In the 17th century, the Netherlands experienced an unprecedented artistic explosion: painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals were so prolific that they were able to make a living from their talent alone; so much so that, within a prosperous society, thanks to wealth from overseas colonies and financial speculation, collecting works of art became a status symbol.
Production
Gorgeous archival paintings shot like they're celebrities.
Writing
Unpacks 'tulip mania meets canvas' with zero pretension.
Director
Frauke Schlieckau
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Dutch produced roughly 5 million paintings in the 17th century for a population of 2 million—literally everyone was buying art.
This era invented the 'star artist' economy we still live in—Rembrandt was basically running a personal brand before Instagram existed.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
DE
