Despite the political and religious turmoil of the Eighty Years’ War (1589–1648), in the early 17th century the northern Netherlands experienced great economic prosperity due to the country’s international maritime trade and high levels of urbanization. With the foundation of the Dutch Republic came an unprecedented flourishing of the arts that is widely referred to as the Dutch Golden Age. The National Gallery of Art collection includes works by the artistic giants of the era, among them Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, and Frans Hals, with outstanding examples of the portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, marine paintings, still lifes, and biblical and mythological scenes that have made this school of painting one of the most beloved and admired in the history of European art.