Laura Cumming, chief art critic of the Observer, and author of best-seller On Chapel Sands will explore life and dramatic death in 17th century Holland.

No matter how magnificent or serene the paintings of Vermeer, Rembrandt, Hals, De Hooch and others, their lives were the exact opposite, ending in poverty, drink and even suicide. Starting with the Delft gunpowder explosion that killed Carol Fabritius, artist of The Goldfinch, Laura will look at the way that history affects the making art and what these masterpieces can tell us about life in the Dutch Golden Age.

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