NARRATOR:
Nicolaes Maes, the son of a prosperous merchant from Dordrecht, studied painting with Rembrandt in Amsterdam. He later became a prolific portraitist, as one contemporary observed:
HOUBRAKEN [ACTOR]:
“So much work came his way that it was deemed a favor if one person was granted the opportunity to sit for his portrait before another, and so it remained for the rest of his life.”
NARRATOR:
Interior with a Dordrecht Family of 1656 is Maes’ earliest family portrait. The unidentified sitters line up in front of a table like actors on a stage. Notice how meticulously Maes renders their plain, conservative clothing the clean sobriety of their home and the magnificent view outside the window. The wall covering of smooth planks and not more expensive paneling suggests that the family was middle class rather than wealthy. Dramatic contrasts of light and dark enliven the carefully posed figures. Light ripples in and out of the folds of their garments and brings a subtle glow to their pale faces.
The simple scene abounds with biblical references to the sanctity and importance of the family. The fruit basket, for example, symbolizes the family’s fertility , and the delicate vine across the window indicates their piety. The father holds his right hand over his heart to suggest his commitment to his wife and children while the baby reminds us of the mother’s role as the family caregiver. The view in the background is of the Great Church of Dordrecht and its newly erected stockade.
Interior with a Dordrecht Family
1656
Nicolaes Maes (Dutch, 1634-1693)
On View
Born into an affluent family in the Dutch city of Dordrecht, Nicolaes Maes studied in Amsterdam with Rembrandt. Although he produced paintings of diverse subject matter during his career, Maes focused on scenes of domestic life and portraits of wealthy patrons. Here, he presents a sober depiction of an upper-middle-class family, statically posed and facing the viewer. The parents appear in finery befitting their station—the mother wears a black gown reserved for Sundays and holidays, and the father wears a white collar with tassels, particularly fashionable around 1655. The open window looking out on the ships passing through Dordrecht’s canal, as well as the Chinese porcelain on the shelf above the scene, suggest that this is a merchant family. The two older children hold a basket of fruit, symbolic of the fertility of the marriage.
Details
- Artist Name: Nicolaes Maes (Dutch, 1634-1693)
- Title: Interior with a Dordrecht Family
- Date: 1656
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 44-1/4 x 47-5/8 in. (112.4 x 121.0 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1972.15.2.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Anonymous (Paris, Lebrun, 16 April 1811, lot 78 for 300 frs to);
[Royer, Paris].
(sale, "A late distinguished marshal of France," London, Stanley, 11 June 1816, no 28).
Lord Carbery, Laxton Hall, Northhamptonshire by 1824, by inheritance to;
Mary, Lady Carbery, Castle Freke, County Cork, Ireland (London, 4 March 1921, no. 29, to Taylor for ,3,000 [bought in]); by inheritance to;
Christopher Sandford, Eye Manor, Hertfordshire (Sotheby's, 5 July 1967, no. 35 for ,5,800 to).
D.H. Cevat.
William J. Middendorf, New York & The Hague.
[Edward Speelman Ltd., London];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
[Royer, Paris].
(sale, "A late distinguished marshal of France," London, Stanley, 11 June 1816, no 28).
Lord Carbery, Laxton Hall, Northhamptonshire by 1824, by inheritance to;
Mary, Lady Carbery, Castle Freke, County Cork, Ireland (London, 4 March 1921, no. 29, to Taylor for ,3,000 [bought in]); by inheritance to;
Christopher Sandford, Eye Manor, Hertfordshire (Sotheby's, 5 July 1967, no. 35 for ,5,800 to).
D.H. Cevat.
William J. Middendorf, New York & The Hague.
[Edward Speelman Ltd., London];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Exhibition of Dutch Art 1450 - 1900
- Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain), 1929-01 to 1929-03
[on loan]
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1973-12-09 to 1974-11-27
[on loan]
- Oberlin College, Dudley Peter Allen Art Museum, 1972-06-01 to 1973-05-08
Encountering the Dutch Likeness: Portraiture in 17th Century Holland
- Norton Simon Museum, 1993-09-02 to 1996
- Sumowski, Werner, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, no. 1439 pp. 1906, 1964, 2035, 2165
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, p. 83
- Gerson, Horst, The Connoisseur, Fig. 6 p. 52
- Neale, J. P., Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland,
- Royal Academy of Arts, London, Exhibition of Dutch Art 1450-1900, 1929, no. 349 p. 165
- Staring, A., Oud-Holland, 1965, fig. 1 pp. 169-171, 179
- Norton Simon Museum, Selected Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum, 1980, p. 52
- Sutton, Peter C., A Guide to Dutch Art in America, 1986, p. 216 ff
- Gaskell, Ivan, Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Painting in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, 1989, fig. 1, no. 2 p. 170
- Robinson, William W., Rembrandt and his Pupils. Papers Given at a Symposium in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2-3 October 1992, 1993, pp. 101-102
- Hochstrasser, Julie Berger, Still Life and Trade in the Dutch Golden Age, 2007, fig. 80 p. 146
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 790 p. 339
- A. van Suchtelen, B. Cornelis, Nicolaes Maes, 2019, fig. 12 p. 17; p. 20 (ill.)
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