Existing comment:
European Art -- The Visible World Landscape & Still Life in 17th-Century Northern Europe:
In the 17th century types of painting that had been considered "minor" in comparison to large-scale religious, historical, and mythological scenes gained in prominence and popularity. Landscape, still life, portraiture, and representations of everyday life became important in the Netherlands -- especially in the Protestant northern Netherlands (sometimes now called "Holland" after its largest province) but also in the Catholic southern Netherlands (the present-day Benelux countries). Though we now usually think of these countries as separated by great religious and political differences, the situation was somewhat more complex, and styles as well as individuals crossed these boundaries with frequency.
Netherlandish art was always highly prized for its lifelike qualities and special attention to observed nature. Earlier artists such as Jan van Eyck and Pieter Breughel inspired this novel way of seeing. Soon after, landscape and still lifes became independent subjects and were no longer relegated to the background or seen as details. Some art historians argue that these subjects contain hidden meanings in the form of symbols (a certain flower representing purity, for example), while others maintain that they are simply celebrations of nature newly seen and observed. Whichever view one takes, the courage with which these northern specialists faced the challenge of replicating reality is evident in every work. |