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"Meisje met de parel" ("Girl with a Pearl Earring") by Johannes Vermeer is one of the well-known oil paintings belonging to the period of the Dutch Masters.

The Dutch Masters are a group of painters from the Dutch Golden Age, which roughly spanned the entirety of the 17th century. The then newly formed Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe and was a key figure in international trade, leading to a massive boom in specialisation in trade and sale of luxury products, among which were many paintings by well-known artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals.

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Historical context edit

The North-Netherlandish provinces rose up against Spanish rule in the second half of the sixteenth century, which would eventually lead to the creation of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, or the Netherlands for short. Main reasons were oppression of the protestant Dutch by the catholic Spanish Habsburgs, which had started under king Philip II of Spain, as well as heavy taxation of the every day life. This all led to the beeldenstorm (Iconoclastic Fury) of 1566, when Calvinists and Lutherans in major cities of the Low Countries destroyed the many pieces of art used to decorate the catholic churches out of despise of the catholic rulers that started oppressing the Dutch. Philips sent Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, better known as Alva, to the Netherlands to regain control and order. This, however, only resulted in an escalation of the conflict, due to involvement of the Spanish Inquisition and general harsh treatment of the reformists. Nature wasn't in the Habsburg's favour. Being rich in swamplands and rivers, which was easy to defend for the revolting parties. Especially the provinces of Zeeland and Holland (now Zuid-Holland and Noord-Holland) were nearly undefeatable fortresses. On the other hand, these provinces didn't manage to sway the other provinces to their cause either, leading to a war for independence that would take more than a lifetime to resolve.

A second key event was the fall of Antwerp in 1585, which until then had been the most notable trade city of the Netherlands. The city was captured by the Spanish Habsburgs and subsequently the many protestant traders and other wealthy people fled to Holland. Maritime wealth shifted to Zeeland and Holland as well, and the Dutch revolutionaries blockaded the river Scheldt, which allowed access to Antwerp, in order to be more of a bother to the Spanish. The Antwerp refugees brought with them a lot of pre-industrial and scientific knowledge, which led the fabric industry to bloom in cities like Leiden and Haarlem, as well as the arts of book-printing, cartography and oceanography. With them came some estimated hundred painters, who brought with them their significance and knowledge, which would lead to build the basis upon which the Dutch Masters developed their trade.

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Key painters edit

Though there were many painters belonging to the Dutch Masters, there are three specific painters that are seen as the key figures of the era, these three being Van Rijn, Vermeer and Hals.

Rembrandt van Rijn edit

Frans Hals edit

Johannes Vermeer edit

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See also edit

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