Soldiers at Leisure: The Guardroom Scene in Dutch Genre Painting of the Golden Age

Genre painting has long been recognised as one of the most characteristic and original contributions of the seventeenth-century Dutch school of painting. This notwithstanding, very little has been published on one particular, hugely successful genre, depicting soldiers off-duty as they played cards, drank, rested or frolicked with dubious women. This book defines the characteristics of this formula and its development, setting it against the contemporary artistic and cultural background. It grants a unique opportunity to trace the development of a fascinating seventeenth-century Dutch genre theme, from its humble beginning in Amsterdam of the late 1620s to becoming a continental phenomenon during the nineteenth century.