The 17th century in the Netherlands witnessed one of the most intensely creative periods of artistic activity the world has ever seen. During this period of unprecedented economic and cultural expansion, when Holland had the highest concentration of artists anywhere in Europe, painters specialized in portraits, domestic genre scenes, still-lifes, landscapes, and townscapes - testaments of the tiny new country's burgeoning pride and wealth. The Golden Age of Dutch painting is here brought to life in a series of biographies of its most important artists. This survey examines the lives and works of all the great masters, from Vermeer and Frans Hals to Rembrandt, and includes in-depth essays on more than 220 of their contemporaries.