Introduction & Scope

17th century Dutch painting makes up a large majority of the work usually considered to be the Dutch Golden Age. Though this golden age applied to all aspects of the Dutch world, it is particularly present in the painting from this time period. Some of the earlier artists and paintings from this time period could be considered to be part of the late European Renaissance, while most others would be considered to be from the movement known as the Baroque. Because of the productivity of the artists working at this time, and the particular caliber of the work being produced there are endless amounts of publications, exhibitions and information out there for researchers to sift through. Some attempt has been made to gather resources which the author feels rise above the rest and could be considered vital to anyone who is interested in researching 17th century Dutch painting.

A quick caveat: This pathfinder was created as an assignment through San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science. As per the instructions of the assignment all resources can be located at one library: Sonoma State University Library; the author, however, has no affiliation with the institution.

Furthermore, it must be noted that the resources which the author has included are not an exhaustive list of those available; neither are they comprehensive of all aspects of Dutch painting in this time period. Rather, they provide varied information of the paintings of this era, in varying degrees of specificity. There are numerous resources which give good background information, as well as those which focus on specific motifs, schools or exhibitions. The author has not included any purely biographical studies simply because the goal of this pathfinder is to provide a solid framework for research concerning Dutch painting during the 17th century as a whole. If a researcher is looking for biographical material there is plenty out there, especially on the ‘Big 3’ – Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals.

The inclusion of material in this resource is predicated on a few criteria, namely the scholarly quality, reputability of the author, and whether or not the resource contains a bibliography. Not all resources included in this pathfinder have bibliographies, but those that do are specifically noted. Bibliographies are important to consult when conducting research, and as there are no stand alone bibliographies of Dutch painting in the 17th century listed in the library catalog, special attention should be given to those resources which have one.