Great Post from beforetheart
Beautiful objects were common in the northern Netherlands of the 16th and 17th centuries. Thanks to successful foreign exploration, abundant trading and the careful and conscientious handling of money, it was a time of great freedom and prosperity in the Netherlands.
Along with other luxury items – cutlery, flatware, fine furniture, jewellery, books, musical instruments, beautiful fabrics and carpets – more private individuals owned paintings than ever before.
Since the northern Netherlands had become Protestant, religious art was replaced by other genres of painting — and one of the most recognizable of these is the still life.
Sill life images are remarkable for their accuracy. Artists worked to capture the effects of reflected light, liquids seen through glass, flower petals and textures of cloth. But they’re also endowed with a sort somber moodiness – the images are dark and placed in strange, anonymous settings against ambiguous backgrounds.
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krunigbruner 