Few countries boast an art tradition as rich as the Netherlands, represented by such famous artists as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Vincent van Gogh. This 9-week study abroad opportunity will offer the study of Dutch art on-site within its cultural and historical context.
While the program's primary focus is art history in the Netherlands-with special attention to Dutch Modernism and the seventeenth-century "Golden Age"-other topics will also be addressed. These include the contemporary art scene in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, discussions with museum professionals, architecture, urban planning, design, and issues of Dutch identity, particularly in relation to recent debates on migration and the history of Dutch colonialism that are increasingly prevalent in contemporary art circles and museums of older art.
The program will be based in Amsterdam, where participants will live as locals in student housing. We will frequently branch out to various cities in the country, such as The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Haarlem, Eindhoven. The program starts in Belgium to study early Netherlandish and modern Flemish art in Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent. Similarly, we hope to offer an excursion to another neighboring country, either Germany or France.
We are recruiting students from a variety of disciplines and levels who wish to see the art and culture of the Netherlands come to life by experiencing it firsthand. Lectures will be regularly held on the University of Amsterdam campus to provide training in both the content and methods of art history, but much of the learning and discovering will take place in the museums, along the canals, and in front of the monuments of Amsterdam and other cities of the Netherlands.
Students will research and present topics based on their own interests. Guest lectures, bike tours, city walks, and research days will be scheduled during the week, leaving ample free time to explore.
Using the rich traditions of Amsterdam and the Low Countries, this program will introduce participants to exciting modes of thinking about and looking at art, architecture, and Dutch culture.
Program dates: Summer quarter, 06/20/2023 - 08/18/2023
15 credits
Application deadline: January 31, 2023
Program Director: Marek Wieczorek, marek@uw.edu, team taught with Inji Kim