5
new and forthcoming
Masters of the Everyday
HARDBACK 289 × 233 mm 176 pages Over 150 colour illustrations ISBN 978 1 909741 19 5 £29.95 November 2015 French and Dutch rights sold
Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer D e s m o n d s h aw e -tay l o r & quentin buvelot
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. 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
Masters of the Everyday Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer Desmond Shawe-Taylor and Quentin Buvelot
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. Desmond Shawe-Taylor is Surveyor of The Queen’s Pictures, Royal Collection Trust. His previous publications include Dutch Landscapes (2010) and most recently The First Georgians: Art & Monarchy 1714–1760 (2014). Quentin Buvelot is Senior Curator at the Mauritshuis.
Accompanies the major exhibition opening at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, in November 2015, The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse in March 2016 and touring to the Mauritshuis, The Hague in September 2016