RKD STUDIES

121 TERBURG.

... the woman in white satin sits a young blond woman, seen in three-quarter view, dressed in black and wearing a black capuchon. She is drinking from a stemmed glass, which she holds with her right hand and through which you can see half of her face.

Delightful. "One of the master's best works, says Smith, and of the highest beauty." Unfortunately, the painting is very worn in several places, which greatly diminishes its value.

All lovers of Dutch art know this composition from a masterpiece by Wille. Wille's engraving, entitled - we cannot guess why - Maternal Counseling,¹ was not made after this original, but after a repetition with minor changes; the greyhound, for example, is missing [182].² This repetition, which has passed through the most famous cabinets, is now owned by Lord Ellesmere (Bridgewater Gallery) and was exhibited in Manchester in 1857 (1) [183]. There is another repetition with variations in the Berlin Museum, no. 791 [184].

The Amsterdam painting is undoubtedly the one that was part of the Lormier collection and sold for 825 guilders in 1763. It is now worth more than 1,000 guineas, and if it were in good condition, the English would pay more than 3,000 pounds for it.³

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(1) For details, see Trésors d'art, etc., by W. Burger, p. 273.⁴

122 MUSEUM OF AMSTERDAM.

The canvas is 2 feet 4 inches square. The figures are about 1 foot high.

After Terburg, the catalog lists as a copy after this master a kind of small sketch entitled: The Conclusion of the Peace of Munster [185]. Smith says that this painting was engraved by Simon Fokke [186], and that it could be a first study for the famous Congress, which French artists admired in the gallery of the Duchess of Berri. But Terburg certainly has nothing to do with this bad sketch.

We will find in the museum in The Hague, the full-length portrait of Terburg in his costume as burgomaster of Deventer. Several of his masterpieces are still on display among the wealthy collectors of Amsterdam, in particular a jewel, an incomparable wonder, in the Van Loon gallery [187].

Gaspar Netscher, from Heidelberg, worked under Terburg. One of his best paintings is in the Amsterdam Museum: "A Beautifully Dressed Woman, Arranging the Hair of a Little Boy (no. 201)." [188].⁵ The woman's costume is indeed very elegant: dark blue satin jacket fringed with ermine, saffron-colored satin skirt with silver borders. Quite a nice tone, but a bit heavy. She combs the hair of a sweet little boy kneeling beside her. Another child stands against a table with a Persian rug; she is making silly faces in a mirror. On the table are a silver box, a plate, and a cup, very finely ...

123 METSU.

... painted. A maid enters with a silver tray. In front of her is a chair covered in red velvet, with a hat and feathers on it. Behind the young woman's chair is a cat. Height, 1 foot 6 inches; width, 1 foot 2 inches; on canvas. Signed, no date.

Smith, who highly praised the painting, titled it Motherly Occupation.

The catalog also attributes to Gaspar Netscher a "portrait of Constantin Huygens Sr (1)." ⁶ [189]

METSU. – Next to Terburg, – Metsu. I have elsewhere corrected several points in his biography (2), and in particular the date of his death, which is given in all catalogs in Europe as 1658, whereas there is a painting by him in the museum in The Hague which is dated 1661 (3) [190].

With his appearance as a marquis, this delicate Metsu was a friend of Jan Steen, slightly younger than him. But he left Leiden for Amsterdam just as Steen was getting married to Van Goijen's daughter.⁷ I ...

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(1) According to the new catalog, this painting, purchased by King William I for the Museum, is signed: C. Netscher 1672
(2) See Trésors d'art, etc., by W. Burger, p. 274 ff; and l'Artiste, edition of February 1858.⁸
(3) The editors of the new Amsterdam cat. are themselves unaware of this authentic date and still list 1648 as Metsu's date of death!⁹ Still, it is not far from Amsterdam to The Hague.¹⁰

124 MUSEUM OF AMSTERDAM.

... assume that they remained distant friends. Sometimes we can even see a mutual influence in their work. When Steen painted ladies in velvet camisoles trimmed with ermine, he was reminded of his friend Metsu, and Metsu himself was somewhat inspired by Steen, when he painted folk scenes, such as the beautiful Herb Market in Amsterdam (no. 292 in the Louvre) [191].¹¹

Smith, who calls Metsu the Dutch Van Dyck, finds him very inferior to Steen, "in invention, expression, and ready execution.” While perfectly correct, this assessment by one of the most profound connoisseurs of painting may come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with the work of the incomparable Jan Steen. True, Smith immediately adds, “But for the tasteful choice of subjects, for the grace of expression and the elegance of form, Metsu is without rival.”¹²

To this grace and finesse, Metsu probably owes the privilege that he was always preferred by Dutch enthusiasts to all the painters of their school, Gerard Dov and Mieris excepted. But today Metsu stands above Mieris, and even above Gerard Dov; and as for the other painters who seemed to have been somewhat scorned by the old Dutch bourgeoisie, such as Cuijp, Steen, Hobbema and many others, they have, in the judgment of posterity, henceforth won an unassailable place.

The two paintings by Metsu in the museum in Amsterdam are very ...

125 METSU.

... charming, without being very important in his œuvre: No. 171. A Man and a Woman sitting, at a set table with food [192].¹³ No. 172. – An Old man, sitting by a beer barrel [193].¹⁴ They are both very small: one, on canvas, is less than 1 foot wide and just over 1 foot high; the other, on panel, is only 9 inches high and 8 inches wide.¹⁵

Unfortunately, the first one, rather rubbed, had completely lost its bloom. The woman, in a soft camellia bodice, purplish skirt, emerald apron and two-pointed white fichu, is seated on the right, almost in profile, pouring wine from a stoneware jug into a long glass. The man in the puce jacket picks up a meat dish from the table. On the table, covered with a Persian carpet and a white linen cloth, are plates, bread, knives, a glass. The background, on the right, is vague, with an indication of a door. To the left, a dark green curtain. The figures are only seen up to the knees. Signed G. Metsu. Engraved by D. J. Sluijter [194]. Auction Lormier, 1763, 605 guilders.

The Old drinker is better preserved and of exquisite quality. He has long gray hair and a short gray beard. Joyful face, lively expression. Does he not hold his pipe in a hand, resting on a barrel, and in the other hand a pewter pot, leaning against his thigh? For those who enjoy life, full hands. He has a warm gray cloak and a beautiful red beret trimmed with brown fur. He lacks ...