Dutch painting of the Golden Age About this free course This free course is an adapted extract from the Open University course A226 Exploring art and visual culture: www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/a226. This version of the content may include video, images and interactive content that may not be optimised for your device. You can experience this free course as it was originally designed on OpenLearn, the home of free learning from The Open University – www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 There you’ll also be able to track your progress via your activity record, which you can use to demonstrate your learning. Copyright © 2016 The Open University Intellectual property Unless otherwise stated, this resource is released under the terms of the Creative Commons Licence v4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en_GB. 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Head of Intellectual Property, The Open University 2 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Contents Introduction 4 Learning Outcomes 10 1 ‘A new state, a new art’ 11 2 Realism and art-for-art’s sake 18 3 Dutch history painting 22 4 Disguised symbolism and ‘seeming realism’ 26 Clues to interpretation 27 5 ‘To instruct and delight’ 36 6 Landscape painting and the limitations of the iconological approach 37 Interpreting the Dutch landscape 39 7 The role of conventions 43 7.1 Landscape conventions and the question of meaning 44 8 Realism reconsidered 48 8.1 The artifice of verisimilitude 51 Conclusion 55 References 55 Acknowledgements 56 3 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Introduction Introduction In this free course, Dutch painting of the Golden Age, you shall be exploring issues of meaning and interpretation with specific reference to Dutch seventeenth-century painting. Works by artists such as Johannes Vermeer (Figure 1), Pieter de Hooch (Figure 2), Gabriel Metsu (Figure 3), Jacob van Ruisdael (Figure 4) and Jan Steen (Figure 5) are now among the best-known and most admired possessions of major public collections. Unlike elaborate decorative schemes or complex mythological subjects, these comparatively small-scale paintings appear to require little prior knowledge on the part of the viewer. We have no difficulty making out the scene that is represented and although the costumes and setting may be unfamiliar, we are offered a view on to a world that is recognisably continuous with our own. Even where an artist depicts activities that belong to a different era, such as the bleaching of cloth in the fields surrounding the city of Haarlem (Figure 4), this simply adds a further element of interest and value. It is therefore perhaps surprising to learn that there has been vigorous debate among art historians about the possible meanings that might be attributed to these paintings and that there is, as yet, no consensus as to the correct approach to interpreting the wide range of images that were produced in the Netherlands in its socalled ‘golden age’. As you shall see, much of the debate has centred on the purported realism of these paintings and the highly problematic assumption that they provide a comprehensive ‘pictorial record’ of life in the Dutch Republic (Slive, 1995, p. 1). This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course A226 Exploring art and visual culture. 4 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Introduction Figure 1 Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, 1658–60, oil on canvas, 45 × 41 cm. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, SK-A-2344. Photo: Collection Rijksmuseum. 5 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Introduction Figure 2 Pieter de Hooch, A Boy Bringing Bread, c.1663, oil on canvas, 74 × 59 cm. Wallace Collection, London, P27. Photo: © Wallace Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library. 6 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Introduction Figure 3 Gabriel Metsu, Vegetable Market in Amsterdam, c.1661–62, oil on canvas, 97 × 81 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris, inv.1460. Photo: Musée du Louvre/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library. 7 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Introduction Figure 4 Jacob van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem, c.1670, oil on canvas, 62 × 55 cm. Kunsthaus, Zurich. Photo: Kunsthaus, Zurich/ Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library. 8 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Introduction Figure 5 Jan Steen, The Effects of Intemperance, c.1663–65, oil on panel, 76 × 107 cm. National Gallery, London, NG6442. Photo: The National Gallery/The Bridgeman Art Library. 9 of 58 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/dutch-painting-the-golden-age/content-section-0 Monday 4 May 2020 Learning Outcomes After studying this course, you should be able to: ● explore recent debates around the interpretation of seventeenth-century Dutch painting ● consider the strengths and limitations of iconology as an art-historical approach ● examine the notion of ‘realism’ as applied to works of art ● address the relevance of social and cultural context for interpreting works of art ● analyse works of art in terms of different ideas and approaches. 1 ‘A new state, a new art’ 1 ‘A new state, a new art’ The political and geographical entity that has come to be known as the Netherlands – and more popularly, although incorrectly, as Holland – emerged through a protracted struggle to gain independence from Spain. A confederation of Northern Provinces came together in 1579 in order to resist Habsburg rule, but it was not until the signing of a truce in 1609 and then the peace of the Treaty of Münster in 1648 that the Dutch Republic gained official recognition as a sovereign state. The early years of the seventeenth century are generally seen to mark the beginning of the Dutch golden age, when this small area of northern Europe became a flourishing centre of trade, shipping and finance, and made significant contributions to the domains of science, technology and culture. Through its large naval fleet, the Dutch Republic dominated world trade and established extensive colonial holdings, which formed the basis of its great wealth and power. Two defining features served to distinguish the Dutch Republic from the predominantly Catholic and absolutist structures of neighbouring European powers. First, although a central administrative body was established in The Hague, each of the Provinces that made up the Netherlands was largely self-governing, allowing for greater independence and the development of strong local identities and traditions, particularly in large cities such as Amsterdam, Utrecht, Leiden, Haarlem and Delft. While agriculture and livestock remained important, it was a predominantly urban society, with a dense network of canals connecting the major trading centres. Second, Protestant Calvinism rather than Catholicism was adopted as the state religion.