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The Low Countries at the Crossroads. Netherlandish Architecture as an Export Product in Early Modern Europe (1480-1680).
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From the late 15th until the late 17th century, the architecture of the Low Countries has been a source of inspiration for other regions in Europe. The phenomenon encompasses different styles, ranging from the influence of the ‘flamboyant’ style in Toledo and Brou at the beginning of the period, over the influence of the ‘antiekse werken’ flourishing in Antwerp and, later, in Amsterdam, in the German realm, Scandinavia and England, until finally the growing influence of French court architecture takes the lead in the last quart of the 17th century. The influence of the Netherlands on Peter the Great’s Russia will be considered in the epilogue. The basic question, however, is not one of style: these architectural influences require a systematic study as a structural phenomenon. Which are the mechanisms at work? What is the role of actors and patrons?
- How was the knowledge of Netherlandish architecture disseminated? What was the influence of architectural prints and treatises for artisans, architects and patrons? What was the role of travelling building masters? How important were (family) networks for the exchange of formal and/or technical expertise? What role did the trade in building materials (especially stone and marble from the Southern Netherlands) play in the spread of architectural knowledge and forms?
- Who were the patrons? What was their connection with the Low Countries and why did they engage Netherlandish architects? What stimulated this demand? Who were the intermediary agents?
With these questions we want to find an answer to the more general issue: why were experts from the Low Countries called in? Was it because of their technical expertise? Or because they could provide a ‘Netherlandish’ art? Or were they appreciated as intermediates with connections to international architectural currents (such as the flamboyant late gothic from Brabant around 1500, or the ‘antique’ architecture for which Antwerp in the middle of the 16th and Amsterdam in the 17th century were leading centres)? Did it concern ‘Netherlandish architecture’ or architecture ‘by artists (or after printed models) of Netherlandish origin’?
The project will give priority to civic architecture although related areas of military architecture - Netherlandish engineering is a successful export product - will also be discussed. Colonial architecture falls outside the scope of this project.
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Project number:
3E050085
Duration of the project:
01.01.2006 - 31.12.2009
Funded research
Nederlands
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