Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis

This is the catalogue accompanying the exhibition of the same name at the de Young Museum in San Francisco from January to June 2013, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta from June to September 2013 and New York's Frick Collection from October 2013 until February 2014. The Mauritshuis is undergoing major reconstruction and expansion (which will double its size) until mid-2014, and its curators have put together this superb selection from its permanent collection. Each of the the thirty-five exhibited paintings (all oils on various supports) has a full-page reproduction (in excellent color and clarity) and an accompanying commentary by one of the five senior curators responsible for the catalogue. The commentaries are all informative, succinct and very well written/translated. They are divided into the five main categories of Golden Age painting: Landscapes and Seascapes, Genre Paintings, History Paintings, Still Lifes, and Portraits and Tronies. (A "tronie" is a picture of a type of person, without being an actual portrait of an identifiable individual--a genre popularized especially by Rembrandt. Although in contemporary Dutch the word has a rather pejorative connotation--something like "mug"--the most famous tronie in all of Dutch art is none other than Vermeer's young lovely for whom the show and catalogue are named.) All these genres are represented by major painters: among the portraits there are also Rembrandt and Hals and among the landscapes Ruisdael and Hobbema; Jan Steen and Adriaen van Ostade are among the genre painters and Pieter Claesz and Rachel Ruysch among the painters of still lifes. If there is any disappointment in this catalogue, it is that there are only two history paintings. They are both Rembrandts, and both exquisite, but when one remembers that the prestige of history painting was such that many of these painters began their careers with that genre, including even Vermeer, then one could wish that there had been more than just two to represent the type (there are eight or nine paintings in all the other categories). In addition to the plates, there are upwards of sixty companion illustrations and several pages of detailed blow-ups. The illustrations, many of which are also favorites from the Mauritshuis, are in the service of the essays which precede the catalogue. There is a remarkably concise historical introduction to the period and overview of the beginnings of Golden Age painting, a short history of the Mauritshuis and its collection, a report on the reconstruction and expansion of the museum, an essay on conservation and technical research using four of the paintings as illustrations (these are all interesting, in contrast to similar essays in many other catalogues), and an in-depth analysis of Vermeer's "Dutch 'Mona Lisa.'" The volume concludes with some suggestions for further reading and an index of artists and art works mentioned. This is a small but exquisite catalogue from a small and exquisite museum and, in addition, serves as an excellent introduction to seventeenth-century art in the Netherlands. It can be recommended for anyone's art book collection, no matter how small or large.

The Mauritshuis located in the Hague, Netherlands is considered one of Europe's best small museums. Like the much more familiar Rijksmuseum, the Mauritshuis is known for its Dutch Golden Age paintings. This book was published on occasion of a major touring exhibition of 35 works while the museum is being renovated. Besides an exhibition catalogue, it also makes a simple introduction on Dutch art. The paintings which are presented by subject matter(portraits, landcapes, genre scenes, religious themes, and still lifes) are beautifully photographed in full page colorplates. Some of the highlights include Jan Steen's "The Oyster Eater", Carel Fabritius' "The Goldfinch", Rembrandt's "Simeon's Song of Praise", and Rachel Ruysch's recently restored "Vase of Flowers". However, the main attraction is Jan Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring" which is considered the museum's most iconic painting. Before showcasing the exhibited works, there are a series of essays about the foundations of Dutch painting, the history of the museum's collection, technical aspects on certain works as well as a thorough examination of Vermeer's much loved masterpiece. Throughout the essays are illustrations of a number of other key works such as Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp", Vermeer's "A View of Delft" , Paulus Potter's "The Bull", and Gerrit Dou's "Young Mother". Highly reccomended to those who love books on small museums or want a basic survey of Dutch art.

I saw this exhibit in NYC and had to have the book. The pictures are great and the written history of Dutch art and descriptions accompanying each picture are excellent.

Because it is a beautiful catalogue and very well written. If anyone is interested in Dutch Art from the Golden Age, this is the catalogue to get.

Everything arrived on time and as advertised

Splendid catalog of a splendid show--admirably expands on the former; bravo to the Mauritshuis and kudos to everyone involved in its production!

This is a great book! It is extremelly well written and imformative. It makes me feel like I am in San Francisco looking at the exhibit in person. Well done!

This is an outstanding exhibit which I have been to see 3 times at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and expect to see at least once more before it leaves town. The glorious colors and fantastic contrasts between dark and light in these wonderful paintings are reduced to near sludge in this printed-page reproductions. Granted, that's something that is going to happen to a certain degree with any set of paintings... but I've never been struck quite so hard by the shortfall as I have in this book.

How can you go wrong with VerMeer!

Very interesting book. I hope to visit the museum