Pieter de Hooch: A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy (Getty Museum Studies on Art)

In the hush of early morning, a dutiful mother butters bread for her young son, who patiently stands at her side. This splendid painting captures a trivial moment in a family's daily routine and makes it almost sacrosanct. A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy was executed by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch (1629-1684) between 1661 and 1663. The J. Paul Getty Museum's canvas is one of the artist's many pictures depicting women and children engaged in daily activities. This book examines the painting in relation to the artist's life and work, exploring his stylistic development and his complex relationship to other painters in the Dutch Republic. The author places the subject matter of the painting within the broader context of seventeenth-century Dutch concepts of domesticity and child rearing and ties it to social and cultural developments in the Netherlands during the second half of the seventeenth century. "A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy was executed by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch (1629-1684) between 1661 and 1663. This book examines the painting in relation to the artist's life and work, exploring his stylistic development and his complex relationship to other painters in the Dutch republic. Wayne Franits places the subject matter of the painting within the broader context of the seventeenth-century Dutch concepts of domesticity and child rearing and ties it to social and cultural developments in the Netherlands during the second half of the seventeenth century."--BOOK JACKET Examines the painting in relation to the artist's life and works, explores his stylistic development, and considers as well, his often complex relationship with other artists. This work also looks at the subject matter of the piece within the broader historical context of 17th-century Dutch concepts of domesticity and parenthood. Introduction -- Pieter de Hooch: his life and development as an artist -- Pieter de Hooch and the representation of domesticity in Dutch art -- Pieter de Hooch and the marketing of domestic imagery in the Dutch Republic -- Notes -- Select bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments.