--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An English visitor to Amsterdam in 1640…" description: "\"“An English visitor to Amsterdam in 1640 could not hide how impressed he was by what he saw. In the Low Countries, wrote Peter Mundy, even houses of “i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/peter-frankopan-27375_quote_an-english-visitor-to-amsterdam-in-1640_1566708.jpg" --- # An English visitor to Amsterdam in 1640 could not hide how… ![“An English visitor to Amsterdam in 1640 could not hide how impressed he was by what he saw. In the Low Countries, wrote Peter Mundy, even houses of “indifferent quality” were filled with furniture and ornaments “very Costly and Curious, Full of pleasure and home contentment, as Ritche Cupboards…” quote by Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/peter-frankopan-27375_quote_an-english-visitor-to-amsterdam-in-1640_1566708.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/peter-frankopan-27375_quote_an-english-visitor-to-amsterdam-in-1640_1566708.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/peter-frankopan-27375_quote_an-english-visitor-to-amsterdam-in-1640_1566708.jpg) > ““An English visitor to Amsterdam in 1640 could not hide how impressed he was by what he saw. In the Low Countries, wrote Peter Mundy, even houses of “indifferent quality” were filled with furniture and ornaments “very Costly and Curious, Full of pleasure and home contentment, as Ritche Cupboards, Cabinetts…Imagery, porcelain, Costly Fine cages with birds” and more besides. Even butchers and bakers, blacksmiths and cobblers had paintings and luxury trinkets in their homes.60 “I was amazed,” wrote the English diarist John Evelyn about the annual fair in Rotterdam at around the same time; it was flooded with paintings, especially with “landscapes and drolleries, as they call those clownish representations.” Even common farmers had become avid art collectors.”” [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In 17th‑century Holland, even modest households displayed wealth through art, showing widespread prosperity. **In simple terms:** Art was common among all classes. Key Takeaway Recognize shared cultural richness. Themes history economics art social class Mood analytical curious Type historical observational When to use this quote - museum curation - heritage tourism - urban development - education on art history Key Concepts consumerism cultural diffusion Questions to Reflect On - What does this reveal about status symbols? - How did trade influence daily life? A Different Perspective Wealth disparity still existed despite appearances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [I don't want to sell to street art collectors, I want to sell to art collectors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-don-t-want-to-sell-to-street-art-collectors-i-want-to-sell-to-art/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I hate it when people say that art shouldnt be a commodity. A lot of the rooms in museums, and all the Frieze week…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-perry/i-hate-it-when-people-say-that-art-shouldnt-be-a-commodity-a-lot-of/) [Grayson Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-perry/) > [My aim is to give you only the things with which I am completely satisfied, even if it means asking you a little more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/my-aim-is-to-give-you-only-the-things-with-which-i-am-completely/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I'm not really an art collector - I'm more of a person who picks up things. I have pieces by people like Gerhard Richter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-fujiwara/i-m-not-really-an-art-collector-i-m-more-of-a-person-who-picks-up/) [Hiroshi Fujiwara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-fujiwara/) > [Art collectors are pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. What matters and survives is the art. I buy art that I like. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/art-collectors-are-pretty-insignificant-in-the-scheme-of-things-what-2/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [San Francisco has always been a great city for art collectors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gagosian/san-francisco-has-always-been-a-great-city-for-art-collectors/) [Larry Gagosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gagosian/) > [Art collectors are pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. What matters and survives is the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/art-collectors-are-pretty-insignificant-in-the-scheme-of-things-what/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [My wife and I are art collectors and architectural crazies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-susman/my-wife-and-i-are-art-collectors-and-architectural-crazies/) [Louis Susman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-susman/) > [Dealers claim that women artists are not as salable as men, that they are a poor investment. 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Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## More by Peter Frankopan > [“The faithful had previously been told to face Jerusalem when they prayed. In 628, however, following further revelation, it was apparently announced that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/the-faithful-had-previously-been-told-to-face-jerusalem-when-they/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [“There is more going on, then, than the clumsy interventions of the west in Iraq and Afghanistan and the use of pressure in Ukraine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/there-is-more-going-on-then-than-the-clumsy-interventions-of-the-west/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [“The stunning corpus of poetry produced during the war likewise paints a very different picture of how the conflict was viewed at the time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/the-stunning-corpus-of-poetry-produced-during-the-war-likewise-paints/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [“Farming also increasingly became an important part of the steppe economy, with crops being planted across the Lower Volga region, which included ‘many tilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/farming-also-increasingly-became-an-important-part-of-the-steppe/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [“In truth, France. 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In 1974, an initial agreement was reached by which the US agreed to sell two reactors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/the-first-port-of-call-was-the-americans-in-1974-an-initial-agreement/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [“In the nineteenth century, it was to the west and to the United States that such individuals looked for fame and fortune; a millennium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/in-the-nineteenth-century-it-was-to-the-west-and-to-the-united-states/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [ “Contemporaries struggled to make sense of what, to them, was the complete collapse of the world order. “Why does \[God\] allow us to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/contemporaries-struggled-to-make-sense-of-what-to-them-was-the/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [“Albrecht Dürer was stunned by the quality of the craftsmanship of Aztec treasures he saw exhibited in 1520. “Nothing I have seen in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-frankopan/albrecht-d-rer-was-stunned-by-the-quality-of-the-craftsmanship-of/) [Peter Frankopan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-frankopan/) > [“As the two bullets left the chamber of Princip’s Browning revolver, Europe was a continent of empires. 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Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. 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This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An English visitor to Amsterdam in 1640 could not hide how impressed he was by what he saw. In the Low Countries, wrote Peter Mundy, even houses of “indifferent quality” were filled with furniture and ornaments “very Costly and Curious, Full of pleasure and home contentment, as Ritche Cupboards, Cabinetts…Imagery, porcelain, Costly Fine cages with birds” and more besides. 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