Dutch Culture in the Golden Age

(Hardback)

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Description

During the seventeenth century, the Dutch were at the forefront of social change, economics, the sciences and art. This period of around one hundred years, duringwhichDutch culture flourished, is known as the Golden Age. In Dutch Culture in the Golden Age, eminent historian J. L. Price goes beyond the standard descriptions of the cultural achievements of the Dutch in their century of greatness by placing the culture in its social context. The distinctive features of this book are its broad scope, the attention paid to popular as well as high culture and, in particular, a new interpretation that places an enlightened emphasis on resistance to change as well as acceptance of innovation.

Reviews

Leslie Price has drawn on his long career studying the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic to examine the nature of the society and culture which gave birth to, nurtured, and was in turn influenced by, the Golden Age . . . a very readable and clear picture of the Dutch in the seventeenth century. * TLS *
Dutch Culture in the Golden Age is a lucid essay that offers a rich and rewarding, and exceptionally nuanced, insight in the culture more than just painting and literature of 17th-century Holland. * Reviews in History *
Price emphasizes the balance of Dutch innovation versus resistance to change, and is especially good at his comparisons to the wider European world at the time . . . Prices chapter on Dutch influences on European and even world history is particularly insightful, pointing out how the traditional views of early modern Europe ignore some of the most interesting developments that took place in the Netherlands. Recommended. * Choice *
Part of what makes the book interesting is the diversity of its discussion, ranging from the ups and downs of the tulip trade to the visual arts. The latter are illuminated with beautiful black-and-white paintings . . . this volume provides a helpful introduction to the art, science, and literature of the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. Its interdisciplinary approach will enrich readers understanding of Dutch culture, especially since in this day of specialization it is too easy to forget that human life is a tapestry of many threads. * The Sixteenth Century Journal *

Author Bio

J. L. Price is Reader Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Hull and one of the leading authorities on the history of the Dutch Republic. He is the author, most recently, of Dutch Society, 1588-1712 (2000).