PRIDE AND JOY GEB - Hardcover

The wonderful portraits of children that Dutch and Flemish artists painted in the late Renaissance and Baroque periods offer a fascinating look not just at the youngsters themselves -- along with their clothes, toys, and pets -- but also at the society in which they lived. The charming pictures in this unique book demonstrate that 500 years ago children were, as they are now, their parents' pride and joy.At first glance, these young people in their elaborate clothing and fancy headgear hardly resemble modern youth. But their fresh faces and vivid expressions transcend time. Superb full-page color-plates reproduce 85 of the best of these portraits -- by famous and lesser-known artists alike -- while essays by leading art and cultural historians set them in context. Countless parents have formal portraits or studio photographs made of their children. For them, as well as for art lovers and students, Pride and Joy should hold an irresistible fascination.

Holly Block is the director of Art in General in New York. Gerardo Mosquera, Eugenia Valdes Figueroa, Orlando Henandez, and Qantonio Eligio (Tonel) are eminent art critics and independent curators in Havana, Cuba.