Easter weekend in the Highlands isn’t one to go out and about. The tourists are in full force and the schools are off. Fortunately, we’re only just recovering from the Covid and so local walks to get some fitness back is enough for the moment. The time off did give me time to delve into the depths of the Dutch Golden Age and what an inspiration it was.

I remember reading a ‘trilogy’ of books called the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson. It is primarily a historical fiction adventure/thriller set in a period from the late 17th to early 18th centuries. However, what it does so well is to contextualize the history of the development of the modern age by linking together facets of economics, science, industry, art, etc. It is no surprise that the Dutch Golden Age features so heavily in the book as it was a centre for thinking in so many different ways. When I worked my way through the artists and art of this period, I had in mind what it must have been like to be an artist in a newly independent and economically booming country surrounded by philosophers, scientists, musicians, poets etc. It must have been amazing to feel so inspired by everything going on at the time.

It was also intriguing to think of how influences between artists were mostly based on travel. If you wanted to see what was happening in Haarlem, you had to go there. There were so many things I could have written about in the subsequent article but I’ve tried to keep it to the point and allow the reader places to go and continue the research on their own (fortunately by using Google rather than catching a ferry to Zeebrugge).

I don’t imagine everyone suddenly wanting to study art history but even if you just enjoy seeing the collection of paintings that will please me and if a few of you are inspired to think about landscape art a little differently after reading the article, I’ll be very happy.

Tim Parkin

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