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Aletta’s wedding ring and bridal gloves underscore the connubial theme of this portrait, a pendant to that of her husband Jacob. Her silk garments, trimmed with expensive lace and gold brocade, were, like those of her husband, inspired by Spanish fashions. Such meticulous detail is typical of Hals’s early work. A comparison with the Frick Collection's later portraits by Hals demonstrates the artist’s evolving technique from the refined approach seen here to a looser painting style.

This painting from Rembrandt’s maturity is thought to be of Lodewijck van Ludick, a merchant, art collector, and close friend of the artist. An intriguing comparison can be made between this picture and Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait (1658) in the Frick's permanent collection. Rembrandt executes both paintings in what is known as his “rough” style, characterized by loose brushstrokes and heavily impastoed surfaces. Each man’s confronting gaze conveys a sense of wisdom, as well as disillusionment.

Ter Borch’s fashionably attired subject resembles his sister and frequent model Gesina. The demure lady has pushed aside the carpet covering the table in order to have a smooth surface on which to write. Since beds were found in all rooms in Dutch residences at this time, the bed here is unlikely to allude to licentious behavior. The large pearl the woman wears may corroborate this as pearls were often interpreted as symbols of virginity.

Steen uses what is ostensibly a celebration of the baptism of the baby at center as an occasion to demonstrate the effects of errant adult behavior on impressionable youngsters. An elderly woman holds a sheet of paper containing the words to a popular proverb, referenced in the painting’s title. Steen playfully portrays himself as the figure teaching the boy to smoke. Thematic symbols punctuate the composition: the bagpiper suggests the “copycat piping” mentioned in the proverb (the instrument connoted indolence and debauchery), the foot warmer and oysters have erotic associations, and the parrot implies mimicry.

Landscape paintings, first produced as independent subjects in Flanders during the sixteenth century, matured and flourished during the Golden Age. Here, Ruisdael creates a paean to both the sun-drenched countryside and the city’s valued linen industry. Although he alters some topographical features to suit his vision, the flat topography of the lowlands is recognizable, as are many of the buildings, including the imposing Cathedral of Saint Bavo. The painting belongs to a category known as Haerlempjes (little views of Haarlem).

Although sometimes mistaken for a self-portrait, this picture was not intended to represent a specific person. Head studies known as tronies allowed artists to freely experiment with facial expressions, costumes, and lighting effects. Like his contemporaries, Rembrandt often employed his own features when creating these studies, which were sold on the open market. This eclectic costume is not indicative of seventeenth-century Dutch fashion but instead represents the whimsical product of Rembrandt’s imagination.

The vanitas  image is a reminder of life’s brevity and the worthlessness of material objects. Nevertheless, one cannot resist savoring Claesz’s rendering of the glittering timepiece with its glossy ribbon, the reflections on the snuffed oil lamp and overturned glass, the brittle pages, and the jagged fractures and crevices of the skull.