Aelbert Cuyp

The Golden Age describes an epoch of art that was framed by the flourishing economy of the Netherlands in the 17th century. It was a century with good economic conditions and the prosperous society proved to be a promoter of art and culture. The painters worked in the workshops and created great art. A particular gem in this phase was a period that began around 1640 and lasted for a good 20 years. The artist Aelbert Cuyp had his creative period during this period and is considered one of the artists who succeeded in giving the Dutch landscape a golden shimmer. Br/> Aelbert Cuyp lived in Dordrecht. Here the motifs were on his doorstep and Cuyp developed into one of the most famous landscape painters in the Netherlands in the stable environment of an artistic family. In particular, the artist covered the river landscapes with a golden shimmer that made the waters glow in the morning light and in the afternoon. In addition to the special light and the mood created, the works were characterised by skilful compositions. Cuyp was one of the few artists who succeeded in changing the incidence of light in the painting. For a long time it was common practice to place the incidence of light at right angles to the line of vision, but Cuyp placed the light in the background. The light source appears as if the painter had looked into the sun. The result was a greater depth effect and a higher luminosity.