Godefridus Schalcken: A Late 17th-century Dutch Painter in Pursuit ofFame and Fortune is the first book in English dedicated to the entireartistic output of seventeenth-century Dutch artist Godefridus Schalcken(1643–1706). It examines the artist’s paintings and career trajectory againstthe background of his ceaseless pursuit of fame and fortune. Combining acomprehensive analysis of Schalcken's artistic development and style with ourincreasing biographical knowledge, it provides an authoritative overview ofSchalcken’s ample production as an artist. It also integrates his art intothe circumstances of his life in relation to his ambitious careeraspirations, exploring how economic conditions, a concomitantly oversaturatedart market, talent and ambition, demographics, and even sheer luck all playeda role in Schalcken’s great professional success. Since Schalcken’s art,like that of all Dutch painters, provides a plethora of information aboutseventeenth-century culture—its predilections, its prejudices, indeed, itsvery mind-set—the book inevitably links his work to the broadersocio-cultural contexts in which it was created.
