Rethinking repetition: Constructing value in Dutch genre painting, 1650s to 1670s

In the third quarter of the seventeenth century, a number of Dutch painters specialized in producing finely crafted genre paintings. A prevalent feature of their work that has not been satisfactorily accounted for is the recurrence of motifs distinctive to individual painters. With Gerrit Dou, Gerard ter Borch, and Frans van Mieris as the primary case studies, this dissertation challenges the current view that repetition was a cost-saving strategy in the mass market for cheap paintings. Instead, it argues that repetition was a means of constructing value in paintings.;This dissertation integrates previously separate areas of research in the history of Dutch art, including the economics of the art market, the history of collecting, the vernacular discourse of painting, and the material aspects of art making. The works of Dou and Ter Borch serve as focal points for examining the intersections between the artists' inventive processes and the conditions of consumption. A recurring signature motif---Dou's window embrasure or Ter Borch's woman in satin---helped an artist project a distinctive artistic identity, drawing attention to subtle variations in his virtuosic execution. It also offered an occasion for the viewers to display their knowledge about fashionable or canonical painters, thus adding social and cultural value to the painting. This specific role played by paintings in social negotiations was exploited by artists in the 1660s and 1670s, such as Van Mieris. By citing as well as reinterpreting the imagery of Dou and Ter Borch, Van Mieris encouraged viewers to compare his creation with his models and accentuated his own skill and inventiveness.;Through an examination of the phenomenon of repetitive imagery in high-value genre paintings, this dissertation concludes that judicious use of repetition could underscore the singular achievements of an artist. The project of rethinking repetition thus provokes the reconsideration of the notions of authorship, originality, imitation, and their connections to value in early modern artistic practice.