| Description |  |
The absence of any religious images in the paintings of church interiors in this room is notable. Seventeenth-century Dutch painters began instead to concentrate on themes taken from everyday life.
Scenes of quiet exchanges between richly dressed women, their maids and occasionally their suitors, in domestic settings, are characteristic of painting from the town of Delft. Pieter de Hooch and Johannes Vermeer excelled in work of this type. In their carefully composed interiors, they paid great attention to the role light can play in creating illusions of space.
Architectural painting was a unique area of specialization for Dutch painters, one that further emphasizes these qualities. These pictures were known as 'perspectives' and were greatly appreciated for their precise geometric designs and subtly balanced atmospheric light effects. |
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