THE EXOTIC GIFT and the ART of the SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DUTCH REPUBLIC By
THE EXOTIC GIFT AND THE ART OF THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DUTCH REPUBLIC By ©2013 ELLEN O’NEIL RIFE Submitted to the graduate degree program in Art History and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Linda Stone-Ferrier, Ph.D. ________________________________ Sally J. Cornelison, Ph.D. ________________________________ Stephen H. Goddard, Ph.D. ________________________________ Amy McNair, Ph.D. ________________________________ William D. Keel, Ph.D. Date Defended: 4/9/2013 The Dissertation Committee for Ellen O’Neil Rife certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: THE EXOTIC GIFT AND THE ART OF THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DUTCH REPUBLIC ________________________________ Chairperson Linda Stone-Ferrier, Ph.D. Date approved: 4/9/2013 ii Abstract This dissertation examines the intersection between art and the gifting of exotic objects in the seventeenth-century United Provinces, directing attention to a special class of imagery visualizing the remarkable extent to which Europe’s first consumer culture became intertwined with foreign goods and influences. Its four chapters present representative case studies encompassing a range of media, including prints and paintings, and artistic genres, such as still life, portraiture, landscape, and allegory, from the mid- through the late- seventeenth century. These episodes of exotic gift exchange and their manifestation in art belonged to public and private spheres, the gifting of men and women, and multiple classes of society. In analyzing these images, my methodology draws on close readings; socioeconomic, historical, pictorial, and cultural contexts; gender; and issues in gift theory, including reciprocity, identity, personalization, and commodity/gift status, to explore the pictures’ meanings or functions for their audiences.
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