Rembrandt's Orient - West Meets East in Dutch Art of the 17th Century (Relié)

Turbans and carpets, sabers and silk robes - Rembrandt and his contemporaries repeatedly painted objects from distant lands. The resulting works of art provide evidence of the first wave of globalization and reflect the influence of foreign cultures on the Netherlands of the seventeenth century. This significant art-historical period was shaped by a thirst for knowledge, a passion for collecting, and a pride in possession ; it also inspired painters to create novel history scenes, portraits, and still lifes.
This catalog examines how the painters of the Dutch Golden Age reacted to the regions of the Middle and Far East, of which they had become increasingly aware through trade, travel, and publications. Foreignness represented an appealing contrast to the familiar, but it hardly aroused a more profound level of sympathy. Such was the case in the seventeenth century, and this attitude - which this catalog invites us to reflect upon - has not changed in large parts of the Western world.