To what extent did the international art market contribute to the shaping of the concept of schools of painting, in particular the northern and southern Netherlandish schools? By studying the structure of auction catalogues, collection catalogues, art literature, and several other sources, this essay considers the important changes that took place around 1740–1760. During this period, both Dutch and French art dealers tried to expand the canon of Netherlandish art in France. The subdivision of the ‘École flamande’ into the ‘Écoles flamande et hollandoise’ was probably part of a strategy to sell paintings by northern Netherlandish masters who were still relatively unknown in France at the time.

Nederland op zijn mooist. De achttiende-eeuwse Republiek in kaart en beeld biedt in meer dan duizend kaarten, stadsplattegronden, stadsgezichten, dorpsgezichten, stadhuizen, kerken, kloosters en abdijen, kastelen en buitenplaatsen, poorten en marktpleinen een bijna alomvattend beeld van het Nederlandse landschap in de achttiende eeuw. Een ‘Grand Tour’ door de Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden, van Amsterdam tot Groningen en van Middelburg tot Maastricht. Het beeld dat oprijst is deels vertrouwd en heel herkenbaar, deels onbekend en bevreemdend. Veel van wat er op de prenten is te zien, is later afgebroken, verbouwd of vervangen, maar minstens evenveel is tot op de dag van vandaag bewaard gebleven.

The Hermitage has been their home for a very long time. They have witnessed generations of Russian tsars and European monarchs come and go. At the Hermitage they survived world wars, the Russian Revolution and many other dramatic events. They drew millions of visitors to the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. And now these masterpieces from the collection of Dutch masters at the Hermitage have temporarily returned to their native land.

The Russian love for the Dutch masters began in the seventeenth century. Peter the Great visited Holland and purchased a number of works. His successors and the people at the court were even more passionate collectors than he, making the Hermitage the proud owner of an unprecedented, extensive collection of works by Dutch masters.

But why did the Russian aristocracy love Dutch art so much? How did the collections come together? And how did these Dutch paintings influence Russian art? In this book, Russian and Dutch authors give answers to these questions and take you on a journey all the way to Saint Petersburg and back. Back to the Netherlands of the Golden Age.