A Man Smoking, and a Woman c.1660-65
Oil on panel | 21.2 x 17.4 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404614
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Painted in the early 1660s, this small panel has the character of a brothel scene, whether or not this precise location would have been understood by contemporary viewers. A very finely dressed gentleman is being plied with intoxicants by a smiling young maid-servant in a low-cut dress and an overly familiar manner. He already has his pipe; she brings him a jug and glass of wine. Young men being ‘taken for a ride’ in this way in Dutch art – whether in scenes of the life of the Prodigal Son or modern brothels – tend to be looking up at their seducers and to have the adoring, love-sick expression seen here. Old men in similar situations in Dutch art are more straight-forwardly lustful.
The comedy in scenes of this kind would perhaps hang on the original audience recognising that this young man is throwing pearls before swine: his expression of respectful rapture being more suitable for an encounter with the Virgin Mary than with a maid-servant or worse.
A contemporary version is in the Royal Collection (RCIN 406624).Provenance
First recorded hanging in the Stoole Room at Windsor Castle in 1710 (no 165)
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on panel
Measurements
21.2 x 17.4 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
38.9 x 34.5 x 4.1 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
The triumph of love, previously entitled