Rembrandt's life coincided with what the Dutch refer to as their "golden
age." This engagingly written study presents a rich picture of a dynamic
society that had torn itself away from the mediocrity of its past - a
stagnant nation of peasants and fishermen - to pursue an overseas empire
that led to great financial wealth and a highly sophisticated
cultivation of the arts. This classic work first appeared in English
translation in 1963.
Among the myriad topics covered are homes, gardens, clothing, food,
religion, childrearing, education, medicine, sports and games, holidays
and celebrations, painters, musicians, writers, the theater, publishing,
aristocrats, workers, peasants, the merchant fleet, the armed forces,
trading and colonizing companies, fisheries, and the famous Holland
dikes.