It is a stimulating and accessible introduction to Dutch paintings of 17 century with 100 illustrations, maps and so on.

Christopher Lloyd, CVO, British art historian and Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures until 2005.

Lloyd was Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures for the Royal Collection, one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, held in trust by Queen Elizabeth II as Sovereign for her successors and the United Kingdom. The paintings comprise one of the best known and most significant elements of the Collection. Working to the Director of the Royal Collection, Lloyd had overall curatorial responsibility for some 7,000 oil paintings and 3,000 miniatures.