The golden age of Dutch art never ceases to amaze

This year’s Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Frans Hals retrospective at London’s National Gallery are testaments to the enduring appeal of the Dutch artists of the Golden Age.

When the 80-year war between Spain and the Dutch Republic ended in 1648, it left the Dutch strong in military and economic terms. They founded colonies across the world. The affluence and stability provided the perfect medium for creativity. Painting flourished, and buying art was no longer the domain of the wealthiest.

Benjamin Moser’s first book since winning the Pulitzer for Sontag explores this burgeoning world. The lives and works of the greatest and lesser-known Dutch artists of the era are here: dark drama and chiaroscuro from Rembrandt; exquisite serenity, teasing intrigue and light from Vermeer; warmth and mischief from Frans Hals’s portraits; and emotive beauty from Fabritius, who was killed in his prime by the explosion in Delft in 1654. There are genre paintings from Ter Borch, with his eye for the sheen of satin, and vibrant colours and glossy materials in Metsu’s peaceful home scenes. There’s understated domestic contentment from De Hooch and bawdy hedonism from Jan Steen, frequently featuring his own dissolute self. There are ice-skating vistas with scabrous details from the deaf and mute Avercamp; tranquil church scenes and mastery of perspective from Saenredam and livestock from Potter. The are Ruisdael’s magical transformations of flat, marshy terrain into brooding landscapes; Ruysch’s flowers (she’s the only woman artist featured here); Coorte’s tiny still lifes and Eckhout’s representation of indigenous people in Dutch colonies in Brazil.

The story is also of Moser’s own journey finding out about these painters. Thus, when he first mentions Pieter de Hooch, he tells us that the artist died in an insane asylum.