The Royal Collection contains a large group of paintings - 147 in all - by Flemish artists who were active principally in the seventeenth century. Among those works are individual pieces of major importance and considerable appeal.
Rubens takes pride of place, with a total of 18 paintings either by him or connected with him. Well-known examples include his Self-portrait, his 'Farm at Laken', the St George and the Dragon, and an oil-sketch for the Assumption. His collaboration with the animal painter Frans Snyder is seen in Diana and her Nymphs and Pythagoras advocating Vegetarianism.
A group of 22 genre paintings by David Teniers the Younger, which includes such engaging works as The Drummer, A Kermis on St. George's Day and The Stolen Kiss, offers a comprehensive conspectus of his career.
The introduction to the catalogue gives a detailed history of the growth of the collection from the time of Charles I, noted for his close relations with Rubens, down to the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Hanoverian period, Frederick, Prince of Wales, George II and, above all, George IV made a range of outstanding acquisitions.
Every painting included in the catalogue has been newly examined for construction and condition; new photographs have been taken, and infra-red and X-ray images are provided in many of the catalogue entries.