Deconstructing the Dutch Golden Age: Nationalism, Exceptionalism and Decline
| Module title | Deconstructing the Dutch Golden Age: Nationalism, Exceptionalism and Decline |
|---|---|
| Module code | AHV2020 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Meredith Hale (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
The view of the age of Rembrandt and Vermeer as a singular time of unrivalled peace, prosperity and creativity has framed discussions of Dutch art since the seventeenth century. Using the Dutch ‘Golden Age’ (c. 1580-1700) as a case study, this module examines two critical issues that are common to the broader history of art: the practice of periodisation and the construction of nationalist histories. We will consider the phenomenon of the ‘Dutch Golden Age’ by examining a range of objects produced during this period (among them prints, painting, sculpture and architecture) through the lens of three themes common to this and similar historiographies: nationalism, exceptionalism, and decline. We will begin by considering the tools of self-definition employed in the northern Netherlands after the Dutch revolt from Spain, among them landscape painting and prints, urban panegyrics and the fabrication of an ancient Roman past. The notion of exceptionalism inherent to this early framing of Dutch culture became a staple in subsequent histories and we will consider the nature of later scholarship on the period as it relates to critical themes including feminism, race, authenticity, the problem of ‘genius’ and the concept of modernity. The final third of the module considers the concept of decline both in the seventeenth century and in later histories and how subjects such as decadence and ‘foreign’ influence shape these narratives. Our conclusion will analyse the construction of nationalist histories more broadly by considering how the Dutch ‘Golden Age’ was employed in the framing of later histories such as that of the United States in the 1930s and 1940s.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will introduce you to significant works of art and visual culture alongside their attendant scholarly literature. Our focus is the visual culture of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century and how works of art (paintings, architecture and prints) intersect with political and economic interests to create and sustain the narrative of the ‘golden age’ which has defined Dutch art historiography since the seventeenth century. We will, thus, examine the visual culture of this period from a broad viewpoint, considering theoretical and historiographical frameworks throughout.
You will be encouraged to engage closely with the works of art and visual culture under review and the scholarship on them. It is expected that this scholarship will be subjected to deep analysis, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, and that accounts provided of the topic in assessed outcomes will articulate a well-informed and independent position. You will develop an in-depth understanding of the art in question and will understand the extent to which the meaning and identity of works of art and visual culture is open to revision.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Critically analyse selected seventeenth-century Dutch prints, paintings and works of architecture
- 2. Situate the works discussed in the module in appropriate historical and critical contexts
- 3. Demonstrate familiarity with the intersection of various forms of cultural expression, among them painting, architecture, print culture, literature, economic history and political theory
- 4. Understand the broader historiography of the period and take a view on the dominant concepts that inform recent approaches to the Dutch Golden Age
- 5. Understand the historical precedents for the themes and tropes that have been applied to the Dutch Golden Age and identify their usage in later contexts
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Recognise and understand relevant art-historical terminology and concepts
- 7. Research, present and evaluate relevant historical and critical material with increased independence and interrogate and evaluate works of art and their attendant literature and relate them to the wider context of cultural and intellectual history
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Through writing and project assessments, demonstrate good research and bibliographic skills, an informed capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument, and a capacity to write clear and correct prose
- 9. Through research for projects and essays, demonstrate good proficiency in information retrieval and analysis
- 10. Through project work, demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively orally and/or in written form, and in teams towards the development, research, organisation, and expression of ideas under pressure of time
Syllabus plan
While content may vary from year to year, it is expected that the module will cover:
- Nationalism (concept of the ‘Golden Age’; the Dutch Revolt; land reclamation; and the Amsterdam Town Hall)
- Exceptionalism (the Dutch economic ‘miracle’; women in the Dutch Republic; race and multiculturalism; Dutch cultural ‘heroes’ Rembrandt and Vermeer; and print culture)
- Decline (French fashion; English military and economic entanglements; and theorising decline)
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 11 | 11 x 1-hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 10 | 5 x 2-hour seminars (these will be led by the tutor; students will need to prepare for each seminar and to present on a given topic on at least one occasion) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 1 | Tutorial guidance for reading, research and essay preparation |
| Guided Independent Study | 128 | Independent study including reading, research, preparation for seminars and assessments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini-essay | 750 words | 1-9 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up |
| Oral group presentation (groups of 3 students, presentations c. 5 minutes per student) | 15 minutes | 1-10 | Peer-assessment recorded on feedback sheet with tutorial follow-up |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 3000 words | 1-10 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (3000 words) | Essay (3000 words) | 1-10 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Brandon, P., ‘Marxism and the “Dutch Miracle”: The Dutch Republic and the Transition-Debate’, Historical Materialism, 19/3, 2011, pp. 106-46
Bussels, S., Eck, C. van, Oostveldt, B. van, eds., The Amsterdam Town Hall in Words and Images (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Degroot, D., The Frigid Golden Age: Climate Change, the Little Ice Age, and the Dutch Republic, 1560-1720 (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
Fenoulhet, J. and Gilbert, L., eds., Narratives of Low Countries History and Culture: Reframing the Past (UCL Press, 2016)
Franits, W., ed., Looking at Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art: Realism Reconsidered (Cambridge University Press, 1997)
Franits, W., ed., The Ashgate Research Companion to Dutch Art of the Seventeenth Century (Routledge, 2016)
Grijzenhout, F. and Veen, H. van eds., The Golden Age of Dutch Painting in Historical Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 1999)
Hale, M. M., The Birth of Modern Political Satire: Romeyn de Hooghe (1645-1708) and the Glorious Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Helmers, H.J. and Janssen, G.H., The Cambridge Companion to the Dutch Golden Age (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
Honig, E. A., ‘The space of gender in seventeenth-century Dutch painting’, in W. Franits, ed., Looking at Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art: Realism Reconsidered (Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 186-200
Kolfin, E., ‘Past imperfect. Political ideals in the unfinished Batavian Series for the Town Hall of Amsterdam’, in R. Cohen Tervaart and M. van der Zwaag, eds., The Batavian Commissions: Flinck, Ovens, Lievens, Jordaens, de Groot Bol and Rembrandt, (Amsterdam, 2011), pp. 11-20.
Kolfin, E., Runia, E., eds. HERE: Black in Rembrandt’s Time (Rembrandthuis/W Books, 2020)
Peacock, M. M., ‘Mirrors of Skill and Renown: Women and Self-Fashioning in Early-Modern Dutch Art’, Mediaevistik, vol. 28, 2015, pp. 325-52
Scallen, C. B., Rembrandt, reputation, and the practice of connoisseurship (University of Amsterdam, 2004)
Schama, S., Rembrandt’s Eyes (New York: Knopf, 1999)
Sint Nicolaas, E. and Smeulders, V., eds., Slavery: an Exhibition of Many Voices (Rijksmuseum/Atlas, 2021)
Sutton, E., ed., Women Artists and Patrons in the Netherlands, 1500-1700 (Amsterdam University Press, 2019).
Westermann, M., ‘After Iconography and Iconoclasm: Current Research in Netherlandish Art, 1566-1700’, The Art Bulletin 84, 2002, pp. 351-72.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 14/12/2021 |
| Last revision date | 31/01/2022 |
