Dutch Golden Age Painting
We will study the art of the Netherlands during the height of Dutch commercial prosperity, after achieving independence from Spanish Hapsburg rule (Philip II). The new republic was the most prosperous country in Europe, leading in trade, science, and art. Dutch Baroque art during the 17th century excelled in portraiture, genre painting, landscape/seascape/urban scenes, religious/historical themes and still life; it reflected the tradition of detailed realism and narrative directness. It developed a visual culture dependent on sight and seeing, above all on precise observation. It produced numerous artists such as Lastman, ter Brugghen, de Gelder, van Ruysdael, van der Heyden, Jordaens, Victors, Hals, Steen, Flinck, Vermeer, and Rembrandt, the greatest genius of Dutch art, who influenced art all over the Western world.
Newbrun, Ernest
Ernest Newbrun is Professor Emeritus at UCSF where he taught oral biology for over 30 years. He earned dental degrees (BDS, DMD), graduate degrees (MS, PhD) and received honorary doctorates (Doc Odont, DDSc). Since his retirement from the UC in 1994, he has been teaching in lifelong learning programs at USF’s Fromm Institute and Sonoma State University Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on a wide range of topics in science (evolution), nutrition (sugars & sweeteners), origin of scripts, and art history (biblical art, secessionism, expressionism, self-portraiture, murals, stolen art, innovators in modern art, Dutch 17th century Baroque art). Professor Newbrun was born in Vienna, Austria, grew up in Sydney, Australia and has lived in San Francisco since 1961 and since Covid epidemic in Sebastopol, CA.