One of the most important Netherlandish pieces of precious metalwork dating from the fourteenth century is a reliquary that was made in 1362 to contain a fragment of the skull of St Frederick. This saint was the eighth bishop of Utrecht. According to his official hagiography, he was born in Friesland and murdered in AD 838 by order of the empress of the Holy Roman Empire. His tomb was opened up in 1362, and the chapter of St Salvator’s Church in Utrecht decided to make a reliquary in the shape of the bishop’s head in which to preserve a piece of his skull. The fact that Elias Scerpswert signed the work with his full name makes it clear that he was appreciated as an independent artist.
Matthias Ubl, Curator Early Netherlandish and German Paintings and Stained Glass, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Elias Scerpswert (? – ?), Bust of St Frederick, 1362, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Bust of St Frederick
Elias Scerpswert, 1362
Jacques de Baerze (active before 1384 – after 1399), Melchior Broederlam (ca. 1355 – ca. 1411), Retable of the Crucifixion, 1391 — 1399, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, Dijon
Anonymous Artist (? – ?), Beaker with Apes, ca. 1425 — 1450, The Cloisters Collection, New York
Beaker with Apes
Anonymous, 1425
Master of Flémalle (1375/1379 – 1444/1445), The Flémalle Panels (St Veronica with the Veil, Madonna Breastfeeding, The Trinity), ca. 1428 — 1430, Städel Museum, Frankfurt
The Flémalle Panels
Master of Flémalle, 1428
Jan van Eyck (1390/1399 – 1441), Hubert van Eyck (1366/1370 – 1426), Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, 1432, St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent
Ghent Altarpiece
Jan van Eyck, Hubert van Eyck, 1432
Jan van Eyck (1390/1399 – 1441), Portrait of Giovanni(?) Arnolfini and his Wife, 1434, The National Gallery, London
Arnolfini Portrait
Jan van Eyck, 1434
Rogier’s Descent is unquestionably the painter’s masterpiece and a fundamental expression of the subject. The monumental figures convey different aspects of grief, and the body of the fainting Virgin echoes the pose of the dead Christ, thus visualizing her role as Co-Redemptrix. The work was to become the model for countless other images of the Descent until the sixteenth century.
Stephan Kemperdick, Curator of Early Netherlandish and Early German Painting, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Rogier van der Weyden (1399/1400 – 1464), Descent from the Cross, 1443, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Descent from the Cross
Rogier van der Weyden, 1443
Dieric Bouts (1410/1420 – 1475), Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament, 1464 — 1468, St Peter's Church, Leuven
The anonymous master was one of the most innovative artists towards the end of the fifteenth century, when Flanders produced an abundance of illuminated books of hours that were coveted all over Europe. The finely-executed miniature displays a completely new iconography that sheds light on the use of devotional books. While reading a book of hours, an elegant lady imagines herself to be in the very presence of the Virgin. This scene of worship is set in a magnificent church interior to which the window of the lady’s oratory seems to lead.
Stephan Kemperdick, Curator of Early Netherlandish and Early German Painting, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Master of Mary of Burgundy (active ca. 1470 – 1490), The Hours of Mary of Burgundy, ca. 1477, Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna fol. 14v: The Virgin Mary and a Lady with her Prayer Book
The Hours of Mary of Burgundy
Master of Mary of Burgundy, 1477
Geertgen tot Sint Jans (1455/1465 – 1485/1495), John the Baptist in the Wilderness, ca. 1480 — 1490, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Geertgen tot Sint Jans, 1480
Hans Memling (1430/1440 – 1494), Dyptich of Maarten van Nieuwenhove, 1487, Sint-Janshospitaal, Bruges
Dyptich of Maarten van Nieuwenhove
Memling, 1487
In whatever list or group you may encounter this painting, it will always stand out. That in itself is a measure of the improbable eccentricity of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. Indeed, it might well be labelled the non plus ultra of originality, one of the most essential concepts in Western art. That no one has yet arrived at a satisfying interpretation of the central panel makes the work more intriguing still.
Friso Lammertse, Curator of Old Master Paintings, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Jheronimus Bosch (ca. 1450 – 1516), Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490 — 1500, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Garden of Earthly Delights
Jheronimus Bosch, 1490
In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, sculpture produced in the old duchy of Brabant, most notably in Brussels and Antwerp, was unquestionably among the finest in the world. It is one of the highlights of Netherlandish art history, comparable to the Flemish Primitives. Jan Borman made the Altarpiece of St George for the most important guild of civic guardsmen in the city of Leuven. It is a masterful representation of the martyrdom and beheading of St George.
Valérie Herremans, Curator of Sculpture, Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Antwerp
The Spinario by Jan Gossart represents more than any other drawing by a Netherlandish artist the interest for Roman antiquity in the early Renaissance. Not only is Gossart's documented journey to Rome in 1508-09 a starting point for this antiquarian interest, the drawing also shows how the artist invigorated the classical statue with life, illustrating the process in which antique sculptures became the models for figure painters in the Netherlands.
Jef Schaeps, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Print Room of Leiden University, Leiden
Jan Gossart (1478 – 1532), The Spinario, boots, helmets and lion's heads, ca. 1500 — 1532, Leiden University Libraries, Leiden Photo: Universitaire Bibliotheken Leiden (CC-BY)
Spinario
Jan Gossart, 1500
Renier van Thienen (1465 – 1498), Funerary Monument of Mary of Burgundy, 1502, Church of Our Lady, Bruges Photo: Stad Brugge
Funerary Monument of Mary of Burgundy
Renier van Thienen, 1502
Jheronimus Bosch (ca. 1450 – 1516), The Owl’s Nest, 1505 — 1515, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
The Owl's Nest
Jheronimus Bosch, 1505
Quinten Massys (1465/1466 – 1530), Triptych with the Family of St Anne, 1509, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
St Anne Altarpiece
Quinten Massys, 1509
Lucas van Leyden was unquestionably one of the two most important printmakers – along with Albrecht Dürer – of the first half of the 16th century. With his refined style of engraving, Lucas produced unprecedented pictorial effects. In this print, for instance, note the rendering of the animals’ muscles, hide and hair, and the texture of the wood and fabrics. This subtle print, with its rustic theme, was also a milestone in the development of genre scenes.
Joris Van Grieken, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels
Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 1533), The Milkmaid, 1510
The Milkmaid
Lucas van Leyden, 1510
Anonymous Artist (? – ?), Enclosed Garden with S. Elisabeth, Ursula and Catharina, ca. 1513 — 1524, Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen Photo: www.beslotenhofjes.com
Enclosed Garden with S. Elisabeth, Ursula and Catharina
Anonymous, 1513
Joachim Patinir (1475/1480 – 1524), Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx, 1520 — 1524, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx
Joachim Patinir, 1520
Willem and Jan Dermoyen (active ca. 1530 – 1550), after Bernard van Orley (before 1490 – 1542), Battle of Pavia (Tapestry Series), ca. 1525 — 1531, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Napels
Battle of Pavia
Willem and Jan Dermoyen, after Bernard van Orley, 1525
Gossart was a pioneer in the art of adapting and amalgamating antique forms to and with Netherlandish painting. In this panel, he combines classical architecture with the Northern attention for the effects of light on surfaces. His Danae likewise displays elements of the Renaissance nude as well as of the Netherlandish tradition. The skillful rendering of skin and hair and the upcast eyes, reminiscent of the figures of saintly virgins, endow her with a sensuality that chimes perfectly with the story in antiquity of the love of the gods.
Stephan Kemperdick, Curator of Early Netherlandish and Early German Painting, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Jan Gossart (1478 – 1532), Danae, 1527, Alte Pinakothek, Munich Photo: Alte Pinakothek, Munich (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Danae
Jan Gossart, 1527
Maarten van Heemskerck (1498 – 1574), Family Portrait, ca. 1530, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
Family Portrait
Maarten van Heemskerck, 1530
This large brothel scene is one of the most important Flemish genre paintings from the first half of the sixteenth century. In this period, independent tavern or brothel scenes were an innovative genre that would pave the way for famous seventeenth-century examples. Jan Sanders van Hemessen was one of the most prominent painters in Antwerp between 1530 and 1550.
Matthias Ubl, Curator Early Netherlandish and German Paintings and Stained Glass, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Jan van Hemessen (ca. 1500 – 1556/1557), Tavern Scene, ca. 1540, Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe
Pieter Aertsen (ca. 1508 – 1575), Butcher’s Stall, 1551, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh
Butcher's Stall
Pieter Aertsen, 1551
Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502 – 1550), Customs and Fashions of the Turks (Ces Moeurs et fachons de faire de Turcz), 1553 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Customs and Fashions of the Turks
Pieter Coecke van Aelst, 1553
Frans Floris (I) (1519/1520 – 1570), Fall of the Rebel Angels, 1554, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
Fall of the Rebel Angels
Frans Floris (I), 1554
Dirck Pietersz. Crabeth (1510/1520 – 1574), Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth (ca. 1520 – 1589), Joachim Wtewael (1566 – 1638), and others ( – ), Stained Glass Windows and Cartoons for the St John's Church in Gouda, 1555 — 1601, St John's Church, Gouda Window 8: Wouter Pietersz Crabeth, The Scourging of Heliodorus, 1566
Goudse Glazen
Dirck Pietersz. Crabeth, Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth, Joachim Wtewael, and others, 1555
Joannes van Doetecum (ca. 1530 – 1605), Lucas van Doetecum (? – before 1589), after the Master of the Small Landscapes (active ca. 1550 – 1560), Farm, from the Small Landscapes, 1559 — 1561 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Small Landscapes
Joannes van Doetecum, Lucas van Doetecum, after the Master of the Small Landscapes, 1559
Anthonis Mor (1519 – 1575), Portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham and his Wife Anne Fernely, ca. 1560 — 1566, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham and his Wife Anne Fernely
Anthonis Mor, 1560
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1526/1530 – 1569), Hunters in the Snow, 1565, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Hunters in the Snow
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1526/1530 – 1569), The Beekeepers and the Birdnester, ca. 1568, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin
The Beekeepers and the Birdnester
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1568
Johan Gregor van der Schardt (ca. 1530 – in or after 1581), Self Portrait, ca. 1573, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Self Portrait
Johan Gregor van der Schardt, 1573
These images of mythological characters portrayed as they hurtle downward are typical of the Mannerist art of the late 16th century. The complex poses and foreshortening of the figures display the virtuosity of the artist – who was pitting himself against the Italian examples of the High and Late Renaissance. These showpieces are reminiscent of stills from a Hollywood action movie: snapshots of muscular superheroes in action.
The sublime engraving, with its regular network of widening and narrowing lines, conveys the figures’ plasticity and their dynamic energy to superb effect. This mode of engraving – which Goltzius honed to consummate perfection – would serve as a yardstick for centuries to come.
Joris Van Grieken, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels
Hendrick Goltzius (1558 – 1617), after Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem (1562 – 1638), Tantalus, from The Four Disgracers, 1588 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Four Disgracers
Hendrick Goltzius, after Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem, 1588
Adriaen de Vries (ca. 1556 – 1626), Mercury Abducting Psyche, 1593, Musée du Louvre, Paris Photo: RMN-Grand Palais / René-Gabriel Ojéda
Mercury Abducting Psyche
Adriaen de Vries, 1593
Hendrick Goltzius (1558 – 1617), Sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus, ca. 1600 — 1603, Philadephia Museum of Art, Philadephia
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640), The Elevation of the Cross, 1610 — 1611, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp
The Elevation of the Cross
Peter Paul Rubens, 1610
Adam van Vianen (I) (1568/1569 – 1627), Lidded Ewer, 1614, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Lidded Ewer
Adam van Vianen (I), 1614
Hendrick de Keyser (1665 – 1621), Tomb of William of Orange, 1614 — 1623, New Church, Delft Photo: Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed
Tomb of William of Orange
Hendrick de Keyser, 1614
Clara Peeters (1580/1590 – ca. 1621), Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels, ca. 1615, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels
Clara Peeters, 1615
Frans Snijders (1579 – 1657), Four Market Scenes, ca. 1615, Stage Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg Fruit Stall
Four Market Scenes
Frans Snijders, 1615
Gerard van Honthorst (1592 – 1656), The Mocking of Christ, ca. 1617, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
The Mocking of Christ
Gerard van Honthorst, 1617
Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568 – 1625), The Five Senses (Series), 1617 — 1618, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
The Five Senses
Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1617
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640), Nicolas Rubens with Coral Necklace, ca. 1619, Albertina, Vienna
Nicolas Rubens
Peter Paul Rubens, 1619
Anonymous Artist (? – ?), A Pair of Wedding Gloves, 1622, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Bridal Gloves
Anonymous, 1622
The Haarlem painter Frans Hals is rightly seen as one of the most important seventeenth-century portraitists in the Netherlands. In his best works, he depicted his models in classical poses with supreme confidence and an unprecedented freedom of style. With sublime technical perfection, in every aspect from minute details to bold brushstrokes, Hals contrives to make his models almost tangible. The merry, twinkling eyes of the Laughing Cavalier radiate the sheer pleasure of this painting.
Sabine Craft-Giepmans, Head of Fine Arts till 1750, RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History, The Hague
Frans Hals (1582/1583 – 1666), Laughing Cavalier, 1624, The Wallace Collection, London
Laughing Cavalier
Frans Hals, 1624
Hercules Segers (1589/1590 – ca. 1640), The Mossy Tree, ca. 1625 — 1630 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Mossy Tree
Hercules Segers, 1625
Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588 – 1629), Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene, 1625, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin
Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene
Hendrick ter Brugghen, 1625
The best picture in the genre. Showing a congregation of Antwerp's finest painters and collectors. It includes a self-portrait by the artist, who was the curator of Van der Geest's fabulous collection. The collection shows a lost picture by Van Eyck. The motto Vive l'Esprit, displayed above the entrance to the room makes the painting seem nothing less than a mission statement. A picture to which one can return time after time.
Bert Watteeuw Curator of Research Collections, Rubenianum, Antwerp
Willem van Haecht (II) (1593 – 1637), Picture Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest, 1628, Rubens House Museum, Antwerp Photo: Bart Huysmans & Michel Wuyts / public domain
Picture Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest
Willem van Haecht (II) , 1628
The Southern Netherlandish sculptor François Duquesnoy was renowned in seventeenth-century Rome and can be regarded as one of the most prominent sculptors of his day. He is seen as the equal of Gianlorenzo Bernini, but he worked in a completely different, refined, and highly classicizing style that drew considerable inspiration from antiquity. His St Susanna may be seen as one of the most striking exemplars of these qualities.
Valérie Herremans, Curator of Sculpture, Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Antwerp
François Du Quesnoy (1597 – 1643), Santa Susanna, 1629, Santa Maria di Loreto, Rome
Santa Susanna
François Du Quesnoy, 1629
Judith Leyster (1609 – 1660), The Young Flute Player, ca. 1630 — 1635, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
The Young Flute Player
Judith Leyster, 1630
Anthony van Dyck was indisputably the most popular portrait painter of his day. He painted the likenesses of numerous rulers and nobles, as well as celebrated and lesser-known contemporaries, several of whom were among his friends and associates. He may have decided to turn them into prints to exploit the growing demand for printed portraits. Van Dyck initially experimented with etchings. He wielded the etching needle with virtuoso technique, successfully translating the immediacy and rich character of a study into the medium of a print. It is possible that his initial plan was to publish a volume with portraits of famous people. He also made an etching of Erasmus based on Holbein’s portrait of the philosopher. At quite an early stage, he enlisted the aid of engravers such as Paulus Pontius and Lucas Vorsterman to help complete his portraits. Later on, these and other engravers worked directly after his studies, supplementing the series with prints after his paintings. It was not until after his death, in 1645, that the first commercial edition appeared of the work that would become known as the Iconographie ou vies des hommes illustres – or Iconography. With their audacious experimentalism and brilliant technique, these etched states of prints, executed by Van Dyck’s own hand, are among the most superlative highlights of graphic art.
Joris Van Grieken, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels
Anthony van Dyck (1599 – 1641), Portrait of Pieter Brueghel the Younger, from the Iconographie, ca. 1630 — 1646 Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Boston
Iconographie
Anthony van Dyck, 1630
Rubens is the great painter of flesh hues, and in that respect this work represents the acme of his achievement. While the ideal of feminine beauty may be a little less voluptuous in the 21st century, the poetic manner in which Rubens presents the goddesses of beauty, creativity, and fertility in this tangible form remains overpowering. Standing before the painting itself – it is more than life-sized and executed entirely by the master himself – the viewer is struck by Rubens’s supreme mastery of his art, which speaks to us through every brushstroke.
Friso Lammertse, Curator of Old Master Paintings, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640), The Three Graces, 1630 — 1635, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Anthony van Dyck (1599 – 1641), Charles I at the Hunt, ca. 1635, Musée du Louvre, Paris
Charles I at the Hunt
Anthony van Dyck, 1635
Adriaen Brouwer (1605/1606 – 1638), The Smokers, ca. 1636, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Smokers
Adriaen Brouwer, 1636
Pieter Claesz. (1597/1598 – 1660), Breakfast Piece, 1636, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Breakfast Piece
Pieter Claesz., 1636
Jacob Jordaens (1593 – 1678), The King Drinks, ca. 1640, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
The King Drinks
Jacob Jordaens, 1640
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 – 1669), Officers and other civic guardsmen of District II in Amsterdam, under the command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch, 1642, City of Amsterdam on loan to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Photo: public domain
The Night Watch
Rembrandt, 1642
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 – 1669), The Three Trees, 1643 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Three Trees
Rembrandt, 1643
Jan van Goyen (1596 – 1656), View of Haarlem and Haarlemmermeer, 1646, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
View of Haarlem and Haarlemmermeer
Jan van Goyen, 1646
Paulus Potter (1625 – 1654), The Bull, 1647, Mauritshuis, The Hague
The Bull
Paulus Potter, 1647
Bartholomeus van der van der Helst (1613 – 1670), Banquet at the Crossbowmen's Guild in Celebration of the Treaty of Münster, 1648, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
In the Huis ten Bosch Palace, the residence of the Dutch king in The Hague, we find the Oranjezaal, one of the most impressive monuments of the seventeenth century. Anyone who has seen this room with their own eyes will be truly astonished. Dozens of large paintings, on canvas and on the wooden parts of the architecture, exemplify the full range of Dutch and Flemish painting around 1650. The program of decorations was chiefly designed as a tribute to the memory of Stadholder Frederik Hendrik, who died in 1647. The scale of this project was unprecedented for the Dutch Republic. The largest and most important painting, The Triumph of Frederik Hendrik, is executed on an enormous canvas measuring 731 x 756 cm. In commissioning this painting, the preference was for a Flemish rather than a Dutch painter: as Rubens had already died, the commission went to Jordaens. For many years, this unforgettable room attracted little attention. More recently, however, there has been a revival of interest in wall decorations, and in history and classicist paintings. The scenes in the Oranjezaal are worlds apart from the still lifes and landscapes with which the seventeenth century abounds!
Quentin Buvelot, Senior Curator, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Jacob van Campen (1596 – 1657), Jacob Jordaens (1593 – 1678), Gerard van Honthorst (1592 – 1656), Caesar van Everdingen (1616/1617 – 1678), and others ( – ), Oranjezaal, 1648 — 1652, Huis ten Bosch Palace, The Hague Photo: Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed
Oranjezaal
Jacob van Campen, Jacob Jordaens, Gerard van Honthorst, Caesar van Everdingen, and others, 1648
Pieter Saenredam (1597 – 1665), Interior of the Sint-Odulphuskerk in Assendelft, 1649, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Interior of the Sint-Odulphuskerk in Assendelft
Pieter Saenredam, 1649
Jan Asselijn (1600/1616 – 1652), The Threatened Swan, ca. 1650, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Threatened Swan
Jan Asselijn, 1650
Fortunes wax and wane. Whereas the Leiden artist Gerrit Dou was one of the best-paid artists of his day, frequently earning more than his famous teacher, Rembrandt, the nineteenth century saw him sink into near-oblivion. In the 1930s, we even find German museums divesting themselves of paintings by him and other fijnschilders. This sublimely-painted scene displays Dou at his best: the diverse materials are all depicted highly convincingly, as is the little sleeping dog with its tender, touchable appeal.
Quentin Buvelot, Senior Curator, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Gerard Dou (1613 – 1675), Sleeping Dog, 1650, Museum of Fine Arts, Van Otterloo Collection, Boston
Sleeping Dog
Gerard Dou, 1650
Gerard ter Borch (II) (1611 – 1681), Gallant Conversation, Known as ‘The Paternal Admonition', ca. 1654, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Gallant Conversation
Gerard ter Borch (II), 1654
Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/1629 – 1682), The Jewish Cemetery, 1654 — 1655, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
The Jewish Cemetery
Jacob van Ruisdael, 1654
Carel Fabritius (1622 – 1654), The Goldfinch, 1654, Mauritshuis, The Hague
The Goldfinch
Carel Fabritius, 1654
Whether it was the palest light of early morning or the warm flush of evening, Aelbert Cuyp could capture the light of each and every moment of the day. This view from the north of Dordrecht, the city where Cuyp worked, is the most spectacular example of the artist’s brushwork, especially in the reflection of the city’s profile in the water. Scenes of this kind were extremely popular among eighteenth-century English collectors. As a result, there are more Cuyps to be found in England today than anywhere else in the world.
Quentin Buvelot, Senior Curator, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Pieter de Hooch (1629 – after 1684), The Courtyard of a House in Delft, 1658, The National Gallery, London
Courtyard
Pieter de Hooch, 1658
Pieter van Anraedt (ca. 1635 – 1678), Still Life with Earthenware Jug and Clay Pipes, 1658, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Still Life
Pieter van Anraedt, 1658
Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675), View of Delft, ca. 1660 — 1661, Mauritshuis, The Hague Photo: Mauritshuis
View of Delft
Johannes Vermeer, 1660
Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675), The Milkmaid, ca. 1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Milkmaid
Johannes Vermeer, 1660
Gabriel Metsu (1629 – 1667), Man Writing a Letter and Woman Reading a Letter, ca. 1664 — 1666, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Man Writing and Woman Reading
Gabriel Metsu, 1664
Jan Steen (1625/1626 – 1679), The Feast of Saint Nicholas, 1665 — 1668, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Feast of Saint Nicholas
Jan Steen, 1665
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 – 1669), Self Portrait, ca. 1665, Kenwood House, London
Self Portrait
Rembrandt, 1665
Gerrit Berckheyde (1638 – 1698), View of the Golden Bend in the Herengracht, Known as "The Golden Bend", 1671 — 1672, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Golden Bend
Gerrit Berckheyde, 1671
Large white clouds in the sky; you can almost feel the wind. Although Meindert Hobbema was famous for his wooded landscapes and his characteristic depiction of large trees with abundant foliage, he displays his finest qualities in a landscape with scrawny trees lining a road: the avenue of Middelharnis, close to where he was born. It is a quintessentially Dutch landscape basking in the bright daylight. The viewer is drawn irresistibly into the painting.
Sabine Craft-Giepmans, Head of Fine Arts till 1750, RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History, The Hague
Meindert Hobbema (1638 – 1709), The Avenue at Middelharnis, 1689, The National Gallery, London
Anonymous Artist (? – ?), Dollhouse, 1699 — 1743, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem
Dollhouse
Anonymous, 1699
From 1699 to 1701 the talented artist Maria Sybilla Merian made a study trip with her daughter Dorothea to Suriname to study and draw the life cycles of insects. It resulted in the book Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium (The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname) that was published in 1705. The book was immediately well received and Merian was highly regarded as an entomologist and as an artist. Nowadays her detailed colorful drawings are a feast to the eye and inspire scholars and the general public when they are on display.
Dr. Hanna Klarenbeek Curator of Paintings, Prints and Drawings, Paleis Het Loo, Apeldoorn