Semantron 2015

The market for art in the Netherlands in the period 1650-1750

Marcus Köttering

There has been a broad historical consensus addressing the art market from 1650 to 1750. 1 Many historians would agree the expansion and contraction of the market is evident across the period, and its unique attributes were derived from the extraordinary quality and quantity of artistic production. Furthermore, the integrity of the market was supported by a prosperous economy and favourable political conditions 2 . However, historical understanding of the complexity of this narrative has also developed. For example, the rate of decline and its impact on the art market has been reviewed in recent years 3 , and the tension between innovation and conservativism of Dutch taste appears increasingly less straight-forward than previously thought 4 . Marten Jan Bok argues that ‘the market for paintings was vulnerable to cyclical trends in the economy, since art is not one of life’s primary necessities’, suggesting the commercialisation of the market was more closely connected to economic fluctuations 5 . In this essay, I shall argue that the sensitivity of the art market, through its reliance on external forces such as international commerce and political flexibility, created unforeseen fragility in this small Dutch society. In turn, this meant that decline was not only highly probable, but that in fact, cultural exclusivity would be inevitably unsustainable. On 15 May 1648, the Treaty of Münster was signed, ending the Thirty Years’ War, in which the Protestant United Provinces had played largely an indirect military role. The repositioning of overseas commerce and the internal economic structure greatly benefitted Dutch society. The conditions of peace allowed the Dutch trading system (growing since the 1630s) to thrive. In 1647, the Spanish embargoes on the Dutch Republic were lifted, calming tensions in the New World and establishing Caribbean trade which outperformed England, struck by Civil War. The Flemish privateering campaign against Dutch ships was brought to an end in 1648 and the Republic removed its blockade of the Flemish coast. Dutch commerce resumed direct trade with Spain, Italy and the Levant, securing dominance in the Mediterranean and challenging the English, whose trading subsidies from Spain were remitted and passed onto the Dutch. After 1650, Dutch merchants felt in a strong enough position to begin trade with Russia 6 . As these factors allowed Dutch commerce to gain control over a number of materials such as wool, dyestuffs, mercury and sugar, the cost of production for high-value goods, including paintings, dropped. The market responded predictably, lowering prices. This opened out the market to an emerging middle class, derived from a convergence of factors that I will outline in this essay. Although it is often disputed, a rough estimate would put the total number of paintings produced in 1650 since the start of the Golden Age at approximately 2.5 million pieces 7 , mostly from the provinces of Holland and Utrecht. By 1650, most Dutch industries were supplied directly by maritime commerce. Whilst this provided them with great prosperity, it also made them reliant on the maintenance of international commerce and competitive authority. The zenith of economic and cultural production from 1650 two 1672 also coincided politically with the ‘Stadholderless Period’ in which only Friesland and Groningen maintained their Stadholder status, as Prince Frederick Henry failed to influence the regents before his death, leaving an unborn William

1 This essay was entered for the Vellacott prize (Peterhouse, Cambridge). It was highly commended. 2 North, ‘Art and Commerce’ pp. 133 3 Israel, ‘The Dutch Republic’, Part III: Society, Economy, pp. 1012 4 North, ‘Art and Commerce’ pp. 135 5 Jan Bok, ‘Culture and Collecting’ in ‘Vermeer and the Delft School’ by Walter Liedkte, [2001] pp.210 6 Israel, ‘The Dutch Republic’, Part III: The Later Golden Age (1647-1702) , Society, Economy 7 Israel, ‘The Dutch Republic’, Part II: The Early Golden Age (1588-1647), Art and Architecture, 1509-1648

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