Netherlands

Table of Contents

2023

Amsterdam

The history of the Netherlands is rich and fascinating, deeply intertwined with trade, exploration, and a period of colonial empire. The Dutch have long been known as skilled merchants, establishing a vast network of trade routes that brought ideas and treasures from all corners of the world to their homeland.

Walking through the halls of the Rijksmuseum, I marveled at the incredible collection of art and artifacts. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam boasts a vast and diverse collection spanning multiple regions and eras, with approximately 1 million objects and about 8,000 on display at any given time.¹ These pieces cover a wide timeline from the 13th to the 21st century, originating from Europe, the Americas, and Africa with the last two reflecting the colonial period.²

The majority of the Rijksmuseum’s collection focuses on Dutch history and art. From 1495, the French, English, and Dutch entered the race of exploration after learning of Columbus’ exploits. I marveled at the countless sailing vessels, maritime paintings, and advanced technologies such as the sextant, pendulum clock, and telescope developed during the Age of Discovery. Here is a list of Dutch inventions and innovations: link.

Moreover, the Scheepvaartmuseum (National Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam provides an immersive experience into the life of sailors during this era. The museum features a real ship (The replica of the East Indiaman Amsterdam) where visitors can explore various interactive exhibits. Inside, you can see the ship’s layout, including the living quarters of the sailors and passengers, their dining areas, and storage spaces. The lower decks showcase the cargo holds, filled with goods like wine, where you can lift lids on large boxes to see what’s inside, giving a tangible sense of the sailor’s daily life and the ship’s operations.

The gathering of wealth, merchandise, and ideas facilitated the Dutch Golden Age (1588 - 1672, gained independence in 1648). During this period, numerous famous artists emerged, such as Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 – 1669), Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675), and Jan Steen (1626 – 1679).

The characteristics of Dutch Golden Age art are often likened to the general European period of Baroque painting, which is associated with grandeur, richness, drama, movement, and tension. However, Dutch Golden Age works usually don’t depict the same extravagant splendor. Instead, their paintings are characterized by detailed realism. Due to the shift in subject matter, the variety of genres was huge and divided into specialized categories such as landscapes, townscapes, landscapes with animals, flower paintings, maritime paintings, and still lifes of various types.³

Rembrandt (1606 – 1669)

Visiting the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam was a memorable experience. What impressed me most was the human touch in Rembrandt’s work. His portraits go beyond mere depictions of elite figures or biblical and historical characters; they also include everyday people such as beggars, artisans, carpenters, kitchen maids, and the elderly. Unlike the rigid and idealized figures in many classical paintings, Rembrandt’s subjects often display natural gestures and expressions, creating a sense of interaction with viewers and thereby infusing his portraits with vitality and a distinctive personal touch.

Rembrandt’s life, characterized by remarkable achievements and deep adversities, profoundly influenced his art. Born into comfort, he displayed early artistic promise and swiftly ascended to fame and prosperity. Yet, his later years were marked by personal grief and financial strain, themes vividly captured in his self-portraits. Initially, these paintings radiate confidence, depicting him in opulent attire, but over time they shift towards a more reflective and unadorned style. He portrayed himself with unflinching honesty, each line and wrinkle a testament to his life’s experiences.⁴ This transition from youthful assurance to thoughtful introspection mirrors his lifelong dedication to art and his intimate connection with the human condition.⁵

Through his oeuvre, Rembrandt bequeathed a legacy that highlights the profound emotional depth and authenticity of art. His empathetic representation of various social classes and his nuanced depiction of his subjects’ inner worlds continue to resonate with and inspire audiences, enduring long after his era.

Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

Born in Zundert, Netherlands, on March 30, 1853, Vincent Willem van Gogh was fascinated by Rembrandt’s art. He adopted similar techniques to express emotional depth in his own work, utilizing dynamic brushstrokes and skillful manipulation of light and shadow. In letters to his brother Theo, Van Gogh referred to Rembrandt as the “magician of magicians”.⁶ After seeing “The Jewish Bride,” he somewhat melodramatically said: “I would gladly give up 10 years of my life to sit in front of the painting for a fortnight, with only a dry crust of bread to eat”.⁷ However, his admiration and emulation of past masters were merely the beginning; he forged his own path, interpreting scenes in innovative ways and brought them alive on his canvases.

Like Rembrandt, Van Gogh captured the essence of humanity and affection for everyday people, yet he particularly emphasized their struggles and perseverance. In his earlier works, such as The Potato Eaters, he wanted to convey the “poetry of peasants”, capturing their everyday struggles and resilience with somber colors and realistic details. He felt a strong empathy for manual laborers and saw their lives as emblematic of human endurance and effort against nature’s cycles.⁸

Unlike Rembrandt, who primarily focused on human figures and set many of his works indoors, Van Gogh broadened his love from people to the natural world, seeking to capture and convey its healing power. Cypresses, blossoming fruit trees, flowers, and wheat fields became his subjects, and he often painted outdoors, immersing himself in the landscapes he depicted. His letters to his families frequently mention his practice of working en plein air (French for “in the open air”).⁹

Van Gogh was dedicated to expressing emotion and his unique interpretation of subjects, a departure from the detailed realism of the Baroque era. Consequently, his artistic methods and stylistic approaches were distinctively different from those of Rembrandt. Rembrandt’s brushstrokes are often subtle and carefully blended, making the transitions between colors and shadows seamless and creating a lifelike appearance. His use of glazes (thin layers of transparent paint) also contributed to the smooth, detailed finish of his works.

By contrast, Van Gogh, a Post-Impressionist painter, intentionally used visible, expressive brushstrokes as part of his artistic style. His technique involved applying thick layers of paint (impasto) with dynamic, swirling motions, which added texture and energy to his paintings. This approach was less about creating lifelike representations and more about conveying emotional intensity and movement. The thick, textured application of paint is a hallmark of Van Gogh’s work, making his brushstrokes clearly visible and contributing to the vibrancy and dynamism of his pieces.

For all the dynamic force of The Starry Night, the composition is carefully balanced. The upward-thrusting cypresses echo the vertical steeple, each cutting across the curving lateral lines of hill and sky. In both cases, the vertical forms act as breaks, counterforces to prevent the eye from traveling out of the picture. The dark cypresses also offset the bright moon in the opposite corner for a balanced effect. The form of the objects determines the rhythmic flow of the brushstrokes, so that the overall effect is of expressive unity rather than chaos. Although under constant strain, he was at the peak of his power technically, in full control of his simplified forms, zones of bright color without shadow, and expressive brushstrokes. “Every time I look at his pictures, I find something new,” his physician, Dr. Gachet, said. “He is more than a great painter; he is a philosopher”.¹⁰

Although Van Gogh’s focus shifted from portraying peasants to embracing nature, a consistent theme remains: a profound respect for life, resilience, and a search for beauty and meaning across both human efforts and the natural environment. Much like the resilience he admired in the peasants he once depicted, he perceived nature’s beauty and strength as sources of hope and renewal. Perhaps this is why he also became a “magician of magicians,” using his art to heal and inspire generations to come.