In the 17th century, people were on the move as much as they are today. The Thirty Years War sent millions of Europeans fleeing, and religious persecution prompted many to […]
17th century
7 posts
In 1629, the newly built ‘Batavia’ was sailing to the Dutch East Indies on her maiden voyage, laden with silver coins for the purchase of spices, when she became the […]
A montage documentary about one of the greatest of the Dutch Masters, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) of Delft, using six of his paintings to look at aspects of his life and fame. Our guests […]
In this programme, David Swatling turns his attention to sex and the masters. While tame to modern eyes, many paintings from the 17th century were full of sexual symbolism. Some […]
Within 100 years of Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, The Netherlands was the publishing centre of Europe. With presses in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, the most famous […]
In 1999, the famous Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague hosted one of its most spectacular exhibitions: the self-portraits of one of the greatest painters of all times, Rembrandt van Rijn […]
In 1648, the leading powers of war-torn Europe finally agreed on the terms of a treaty that would end 30 years of devastating military conflict between Catholic and Protestant forces. […]