No Fear o' Eras

The Dutch Masters

The idea behind No Fear o' Eras is to discover what makes up the style of certain artistic eras. Explore the three examples below to see if you can find what makes them all fit into this era.

If this is your first time doing No Fear o' Eras, read the instructions.


The Paintings

A Lady Writing
Johannes Vermeer
Dutch, 1632 - 1675
The Mill
Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch, 1606 - 1669
Portrait of a Man
Frans Hals
Dutch, c. 1582/1583 - 1666


Questions

  1. What kind of people are the subjects of the paintings?

  2. How plain or cluttered would you say the paintings are?

  3. Is the focus more on peak experiences or everyday life?

  4. Which elements of design stand out the most?

  5. How much skill would it take to create paintings like these?

Would you like to read general questions for looking at art?


Internet Resources

More about the style & artists

The Rembrandt House Museum
Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
History of the Dutch Masters from Holland.com

Sampling more examples

WebMuseum's pages on Rembrandt, Vermeer & Frans Hals
World Art Treasures: Vermeer
Dutch and Flemish Masters at the Timken Museum

Historical or cultural issues

The Five Points of Calvinism
The Netherlands - National Geographic

Current versions

Portraits of Los Angeles - Sunset and La Brea
Pinterest: Still life

Coming to an Opinion

Now that you have studied the three paintings by looking, questioning, and exploring related Internet resources, it's time to show what you've discovered. Fill in the fields below, then click the "I Fear No Eras" button to post your page. Print out, present, and discuss your ideas with other art historians.


    Your name:

    What are the Three main things artworks of this era have in common?
    (Would you like some tips or to see the feedback rubric?)


     

First Posted December 1995
Last revised February, 2014
Created by Tom March, tom at ozline dot com