Seductress of Sight

Paintings and prints representing beauty and seduction, love and desire, chastity and unchastity assume a conspicuous position in Dutch art of the 17th century. Seductress of Sight includes six studies originally published in Dutch that shed new light on intriguing aspects of Dutch art of the period. In highly divergent ways, Hendrick Goltzius and Gerrit Dou, the two artists who take center stage in these studies, developed a breathtaking virtuosity in the service of such themes, producing works that were exceptionally valued by collectors and art lovers.

Seductress of Sight considers why certain subjects were selected, why they were considered so attractive, and what thoughts and associations these visual delights evoked. Sluijter examines the patterns of selection, and the way in which artists treated pictorial traditions and iconographic conventions in themes and motifs. The author offers striking insights into the meaning which these images had for the artist and his audience.