This study of Dutch seventeenth-century paintings -- allegories, portraits, still lifes and genre paintings -- recognizes the subject matter as more than a purely visual one and examines the works as a cultural manifestation, examining themes and motifs that are included the works.De Jongh explores visual traditions, prints, emblems, writings and folklore and through a realization that there are limits to the interpretation of visual representations, he also employs methodological and theoretical issues.
De Jongh wrote these essays over a period of twenty-five years, A Bird's-Eye View of Erotica and To Instruct and Delight having a profound effect on art-historical scholarship. All these articles have now been revised. The introduction has been written especially for this anthology and many new illustrations have also been added.
