anders sought to preserve emphasises the above view that the revolt was a war of liberties, and the resulting culture a liberal one in terms of religion. The Netherlands became an intellectual hothouse of new ideas and those of philosophers such as Spinoza and Descartes circulated. It seemed that with the breakdown of central authority, controlled by monarchy and to an extent clergy, came the reliance on the self. With this attitude came a freedom to question previous beliefs which still shaped most other European societies. The war of liberties had engendered a liberal conscience for all, and the questioning of fundamental religious relationships led naturally to similar political and social questionings. This accounts for the diversity of the revolt, its resulting diverse republic, and the diversion in art away from religious iconography and towards a portrayal of the self. Within this portrayal of the self, the great Dutch paradox seemed to form, for the liberty had become self-destructive, as their economic and social creation became perfunctory, and formed an entrapment which was contradictory to all their moral values. This ‘embarrassment of riches’ was paradigmatic of the Dutch, who morally knew not what they wanted, yet wanted what they knew not of.It can be seen that Dutch Art was the forum of expression by which many of the ideological, social and economic characteristics possessed by the republic were expressed, but also that in some respects the revolt did not always influence the republic, as many characteristics of the republic, such as its geographically advantageous features for trading and the strong spirit of libertinism within its culture existed before the revolt. It is also important to note that generalisations have been made throughout this essay, focusing primarily on only two of the northern provinces, Holland and Zeeland. It has been shown by historical studies how the prosperity experienced by thes...
