & Business Media.
p. 186. ISBN 978-0-387-68367-6. Extract of page 186
^ Burgess, Jeremy; Marten, Michael; Taylor, JRosemary (190). Under the
Microscope: A Hidden World Revealed (illustrated ed.). CUP Archive.
p. 186. ISBN 978-0-521-39940-1. Extract of page 186
^ "Antony van Leeuwenhoek". www.ucmp.berkeley.edu. Retrieved
2016-02-19.
^ "Optical Polishing & Lens Grinding Services - United Lens".
United Lens. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
^ de Graaf, Reitze A. (August 16, 2004). "De rijke Hollandse dis".
WereldExpat (in Dutch). Archived from the original on December 23,
2008.
^ "De Nederlandse keuken". Antiqbook (in Dutch). 2006. Archived from
the original on September 28, 2007.
^ a b Rose, Peter G. (2002). "Culinary History of New York" (PDF). 16
(1). Culinary Historians of New York: 1–12. Archived from the
original (PDF) on December 21, 2013.
^ Helen Gardner, Fred S. Kleiner, and Christin J. Mamiya, Gardner's
Art Through the Ages, Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, (2005):
718–19.
^ Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms: Pronkstilleven
References[edit]
Cook, Harold (2007), Matters of Exchange, New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press
Freist, Dagmar: The "Dutch Century", European History Online, Mainz:
Institute of European History, 2010, retrieved: December 17, 2012.
Schama, Simon (1987), The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation
of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age, New York: Alfred Knopf
Jan de Vries and Ad van der Woude, The First Modern Economy: Success,
failure, and perseverance of the Dutch economy, 1500-1815
Castles, palaces and stately homes in the Dutch golden age
External links[edit]
Dutch Golden Age

Dutch Golden Age at Art Painting Artist
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