#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, 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

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

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

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Young Woman Peeling Apples by Nicolaes Maes

Today’s Masterpiece Story is about this lovely genre painting by Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693), a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in...

Alexandra Kiely 28 December 2022

Frans Post, View of Olinda, Brazil, 1662, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands Baroque

Frans Post, First Landscape Painter of the Americas

Frans Post has gone down in art history as the first trained landscape painter to work in the Americas. In 1636, as a young man of just 24, he...

Nicole Ganbold 27 December 2021

Art History 101

Genres Explained: Still Life in Painting

Let’s explore the history of still life through a selection of 10 paintings corresponding to two key moments: the 17th century in the...

Soledad Castillo Jara 11 August 2021

Baroque

Pure Happiness, Fun, and Joy in Jan Steen’s Paintings

I am a true happiness digger and I’m looking for happiness also in art. If you are a frequent reader here, you may have seen our other articles...

Rute Ferreira 16 July 2021

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Flora by Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt painted his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh as Flora, goddess of spring and flowers, three times during their relatively short but meaningful...

Zuzanna Stańska 21 February 2021

Museum Stories

The Groundbreaking Slavery Exhibition at Rijksmuseum

Under the turmoil of this year’s events, the discussion around racism has reached its highest peak. In February 2021 an exhibition will point...

Errika Gerakiti 17 December 2020

Baroque

Adriaen Brouwer, Painter of Emotions

The work of the Flemish Baroque painter Adriaen Brouwer excels in innovation and daring. His folk scenes, often showing drunkards and smokers in...

Michel Rutten 23 October 2020

Baroque

Did You Know? Haarlem in the Dutch Golden Age

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

Rachel Witte 20 October 2020