Vermeer and his Contemporaries: Genre Painting in the Dutch Golden Age

Filling their paintings with dazzling light effects, highly observed detail and potent psychological content, artists of the Dutch Golden Age emulated each other as a way to pay homage as well as an attempt at one-upmanship. We will trace several themes running through these works and examine their similarities along with the individual innovations that make each of these artists unique.  Works by Ter Borch, Dou, Van Mieris, Metsu, Netscher, Ochtervel and, of course, Johannes Vermeer, will be featured.