Without the external supports of government and private charity, Dutch families were self supportive. Need and necessity engendered a family closeness less familiar to modern Americans. The large chimney of a Dutch fireplace funnels smoke and, inefficiently, much warm air upward. N.Y. The Luykas Van Alen House Kitchen Light is important to the Dutch. You can see it in their golden age paintings, and in their houses.
Large windows admit it, whitewash walls reflect it, all to better see their work and treasures.
Light on the hearth has more to do with where windows are positioned in a Dutch house than anything else.