Art and Commerce in the Dutch Golden Age [Paperback]

Michael North (Author), Catherine Hill (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1999

During the seventeenth century, the Netherlands-a small country with just two million inhabitants and virtually no natural resources-enjoyed a "Golden Age" of economic success, world power, and tremendous artistic output. In this book Michael North examines the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch society boasted Europe's greatest number of cities and highest literacy rate, unusually large numbers of publicly and privately owned art works, religious tolerance, and a highly structured and wide-ranging social network. He explores the reasons for the country's success in trade and industry as it emerged from the Eighty Years' War against Spain, and the ways that art played a role in the innovative climate of the times. North looks at the practical aspects of this Golden Age-the banking system, demographic changes, and what made such industries as textiles and shipbuilding so successful. In this period commercialization not only had far-reaching effects on the economic life of the Netherlands, it also affected art, as market forces proved more powerful than patronage for the first time in Europe. With fascinating information about many artists, including Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Pieter de Hooch, North considers painting as a profession, the exhibitions and sales of art works (including the Dutch lottery system), auctions, and the prices that were paid for art. He compares the prices of different artistic genres and studies patterns of picture ownership. Through a close analysis of the private collection of Rembrandt's money lender, Harman Becker, North reveals the function served by works of art in Dutch households. This rich, in-depth view of the Dutch Golden Age will intrigue all readers with an interest in social, economic, or art history.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300081316
• ISBN-13: 978-0300081312
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,380,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Guide to the Golden Age's Economics, March 28, 2008

By 

Doug - Haydn Fan (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Art and Commerce in the Dutch Golden Age (Paperback)

This 1997 book is a good translation by Catherine Hill from an original German work, an Economic History of the Dutch Golden Age, published a few years earlier in 1992. The book's author, German Economic Historian Michael North announces the theme and purpose of this book about Dutch painters and their role in 17th century Dutch society; "This study investigates the developments that took place in economic, social and artistic areas, as well as the way these areas interacted. At the same time, I have attempted to give a general overview of the history of art and of the social and economic develpoments in the Netherlands."

North goes on to deliver on this promise with a wealth of information, possibly too much for a book designed as he wished, for a lay audience. The majority of art historians would certainly be quick to note that much of this is quite detailed enough for even the most up-to-date specialists. This said, the book is readable, and provides the economic underpinnings beneath this very important historical age, one of the first great republics.

The book is divided into six chapters as follows;

1. Historical Interpretations of Dutch Painting.
2. The Dutch Economy.
3. Dutch Society.
4. Artist's Origins and their Socail Status.
5. Patronage and the Art Market.
6. Collections and Collectors.

North finishes this up with an excellent concluding section followed by a terrific bibliography.

My favorite chapter is II, The Dutch Economy. Again, it's easiest to let North set his own table,

"During the Golden Age, the Dutch economy astounded contemporary observers, and it still fascinates historians today. How was such a small country with less than two million inhabitants and virtually no natural resources able to become a leading economic and world power?"

North goes on to show just how this miracle occurred, and for this chapter alone the book is a must purchase for anyone fascinated by Dutch History or Art.

The other chapters provide a fulsome detailing of the life and times of the Dutch and the Dutch Artist during the century. Chock-full of a multitude of details, the book reflects in a relatively organized manner the crazed acquistivness and full plethora of trade and luxury items that erupted in the Golden Age. While some appreciation of Economic theory is advisable, it's not absolutely necessary.

Both an enlightening read AND an important reference book, this should be considered by any amateurs of Dutch Art and Dutch History and a must purchase for someone involved in teaching the field of Dutch Art, or European History.