Dutch painting of the Golden Age

Seventeenth-century Dutch painting stands out from other art of the same period and even more so from that of previous centuries on account of its apparently ‘everyday’ character. Works by artists such as Johannes Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch and Jacob van Ruisdael seem to offer a faithful picture of life in the Netherlands at the time. In studying this free course, Dutch painting of the Golden Age, you will discover that there is much more to Dutch painting than meets the eye. You will explore scholarly debates about the possible meanings that might be attributed to this type of picture and learn how the very idea of ‘realism’ in art has been challenged in recent times.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 ‘A new state, a new art’
• 1 ‘A new state, a new art’
• 2 Realism and art-for-art’s sake
• 2 Realism and art-for-art’s sake
• 3 Dutch history painting
• 3 Dutch history painting
• 4 Disguised symbolism and ‘seeming realism’
• 4 Disguised symbolism and ‘seeming realism’
• Clues to interpretation
• 5 ‘To instruct and delight’
• 5 ‘To instruct and delight’
• 6 Landscape painting and the limitations of the iconological approach
• 6 Landscape painting and the limitations of the iconological approach
• Interpreting the Dutch landscape
• 7 The role of conventions
• 7 The role of conventions
• 7.1 Landscape conventions and the question of meaning
• 8 Realism reconsidered
• 8 Realism reconsidered
• 8.1 The artifice of verisimilitude
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements