videos + essays
Painting Brazil for the Dutch art market, Frans Post, Landscape with Ruins in Olinda
Idealized depictions of sugar plantations and African laborers in Dutch-colonial Brazil were popular in the Dutch art market in the 17th century
Andries Beeckman, The Castle of Batavia and Dutch colonialism
Andries Beeckman's landscape painting with the so-called Castle of Batavia (in what is today Jakarta, Indonesia) highlights Dutch prowess and strength during their ascension to colonial power in the seventeenth century.
Jacob van Ruisdael, The Jewish Cemetery
As we can see in a closer examination of The Jewish Cemetery, Ruisdael's works were closely based on, but not entirely beholden to, the world he saw around him.
Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with Saint John on Patmos
Poussin’s ideal landscapes inspired generations of followers. Here, our eye finds a place to rest amidst the ruins.
Jacob van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds
70 percent of this landscape is sky. The church orients us, but weather adds specificity and dynamism.
