The Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert travelled to the Netherlands to write these historical forays into the lives, minds and art of the Dutch in the 17th century. The 16 prose pieces that make up the book reveal the author's discriminating artistic eye and poetic sensibility, one that revels in irony, humour and a satirist's appreciation of the absurd. An inveterate museum-goer, Herbert focuses on the art of the period, using it as a stepping-stone towards an individual examination of the foibles, genius and character of the Dutch people as a whole.