There are certain moments in history that stand out. We have a tendency to study such times with curiosity and nostalgia, wondering what life must have been like in those times. The Dutch Golden Age is just such a moment, an era full of cultural and scientific advancements. Here, we discuss key points about the Dutch Golden Age and that epoch's impact on the world.
What Was the Dutch Golden Age?
- The Dutch Golden Age lasted roughly from 1588 to 1692.
- It was a time of explosive art, trade, and scientific discovery in the Netherlands.
- The country's corporate, trade, and finance practices made the Netherlands the leader in innovation in those fields.
- The Netherlands' prosperity attracted many settlers; they further enriched the culture and economy.
When Was the Dutch Golden Age?
The Golden Age refers to a period in the Netherlands that lasted for the majority of the 17th century. During this era, Dutch art, trade, science and military were the best in the world. But we're getting ahead of ourselves; let's first create a framework of events.
The Prelude to the Dutch Golden Age
At the tail end of the Middle Ages, around the late 1300s, the land we now call the Netherlands were overrun with Burgundian and Hapsburg rulers. Later, the Spanish Hapsburgs would bring their own brand of social and religious enforcement. Needless to say, the Dutch people weren't happy about any of this.
The movement began in the 16th century, under Charles Quint.
The new protestant religion proved to be the wedge the Dutch needed to begin breaking away from Spanish dominion. Those rulers decreed that anyone breaking from the Catholic Church must leave those lands. This set off a long period of unrest, which culminated in war.
The Dutch Golden Age: Key Milestones
1568
The Eighty Years' War begins
The Dutch seek independence from Spain.
1581
The Act of Abjuration gives northern provinces independence
They become the United Provinces of the Netherlands.
1588
The Dutch Republic is established; the Golden Age begins
Spain refuses to recognise the republic.
1602
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) is founded
The Netherlands becomes an international trade leader; the VOC becomes the world's first multinational corporation.
1602
The Amsterdam Stock exchange opens
The first of its kind, it begins trading equities as well as commodities.
1609
The Bank of Amsterdam is founded
It lays the foundation for today's banking system.
1609
The Republic signs the Twelve Year Truce with Spain
The truce permitted Dutch economic expansion, scientific discovery, and artistic innovation.
1648
The Peace of Münster signed
One of two treaties under the Peace of Westphalia, which gave the Dutch Republic formal recognition.
1672
The Dutch Golden Age ends
The Franco-Dutch war breaks out, which begins the Netherlands' economic decline.
Out of war's ashes, the Netherlands we know today (more or less) was born. The people enjoyed just under a century of booming commerce that helped launch centuries of European power and prosperity.
Dutch Golden Age Economic Prosperity and Trade
The Netherlands had to break free from Spanish rule and declare independence before it could thrive.
But that's a little bit misleading. the Spanish Crown didn't rule this northern country; rather, it was the Spanish Hapsburgs, also called the Catholic Monarchy. Either way, the Dutch were fed up with their situation.
Without the control of religious Spain, the Dutch could prosper economically and express themselves artistically. Establishing the Dutch Republic was among the key moments in Dutch history that led to the start of the Dutch Golden Age.
Religion played a major role in Dutch-Spanish conflicts.
The increasingly Protestant Dutch constantly rebelled against the Spanish Catholics.
We see the outcome of those conflicts in the evolution of Dutch art. After 1588, many of the Protestants moved up north to Amsterdam (which became the capital of the Dutch Republic). There, Dutch painters were free to explore realist themes; they abandoned religious tableaux and experimented with still lifes, landscapes, and portraiture.
The Protestants that moved to Amsterdam were skilled craftsmen and merchants.
Their work ethic and experience helped make the new capital city one of the most important ports and commercial centres in the world. As trade in Amsterdam began to thrive, Antwerp (in the south) floundered. Not just because of the flight of trained craftsmen, but also because the Dutch blocked their access to the Scheldt River.
European immigration into the Netherlands became increasingly popular, thanks in part to the economic activity. Religious freedom also played a part in driving European people north. That influx led to several developments:
Strictly speaking, the Amsterdam Stock exchange wasn't the first such financing body. However, it was the first of such comprehensive finance ventures. Its early workings formed the blueprint for today's stock market operations.
In 1609, the Bank of Amsterdam opened as a clearinghouse for financial transactions.
It established the formula for central banking that today's central banks still operate under.
By the end of the Golden Age, Dutch citizens and people had made their mark on the world in many areas. Not just as a maritime powerhouse or global trader, but also as financial leaders, political inspiration figures, and artistic visionaries.
The Golden Age Netherlands Cultural Flourishing
Now free of the Spanish yoke and Church pressure, artists of all types could explore more than religious themes. Boy, did they ever!
Art and Painting During the Dutch Golden Age
Golden Age Dutch paintings fall into the Baroque period, which spans roughly 150 years (early 1600s to 1750). This overly ornate style was the Catholic church's criticism of Protestant art's simpler, more direct expression.
It is more than a bit ironic that artists who struggled to break free of Catholic artistic constraints got lumped in with a Catholic art movement.
A struggle for qualified painters of good repute ensued. The Catholics wanted impressive tableaux of basic biblical teachings to instruct illiterate church members. By contrast, Seventeenth-century Amsterdam was tolerant of other religions, cultures, and artistic expression. This resulted in a booming art scene, with both the Church and private citizens paying artists fat commissions for the types of paintings they wanted.
Rembrandt is better known for his portraits than his religious or Baroque paintings.
Still, he did paint a few canvasses that were typical of the Baroque period. They feature intense colour, religious themes, and high emotion. The Stoning of St Stephen (1625) is a good example of such.
However, much of his earlier work is better identified as tenebrist. This painter was a master of light-and-dark contrasts, which gave his work a vivid, lifelike quality.
The Night Watch, arguably Rembrandt's most famous work, is a perfect example of his command and skill with the brush. He painted it in 1642, just five years after the wild speculation over tulips that dented the Dutch economy for a few years.
1. History
2. Portraiture
3. Genre painting (everyday scenes and people)
4. Landscape
5. Still life
As the Dutch Golden Age peaked (in 1669), the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture established that hierarchy. It influenced many Dutch artists to paint historical scenes, the most in-demand tableaux.
Nevertheless, quite a few artists made their marks across the other genres; the type of work that would please their clients. Landscapes, scenes of everyday life, and realistic still lifes were typical during this time.
Works such as Vanitas by Peter Claesz and Adriaen van Ostade's Peasants in an Interior are all famous paintings from Dutch masters that exemplify Dutch Golden Age sensibilities.
The Windmill at Vijk by Jacob van Ruisdael (pictured) is considered one of the most accurate and detailed works from an aeronautical and engineering standpoint.
Artistic expression was important during this era, and artists were viewed very highly during this period.
Dutch painters were prolific during this period.
They produced an estimated 1.3 million canvases between 1640 and 1660.
This enormous success had an economic impact. Art patrons in the Netherlands and abroad spent lavishly to own an original Vermeer or Rembrandt. They were equally keen to snap up sculpted works.
Not that there were many of them to be had. Protestant sensibilities dictated an avoidance of idols, so statues were mainly for government buildings. Occasionally, a patron might commission a pair of statues to flank their home's entryway. Today, only Amsterdam City Hall has any sculptures from the Dutch Golden Era.
Regrettably, 18th and 19th-century Dutch painters could not repeat the success and demand 17th-century Dutch artists enjoyed. Vincent van Gogh is among the very few to receive high acclaim, if only after his passing. These artists, by contrast, were far more renowned in their time.
| 👨🎨Artist name | 📅Born-died | 🎨Most famous work | 📊Place in the 'hierarchy' |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambrosius Bosschaert | 1573 - 1621 | Still Life with Flowers | Still lifes |
| Frans Hals | 1582 - 1666 | The Laughing Cavalier | (group) portraits |
| Willem Pieterszoon Buytewech | ~1591 - 1624 | Merry Company on a Terrace | Genre painter |
| Gerrit van Horthorst | 1592 - 1656 | The Matchmaker | Genre painter |
| Jan van Goyen | 1596 - 1656 | View of The Hague River Landscape | Landscapes |
| Judith Leyster | 1609 - 1660 | The Proposition The Serenade | Genre painter |
| Jan Steen | 1626 - 1679 | The Dancing Couple The Happy Family | Genre painter |
| Willem van Aelst | 1627 - 1683 | Still Life with Fruit Lobster and Silver Vessels | Still lifes |
| Pieter de Hooch | 1629 - 1683 | The Courtyard of a House in Delft The Pantry | Landscapes (interior spaces) |
| Johannes Vermeer | 1632 - 1675 | The Milkmaid The Girl With the Pearl Earring | Genre painter |
Scientific and Academic Breakthroughs During the Golden Age
While trade and art dominated society in the Dutch Golden Age, this epoch was a boom for scientific breakthroughs and advances in technology, too.
The climate of tolerance and social acceptance in the Dutch Republic enticed many scientists, philosophers and mathematicians into this country's academic halls.
Leiden University, founded in 1575, became a popular hub for intellectuals during the Dutch Golden Age.
Leiden counts as alumni members of the Dutch Royal Family. It also lists ten leaders and Prime Ministers of the Netherlands and over 16 recipients of the Nobel Prize.
However, not all academics and intellectuals attended Leiden. These are some of the most influential thinkers to come out of the Dutch Golden Age:
Daily Life During the Dutch Golden Age
We might sum this aspect of that era with one word: money. If one had money, they could buy their way into polite society, intellectual circles, and politics. Thus, the scramble for wealth kept everyone motivated and engaged. By contrast, being landed gentry meant little as those who held vast tracts were often far from cities, the true centres of power.
Society strove to be as secular as possible, though some religious ideas crept in. They were most obvious in women's expected roles.
Married women were to be equal partners in the household, per Calvinist doctrine. By contrast, young maidens had to keep themselves pure and chaste.
That expectation of piety, the Catholic ideal, extended to widowed and elderly women, who should remain out of sight and live frugally. On the other hand, some believed that the elderly were fonts of wisdom and should be revered, a reversal that must have been very confusing!
Golden Age Netherlands Decline and Legacy
Opinions differ on the question of whether a golden age is something you can experience while it's happening ...
Russell Shorto, American author, journalist, and historian
Were it not for the buildup of tensions between French and Dutch governments, Amsterdam might have continued leading the world in discovery, economics, and commerce.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration. Friction within the country was beginning to fray society. Also, other seafaring nations were making inroads on Dutch commerce and matching it in military might.
Literally: 'disaster year'.
In 1672, the year the Dutch called rampjaar, the Franco-Dutch war erupted. It came from long-simmering tensions France harboured towards their neighbour. Initially supportive of the Dutch initiative, the French found that, in the long run, the Netherlands hindered their strategic goals against the Spanish.
The English joined France in fighting the Dutch, bringing about the third Dutch-Anglo war. However, England didn't have much to give to this effort; this conflict soon fizzled out. Germany also got in on the battle as it feared a French triumph. In short, the Dutch were buffetted from all sides.
The Dutch people are redeloos (irrational), their government is radeloos (distraught) and the country is reddeloos (beyond salvation).
During this time, some clever wit coined this phrase, which illustrates the state of affairs in the Netherlands just before the war. So, perhaps it was inevitable that the Dutch Golden Age would end, even without French incursions.
Still, this era left us amazing art, foundational scientific discoveries, blueprints for economic structures, and marvels of engineering. It may only have lasted a century, give or take a few years, but the Dutch Golden Age had a tremendous impact.
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