The 17th century was also the Golden Age of the art of prints in the Netherlands. Indeed, the etchings of artists such as Rembrandt and Van Ostade are still famous and adored today. The prints in ‘Van Kunst tot kastpapier’, however, are relatively unknown even to specialists. Taken together, they tell a story that has been paid little attention to up till now – that of the everyday visual world with which the 17th century Dutch surrounded themselves, even if there was little money at hand.

Text: Jan van der Waals / Peter van der Coelen
Waanders
Catalogue accompanying the exhibition in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
21 January till 19 March 2006