Dutch Golden Age painting is remarkable for many reasons, not least the exceptional quality of works produced by relatively minor artists. Even a person with a strong knowledge of the period will regularly be confronted by outstanding pieces with unfamiliar names beside them. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, from the stringent restrictions placed on the number of apprentices a master painter could take on at a time, to the emergence of painting as a commodity in a highly competitive and increasingly specialised modern marketplace.
Join Dr Nick Gordon for two lectures exploring the art and culture of the Dutch Golden Age, from the development of new forms of art, such as landscape, maritime and genre painting, through to the creation of modern capitalism, and the commercial Empire that extended from Brazil to Japan.