Dutch art and letters.

Holland's golden age of arts and letters in the seventeenth century earned the country the distinction of having the highest literacy rate in Europe. Holland was also regarded as the mapmaking and publishing center of the world, and was home to some of the most accomplished and innovative painters of the day. This was an age of letter writing, and many of the interiors so beautifully painted by Dutch artists depict people writing or reading letters, or, more actively, delivering, dictating, receiving, and dispatching them. The canvases that show writers and readers of letters are imbued with a silent and magical quality. It is surprising that this fascinating byway of Dutch art has never before been the focus of an exhibition. Now, however, the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin and the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science in Greenwich, Connecticut, have collaborated on a show that opens in Greenwich (the only American venue) on January 31 and remains on view until May 2. The exhibition is entitled Love Letters: Dutch Genre Paintings in the Age of Vermeer, and contains forty-four paintings executed by such well-known artists as Jan Steen, Gabriel Metsu, and Johannes Vermeer.

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Letter writing emerged as a subject in Dutch art about 1630 and reached its apogee in the third quarter of the seventeenth century. Before this time letters had been used to issue public proclamations, record transactions, conduct trade, and as a vehicle for spreading news. By the seventeenth century increased literacy, a more organized postal system, and the proliferation of manuals devoted to teaching the skills deemed necessary for letter writing, caused this activity to flourish and be regarded as a private way to share emotions and convey feelings. ...