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Dutch Baroque architecture is a variety ofBaroque architecture that flourished in theDutch Republic and its colonies during theDutch Golden Age of the 17th century. (Dutch painting during the period is covered byDutch Golden Age painting).
Like contemporary developments in England, DutchPalladianism is marked by sobriety and restraint. The architecture of the first republic in Northern Europe was meant to reflect democratic values by quoting extensively fromclassical antiquity. It found its impetus in the designs ofHendrick de Keyser, who was instrumental in establishing aVenetian-influenced style into early 17th-century architecture through new buildings like theNoorderkerk ("Northern church", 1620–1623) andWesterkerk ("Western church", 1620–1631) inAmsterdam. In general, architecture in theLow Countries, both in theCounter-Reformation-influencedsouth andProtestant-dominated north, remained strongly invested in northern ItalianRenaissance andMannerist forms that predated theRomanHigh Baroque style ofBorromini andBernini. Instead, the more austere form practiced in the Dutch Republic was well suited to major building patterns: palaces for theHouse of Orange and new civic buildings, uninfluenced by the Counter-Reformation style that made some headway inAntwerp.
The major exponents of the mid-17th century,Jacob van Campen andPieter Post, adopted de Keyser's forms for such eclectic elements asgiant order pilasters, gable roofs, central pediments, and vigorous steeples. Brought together in a coherent combination, these stylistic developments anticipatedChristopher Wren's Classicism. The most ambitious constructions of the period included theseats of self-government inAmsterdam (1646) andMaastricht (1658), designed by Campen and Post, respectively. On the other hand, the residences of the House of Orange are closer to a typical burgher mansion than to a royal palace. Two of these,Huis ten Bosch andMauritshuis, are symmetrical blocks with large windows, stripped of ostentatiousBaroque flourishes. The same austerely geometrical effect is achieved without great cost or pretentious effects at thestadtholder's summer residence ofHet Loo.
The Dutch Republic was one of thegreat powers of 17th-century Europe and its influence on European architecture was significant. Dutch architects were employed on important projects in Northern Germany, Scandinavia and Russia, disseminating their ideas in those countries. TheDutch Colonial architecture, once flourishing in theHudson River Valley and associated primarily with red-brick gabled houses, may still be seen inWillemstad, Curaçao, although painted with more varied colors.
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