Govert Flinck, Ferdinand Bol and Their Networks of Influential Clients

In the seventeenth century, networking was the most effective way of achieving success and standing. Govert Flinck and Ferdinand Bol combined their artistic skills with clever networking so that, throughout their careers, prestigious commissions came their way from wealthy merchants and influential governors in Amsterdam. An initial sketch of the highlights of their careers shows just how successful they were. This is followed by a reconstruction – first for Flinck and then for Bol – of the networks of clients, which reveals the importance of these networks to their output of work and the course of their careers.