Opinion | Was the ‘Golden Age’ really golden?

In late 2019, the Amsterdam Museum announced that it would bar the use of the term ‘Golden Age’ in its exhibitions and galleries. For example, it changed the name of its permanent exhibition called ‘Dutchmen in the Golden Age’ to the wider ‘Group Portraits of the 17th century’. At first, this decision may seem confusing. The museum is home to many important artefacts that tell the city’s long history, and surely if there was any place to use the descriptor, it would be here, so why? The museum claimed that the term glorifies the opulence of a period that, in reality, was fraught with countless atrocities. The famous Rijksmuseum, however, continues to use the name.

The period known as the Golden Age (Gouden Eeuw) lasted throughout the 17th century in the Netherlands and emerged from their struggle to gain independence from Spain, with the Eighty Years’ War. The war began with the Dutch revolt of the Seventeen Provinces and ended with the Peace of Münster in 1648 recognising the Netherlands as its own country. The founding of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) in 1602 facilitated the trade of goods such as textiles, spices and ceramics. This gave many Dutch people more money which they spent on luxurious furniture, clothing and art.

Domestic scenes known as ‘genre painting’ were common as the Dutch wanted works that reminded them of home.

However, this time was not all positive, as it saw relentless colonialism and the horrors of the slave trade, with thousands forced into enslavement and treated as sub-human. Shipping and sailing was notoriously dangerous. The constant threat of sinking, paired with deaths from illness, caused nightmarish conditions for those on board. The wealth accumulated was not distributed evenly, with those who benefitted from VOC trade living in splendour while there were many who lived in poverty.

The decision to change the name sparked controversy. For some, the name change makes sense. ‘Golden’ would imply something lavish and decadent, when for so many that was the furthest from the truth. It seems to romanticise and flatten a nuanced period that was more than rich Dutch people in big houses with their expensive possessions. Others say that the idea to phase out the term is unnecessary and overly sensitive. While no one can deny that the era was not perfect, ‘Golden Age’ is a good name that has become synonymous with the period, and under it important conversations about marginalised voices can still be had. 

This discussion is relevant in the context of South Africa as it was under centuries of Dutch and then British rule, both of which heavily shaped our culture today. The Cape of Good Hope was a vital station in the trade route from Europe to Asia before the construction of the Suez Canal. 

Scars of colonialism are still felt around the world in former colonies, in physical remnants of structures and in other lasting effects such as segregation of ethnic groups. For example, the ground of Jakarta in Indonesia (which was under Dutch rule until 1949) has been sinking, causing devastating flooding. Residents use pumped water due to the lack of access to the piped version. Old canals created by the Dutch have stagnated.

Personally, my opinion on the museum’s decision to change the name is moot. I don’t believe that it is particularly necessary, as there have been many complex discussions about the ‘Golden Age’ whilst utilising the term, and a simple name should not be reflective of an entire era. But I also don’t agree with those saying that the idea is idiotic or even exhibits a form of self-hatred of their history. I don’t feel like anybody should be too up in arms about this.  

In recent years, there has been a wider shift where many Western institutions have attempted to tackle their long and uncomfortable colonial histories, and to acknowledge underrepresented groups such as people of colour, queer people and women. For example, the Rijksmuseum has presented works recently for the first time from women artists such as Judith Leyster and Rachel Ruysch in their Gallery of Honour, home to masterpieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt, as well as holding an exhibition on slavery illustrated by ten personal stories. So the next time you see the name ‘Golden Age’, perhaps in a book or gallery, maybe you’ll peel back the layers and find out that it isn’t so golden after all…

–  An anonymous Y8