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Nicolaes Maes, autoportrait, 1680-1685
Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693) was born in Dordrecht in the Netherlands. As the son of a cloth merchant, he belonged to the city’s upper middle class. He had his first drawing lessons in his home town. When he was a teenager, he became one of Rembrandt’s pupils in Amsterdam. At the time Rembrandt was not only well know as a painter but had also an excellent reputation as a teacher.
During his time with the Master, Maes focussed on painting history pieces, many inspired by the Bible. History pieces at that time were regarded as the highest a painter could achieve, not only in the ability of painting well and compose a scene but to illustrate the main figures’ emotions.
Rembrandt’s influence remained visible in Maes’s work for many years, but the Master did encourage Maes to develop his own style. Maes highly contributed to the development of genre painting in the Netherlands.
After his apprenticeship in Amsterdam, Maes returned to his home town of Dordrecht where he became a successful artist. In addition to his biblical depictions, he also worked on scenes of everyday, domestic life and these made his name. During most of his career, Maes painted elegant portraits which brought him great success.
“Nicolas Maes – Rembrandt’s Versatile Pupil” exhibition is the first major retrospective devoted to Nicolas Maes.
Here is a selection of Maes’s paintings which caught my eyes.

“Dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael”, 1653
This is the earliest dated painting by Maes. He painted it not long after he had left Rembrandt’s studio. His teacher’s influence is visible in the subtle emotions and lighting in the scene.

“The Regents of the Barber Surgeons Guild of Amsterdam”, 1679-1680
This life-sized painting is the only official group portrait that Maes ever made.

“The Eavesdropper”, 1657
The eavesdropper is usually a woman, who looks out conspiratorially. She is spying her maid who is secretly meeting her sweetheart. Eavesdroppers have a special place within Maes’s oeuvre. He painted six of them from 1655-1657.

“The Eavesdropper”, 1656
Another Eavesdropper. Here the woman standing on stairs looks out at us with a finger to her lips. She calls for silence, making us complicit in her spying.

“Young Woman Sewing”, 1655
Maes illustrated his scenes of daily life with many details. These give us a good idea of how houses in the seventeenth century were furnished.

“The Old Lacemaker”, 1656
In the seventeenth century, a woman devoted to her household task was considered the model of virtue. This lace-making old woman is a magnificent example.

“Old Woman Dozing”, 1656 – close-up
I had to show you this part of Maes’s painting, look at the details of this old woman’s wrinkled hands, so precise, absolutely amazing.
I do hope you enjoyed Maes’s inspiring work.
Very nicely done- many thanks – Bill
Free visit this time, but the next one… who knows? Thanks for stopping by Bill, always nice to see you there.
Thank you for this art history lesson. Right away I recognized the paintings as “Dutch” from their crisp colors and clear lines. Karl and I were just in our local art museum and were both drawn to paintings by Dutch artists because we love the clarity and realism of the style. Well done!!!
I totally agree with you, Lynne. Dutch artists have their own special style and it’s absolutely fabulous! I was fascinated by Maes brush strokes.
I’ll be taking many “tours,” I hope, over the next weeks.
Well, every cloud has a silver lining 😉
For sure!
Very nice read and pictures. The way the member of the guild are placed in this group portrait shows imo the examples he must have seen by his teacher Rembrandt. And do I notice a Vermeer-like light and composition in Young Woman Sowing? Dordrecht isn’t to far away from Delft. Wonderful painting that is!
At the time, they must have been inspired by one another. Thanks for stopping by Peter, I do appreciate.
So interesting – thanks for sharing
Maes is not as famous as his mentor, Rembrandt, but he is fantastic too.
How gorgeous!
Fascinating artist!
Terrific post, thanks so much for sharing these Louise 🙂 The old woman’s hand is amazing!
The subject is terrific. Am fascinated by old hands. Stay safe Sheila.
C’est vrai que les détails sont magnifiques. On se croirait véritalement au coeur d’une scène de la vie quotidienne de l’époque. Gros bisous ma chère ♥
Ravie que cette visite au Musée t’ait plu. Prends soin de toi, gros bisous ❤
On a envie de se perdre dans ces magnifiques tableaux ! Ca me fait penser au livre The Miniaturist ! Bisous et prends soin de toi, Louise !
Absolument c’est un excellent moyen d’évasion… Take care, bisous!
Love these little glimpses into peoples lives from long ago.
Those were the days…