The Lacemaker
Painted slightly after the artist’s Young Woman Peeling Apples (on view nearby), this scene reveals Maes’s increasing interest in anecdotal, domestic detail as he moved further out of Rembrandt’s shadow. Here, he shows a young mother absorbed in the meticulous work of lace-making, while her baby looks boldly out at the viewer from his high chair. As in many of Maes’s other works, the color red—on the mother’s bodice, baby’s hat, and tablecloth—provides a unifying element.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Lacemaker
- Artist: Nicolaes Maes (Dutch, Dordrecht 1634–1693 Amsterdam)
- Date: ca. 1656
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 17 3/4 x 20 3/4 in. (45.1 x 52.7 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
- Object Number: 32.100.5
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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