The Discovery of the Netherlands: Four Centuries of Landscape Painting by Dutch Masters

Published concurrently with Holland's inaugural Apeldoorn Garden and Landscape Architecture Triennial, The Discovery of the Netherlands explores how the genre of Dutch landscape painting has played a role in the viewer's appreciation of the landscape. Editor Henk van Os, Department Chair of Art and Society at the University of Amsterdam, contends that the function of landscape painting is to educate the viewer to appreciate, through the artists' skill, the view that the artist has chosen to portray. Van Os echoes a key tenet of nineteenth century landscape painting--that framing nature frees it for aesthetic appreciation. This volume explores how the diverse Dutch landscape has been fervently idealized by generations of Dutch artists, literally leading to the discovery of its aesthetic virtue. The publication features works by Hendrik Chabot, Jacob Maris, Anton Mauve and Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch, among others. Also included is an essay on the subject of contemporary conservation by Louise Fresco.