From the museum website
Governed by powerful burghers Dutch cities flourished in the 17th century. This engendered a veritable revolution in the art of painting. The affluent citizenry favoured different subject matter than the aristocracy or the church. They fostered a new genre of painting, the cityscape, in which their towns and cities were limned with genuine pride.
This exhibition offers a survey of this special type of painting, including famous examples such as Vermeer’s View of Delft.
The earliest painted Dutch views of cities are by Hendrick Vroom. At first emphasis lay on the skyline of the city with its ramparts and church towers. After 1650, the painters escort us into the city itself. They show it from up close: the canals, streets and squares, where the daily activities of the city dwellers come to life.
The painters of cityscapes were active primarily in Amsterdam, Haarlem and Delft. Only the finest paintings are being selected for this exhibition. Joining Ruisdael’s celebrated View of Haarlem are works by Johannes Vermeer, Esaias van de Velde, Jan van der Heyden, Gerrit Berckheyde, Meindert Hobbema, Aelbert Cuyp and Pieter Saenredam.
Related events
Symposium The Hague (Royal Library), Hollandse stadsgezichten uit de Gouden Eeuw (11 October 2008)
Exhibition The Hague, Haags Historisch Museum (The Hague Historical Museum), Haagse stadsgezichten (11 October 2008-4 January 2009)
Publication
Hollandse stadsgezichten uit de Gouden Eeuw
Ariane van Suchtelen and Arthur K. Wheelock, with essays by Boudewijn Bakker and Arthur K. Wheelock
Catalogue of an exhibition held in 2008-09 in The Hague (Mauritshuis) and in 2009 in Washington (National Gallery of Art)
256 pp., hardcover
Zwolle (Waanders) 2008
ISBN-13: 978-90-4008-547-5