Enchanting the eye.(Report from Europe)(Enchanting the Eye: Dutch Paintings of the Golden Age)(Brief article)

In the seventeenth century, Dutch painting was considered among the finest in Europe. The United Provinces of the Netherlands was formed in 1579 after independence had been won from Spain, creating a sense of national identity. It was the Dutch in this period who elevated genre painting to the same high level that history and religious paintings had achieved elsewhere in Europe. Everyday scenes like the preparation of food and the enjoyment of music at home as well as somewhat less bourgeois scenes in taverns and cottages were all considered worthy of attention. The Dutch did not, however, neglect traditional categories such as portraits, still ...