"Frans van Mieris the Elder, whose work was much loved during his lifetime, is one of the best-known Dutch 'fijn-schilders'(fine painters, who were prized for their smooth and meticulous style and their near-perfect rendering of materials). Like his teacher Gerrit Dou, Van Mieris was renowned at home and abroad, and his paintings fetched high prices while he was alive.
Although Van Mieris' paintings are first and foremost intended as astonishing displays of painting technique, a large part of his oeuvre is permeated with symbolic and anecdotal images that are typical of the seventeenth century. The attractiveness of his genre pieces is enhanced by the subtle interaction between the human figures he depicts.
This richly illustrated book, published to accompany the first retrospective exhibition of Van Mieris' work, provides an ideal opportunity to become acquainted with this versatile artist's qualities and his varied choice of subject matter." (Publishers cover text)

There is also a Dutch edition