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.

* After Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch is widely considered to be the most celebrated Delft master of the 17th century. This book accompanies the first retrospective exhibition in the Netherlands at the Museum Prinsenhof, Delft from 11 October 2019 to 16 February 2020This stunning catalogue accompanies a retrospective exhibition in the Netherlands of the famous 17th-century painter Pieter de Hooch (1629- after 1684). The exhibition, Pieter de Hooch in Delft - From the Shadow of Vermeer is the first retrospective of the artist's work in his own country, and will be presented at the Museum Prinsenhof Delft from 11 October 2019 to 16 February 2020. After Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch is widely considered to be the most celebrated Delft master of the 17th century. The paintings De Hooch produced in Delft (ca. 1652-1660) will be at the heart of the exhibition: his most beautiful courtyards and interiors will return to the city where they were painted almost 400 years ago. Approximately 30 works will be coming to Delft on loan from leading museums in Europe and the United States and includes many famous paintings.