The flourishing of capitalism in the Protestant Netherlands during the 17th century was a rich and fertile ground for the establishment of a mainly secular art that catered to the tastes of the newly rich middle class. Down-to-earth businessmen wanted realistic depictions of themselves, and the prolific artists of the period supplied them with portraits, landscapes, still lifes and scenes of everyday life during the Dutch Baroque period, widely considered to be one of the greatest eras in European art. 

Please note today's lecture will combine Part 1 & 2's topic. Be sure to also join us on December 16 on Rembrandt Van Rijn and the Jews of Amsterdam (Part 3). 

No registration required. First come first seated.

Dennis Raverty is a speaker, author and art historian who for decades has delighted audiences with lively presentations at libraries, churches, synagogues, hostels and business lunches on a variety of topics in the history of art, from the Italian Renaissance to the Harlem Renaissance. His articles and criticism has appeared in Art Journal, Art in America, The International Review of African American Art, Art Criticism, The New Art Examiner, Prospects: An Annual of American Studies, Source: Notes in the History of Art, and Art Papers, where he was a contributing editor. He authored four entries for the most recent edition of the Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, published by Oxford University Press (2011).