Specialisation: the key to excellence

Before 1590, most art was produced in the service of the Church. Art showed how salvation could be achieved, and clients commissioned meaningful works of art as a way of expressing their religious feelings. After 1590, the Northern States rebelled and started a new religious direction, in which art had very little place inside a Church. Coupled with Amsterdam becoming a major hub for international business, and by extent the other states, more and more “normal” people (meaning middle and lower class) could afford works of art, as artists were now producing their own ideas to have stock to sell. A free market ensued and quality became more and more important. This led to the phenomenon of specialisation for most artists, and with that very often: Excellence!