using on the sky. A political belief which can also be represented is the ruined castle, perhaps signifying the fall of the aristocracy and the emergence of the new egalitarian society through the Revolt. It is important to note that such interpretations can differ, and that it is not always possible to make distinctions between ‘belief’ and ‘experience,’ nor to gauge an objective opinion on an individual painting. However, source 1 combines a simple conveyance of economic and social life in the Netherlands with some of the religious and social beliefs which shaped this life, much of which is supported by sources 6 and 7.Portraiture in particular was a genre that flourished in the social conditions of the Dutch Republic, with many portraits being bought and commissioned by members of the middle class, which is why William Aglionby states in source 5 ‘pictures are very common here … across all ranks of the population.’ Source 2 shows this aspect of social experience, supported by Simon Schama’s view in source 4 that ‘at the center of the Dutch world was a burgher, not a bourgeois.’ It shows that Dutch social experience was particularly reliant on the middle class, and that professionals worked collaboratively in groups. The patron saint of guilds Matthias is conveyed in this painting, showing a religious significance to their work and perhaps this religious significance is the main reason for the moral values that can be found behind this literal exterior. These values are also supported by the third painting, source 3. It can be found that along with the ‘peak of prosperity and greatness’ (source 6) which the Netherlands ‘superior in riches’ (source 5) was experiencing, was an increasing concern that material wealth and riches were transient, and that the futility of life and inevitability of death must be accepted. In source 2, the burghers are dressed...
