This article focuses on architectural drawings, some only recently discovered, that contain indications of authentic proportional systems from the ‘inner circle’ of Dutch seventeenth-century classical architecture. These drawings demonstrate how these architects used arithmetical grid systems as well as geometrical constructions in the hope of achieving their classical ideal of beauty and harmony. In light of these proportional systems we may propose a method for analysing other drawings from this period that do not have any proportional systems inscribed.

In Theology, Piety, and Mission, cross-cultural missionary Ronaldo Lidório reflects on the life and influence of Gisbertus Voetius, the first Protestant missiologist and one of the most influential Reformed theologians in seventeenth-century Holland. Drawing on Voetius’s theology of missions and church planting, Lidório lays out principles for us to consider for these activities today. Throughout this book, Lidório reflects on the powerful combination of theology and piety that drove Voetius’s efforts to fulfill the Great Commission. • Develops a historically Reformed doctrine of missions and church planting • Offers powerful reflections on God’s sovereignty in world evangelism • Presents a window into the thought of the first Reformed missiologist, Gisbertus Voetius

This detailed biography and critical study is based on Bigot's letters and on other unpublished materials in France, Italy, Holland, Denmark, and England.Professor Doucette's book shows that Bigot represents an essential and seriously neglected side of French and European humanistic studies in the seventeenth century.

Brothel scenes (bordeeltjes) are a familiar type of seventeenth-century Dutch genre painting (fig. 1). Their popularity poses many questions. In the first

Book Synopsis How a Chinese pirate defeated European colonialists and won Taiwan during the seventeenth century During the seventeenth century, Holland created the world's most dynamic colonial empire, outcompeting the British and capturing Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Yet, in the Sino-Dutch War--Europe's first war with China--the Dutch met their match in a colorful Chinese warlord named Koxinga. Part samurai, part pirate, he led his generals to victory over the Dutch and captured one of their largest and richest colonies--Taiwan. How did he do it? Examining the strengths and weaknesses of European and Chinese military techniques during the period, Lost Colony provides a balanced new perspective on long-held assumptions about Western power, Chinese might, and the nature of war. It has traditionally been asserted that Europeans of the era possessed more advanced science, technology, and political structures than their Eastern counterparts, but historians have recently contested this view, arguing that many parts of Asia developed on pace with Europe until 1800. While Lost Colony shows that the Dutch did indeed possess a technological edge thanks to the Renaissance fort and the broadside sailing ship, that edge was neutralized by the formidable Chinese military leadership. Thanks to a rich heritage of ancient war wisdom, Koxinga and his generals outfoxed the Dutch at every turn. Exploring a period when the military balance between Europe and China was closer than at any other point in modern history, Lost Colony reassesses an important chapter in world history and offers valuable and surprising lessons for contemporary times. From the Back Cover "You can read this book as an exciting novel full of pirates, swashbuckling characters, beheadings, treachery, and battles on land and sea--a novel that just happens to be true--or as a revelatory look at the little-known first war between China and the West, and window into one of the biggest unsolved questions of world history: why Europe rather than China colonized the world from the time of Columbus onward. Either way, you will be sorry when you reach the last page."--Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse"With arresting anecdote, colorful detail, and all the excitement of a contemporary novel, Andrade reconfigures the debate between revisionists and neotraditionalists on the question of whether, and to what extent, Europe's early modern preeminence reflected technological and military superiority over Asia. This book's analysis is as original as it is convincing."--Victor Lieberman, University of Michigan"Based on impressive readings in Chinese and Dutch sources, Lost Colony examines fascinating interpretive issues on the changing nature of military power in various parts of the early modern world. Strong and important, this book tells a good story."--John E. Wills, Jr., author of 1688: A Global History"This engaging and detailed book seeks middle ground in a longstanding debate regarding the alleged exceptionalism of European warfare. Examining a key conflict between Asian and European forces, Andrade opens a window on the Dutch colonial endeavor in Asia and its often symbiotic relationship with Chinese southern ventures, explaining how, with grit and luck, the Chinese gained Taiwan by successfully adapting and counteracting the military techniques of their opponents."--Michael Laffan, Princeton University Review Quotes "Lost Colony is ambitiously theorized, well researched, stimulatingly argued, and beautifully written. Those interested in Chinese, Asian, military, and global history will find it fruitful, stimulating reading. In terms of Asian military history, Lost Colony is another excellent addition to accomplishments over the last decade by scholars on South, Southeast, and East Asia, but military history of Asia still lags behind that of Europe. A genuine global (non-Eurocentric and non-Asiacentric) military history is one step closer due to Lost Colony."---Sun Laichen, Journal of Asian Studies"Lost Colony makes a major contribution not only to the historiography of Taiwan, but indeed to that of the wider genre of maritime Asia. It provides an excellent basis for comparative inter-disciplinary studies."---Niki Alsford, IRA"Lost Colony proves to be a good read as Andrade turns that would seem like a minor footnote in history into a stirring and insightful account of military campaigns, pirates, sieges, treachery, and naval battles."---Hilton Yip, Asian Review of Books"[The Lost Colony] could easily pass for an exciting historical novel. Andrade spins a gripping tale, full of excellent anecdotes and insights . . . well written with a wealth of details that are well documented."---Gerrit van der Wees, Taipei Times"[T]his is an excellent work, a must-read for scholars interested in early modern contact between Asia and Europe, the histories of Taiwan and China, and the history of warfare. It would also serve as an excellent addition to courses due to its readable and engrossing narrative, solid research, and well-reasoned argument."---Scott Relyea, Historian"[T]his monograph is a triumph of narrative brilliance and academic depth at the same time. It rarely happens that a work of such scholarly profundity will appeal to scholars . . . and a general non-specialist readership hungry for an exciting story."---Barend Noordam, Shilin"A most interesting, very well-written and highly important account of the Dutch loss of Taiwan that is deliberately located in terms of the debate over Western military proficiency vis-á-vis that of China. The book offers much."---Jeremy Black, European Review of History"Andrade gives a colourful, detailed explanation of the Chinese victory at Zeelandia, carefully weighing both sides' leadership, tactics, weaponry, ships and fortifications. . . . This is engaging history, rooted in copious records kept at the time, by a reflective writer with a good story to tell--both about the events of 1661 and how history itself gets written."---Michael Clugston, South China Morning Post"Andrade's larger argument is supported by an engaging narrative that is written in accessible prose that makes it suitable for use in high school or undergraduate university classes. Andrade lays out large themes and historiographical controversies in clear, understandable language. Perhaps more importantly, the engaging narrative will hold students' interest. . . . I look forward to using it in my own world history and Asian history courses in the future."---Robert Hoppens, Education about Asia"Andrade's provocatively titled book is a much-needed addition to the relatively small body of work about pre-modern Taiwan in English that tells how the infamous Zheng Chenggong (Coxinga) threw the Dutch off the island in 1662. He draws very deeply on rich archival sources in both Dutch and Chinese to give a vivid, almost overly detailed, account from both sides of the conflict."-- "Choice""In this page-turning historical narrative, Andrade chronicles the 1661-62 battle for Taiwan in what is often seen as the first modern conflict between an Eastern and Western power. While historians have traditionally viewed Europeans then as more advanced in science, technology, and political infrastructures than their Eastern counterparts, Andrade reveals that Chinese warfare tactics based on ancient texts and military philosophy, built up over a millennia of a rich cultural heritage, actually allowed for the enigmatic leader Koxinga and his Chinese generals to neutralize any European superiority in weaponry and defeat the Dutch and thus the Dutch East India Company's hold on Taiwan. . . . For the global and military history enthusiast, this book is exceptionally insightful about the early-modern history of European contact in Asia."-- "Library Journal""This is an intriguing book with remarkable and lively accounts written in accessible prose and with engaging humour. It also offers valuable information and insight about Europe's first war with China as well as Chinese history in general, and provides a welcome and much-needed addition to our understanding of military and maritime history more specifically."---Chia-Lin Huang, European History Quarterly"Tonio Andrade succeeds brilliantly not only in writing good history but in telling a gripping story. If you read only one book on Chinese history this year . . . make it this one."---Timothy Brook, Literary Review"With its meticulous use of detailed and colorful sources, this account should appeal to a wide readership."---Roger Des Forges, Historian About the Author Tonio Andrade is professor of history at Emory University. He is the author of How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century.

The range of colors Rembrandt employed falls firmly within the mainstream of painting practice in Holland in the seventeenth century. His palette is entirely made up of widely available pigments and, by that time, well understood in their qualities.

A girl chopping onions is on a minute scale and is a perfect demonstration of the art of fijnschilders painting. The activities of kitchenmaids was one of Dou’s favourite themes, in which he could not only indulge in brilliant passages of still-life painting, but also pursue artistic themes. Lascivious kitchenmaids were frequently the subject of comedic literature in seventeenth-century Holland, and painters emphasised their charms by the use of symbolism based on contemporary emblem books or proverbs. [Royal Collection Trust - Oil on oak panel, 20.8 x 16.9 cm]

Pieter de Hooch, one of the most famous and innovative artists of Holland's Golden Age, played a pioneering role in the Delft School and the advancement of genre painting and naturalism in the seventeenth century. Best known for his expressive use of interior space and sun-filled courtyards, De Hooch's command of perspective and responsiveness to light and atmosphere were unprecedented, and his work undoubtedly influenced his younger but more famous colleague Vermeer. This beautiful book examines his position in Dutch genre painting and the social and political context of his art in the United Netherlands. It also addresses the artist's favored themes -- in particular the virtue of domesticity -- and relates them to Dutch civilization, literature, and the history of the family in the Protestant republic. Peter Sutton investigates De Hooch's approach to narration and his practice of encoding commentaries through symbolism, gesture, and such time-honored devices as the painting within the painting. In addition, he discusses new technical data concerning the artist's painting techniques, materials, and working methods. Through word and image, the book traces De Hooch's artistic development from his early beloved Delft period pictures to his more elegant and aristocratic paintings from his later years in Amsterdam. Pieter De Hooch Complete Edition Peter C. Sutton Case Publisher ‏ : ‎ Phaidon Press January 1, 1980 Language ‏: ‎ English Hardcover Any questions? Please mail. Thank you.

Visit the MFA today! The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg is open 6 days a week. Special exhibitions are included with price of admission.

An essay based on the book The Tulip, Anna Pavord's book, (1999). Marc T. Passion for flowers is a true sign of devotion for nature in Western culture, and early in history, this passion was expressed in the creation gardens to idealize nature and in collecting exotic plants by the aristocracy. Why flowers and what is the secret behind flowers that can turn men and women crazy.What is the hidden link with flowers that is inspiring an outrageous behavior. This essay is travelling us back to the Golden Age in the Netherlands, between 1634 and 1640. During six years the Dutch were literally captured by a fever with a never seen equivalent in history. What happen to the Dutch aristocracy during the Golden Age is still unknown.Centuries later the phenomenon was still in the memories also outside Holland. In 1841, the Scottish journalist, Charles Mackay wrote in "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" "...12 acres (5ha) of land were offered for a Semper Augustus bulb..." Mackay in its book claims that "many such investors were ruined by the fall in prices, and Dutch commerce suffered a severe shock". From a biological approach, flowers are the sexual organs of a plants, and maybe this is explaining why we are attracted by flowers, revealing hidden sexual phantasms and fantasies in a subtle interaction between smells, colors and forms. We can observe how delicately we manipulate flowers, it is an almost sensual gesture and is evoking amazing sensations often close to love emotions.In other cultures its symbolizes fertility and sometimes also the evil. In some African tribes some flowers are attributed to the bad evil, while other flowers are used to protect the villages. In all cultures in the world flowers are an integer part of cultural and social life. Flowers are important actors in exchanges and relationships between persons, with no difference if it concerns men or women, differences in age or cultural background. In Romantic England and Victorian period, young lovers were communicating their devotions through flowers, giving a rose was a demand, separating the petals from the flower was a refusal. Flowers contributed to an extraordinary epithet of desires and seduction. The high society made of proud of to posses the most spectacular gardens with plants coming from all over the world. The gardens were places to meet or to invite, to hide lovers and mistresses, it was and still is an ideal location to exhibit wealth and power. Some flowers have an incredible, almost magical and even mystical, attraction and , for still unknown reasons, some flowers can have such an impact that it changes dramatically our lives. We know the story of roses in perfume making, the unbelievable magic power of the Rosa Damascena used in the most exclusive fragrances. "Malle wagen"(Dutch for the foolish charriot) Hendrik Gerritsz Pot 1640. Allegoriy of tulip. "Flora" the Godess of flowers, is blowing by the wind and rides with a tippler, money changers and the two faced Godess "Fortuna". The y are followed by dissolute Haarlem weavers, on their way to destruction in the sea The Tulip is another of those flowers that had such a impact. Why men turned absolutely crazy for this plant, was it unlimited love or an evil magic power. In the 17th century the Tulip was ruling Kingdoms, was making fortunes and unfortunately it was also creating catastrophes and disasters amongst rich people getting bankrupt by a simple flower growing in Turkey mountains and became a never seen power. "Flowers in a glass vase" Ambrosius Bosschaerts The Elder 1573 - 1614. Born in Antwerp, Belgium and living in The Netherlands, Ambrosius Bosschaerts the Elder was one the Great masters in still life painting in the Dutch Golden Age. National Gallery London. The tulip does not disappoint. Its background is full of more mysteries, dramas, dilemmas, disasters and triumphs than any besotted aficionado could reasonably expect. In the wild, it is an Eastern flower, growing along a corridor which stretches either side of the line of latitude 40 degrees North. The line extends from Ankara in Turkey eastwards through Jerevan and Baku to Turkmenistan, then on past Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent to the mountains of the Pamir-Alai, which, with neighbouring Tien Shan is the the hotbed of the tulip family. As far as Western Europe is concerned, the tulip's story began in Turkey, from where in the mid sixteenth century, European travelers brought back news of the brilliant and until then unknown "Lils Rouges", so prized by the Turks. In fact they were not lilies at all but tulips. In April 1559, the Zurich physician and botanist Conrad Gesner saw the tulip flowering for the first time in the splendid garden made by Johannis Heinrich Herwart of Augsburg, Bavaria. The Swiss physician and botanist Conrad Gesner ( engraving unknown appr. 1550) He described its gleaming red petals and its sensuous scent in a book published two years later, the first known report of the flower growing in Western Europe. The tulip, wrote Gesner, had 'sprung' from a seed which had come from Constantinople or as others say from Cappadocia'. From that flower and from its wild cousins, gathered over the next 300 years from the steppes of Siberia from Afghanistan, Chitral, Beirut and the Caucasus, came the cultivars which have been grown in gardens ever since. More than 5500 different tulips are listed in the International Register published regularly since 1929 by the Royal general bulbgrowers's Association in the Netherlands. Holland was the setting for one of the most strangest episodes in the long mesmerising story of the tulip. The 'Tulipomania' that raged in Holland between 1634 and 1637 has puzzled historians and economists every since. How could it have ever happened that single bulbs of certain kinds of tulips could change hands for sums that would have secured a town house in the best quarter of Amsterdam? How was it possible that at the height of the tulip fever, a bulb of Admiral van Enkhuysen weighing 215 azen, could sell for 5400 guilders, the equivalent of fifteen years' wages for the average Amsterdam bricklayer? Certain facts are brought forward to support less certain theories. the setting up of the Dutch East India Compagny in 1602 and Amsterdam increasing importance as a port, marked the beginning of an era of great prosperity for the Dutch. merchants became rich, and in their wake, lawyers, doctors, pharmacists and jewellers did too. Adrian Pauw, Lord of Heemstede, Keeper of the Great Seal of Holland and envoy of the States General to various foreign courts, was one of the directors of the new East India compagny. his house, which was just outside Haarlem, stood in magnificent gardens where tulips grew clustered around a mirrored gazebo. The mirrors gave the ilusion that the hundreds of blooms were thousands, for even Adriaen Pauw could not afford to plant thousands of tulips. Adriaen Pauw Lord of Heemstede, Keeper of the Great Seal of Holland (1581 - 1653) portrait by Gerard ter Borch (1617 - 1681) For rich merchants, fountains, aviaries of rare birds and temples in the Greek style were standard accoutrements of the garden. But the tulip was the ultimate status symbol, the definitive emblem of how much you were worth. In the 1980s the City traders' Porshe performed the same function, though in a cruder way. Among the many rare tulips in Pauw's garden was the entire known stock of 'semper Augustus', the most beautifully marked of all the red and white sriped tulips of the early seventeenth century. Pamphlet from the Dutch Tulipomania printed 1637 Admiral van der Eijck, from the 1637 catalog of P.Cos, sold for 1045 guilders on 5 February 1637. A note belonging to Admiraal Liefkens with the weight and prices of the tulip bulbs. probably from the Alkmaar auction February the 5th 1637. In the planting season of 1635, as prices began to rise, there was a fundamental change in how bulbs were traded in the Netherlands. increasinglu, they were sold by weight while still in the ground, with only a promissory note to indicate details of a bulb, including its weight at planting and when it would be lifted. the bulbs, themselves, the delivery of which was months away, were not sold, only these paper promisses. Weight was measured in aasen (azen or aces), an extremely small unit equal to approximatively 1/20 th of a gram. Although paying by weight was more fair way to asses price, an immature bulb costing less than a more mature one, it also increased the price of the heavier bulb. And, because a bulb planted in September or October likely would weight substantially more when lifted (after blooming) the following June or July, it encouraged speculation. Even if the price per aas did not change, the price of the bulb, itself, could increase three to five percent on the nine months, depending upon weight. heavier bulbs, too, tended to flower earlier and have more offsets, which are the smallest bulblets attached to the mother bulb. By the 1640's, when tulipomania was officially over, there were thought to be only twelve bulbs of Semper augustus' still in existence, priced at 1200 guilders each. This was the equivalent of three times the average annual wage in mid seventeenth-century Holland, more or less 480 000 shekels. If you could not afford the flowers themselves, you commissioned an artist such as Ambrosius Bosschaert or Balthasar van der Ast to paint tulips for you. Balthazar van der Ast (1593/4 - 1657) Balthazar van der Ast (1593/4 - 1657) Flowers and insects The grand master in flower painting, the Dutch Jan van Huysum portrait by Arnold Boonen 1720. Even the grand master of Dutch flower painting jan van Huysum, could rarely command more than 5000 guilder for a painting. But a single bulb of the tulip 'Admiral Liefkens' changed hands for 4400 guilders at an auction in Alkmaar on 5 february 1637, while 'Admiral van Enkhuijsen' was even more expensive at 5400 guilders. The last of the big spenders bid at this auction of tulip bulbs ninety-nine lots which realised 90 000 guilders, perhaps as much as 36 million shekel in todays money. Because the sale was held in February, while the bulbs were still in the ground, each was sold by its weight at planting time, the weight recorded in azen. Jan van Huysum (1682 1749) Jan van Huysum (1682 - 1749) detail. from Vase of Flowers 1722. But a single bulb of the tulip "Admiral Liefkens' changed hands for 4400 guilders at an auction in Alkmaar on 5 February 1637, while 'Admiral van Enkhuysen' was even more expensive at 5400 guilders. the last of the big spenders bid at this auction of tulip bulbs ninety-nine lots which realised 90 000 guilders, perhaps as much as 30 million shekel in today's money. Because the sale was held in February, while the bulbs were still in the ground, each was sold by its weight at planting time, the weights recorded in azen. Offsets carry the same characteristics as their parents. That is why they were valuable. In the end, there is no way to explain why tulip fever affected the solid, respectable burghers of Holland in a such an aberrant way. During a few years between 1630 until 1640 the Golden Age in the Netherlands was possessed and obsessed by a single flower called, tulip.

Fun Experiment: throw a mediocre, grainy, poorly composed photograph of the Amsterdam Canals up on Instagram. Then post a gorgeous, perfectly composed photo of the coolest landmark in any other city. I'd bet you $20 the Amsterdam photo will do better. Maybe even twice as good. You know why? People freaking love Amsterdam. It's Disney

Amsterdam, Holland

How a Chinese pirate defeated European colonialists and won Taiwan during the seventeenth century During the seventeenth century, Holland created the world's most dynamic colonial empire, outcompeting the British and capturing Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Yet, in the Sino-Dutch War--Europe's first war with China--the Dutch met their match in a colorful Chinese warlord named Koxinga. Part samurai, part pirate, he led his generals to victory over the Dutch and captured one of their largest and richest colonies--Taiwan. How did he do it? Examining the strengths and weaknesses of European and Chinese military techniques during the period, Lost Colony provides a balanced new perspective on long-held assumptions about Western power, Chinese might, and the nature of war. It has traditionally been asserted that Europeans of the era possessed more advanced science, technology, and political structures than their Eastern counterparts, but historians have recently contested this view, arguing that many parts of Asia developed on pace with Europe until 1800. While Lost Colony shows that the Dutch did indeed possess a technological edge thanks to the Renaissance fort and the broadside sailing ship, that edge was neutralized by the formidable Chinese military leadership. Thanks to a rich heritage of ancient war wisdom, Koxinga and his generals outfoxed the Dutch at every turn. Exploring a period when the military balance between Europe and China was closer than at any other point in modern history, Lost Colony reassesses an important chapter in world history and offers valuable and surprising lessons for contemporary times.

In 1872 Edouard Manet travelled to Holland, and the trip reinvigorated his longstanding appreciation of seventeenth-century Dutch genre painting. At the Paris Salon the following year he showed this lively picture of a man enjoying his bock, or springtime beer, that is directly influenced by such images. The warm tonalities and lively handling of paint particularly recall the work of Frans Hals. The painting was well received at the Salon, where the evocation of old master painting styles was much appreciated. This work also presented few of those surprising disjunctions of colour to which conventional critics of Manet often reacted violently. Manet's model, who endured more than sixty sittings, was a neighbour of the artist named Bellot. [Philadelphia Museum of Art - Oil on canvas, 94.6 x 83.3 cm]