From the museum website
As the Dutch art market expanded in the early 1600s, artists began to make drawings as works of art in their own right, often signed and dated. People collected them in large numbers, calling them papierkunst or “paper art.” Finished drawings formed a substantial part of the output of many famous artists of the Dutch Golden Age, such as Jan van Goyen, Pieter Molijn, and Adriaen van Ostade. The vogue for finished drawings became even stronger in 18th-century Holland. This exhibition examines the technique, subject matter, and style of these finished drawings, and also takes a look at their wider cultural context including the art market, collectors, and display.