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Life expectancy of artists in the Low Countries from the fifteenth to the twentieth century

Author

Listed:
  • Frans van Poppel
  • Dirk J. van de Kaa
  • Govert E. Bijwaard

Abstract

We investigated the role that urbanization and plague may have played in changes in life expectancy amongst artists in the Low Countries who were born between 1450 and 1909. Artists can be considered to be representative of a middle-class population living mostly in urban areas. The dataset was constructed using biographical information collected by the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie in The Hague, the Netherlands. As early as the beginning of the sixteenth century, life expectancy at age 20 amongst the artists had reached 40 years. After a substantial decline in the late sixteenth and the early seventeenth centuries, when plague hit the region, life expectancy at age 20 began to rise again, and this upward trend accelerated after 1850. The life expectancy of female artists commonly exceeded that of males, and sculptors had better survival prospects than painters. In comparison with elite groups in the Low Countries and elsewhere in Europe, life expectancy amongst the artists was rather high.

Suggested Citation

  • Frans van Poppel & Dirk J. van de Kaa & Govert E. Bijwaard, 2013. "Life expectancy of artists in the Low Countries from the fifteenth to the twentieth century," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(3), pages 275-292, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rpstxx:v:67:y:2013:i:3:p:275-292
    DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2013.765955
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    Cited by:

    1. David de la Croix & Omar Licandro, 2015. "The longevity of famous people from Hammurabi to Einstein," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 263-303, September.
    2. Robert Stelter & David de la Croix & Mikko Myrskylä, 2020. "Leaders And Laggards In Life Expectancy Among European Scholars From The Sixteenth To The Early Twentieth Century," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2020024, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    3. van Besouw, Bram & Curtis, Daniel R., 2022. "Estimating warfare-related civilian mortality in the early modern period: Evidence from the Low Countries, 1620–99," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Tommy Bengtsson & Martin Dribe & Jonas Helgertz, 2020. "When Did the Health Gradient Emerge? Social Class and Adult Mortality in Southern Sweden, 1813–2015," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 953-977, June.
    5. Fereshta Mirzada & Anouk S Schimberg & Frouke M Engelaer & Govert E Bijwaard & David van Bodegom & Rudi G J Westendorp & Frans W A van Poppel, 2014. "Arts and Ageing; Life Expectancy of Historical Artists in the Low Countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, January.

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