The Golden Age begins approximately at the same time as the seventeenth century. In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was founded and in 1609 the Treaty of Antwerp was signed. The Netherlands, which until then had been part of the Spanish Empire, became more independent. In 1648, the Netherlands became completely independent from Spain, after the last years of the Eighty Years' War had been fought between 1621 and 1648.
In the Golden Age, the Republic of the United Netherlands develops into a world power. Trade with the East and the countries around the Baltic Sea, the colonies in Asia, Africa and America and the military successes ensure that a large group of wealthy citizens is created. As a result, artists are no longer dependent on commissions from churches and nobles, but can choose their subjects themselves and sell their paintings through art dealers. Popular subjects are still lifes, landscapes (Dutch skies), history paintings, portraits and genre pieces (depictions of everyday scenes).
The most important painters of the Dutch Golden Age are Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals.
Rembrandt van Rijn was born in 1606 in Leiden. Around 1620 he was apprenticed to Jacob van Swanenburgh and from 1625 he continued his education with Pieter Lastman. Both teachers are imitators of Italian art and are inspired by painters such as Caravaggio. Thanks to this training, Rembrandt started to paint as he painted: to represent reality as it is, without making things more beautiful than they are. After working in Leiden for a few years, he moves to Amsterdam. Here are more people who can afford his artwork. In Amsterdam he paints, among others, De Staalmeesters, The Jewish Bride and of course The Night Watch.
Johannes Vermeer was born in Delft in 1632. It is not known who his teachers were. Vermeer was probably also inspired by the work of Caravaggio. He is best known and loved for the way he uses light in his paintings. Especially in his later work, such as The Milkmaid and The Girl with a Pearl Earring, the use of light gives the paintings a special atmosphere.
Frans Hals was born in Antwerp in 1585 but soon moved to Haarlem. He was probably trained by Carel van Mander, but that cannot be said with certainty. Frans Hals is especially famous for his portraits and group portraits, of both famous people and the common people. His style is lively and spontaneous and he too is inspired by the way Caravaggio uses light. Later in his career he starts painting with less color, as can be seen in the painting Malle Babbe, one of his most famous paintings.
Many paintings by the masters of the Golden Age can be admired in the museums in Amsterdam.
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