An Illustrated Journey into the Life & Times of Rembrandt takes you back in time to the "Golden Age" of the Netherlands, to its politics, its society and its art. The country was at war with the King of Spain, ghting as a coalition of seven United Provinces for political independence to establish religious freedom. At the same time the "Dutch Republic" established itself as a global economic power, becoming the richest nation in the world. And Rembrandt became the Republic's most successful painter. His clientele belonged to the highest strata of Dutch society. Visually supported by over...

An Illustrated Journey into the Life & Times of Vermeer takes you back in time to the second half of the "Golden Age" of the Netherlands, to its politics, its society and its art. The richest country in the world had become an independent nation state after eighty years of war, and was now run by a business elite, which was consolidating its business interests at home and overseas. Taste had shifted from religious painting to a worldly art, and Vermeer became its most remarkable representative with his paintings of domestic settings, conveying a moral message. Visually supported by over forty...