The exhibition also premiers the remarkable sculptural ensemble, the Fellow Drinkers by Jan Pieter van Baurscheit and the Beggar with the Hurdy-Gurdy by an anonymous Flemish artist, both recently acquired by the Rijksmuseum. In all, the show includes eleven paintings and five sculptures.

The Dutch Golden Age produced a whole generation of artists that turned its attention to the popular genre. One of the highlights of Low Life in the Golden Age is Jan Steen's Drunken Couple, which shows simple country folk boozing, partying and quarrelling. The exhibition also shows how these satirical scenes of rural abandon came to be paralleled in the mid-17th century by a more positive, pastoral view of country life, as in the Country Inn with Horse and Wagon by Isaac van Ostade and Cornelis Dusart's Country Inn.

Low Life in the Golden Age also features five sculptures, including both the acquisitions, and Pieter Xavery's Two Laughing Fools.

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol can be found on Holland Boulevard, in the area behind passport control between piers E and F. The museum is open every day from 07.00 to 20.00 hours. Admission is free. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol has a permanent exhibition of ten works by Dutch masters of the Golden Age, from the Rijksmuseum collection. The temporary exhibition changes several times a year.

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol is a joint and unique initiative between Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The Rijksmuseum is the first museum in the world to have an annexe in an airport and Schiphol is the first airport to have a museum in its terminal. The museum was officially opened on 9 December 2002 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange.

ING is the exclusive sponsor of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol. The shop at Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol features souvenirs specially designed for the museum. -- www.rijksmuseum.nl