surrounded by his children, he passes the long evenings of autumn and
winter, eating much, drinking much, smoking much, and amusing himself
with honest mirth after the fatigues of the day. Dutch artists paint
these little houses and this home-life in little pictures adapted in
size to the little walls they must adorn; bedrooms which make one
drowsy; kitchens with tables ready spread; the fresh, kindly faces of
mothers of families; men basking in the warmth of the hearth; and, as
they are conscientious realists who omit nothing, they add blinking
cats, gaping dogs, scratching hens, brooms, vegetables, crockery, and
plucked chickens. This life is painted in every class of society and
under every circumstance; evening-parties, dances, orgies, games,
holidays, all are represented, and thus Ter Borch, Metsu, Netscher,
Dou, Mieris, Steen, Brouwer, and Ostade became famous.

From home-life they turned to the country. The hostile climate gave
them a very short time in which to admire nature, and for this reason
the Dutch artists admire it only the more and salute the spring with
greater joy. The fleeting smiles of the heavens are strongly impressed
on their imagination. The country is not beautiful, but it is doubly
dear to them because it has been wrested from the sea and from the
hands of strangers. They painted it with affection, making their
landscapes simple, ingenuous, and full of an intimacy with nature that
neither the Italian nor the Belgian landscapes of this time possess.
Their country, flat and monotonous, presented to their appreciative
eyes a marvellous variety. They noted every change in the sky, and
revealed the water in its every appearance, its reflection, its grace
and freshness, and its power of diffusing light and color everywhere.
There are no mountains, so they put the downs in the background of
their pictures; and, lacking forests, they saw and expressed the
mysteries of a forest in a group of trees, and animated all with noble
animals and sails. The subjects of their pictures are poor indeed--a
windmill, a canal, a gray sky--but how much they suggest! Some of
them, not content with their native land, came to Italy in search of
hills, bright skies, and great ruins, and became a circle of choice
artists, such as Both, Swanevelt, Pijnacker, Breenbergh, Van Laer, and
Asselin; but the palm remains with the true Dutch landscape
painters--with Wynants, the painter of morning; Van der Neer, the
painter of nigh