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A Woman Seated at a Window

early 1660s
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 542
A housewife holds an apple, which in this context more likely refers to the New Eve (the Virgin Mary) than the old one. The birdcage and hearth imply happy domesticity, while the grapevine alludes to the woman as "a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house" (Psalm 128). The original buyer of such a painting, if he had opinions about art as well as women, would probably have described it as a nisstuck, meaning "niche-piece" or "window-niche," an illusionistic format popularized by Gerrit Dou.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Woman Seated at a Window
  • Artist: Gabriël Metsu (Dutch, Leiden 1629–1667 Amsterdam)
  • Date: early 1660s
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 10 7/8 x 8 7/8 in. (27.6 x 22.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982
  • Object Number: 1982.60.32
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Seated Cavalier with Glass, Gabriël Metsu Dutch, Black chalk heightened with white on blue gray paper. Pasted down.
Seated Cavalier with Glass
Gabriël Metsu
mid-17th century
Tavern Scene, Gabriël Metsu Dutch, Oil on wood
Tavern Scene
Gabriël Metsu
The Visit to the Nursery, Gabriël Metsu Dutch, Oil on canvas
The Visit to the Nursery
Gabriël Metsu
1661
A Musical Party, Gabriël Metsu Dutch, Oil on canvas
A Musical Party
Gabriël Metsu
1659
Herman Doomer (ca. 1595–1650), Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Oil on wood
Herman Doomer (ca. 1595–1650)
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1640

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