#Dutch Golden Age

News

Vermeer As You’ve Never Seen Before at the Rijksmuseum

This year we have a chance to witness the largest Vermeer exhibition to ever be held. From 10 February to 4 June 2023,  the Rijksmuseum is...

Nicole Ganbold 2 March 2023

* Johannes Vermeer, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid (c. 1670–71), National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland. Artist Stories

5 Things You Should Know About Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter who lived and worked during the Dutch Golden Age. Along with Rembrandt and Frans Hals, he is considered one of...

Anastasia Manioudaki 2 March 2023

Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, ca. 1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

Among many representations of domestic scenes of respectable Dutch middle-class households, there is one that never ceases to impress and capture the...

Giordana Goretti 2 March 2023

Johannes Vermeer, Girl With a Pearl Earring, c. 1665, Mauritshuis, Hague, The Netherlands. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Girl With a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

The Girl with a Pearl Earring is usually the first image that comes to mind when we think of Johannes Vermeer. It has inspired multiple references in...

Soledad Castillo Jara 2 March 2023

Johannes Vermeer, A Girl Asleep, 1656–1657, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Baroque

Vermeer’s Desperate Housewives

Johannes Vermeer was a master of ambiguity. His silent and calm interiors, and beautiful Dutch women, although innocent at first glance, seem to be...

Magda Michalska 2 March 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Vase with Flowers by Rachel Ruysch

Let’s discuss one of the greatest still-life artists: Rachel Ruysch. Still-life paintings do not draw the crowds at museums. They are often...

James W Singer 28 February 2023

Women Artists

Maria Sibylla Merian. An Artist Who Changed Science Forever

In the 17th century, it has been widely believed that insects were just spontaneously born of mud, dirt, or rotting flesh, but that notion has been...

Nicole Ganbold 11 February 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt painted this group portrait of seven surgeons and the physician Nicolaes Tulp in 1632. He was only 26 years old at that point. Nicolaes...

Zuzanna Stańska 10 February 2023

Self-portrait of a Caucasian woman at her easel, leaning back in her chair looking at the viewer. On her easel is a painting of man happily playing the violin. The artist is wearing a purple dress with white collar ruff and cap. Dutch Golden Age Women Artists. Women Artists

Judith Leyster: The Lead Star of the Dutch Golden Age

Judith Leyster was a highly regarded genre painter in 17th-century Holland. Her career was cut short by her marriage, and after her death, her...

Catriona Miller 30 January 2023

Cornelis Saftleven, Who Sues for a Cow?, 1629, oil on wood panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Who Sues for a Cow by Cornelis Saftleven

Who Sues for a Cow is a masterpiece of social commentary by now-forgotten artist, Cornelis Saftleven. It is a strange painting from the Dutch Golden...

James W Singer 16 January 2023

Haarlem in the Dutch Golden Age: Frans Hals, Banquet of the Officers of the St Adrian Civic Guard (the Calivermen), 1627, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands. Baroque

4 Surprising Facts About Haarlem in the Dutch Golden Age

The city of Haarlem in the Netherlands was one of the flourishing art centers in the 16th and 17th century. Today, you can walk the streets of the...

Rachel Witte 13 January 2023

Animals

Holy Cow! Why Did the Dutch Painters Love Cows?

Every time I look at 17th-century Dutch paintings, I ask myself the same question: why do they always show cows? You will probably think this is a...

Magda Michalska 13 January 2023