The main driving forces were a rich diversity in both Dutch society and its painted themes, and the popularity of paintings among the republic’s citizens. Visual art thrived.
Avercamp
From the start of the Eighty Years’ War with Habsburg Spain, through the Union of Utrecht, foundation of the East India Company, tulip mania, and abundant Rembrandts.
A period in which the winters were exceptionally cold, landscapes showing folk skating on frozen canals and rivers, promenading, and playing kolf, and ancestor of modern golf.
Crowded streets in town and cities, from Jan van Eyck in 1435 to Pasini’s market in Constantinople in 1877.
A landscape without human or animal figures often looks eery or unnatural. This new series looks at how figures are used in landscape paintings, with copious examples.
Christmas holiday was one of the few occasions that brought people out of the warm to outdoor fairs and festivals.
The Eclectic Light Company 