Traditionally Dutch art is seen and presented as a coherent phenomenon--the product of state formation in the late 16th century. Elisabeth de Bievre challenges this view and its assumptions in a radical new account. Arguing that the Dutch Golden Age was far from unified, de Bievre exposes how distinct geographical circumstances and histories shaped each urban development and, in turn, fundamentally informed the art and visual culture of individual cities.
In seven chapters, each devoted to a single city, the book follows the growth of Amsterdam, Delft, Dordrecht, Haarlem, Leiden, The...