Art historian Wayne Franits recently delivered the keynote lecture celebrating the publication of a catalog of Dutch genre paintings at the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands. His Dec. 15 talk, “Dutch Genre Painting, 1976-2016 and Beyond,” drew on his expertise in 17th-century Dutch art. The Mauritshuis houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, which includes works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen and others. The museum is the former home of a 17th-century Dutch prince. “It’s a generally outstanding collection of high-end works of art. It’s a very important collection,” he says, adding, “Vermeer’s ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring’ is there.”  READ MORE