In the 17th century the Netherlands separated into two parts the northern Netherlands Holland and the southern Netherlands Flanders This division affected the economy social structures culture and religion of the Netherlands Antwerp became the artistic capital of Flanders Flanders was ruled by the Spanish regents the Habsburgs who believed they we the true defenders of Catholicism Because of this the artists of Antwerp were primarily commissioned by the state as well as wealthy merchants The dutch the people from Holland were known or the tolerance for religion The main religion was the Reformed Church however Catholicism and Judaism were also found there Amsterdam is the commercial capital of Holland Holland was known for their painting schools and because many artists came from various towns Holland produced a large variety of masters and styles Holland was home to merchants farmers and seafarers who developed the famous Dutch East India Company and Dutch West India Company in order to trade with East China and the Americas Because the Reformed Church was iconoclastic Dutch artists did not receive the same commissions as their Catholic counterparts However because of an increase in trade in the Northern and Southern Netherlands a new identity or patron class appeared called the wealthy merchant Rubens in Flanders In the 17th century Peter Paul Ruben was one of the major artists in Flanders In Flanders Baroque art was based off of commissions Ruben was primarily a painter but he was also a sculptor architect costume designer and he also created manuscript illuminations His art which was based off Flemish art was primarily religious as his works frequented large altarpieces that contained life size figures Ruben also created portraits The Raising of the Cross Commissioned by of St Walburga Ruben created his first major altarpiece called The Raising of the Cross Often compared to Rosso s The Descent from the Cross the piece reflects the dynamism of Baroque and the muscular figures inside the composition draw from classical Hellenistic sculptures of Italian artists With his ability to combine Italian characteristics with Netherlandish ideas Ruben was the perfect example of the ideal virtuoso artist as he helped make the spread of Baroque art international During the 17th century Ruben became the greatest and most influential portraitist This is seen in his large portrait of Marchesa Rigid Spinola Duria which was almost 9 feet high before getting cut down Besides portraits Ruben also demonstrated his virtuoso talents in monumental historical works This can be seen in his most famous cycle of paintings that depicts the career of Marie de Medici in Marie de Medici Queen of France Landing in Marseilles Marie de Medici Cycle The Garden of Love During his old age Ruben made many paintings that centered around his home and family One of his paintings was The Garden of Love which was a tribute to the joys of life This painting as well as the Marie de Medici Cycles influenced the next centuries visual art Rococo painting Still Life In 17th century Flanders still life paintings depicted flowers fruit game and precious objects Clara Peter s earliest still life paintings is The Still Life with Fruit and Flowers This painting depicts the combination of fruit and flowers displayed in various containers The coins inside the painting may give way to the date in which this painting was created and the significance or interpretation of the piece The knife in the painting is believed to be a ceremonial knife which is given as a wedding or betrothal gift Jan Davidsz de Heem During the mid 17th century still life paintings were known as pronk or ostentatious The height or peak of this painting style can be seen in the work of Jan Davidsz de Heem Still LIfe with Exotic Birds Within this paintings are depictions of exotic food birds and goods from around the world Holland In Holland the Utrecht school taught Caravaggio s style to other dutch artists such as Ferns Hals who hailed from Haarlem and who was highly influenced from the new ideas Hans specialized in combining portraiture and genre painting which like Caravaggio depicted figures drawn from real life This way of painting can be seen in Han s portrait Banquet of the Officers of the St Georges Civic Guard This Civic Guard painting became a staple in Haarlem and Amsterdam Although it is a secular piece the 12 figures around the table are often compared to Leonardo s Last Supper Many art historians debate that Hals did not create this portrait when the subjects were actually posing The realism is created by the scale gestures and three dimensional modeling of the figures using a painting style called wet and wet The Jolly Trooper Hal s portrait titled The Jolly Trooper depicts the allegory of taste from one of the Five Senses which was one of the popular themes during the 17th century Like his previous portrait Married Couple in a Garden this painting also has robustness and spontaneity as Hal s focuses on the dramatic effect of Caravaggio s painters Because of the pen split second technique applied to his quick brush strokes the portrait has the likeness of a sketch Because of their unique style Hal s Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Vermeer were most closely associated with the Golden Age of Dutch art Rembrandt in Amsterdam Rembrandt van Rijn was also influenced by Caravaggio s Utrecht school Rembrandt was a painter draftsman and printmaker who was famous for the intimacy and poignancy of paintings that demonstrate relationships and emotions in his portraits and historical pieces In the 1640s Rembrandt became one of Amsterdam s most famous portraitist and painter The Nightwatch was a famous portrait of Rembrandt because of its darkened varnish Often compared to Hal s Civic Guard Groups Rembrandt s portrait depicts a military company Usig his virtuous abilities Rembrandt fills the painting with movement and lighting that capture the excitement of the setting and provides a dramatic effect It was thought that Rembrandt s painting was not liked by the people who commissioned them however there is no evidence to support this claim What we do know is that Rembrandt s paintings were admired during the 17th century The Hundred Guilders Print Using print as his medium Rembrandt s etching titled The Hundred Guilders Print has been thought to show a depiction of Chapter 19 in the Gospels of St Matthew Often compared to Caravaggio The Calling of St Matthew this