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Supporting Resources stories for teachers & students 2013
Dutch Lives in the World
stories by winthrop professor susan broomhall
The Dutch at Home
This painting appears at first glance rather austere, yet also
shows the little luxuries of a well-to-do Dutch family during the
Golden Age. It says much about Dutch sentiments in this period,
about their perceptions of hard work and faith which led to a
new-found prosperity for the nation. The Dutch were Godfearing,
mainly Protestant, people and they worried that all this
wealth and overvloed (abundance), flowing into the country would
corrupt them. How could they manage to remain good Was this
a test of their morals from God
They worried a lot about how they could contain their pride in
their own success. This is shown in their clothing, which often
seems very sombre to us, simple black and white. But look
closely, the white lace collars are very finely wrought pieces of
work, costing a great deal of money because of their labour. So
in some ways, Dutch clothing reflects these combined feelings
– of pride in wealth and luxury coupled with humility and
modesty that this pride ought to be contained.
The items on the table also highlight some of these conflicting
emotions. We can see the conspicuous display of salt and
herenbrood (refined white bread) rather than the semelbrood
(rye black bread) of poorer folk, little everyday luxuries for the
family, as well as the exotic green-and-white serving bowl which
stands out against their simple pewter plates.
The Dutch were obsessed with the cleanliness of their morals
which they thought was reflected in the cleanliness of their
homes. Housewives were expected to keep their pewterware
gleaming, just as it is in this picture. Low windows and no
curtains in Dutch houses are typical even today because anyone
should be able to peer in at any time, and there should be
nothing to hide. Dutch women were reputed across Europe as
extremely houseproud. One seventeenth-century English visitor
even reported that the wife of a friend he had gone to visit had
picked him up and carried him from the front door to the
reception room herself, rather than let him put his muddy boots
on her nicely polished floor!
Even the family around the table show the same mix of pride and
humility. They were a large, healthy family, something to be
proud of. God had blessed them. They were also keen to show
that they were sober and serious in their faith, and demonstrated
their gratitude in the picture through prayer. So, in this age of
great riches and new discoveries for the Dutch, people were also,
perhaps surprisingly to us, quite fearful about their future: they
felt guilty about being so wealthy, and tried to be humble,
industrious, and sensible about how they used their riches, and
they also hoped and trusted in God to protect them from its
moral and emotional dangers.
Image/ Anonymous, Family Portrait, 1627. © Rijksmuseum SK-A-4469.
54 FAR FROM HOME: ADVENTURES, TREKS, EXILES & MIGRATION