OBJECTS OF DESIRE: CASE STUDIES IN THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF EROTIC IMAGES IN THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE By

This dissertation is an investigation into the place and purpose of eroticism in seventeenth-century Dutch art. Sexualized iconography was certainly not uncommon in this period; much of it has become familiar fare to modern scholars and viewers. What is significantly less understood, though no less frequent in occurrence, are images that are erotic in and of themselves. It is my thesis that there exists a larger body of erotic visual material than has been heretofore acknowledged. Drawing attention to the existence of imagery concerned encouraging a direct erotic response facilitates a reconstruction of the place of erotic imagery in seventeenth-century Holland. This study analyzes the material in an effort to create a new context for the reception of these cultural artifacts and works to highlight how canonical prejudices have encouraged scholars and viewers to see these objects as peripheral to the artistic product of the Dutch Golden Age. Questions concerned with audience, market pressures, artistic aspirations, the relationship between a theme and its form and meaning are addressed through close readings of nine primary case studies. The subjects of these examples are drawn from ii