Books

Though books often are overlooked in favor of journal articles when it comes to scholarly material, they are invaluable resources for art history. It must be remembered that before the widespread usage of digital images, and their dispensation via the World Wide Web, these books were often the only resources that allowed researchers to see reproductions of paintings. Too frequently people assume that all art history books are ‘coffee table’ art books, with all but images and no substance. Quite in contrast to this supposition, these resources combine invaluable images with scholarly research. Many of these books also contain extensive bibliographies, which for this subject area can be quite hard to track down. Some of the resources listed below offer broad surveys of the topic, and others are more specific in their scope. Any combination of these resources will provide researchers with a bounty of information on their topic.


Alpers, S. (1983). The art of describing: Dutch art in the seventeenth century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Having been a professor at UC Berkeley, Alpers was a preeminent scholar of 17th century Dutch art. This book is concerned primarily with the ‘vision’ of Dutch artists, specifically how Dutch artists tend to describe whereas their Italian counterparts compose narratives. This book offers a unique approach, and should be consulted by all researchers of the topic.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Stacks
  • Call #: ND646 .A46 1983
  • ISBN: 0226015122
  • Contains Bibliography: N/A

Bergström, I. (1956). Dutch still-life painting in the seventeenth century. New York: T. Yoseloff.

Professor Bergström has compiled a fully comprehensive volume of still-life paintings. This subject matter is often overlooked in the larger, more general surveys of Dutch painting. It offers excellent scope and solid information.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Oversize
  • Call #: ND1390 .B42
  • ISBN: N/A
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 317-325

Haak, B., & Willems-Treeman, E. (1984). The Golden Age: Dutch painters of the seventeenth century. New York: H.N. Abrams.

Haak was a Rembrandt specialist, a founder of the Rembrandt Research Project, and director of the Amsterdam Historical Museum. His publication mixes scholarly research with easy to access information. It provides a good mixture of well-known and lesser-known Dutch painters of the era.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Oversize
  • Call #: ND646 .H3 1984
  • ISBN: 0810909561
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 512-524

Kahr, M. M. (1978). Dutch painting in the seventeenth century. New York: Harper & Row.

This work contains images and information about many of the most well-known Dutch painters of the period: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Ruisdael, etc. This resource does not provide extensive scholarly research as seen in other resources included, but is nevertheless a good starting point for research and overview.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Stacks
  • Call #: ND646 .K26 1978
  • ISBN: 0064335763
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 306-310

Liedtke, W. A. (2000). A view of Delft: Vermeer and his contemporaries. Zwolle: Waanders.

Dr. Walter Liedtke, curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, focuses on four artists working in Delft during the 17th century: Vermeer, Fabritius, Houckgeest and de Hooch. Color plates accompany six essays, which are concerned with how each of these Delft painters influenced one another. It provides a unique perspective that is not attainable in a monograph or survey.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Oversize
  • Call #: ND646.5.D45 L54 2000
  • ISBN: 904009490X
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 296-313

Martin, W. (1951). Dutch painting of the great period, 1650-1697. London: Batsford.

Whereas some of the resources in this section offer specificity, this title is a good survey of Dutch art in the 17th century. Dr. Wilhelm Martin, professor of Art History at Leiden University, Netherlands, has given a good overview of Dutch painters active during the last half of the 17th century.

  • Location: Automated Retrieval
  • Call #: ND646 .M313
  • ISBN: N/A
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 77-78

Rosenberg, J., Slive, S., & Kuile, E. H. t. (1966). Dutch art and architecture, 1600 to 1800. The Pelican history of art, Z27. Baltimore: Penguin Books.

This is an older title, compiled by two Harvard University Rembrandt scholars, and as such it does not provide groundbreaking theory; rather it provides good background information and comprehensive coverage. It also pays attention to still-life and background paintings, which some surveys and monographs tend to neglect.

  • Location: Automated Retrieval
  • Call #: ND636 .R6 1966
  • ISBN: N/A
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 279-308

Slive, S., & Rosenberg, J. (1995). Dutch painting 1600-1800. Yale University Press Pelican history of art. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.

Both authors of this volume are professors at Harvard University, and renowned Rembrandt scholars. This resource gives a good overview of Dutch artists in the 17th and18th centuries, and as such offers some connection that other surveys which are focused solely on 17th century Dutch painting might overlook. The text is accessible and easy to follow.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Oversize
  • Call #: ND646 .S495 1995
  • ISBN: 0300064187
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 339-364

Sluijter, E. J. (2000). Seductress of sight: Studies in Dutch art of the Golden Age. Studies in Netherlandish art and cultural history, 2. Zwolle: Waanders.

This resource offers a more specific vision than many items included thus far; Sluiijter, a professor at the University of Amsterdam, has compiled a unique collection of pieces which all focus on the theme of beauty and seduction in Dutch painting of the era.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Stacks
  • Call #: N6946 .S598 2000
  • ISBN: 9040094438
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 344-356

Stechow, W. (1966). Dutch landscape painting of the seventeenth century. London: Phaidon.

Stechow, who was a professor at Oberlin University, and scholar of the Dutch Baroque, has created a wonderful survey of Dutch landscape paintings. Like still-life painting in this era, landscape painting is often overlooked in favor of portraits and narratives. This impressive volume is an invaluable resource for this genre.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Stacks
  • Call #: ND1359.3 .S73 1968
  • ISBN: 0714813303
  • Contains Bibliography: p. 223-236

Van Dyke, J. C. (1923). Rembrandt and his school; A critical study of the master and his pupils with a new assignment of their pictures. New York: C. Scribner's Sons.

This book should be consulted for research because it was one of the first publications to carefully question paintings which had previously been attributed to Remdrandt. Van Dyke, who was a professor of Art History at Rutgers University, carefully considers Rembradnt, his pupils, and their interaction.

  • Location: 3rd Floor Oversize
  • Call #: ND653.R4 V4
  • ISBN: N/A
  • Contains Bibliography: N/A

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