Art Markets Shift

When churches stopped commissioning art, painters had to find new clients. In the Protestant Netherlands, the market for religious art collapsed almost overnight. Artists pivoted to portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and genre scenes — paintings of everyday life that wouldn't offend reformed sensibilities.

The destruction wasn't random. Reformers targeted images they believed encouraged saint worship and superstition. Crucifixes, statues of the Virgin, and reliquaries were systematically removed. Only plain crosses and scripture text were permitted.