Officer And The Laughing Girl Summary

Name :MD I HOSSIN Professor: Andrea Boffa

Course Name : HIST 108G Date: 02/26/2017

ART AND GLOBALIZATION IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Timothy Brook’s remarkable book blends art with the emergence of global trade in the seventeenth century. Using six paintings of Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, the writer examines the impact of changing international relations, particularly in the realm of trade, on art. The title chapter of the book discusses the painting called Officer and the Laughing Girl and analyzes how the painting opens up window to the global trade connections of the seventeenth century. According to the author, a painting is different from a photograph in that the former is a deliberate attempt of the painter to not

It is unique in a sense that it does not talk about the direct impact of the changing international trade scenario on art, which is what is usually done, but discusses the indirect impact of this trade on the art. For example, the immediate cause of the felt hat in the painting was the prevailing hat style in the Dutch society which underwent various changes through the seventeenth century. But the felt hat made of beaver fur would probably not be found in the painting had the Europeans not successfully negotiated beaver fur trade with the Native Americans. This success caused increase in the production of these hats in Europe which gave rise to a fashion statement and a status symbol, a display of which we see in the

What drove Champlain’s onward march was his ultimate desire to find a secure route to China. China had always fired the western imagination as a land of abundance and opportunity. The known trade routes around Africa and South America were not only long but also patrolled by the enemies. Champlain hoped to find a land route to China travelling across the North America. He did not succeed but his endeavors allowed him to establish a monopoly over the beaver fur trade in Europe. It was this trade of felt hats made of beaver fur that eventually became a feature of Vermeer’s