Elegant ladies in satin robes, maids wearing starched bonnets, and pensive scholars immersed in study-we seem to know more about life and culture in Holland's Golden Age than in any other period. Yet the ordered world of the Dutch burghers is full of inconsistencies. The lady of the house drinks wine in the middle of the day, lap dogs copulate on spotless marble floors, and a rough-hewn farmer grimaces in disgust. This book presents the diverse themes and meanings of the school of painting that is so inadequately described as "genre." With reference to the featured major works of such masters as Adriaen Brouwer, Adriaen van Ostade, Gerrit Dou, Gerard ter Borch, Jan Steen, Pieter de Hooch, Gabriel Metsu, Frans van Mieris, and Johannes Vermeer, an attempt is made to develop a new definition of the style. Exhibition schedule: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, October 23, 2004-January 9, 2005 · Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt/Main, February 10-May 1, 2005