Art in the Netherlands Throughout History

While the Netherlands may not be the first country one thinks of when considering European art, it does in fact have a long history of great art and artists. Art history in the Netherlands reveals many famous paintings and many different, distinctive styles not seen in other parts of Europe. Many of the Netherland’s most famous paintings came from the Dutch Golden Age, which spanned the 17th century.

The Dutch Golden Age

The Dutch Golden Age occurred in the 17th century, both during and after the war for Dutch independence, also known as the Eighty Years War (1568–1648). The Netherlands experienced much prosperity during their Golden Age, and became a leader in trade, science, and art. The Eighty Years War separated the Dutch from Spain and caused a break with Catholic cultural traditions, and changed their ruling governmental body from a monarchy to a Republic. All of this meant that Dutch art needed to change itself by finding new cultural traditions, and styles.

Types Of Dutch Golden Age Paintings

Golden Age Dutch paintings differ from their counterparts from other areas of Europe at the time. Still life, landscape, portraiture, and genre painting were all very popular in the Dutch Golden Age. Most works during this period are known for their detailed realism, the relatively small amount of religious themes found in paintings as compared to earlier European painting, and the proliferation of paintings depicting scenes from everyday life.

During the Dutch Golden Age, the rest of Europe was preoccupied with Baroque influences, and a large amount of religious art. This was not so in the Netherlands. The Dutch of the time valued different genres of art. For example, while paintings depicting histories and popular religious subjects were experiencing extreme popularity in the rest of Europe, they were less popular in the Netherlands and did not sell as well. On the other hand, the genres of painting less valued at the time the rest of Europe, such as scenes of everyday life, landscapes, seascapes, battle scenes, cityscapes, scenes of peasant life, landscapes with animals, flower paintings, and still lifes were very popular in the Netherlands and were therefore in high demand. Portrait painting was popular both in the Netherlands and in the rest of Europe.

Dutch Masters

The Dutch Golden Age produced many artists considered to be Dutch masters. Artists of this period tended to create most of their works in specific, distinct genres of paintings. This tendency made many of the Dutch masters known for specific genres, such as landscapes or portraiture. Some of the Dutch masters can be found in the list below: