Page 70 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

68  A MSTERD A M

The Golden Age of Amsterdam

The 17th century was truly a Golden Age for Amsterdam. The
population soared; three great canals, bordered by splendid
houses, were built in a triple ring round the city; and scores of
painters and architects were at work. Fortunes were made and
lost, and this early capi talism produced many paupers, who
were cared for by charitable institutions – a radical idea for the
time. In 1648, an uneasy peace was formalized with Catholic Spice Trade
Spain, causing tension between Amsterdam’s Calvinist In this old print, a VOC spice
burgomasters and the less religious House of Orange, which trader arrives in Bantam.
was dominant elsewhere in the country.

Livestock and grain trading

Self-Portrait as
the Apostle Paul (1661)
Rembrandt (see p80) was
one of many artists working
in Amsterdam in the mid-
17th century.
The new Stadhuis (now
the Koninklijk Paleis) was
being constructed behind
wooden scaffolding.
Nieuwe Kerk, 1395 (see p90)
Dam Square in 1656
The Love
Letter (1666) Money poured into Amsterdam at this
Genre painting time of civic expansion. Holland was
(see p127), such as active overseas, colonizing Indonesia,
this calm domestic and the spice trade brought enormous
interior by Jan wealth. The Dutch East India Company
Vermeer, became (VOC), the principal trade organization
popular as society in Holland, prospered – gold seemed
grew more almost as common as water. Dutch
sophisticated. Jan painter Jan Lingelbach (c.1624–74)
Steen, Honthorst depicted the city’s Dam square as
and Terborch were a busy, thriving and cosmopolitan
other famous market, brimming with traders and
genre painters.
wealthy merchants.

Delft Tiles
Delicate flower paintings were
popular themes on 17th-century
Delft tiles (see pp32–3), used as
decoration in wealthy households.

068-069_EW_Netherlands.indd 68 16/01/17 12:03 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Feature template “UK” LAYER
(SourceReport v1.3)
Date 18th October 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm