A report on Amsterdam, Dutch Golden Age and Baruch Spinoza
Inspired by the groundbreaking ideas of René Descartes, Spinoza became a leading philosophical figure of the Dutch Golden Age.
- Baruch SpinozaOriginating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, and became the leading centre for the finance and trade sectors.
- AmsterdamSpinoza was raised in the Spanish-Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam.
- Baruch SpinozaMany of those moving north settled in Amsterdam, transforming what was a small harbor into one of the most important ports and commercial centres in the world by 1630.
- Dutch Golden AgeA few of Amsterdam's notable residents throughout its history include: painters Rembrandt and Van Gogh, the diarist Anne Frank, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza.
- AmsterdamHowever, some figures, such as the philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), experienced social stigma.
- Dutch Golden Age2 related topics with Alpha
Netherlands
1 linksCountry located in Northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean.
Country located in Northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean.
The four largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
In the Republican period, which began in 1588, the Netherlands entered a unique era of political, economic, and cultural greatness, ranked among the most powerful and influential in Europe and the world; this period is known as the Dutch Golden Age.
Erasmus and Spinoza were famous Dutch philosophers.
Rembrandt
1 linksDutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman.
Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman.
![The Jewish Bride, c. 1665–9, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. In Vincent van Gogh's own words (1885), "I should be happy to give 10 years of my life if I could go on sitting here in front of this picture [The Jewish Bride] fortnight, with only a crust of dry bread for food." In a letter to his brother Theo, Vincent wrote, "What an intimate, what an infinitely sympathetic picture it is,"](https://hyperleap.com/images/2302b94ee10cb85496db950fa336e49f/200-712de31574975beb6942d5499724423a.jpg)
His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch art (especially Dutch painting), whilst antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was prolific and innovative.
A depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of Amsterdam's Jewish population.
and the best expertly researched visual artists in history. His life and art have long attracted the attention of interdisciplinary scholarship such as art history, socio-political history, *Negri, Antonio: The Savage Anomaly: The Power of Spinoza's Metaphysics and Politics. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991). Translated from the Italian by Michael Hardt. Originally published as L'anomalia selvaggia. Saggio su potere e potenza in Baruch Spinoza (Milano: Feltrinelli, 1981). Antonio Negri (1981): "Kolakowski, as we will see, has clearly depicted the religious life and the forms of community constructed by the cultured strata of the Dutch bourgeoisie. Spinoza lives in this world, with a vast network of simple and sociable friendships and correspondences. But for certain determinate strata of the bourgeoisie the sweetness of the cultured and sedate life is accompanied, without any contradiction, by an association with a capitalist power ('potestas'), expressed in very mature terms. This is the condition of a Dutch bourgeois man. We could say the same thing for the other genius of that age, Rembrandt van Rijn. On his canvases the power of light is concentrated with intensity on the figures of a bourgeois world in terrific expansion. It is a prosaic but very powerful society, which makes poetry without knowing it because it has the force to do so."