Page 411 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

IMAGES OF EVERYDAY LIFE
Dutch Domesticity
DURING THE GOLDEN age of the Dutch Republic, Dutch painters delighted in painting scenes of domestic life, especially the lives of the wealthy burghers who prospered from trade, finance, and manufacturing. The Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch (pee-TUR duh HOHKH) specialized in painting pictures of Dutch interiors, as can be seen in three of his paintings. In The Mother (below left), de Hooch portrays a tranquil scene of a mother with her infant and small daughter. The spotless, polished floors reflect the sunlight streaming in through the open door. The rooms are clean and in good order. Household manuals, such as The Experienced and Knowledgeable Hollands Householder, provided detailed outlines of the cleaning tasks that should be performed each day of the week. In The Linen Cupboard (below right), a Dutch mother, assisted by her daughter, is shown storing her clean sheets in an elegant cupboard in another well- polished Dutch room. The Chinese porcelain on top of the cupboard and the antique statue indicate that this is the residence of a wealthy family. In Two Women Teach a Child to Walk (at the right), the artist again shows a nicely furnished and spotless interior. A small girl is learning to walk assisted by a servant holding
straps attached to a band around the girl’s head to keep her from falling.
Limited Monarchy: The Dutch Republic and England 373
Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
pbk, Berlin/Gemaeldegalerie, SMB/Jo€rg P. Anders/Art Resource, NY
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam//Alinari/Art Resource, NY
Museum der Bildenden Kuenste, Leipzig//Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY