For centuries, Dutch Golden Age painters have been at the center of discussions by art historians and enthusiasts alike. This series of three chats in the Golden Age galleries, sets the paintings in context by addressing the subjects “Traces of the Dutch Empire,” “Dutch Society,” and “To Be Modern Means to Be Dutch.” Holland at that time was a global economic center, a place of both wealth and poverty, and a refuge for those persecuted in other countries. This three-part series with Blaise Ducos, chief curator of Dutch and Flemish Paintings at the Musée du Louvre, is an elegant tutorial. —E.C.