Dutch Art Compare Contrast Essay

The Baroque artistic style came to fruition in the 15th and 16th centuries, and had a dominant presence in Europe. However, it did not surface in European countries in the same manner, and Baroque artists were not necessarily working with the same types of subjects or themes. That being said, overall, it was a movement focused on motion, and did its best to portray details and ideas that could be easily interpreted. Furthermore, while not every artist utilized religious themes, most were interested in human emotions and ideas. All of these similarities and differences can be seen in the Dutch and Italian Baroque movements. In the Dutch republic, the public had a great demand for art and their interests were varied. This demand is largely attributed to the end of the war with Spain in 1648. For the first time, the balance of power had shifted into the hands of the bourgeois. The Dutch economy boomed and most families could satisfy their fundamental financial needs with relative ease. …show more content…
They were also proud of the dikes they constructed in order to control the water around them. In general, Dutch artists were interested in a photographic sort of realism; many of their works seemed to reflect a piece of the visible world. This resulted in naturalistic landscapes painted to literal accuracy. For the most part, these works were painted at eye level and avoided featuring too many figures or objects. Nature was the important aspect of these paintings. One of the most prominent landscape artists of this time was Jacob Van Ruisdael and his work features many of these qualities. His piece, A Cottage and a Hayrick by the River, is an excellent example of photographic realism. His color choices are naturalistic and there are no intentional abstract qualities. Moreover, the piece features few objects beyond the cottage, hayrick, and river; a typical Dutch Baroque