A prosperous middle class eager to express its status and its new sense of national pride, replaced the church and monarchy as the primary patrons of art.
1600 - 1700
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Rembrandt, Christ Preaching (Hundred Guilder Print)
One of Rembrandt’s most technically ambitious prints has been primarily known more for its price tag than for its subject: The Hundred Guilder Print.
Van Mander, Het Schilder-Boeck
Van Mander rewrites art history in this book of "celebrity" artists from the Netherlands
Anthony van Dyck, Self-Portrait as Icarus with Daedalus
Van Dyck paints himself as Icarus, a boy whose wings melted when he flew too close to the sun
Rembrandt, The Artist in His Studio
Rembrandt makes a case for painting and art-making as an intellectual endeavor, rather than a craft
Fashioning luxury from a coconut cup
From Indonesia to the Netherlands, this coconut encased in silver features a fish tail, a mermaid, and a chimp
The Great Atlas, Dutch edition
A very expensive Atlas from Amsterdam attempts to map the known world to Dutch viewers
Conserving Jacob van Walscapelle’s Flowers in a Glass Vase
The earliest known signed work by Jacob van Walscapelle undergoes thorough conservation work at the V&A, including reattaching paint flakes, removing discoloured varnish, and applying new varnish
Porcelain, gold, and the Dutch East India Company
From the end of the sixteenth century the Dutch East India Company developed a vast network of trading posts through South-east Asia.
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.
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait with Two Circles
Rembrandt's enigmatic self-portrait at Kenwood House is an apt example of the artist's long career in self-exploration.
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