Do you love Dutch still-life painting? If you do, you might be interested in two books that deep-dive into the Dutch culture of the 17th century.

The first book I want to share with you is “Vermeer’s Hat” by economist Timothy Brooks.

Personally, I love reading and learning about economic theory, however you don’t have to like economics to like this book. Especially if you are curious about the world that Vermeer lived in, this book is full of interesting information. Timothy Brooks takes the concept of looking at a Vermeer painting and then breaking down the objects in the painting and investigating how they arrived in the composition.

The 17th century Dutch economy relied on global trade, and Brooks weaves fascinating tales about the history of the items often found in these paintings. If you want a taste of the book before reading it, check out the podcast I listened too before getting my own copy. Check out the podcast here.

The second book is “Eye of the Beholder” by Laura J. Snyder. Its a biography on Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and Johannes Vermeer.

I really love this book because it highlights not only the enonomic changes going on in Dutch society in the 17th century, but also the ground breaking scientific discoveries being made, and how these affected all walks of life.

The thing we love Vermeer for, his ability to really see and observe in a heightened manner, to level of reality not regularly captured in painting before his time, was also happening in the world of science. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek invented the first microscope, and revolutionized lens making. So he too changed the way people thought about seeing and observing nature, and for the scientists of his time, he made it possible to observe the world in a new way.

In the 1600s in Holland, everything was changing and these two books are so good at explaining these titanic shifts in culture, economics, science, and art. I love these books even more because they explain the world Dutch artists lived in, helping me appreciate and admire the art creating during this time even more.

For example, as the century progressed, the Dutch flower painters began to paint the flowers with an even more scientific precision. This is because the patrons who could afford them also potentially dabbled in science, maybe even owning a microscope. And at the very least owning a magnifying glass, which was called a “flea glass” during that time so the average person could observe and investigate those small bugs in detail. Something that had not been possible before.

If you love social history as much as I do, go and get these books.

Because I like to listen to audio books while painting, I own these books in both paper copies and in audio. I do this for when I am listening and hear a particularly interesting passage and I want to chew on the idea more, I will take note of it in the audio book app and then later go and read it in detail. This way I can truly absorb the idea, the book “Eye of the Beholder” had some passages that delved into Vermeer’s painting methods, something I really wanted to learn about.