This image typifies the Dutch School of Art, a genre that blossomed when the Netherlands freed itself from Spanish rule, developing political independence and a distinctive artistic persona. At the end of this struggle, immense national pride abounded and proliferated in landscapes, townscapes and seascapes rendered in Mannerist and naturalist styles. Portraits, still lifes and genre scenes from everyday life were also popular subjects. Unfettered by the specifications of religious, political or aristocratic patrons, Dutch artists were able to freely express themselves.

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