Masters of the Everyday: Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer

Dutch artists of the seventeenth century were unparalleled in their dedication to depicting ordinary people doing everyday things. Genre painting was the pre-eminent expression of this dedication, offering candid glimpses into the peasant cottages, rich interiors and tranquil courtyards of the Dutch Golden Age, each painting lit with the period’s vibrant colour palette and rich with radiant natural light.

Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Gerrit Dou, Gabriel Metsu and Pieter de Hooch are among the masters whose works are explored and illustrated here. While the subject matter may be ordinary, the preparation of food, the bustle of a busy market, the enjoyment of taverns and town festivities, the meticulously documented details often allude to a work’s deeper meaning or to moral messages that would have been familiar to the contemporary viewer. This book explores these hidden moral messages and visual puns, moving beyond the paintings' surface beauties to reveal their true significance in the culture of the time and in their creators' lives.

Readers interested in the Dutch Golden Age or seventeenth-century art will welcome this volume. Individual essays on each painting, close-up photography showing important details, and a selection of comparative images add to the book's richness and provide valuable context.