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The Dutch Republic spawned thousands of artists who produced millions of paintings over the course of the century. Paintings decorated modest private homes as well as the walls of butcher shops and bakeries, and were even displayed around blacksmiths’ forges. This explosive production was the result of a new type of art market. Throughout the rest of Europe, artists worked on commission for the nobility or the church. Dutch artists competed on the open market. Most approached painting as a craft, specializing in certain types of imagery—history, genre, still-life, and portraiture. Specialization kept the production rate high and prices low.
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