Rank and Status in the Dutch Golden Age

Ronni Baer, the William and Ann Elfers Senior Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, offers a discussion of class distinctions and social stratification in 17th-century Dutch art. Baer has curated numerous exhibitions of Dutch and Flemish art with special emphasis on Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Peter Paul Rubens, and Gerrit Dou. Drawing on her work for the forthcoming exhibition she is curating at the MFA, Boston titled Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer, scheduled to open in October 2015, Baer speaks to the ways in which art provides commentary on the socioeconomic groups of the Dutch Republic. Followed by a reception. Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Fund.