Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ThE TOuR BEgINs
Dutch Art
Dutch art is meant to be enjoyed, not studied. It's straightforward,
meat-and-potatoes art for the common man. The Dutch love the
beauty of everyday things painted realistically and with exquisite
detail. So, set your cerebral cortex on “low” and let this art pass
straight from the eyes to the heart, with minimal detours.
• Enter the large Room 1, dominated by the large, colorful painting
of a group of men eating, drinking, and staring at you, Banquet in
Celebration of the Treaty of Münster (1648), by Bartholomeus van
der Helst.
Golden Age Treasures
Welcome to the Golden Age. Gaze into the eyes of the men who
made Amsterdam the richest city on earth in the 1600s. Though
shown in their military uniforms, these men were really captains
of industry—shipbuilders, seamen, salesmen, spice-tasters, bank-
ers, and venture capitalists—all part of the complex economic web
that planned and financed overseas trade. Also in Room 1, find a
ship's cannon and a big wooden model of a 74-gun Dutch man-of-
war that escorted convoys of merchant ships loaded with wealth.
The five rooms on the ground floor display objects that bring
Holland's Golden Age to life, including weapons, dolls' houses
( poppenhuizen , Room 3), and precious objects (especially Delftware,
inspired by Chinese porcelain, Room 5). Soak up the ambience to
prepare for the paintings that the Golden Age generation produced
and enjoyed.
• Ride the spacey elevator upstairs to Room 6 (Floor 1). Head into the
first room on the left.
New Genres
Rather than religious art, Dutch painters portrayed small-scale,
down-home, happy subjects, such as portraits, landscapes, still
lifes, and so-called “genre scenes” (snapshots of everyday life).
 
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