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Young Woman Peeling Apples

ca. 1655
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 616
Bright red tones unify this painting, linking the maid’s costume, the apples she peels, and the Turkish carpet on the table. Painted a few years after Maes left Rembrandt’s studio, this picture reveals the artist’s debt to his teacher in its soft contours and effects of light. Previous painters had made housemaids the subject of comic or sexually suggestive scenes. With this sensitive and ennobling depiction, Maes made an important innovation.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Young Woman Peeling Apples
  • Artist: Nicolaes Maes (Dutch, Dordrecht 1634–1693 Amsterdam)
  • Date: ca. 1655
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 21 1/2 x 18 in. (54.6 x 45.7 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.612
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Studies of Two Men and a Woman Teaching a Child to Walk, Nicolaes Maes Dutch, Pen and brown ink; framing lines in pen and brown ink
Studies of Two Men and a Woman Teaching a Child to Walk
Nicolaes Maes
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1645–50
The Young Mother, Nicolaes Maes Dutch, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, with framing line in pen and brown ink
The Young Mother
Nicolaes Maes
1655–57
The Scolding Fishwife, Nicolaes Maes Dutch, Pen and ink, brush and brown wash, with traces of red chalk.
The Scolding Fishwife
Nicolaes Maes
17th century
Christ among the Doctors, Nicolaes Maes Dutch, Pen and brush and brown ink.
Christ among the Doctors
Nicolaes Maes
School of Rembrandt van Rijn
ca. 1652
Abraham Dismissing Hagar and Ishmael, Nicolaes Maes Dutch, Oil on canvas
Abraham Dismissing Hagar and Ishmael
Nicolaes Maes
1653

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