Goede Nacht: Images of the Night in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Visual Culture

Abstract

Goede Nacht: Images of the Night in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Visual Culture provides a comprehensive study of depictions of the night in Dutch art from seventeenth century, and of a number of different ways in which contemporary understandings of the nighttime informed artistic practice throughout the northern Netherlands. The dramatic increase in the production of such pictures, the impressive diversity of their compelling subjects, and their exquisite visual appeal demand scholarly attention. To better understand this complex topic, analysis focuses on the most frequently represented subject matter in Dutch nocturnal imagery—religious scenes, urban fires, labor and leisure—and contextualizes the meanings and functions of the remarkable pictures within relevant historical, religious, socio-economic and cultural associations and circumstances. The wide range of depicted subjects demonstrates the richness of such imagery and engages the sometimes conflicting cultural perceptions of the night among the Dutch at this time. Artists in various Dutch cities throughout the century produced the fascinating nighttime paintings and prints under discussion here. This dissertation examines paintings, prints, and drawings by artists including Leonaert Bramer, Hendrick ter Brugghen, Jan van der Heyden, Aert van der Neer, Egbert van der Poel, and Rembrandt van Rijn, among others.