David Bailly’s Vanitas Still Life with Portrait of a Young Painter earned him a prominent place in art history. Almost four hundred years after it was made, the painting – a masterpiece that raises all kinds of questions – continues to fascinate art historians. Is this a self-portrait? What do all the objects in the painting refer to? And who is the mysterious woman whose image appears against the wall? This book subjects the painting and the artist to a thorough examination. Bailly liv...

Paleis Het Loo tells the story of three centuries of royal court life and country living at a place that has been both a palace and a home. Everything about the 17th-century palace and its Dutch Baroque gardens draws us into the world of stadtholders, kings and queens, from the lavish interiors to the exotic plants and flowers. The Dutch royal family – the House of Orange – and Paleis Het Loo are closely associated with the history of both the Netherlands and Europe. After the recent rest...