Dutch Seventeenth-Century Genre Painting: Its Stylistic and Thematic Evolution

This lavishly produced book attempts to explicate the mysterious allure of 17th-century Dutch genre pictures, which were painted most famously by Johannes Vermeer. Syracuse professor Frantis frames these works in a historical context to demonstrate how audiences of the period would have interpreted them. The author explains how many of the objects portrayed in these works had coded meanings that are lost on modern audiences. For example, birds, oyster shells and cats were widely recognized as symbols of sex, while subject poses that look awkward to contemporary eyes were actually considered the height of dignified comportment by Dutch art patrons. Frantis also traces the history of Holland and the development of its art, arguing that the two are closely linked. His argument is that, as the country became wealthier, the subject matter of its paintings became increasingly refined, changing from satirical portraits of raucous, lazy peasants to elegant images of upper classes at play. In Frantis's opinion, both portrayals are constructed types, and neither reflects the reality of Dutch life in the 17th century. To back up his thesis, Frantis has done impressive research into the culture of the period, examining its literature, songs, guides of behavior and poems. At the same time, he doesn't neglect the paintings' formal elements, deftly analyzing the artists' influences, color schemes and use of tools like camera obscura. As convincing as Frantis's interpretation is, it breaks down when applied to the work of two masters, Jan Steen and Vermeer. To Frantis's credit, he acknowledges this discrepancy, giving the inexplicability of artistic genius its due. 230 b/w & 100 color illus.