Perspective is the star of this painting. Saenredam expertly widens the viewpoint to create an interior panorama.
Dutch Republic
With its almost sculptural surface and dazzling range of textures, this painting once reduced van Gogh to tears.
Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride
Built for nobility and now home to royals, this palace has a checkered past. It held art, then political prisoners.
Huis ten Bosch (House in the Woods)
Is this the eighth wonder of the world? Amsterdam’s leaders thought so—their hall contains a universe in miniature.
The Town Hall of Amsterdam
Virtue, or vice? This seated woman is an icon of domesticity, but the man’s money may tempt her away from work.
Judith Leyster, The Proposition
The subjects appear quiet and austere, yet Hals’s expressive use of paint animates this group portrait.
Frans Hals, The Women Regents
In this painting, Rembrandt plays with the division between reality and illusion, present and past. Who’s the girl?
Rembrandt, Girl at a Window
Are we awaiting a duet or interrupting a solo? One of Dou’s finest, this intimate scene defies easy interpretation.
Gerrit Dou, A Woman Playing a Clavichord
Kalf celebrates the fruits of life but reminds us of our mortality. The light—and his technique—are otherworldly.
Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Silver ...
Zero in on the beautiful passages of line in this print—and witness the artist at work.
Rembrandt, Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: ...
What lies beneath the surface? Research into a “crusty” buildup of paint reveals Rembrandt’s editing process.
Rembrandt, Aristotle with a Bust of Homer
No wonder Ruysch treats each element of this still life like a scientific specimen—her father preserved insects.
Rachel Ruysch, Fruit and Insects
Professional female artists were few in the Dutch Republic. Here, Leyster cultivates confidence in her abilities.
Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait
With honesty and directness, Rembrandt paints a “selfie.” His marked face captures aging—and the painting process.
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait (1659)
Is it a cautionary tale of vanity? A prompt for introspection? Art historians are still weighing the evidence.
Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance
A well-dressed artist paints Clio, the muse of history, but as with any Vermeer, the real subject here is light.
Johannes Vermeer, The Art of Painting
In this complicated image, Hals investigates madness. The rapidity of his brushwork heightens the viewer’s unease.
Frans Hals, Malle Babbe
This gorgeous painting is rich in color—and with possibility. Can the woman stay sober? Will the man succeed?
Johannes Vermeer, The Glass of Wine
A feather in his cap—this painting shows off the bravura technique and immediacy of action for which Hals is known.
Frans Hals, Singing Boy with Flute
Van Huysum clearly took his time—and meditated on its passage. Here, a bird’s nest symbolizes the cycle of life.