This catalogue is the result of a study on an important part of the famous collection of Old Master Drawings, the c. 250 drawings by Flemish masters of the 17th century, in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Among these, the drawings by the great Antwerp masters Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) and Anthonie van Dyck (1599-1641) stand out as absolute highlights. This generously illustrated publication examines seventy of their important drawings, discussing not only the significance of these works, but also their provenance, attribution and dating. This book also focuses on contemporaries, born between 1575 and 1650, who worked more or less in the shadow of these great masters, such as Lucas van Uden, Jan Wildens, Adriaen van Stalbempt, Peter Bout, Frans Snijders, Cornelis Schut and Abraham van Diepenbeeck. Recently their work has attracted more and more attention in art literature. They are all specialists in their own genre, for example landscapes, seascapes and still lifes, or biblical, religious and historical painting.
Alongside this extensive catalogue of works, this book includes various essays: Hans Vlieghe writes on Flemish art of the first half of the 17th century; Bert Meijer about cultural relations between Antwerp and Venice; Roger Baetens about the decline of Antwerp's prosperity; Carl Depauw about Flemish drawing in the 17th century; and Ger Luijten on print production in the ateliers of painters in Antwerp.