The Intruder

c. 1660

Gabriel Metsu

Artist, Dutch, 1629 - 1667

A young, smiling man bursts through the door of a dimly lit bedroom occupied by three women in this vertical painting. All four people have pale skin. The arched door is to our right and the man faces our left with his arms spread wide. He leans slightly forward as he holds the wide brim of his hat out by his left side, to our right. Shoulder-length chestnut-brown hair frames his face, and he wears a velvety brown jacket trimmed with tan stripes and pompoms down the front and along the sleeve we can see. A broad sash crosses his chest and tassels hang from his wide, white collar. Between us and him, a wooden chair is draped with a crimson-red cloak trimmed with white fur and bands of gold. A pewter pitcher and candlestick rest on the pine floor in front of it, near the lower right corner of the painting. The man is stopped at the door by a woman wearing a sable-brown gown with a tight-fitting bodice and a white cap on the back of her head. Her body faces the man as she leans toward him with her outstretched right hand resting on his shoulder, and she turns her smiling face back over her shoulder. Light from an open window on the left illuminates the woman in the center, who steps down from a bed enclosed by forest-green, velvet curtains trimmed with gold fringe and tassels. The curtains are parted behind her to reveal white pillows. She wears a long, gleaming white satin skirt topped by a tight-fitting coral-red bodice stitched with thin lines of gold. A white neckerchief covers her shoulders and is partially tucked into the bodice. Her head is covered by a white kerchief knotted under her chin. Her body faces us with one foot on a step stool, and the other foot reaches down to a gold and red shoe on the floor. Its mate lies nearby, pointing away from us. Her head is turned to our right to look at the man. She has a thin face with a high forehead, and small mouth is closed or pursed. Closest to us and near the lower left corner of the painting, the third woman sits alongside a small table under the open window. She wears a long, pine-green jacket trimmed with white fur over a brown skirt. Her auburn hair is partially coiled around her head, while some locks fall in bunched curls. She sits facing our right in profile with her back to the window, so her smiling face is mostly in shadow. Her left arm rests on the table, which is draped with a red and copper patterned cloth, and she holds a white comb in that hand. A mirror and round silver box sit on the table next to her. A small brown and white dog stands by her feet, its head tilted up to look at the others. The far wall of the room is covered with a faint pattern of golden brown vines and leaves against a forest-green background. The artist signed the painting on the face of the step leading up to the bed, “G. Metsu.”

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The Protestant Dutch had a reputation for strict rules that defined social conduct. Only on rare occasions, such as a betrothal when a suitor was expected to show passion for his future wife, would a demonstration of emotion be considered proper. In this sumptuous painting, Gabriel Metsu imagines an apparently prearranged "transgression" among the elite of Amsterdam. An officer bursts into a bedroom, where two elegant young women are getting ready for the day. The housekeeper, identified by the keys dangling from her apron, playfully pretends to restrain him. The woman seated in front of the mirror is clearly amused, but the young woman getting down from the bed seems perturbed at being caught in her underskirt. The scene contains a number of objects whose contradictory symbolic meanings would have intrigued contemporary viewers. The sliding of a naked foot into a slipper carries sexual overtones, and the bright red costume signals passion, while the comb held by the woman seated at the table denotes her purity.

Metsu organized this complex narrative scene by arranging his figures diagonally across the picture plane. His subject matter and style was influenced by Gerard ter Borch the Younger (1617–1681), whose Suitor’s Visit is also in the National Gallery of Art. Both artists excelled at depicting human interactions and rendering the satins, velvets, lace, and furs found in upper-class fashions.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 50

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on panel

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 66.6 x 59.4 cm (26 1/4 x 23 3/8 in.)
    framed: 93.4 x 85.1 x 12.1 cm (36 3/4 x 33 1/2 x 4 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1937.1.57

More About this Artwork

Scholarly Article:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century: The Intruder, c. 1660

This horizontal painting shows a group of eight light-skinned musicians and onlookers gathered closely around a rectangular, carpet-covered table. The front edge of the table runs parallel to the bottom edge of the painting, and seems close to us. Shown from about the waist up, the men and women’s vivid lapis-blue, coral-red, buttercup-yellow, lilac-purple, and moss-green garments fall in crisp folds. Bright reflections on the fabric suggest a satin-like material. Two women wear feathers in their hair and one man’s hat is plumed. One man, wearing crimson red and black, sits with his back to us to our left on the near side of the table. He holds the neck of a bass viol, about the size of a cello, with his left hand, and points to pages of an open music book with the bow in his right hand. The other people cluster on the far side of the table. A man to the left plays a violin; a woman at the center plays a guitar-sized bandora, and a woman to our right plays a lute. The musicians, along with a man who leans over the table from between the two women, look down at the music books. A young man behind the woman at the center holds up a glass of pale liquid with his right hand as he touches his left forefinger to his smiling lips. A man and woman stand close together in the background to our right, in the top right corner of the canvas.

Scholarly Series:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly William van Huls, London; possibly (his estate sale, at his residence by Wilson, London, 6 August 1722 and days following, no. 129, as Ladies in their Bedroom); Edwin.[1] Colonel Gregory Holman Bromley Way [1766-1844], Denham Place, Buckinghamshire;[2] sold to (John Smith [1781-1855], London); sold 26 January 1830 to George John Venables-Vernon, 5th baron Vernon [1803-1866], Sudbury Hall, Derby; (his sale, Christie & Manson, London, 15-16 April 1831, 2nd day, no. 50, as The Importunate Intruder); purchased by (John Smith [1781-1855], London) for Sir Charles Bagot [1781-1843];[3] (his sale, Christie & Manson, London, 18 June 1836, no. 56); Albertus Brondgeest [1786-1849], The Hague, buying for Baron Johan Gijsbert Verstolk van Soelen [1776-1845], The Hague; sold 1846 with the Verstolk van Soelen collection through (John Chaplin, London) to a consortium of Samuel Jones Loyd [1796-1883, later 1st baron Overstone], Humphrey Mildmay [1794-1853], and Thomas Baring [1799-1873], London, and Stratton Park, Hampshire;[4] by inheritance to Baring's nephew, Thomas George Baring, 1st earl of Northbrook [1826-1904], London and Stratton Park; by inheritance to his son, Francis George Baring, 2nd earl of Northbrook [1850-1929], London and Stratton Park; sold March 1927 to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[5] sold November 1927 to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 28 December 1934 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] Adriaan E. Waiboer, Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667): Life and Work, Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 2007: 762, no. A-130; Frank Simpson, "Dutch Paintings in England before 1760," The Burlington Magazine 95, no. 599 (February 1953): 41.
[2] John Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, 9 vols., London, 1829–1842: 4(1833):103, no. 94; 9(1842):524, no. 29, provides the provenance for the painting from Colonel Way through Brondgeest.
[3] See Charles Sebag-Montefiore with Julia I. Armstrong-Totten, A Dynasty of Dealers: John Smith and Successors, 1801-1924, Arundel and London, London, 2013: 21-22, 72, 75-77.
[4] The catalogue of the Verstolk van Soelen collection, annotated with the purchasers of each work, was prepared by Albertus Brondgeest and is dated 29 June 1846. The Metsu painting is number 30 and the purchaser was Baring. See William Henry James Weale and Jean Paul Richter, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures Belonging to the Earl of Northbrook, London, 1889: 199, 202-203.
[5] Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Los Angeles: reel 124, box 269, folders 14-17. Duveen's representative first saw the painting in 1913 in the front drawing room of Lord Northbrook's London house.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1834

  • The Works of Ancient Masters, British Institution, London, 1834, no. 103.

1850

  • Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, French and English Masters, British Institution, London, 1850, no. 48, as An Interior.

1857

  • Art Treasures of the United Kingdom: Paintings by Ancient Masters, Art Treasures Palace, Manchester, 1857, no. 1059.

1871

  • Exhibition of the Works of the Old Masters, associated with Works of Deceased Masters of the British School. Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1871, no. 211.

1889

  • Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters, and by Deceased Masters of the British School. Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1889, no. 128.

1895

  • Loan Collection of Pictures, Corporation of London Art Gallery (Guildhall), London, 1895, no. 121.

1900

  • Exhibition of Pictures by Dutch Masters of the Seventeenth Century, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1900, no. 47.

2010

  • Gabriel Metsu, 1629-1667, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2010-2011, no. 34, fig. 126.

2017

  • Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry, Musée du Louvre, Paris; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2017-2018, no. 8.3, repro.

Bibliography

1829

  • Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829-1842: 4(1833):102-103, no. 94; 9:524, no. 29.

1834

  • British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom. Catalogue of the works of ancient masters: the property of His Gracious Majesty William the Fourth, the Most Noble the Marquess of Westminster, and the Right Honourable Sir Charles Bagot, G.C.B. Exh. cat. British Institution, London, 1834: no. 103.

1850

  • British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom. Catalogue of pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, French and English masters: with which the proprietors have favoured this Institution. June, 1850. Exh. cat. British Institution, London, 1850: no. 48.

1854

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss.. 3 vols. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake. London, 1854: 2:183.

1857

  • Thoré, Théophile E. J. (William Bürger). Trésors d’Art exposés à Manchester en 1857 et provenant des collections royales, des collections publiques et des collections particulières de la Grande-Bretagne. Paris, 1857: 275-276.

  • Art Treasures of the United Kingdom. Exh. cat. Art Treasures Palace, Manchester, 1857: no. 1059.

1860

  • Viardot, Louis. Les Musées d'Angelterre, de Belgique de Hollande et de Russie. Paris, 1860: 155.

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Handbook of Painting: The German, Flemish and Dutch Schools. 2 vols. London, 1860: 1:367.

1861

  • Blanc, Charles. "Gabriel Metsu." In École hollandaise. 2 vols. Histoire des peintres de toutes les écoles 1-2. Paris, 1861: 1:16 (each artist's essay paginated separately) .

1871

  • Royal Academy of Arts. Exhibition of the works of the old masters, associated with works of deceased masters of the British School. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, London, 1871: no. 211.

1879

  • Crowe, Joseph A. Handbook of Painting: The German, Flemish, and Dutch Schools. Based on editions by Waagen and Kugler. 2 vols. London, 1879: 2:399.

1885

  • Gower, Ronald. The Northbrook Gallery: an illustrated, descriptive and historic account of the Collection of the Earl of Northbrook, G.C.S.I.. The Great Historic Galleries of England 4. London, 1885: 32.

1887

  • Champlin, John Denison, Jr., and Charles C. Perkins, eds. Cyclopedia of painters and paintings. 4 vols. New York, 1887: 3:250.

1889

  • Weale, William Henry James. _ A descriptive catalogue of the collection of pictures belonging to the Earl of Northbrook_. 2 vols. London, 1889: 1:55, no. 74, 202-203, repro.

  • Royal Academy of Arts. Exhibition of works by the old masters, and by deceased masters of the British School. Winter Exhibition. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1889: no. 128.

1895

  • Temple, Alfred G. Catalogue of the Loan Collection of Pictures. Exh. cat. Art Gallery of the Corporation of London, 1895: no. 121.

1897

  • Roberts, William. Memorials of Christie's: A record of art sales from 1766 to 1896. 2 vols. London, 1897: 1:131.

1900

  • Burlington Fine Arts Club. Exhibition of pictures by Dutch masters of the seventeenth century. Exh. cat. Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1900: no. 47.

1904

  • Armstrong, Sir Walter. The Peel Collection and the Dutch School of Painting. London, 1904: 34-35.

1906

  • "Metsu." Masters in Art: A Series of Illustrated Monographs 7, part 78 (June 1906): 38, 41, pl. 5.

  • Wurzbach, Alfred von. Niederlandisches Kunstler-Lexikon. 3 vols. Vienna, 1906-1911: 2(1910):150.

1907

  • Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. 8 vols. Translated by Edward G. Hawke. London, 1907-1927: 1(1907):314-315, no. 190.

  • Gerson, Horst. "Metsu, Gabriel." In Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 37 vols. Edited by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 24(1930):439-441.

1909

  • Kronig, Johann O. "Gabriel Metsu." Revue de l’art ancien et moderne 25 (1909): part 2, 213-224, repro.

1912

  • The Masterpieces of Metsu (1630(?)-1667). Gowans's Art Books. London and Glasgow, 1912: 50, repro.

1926

  • Collins Baker, Charles Henry. Dutch Painting of the Seventeenth Century. London, 1926: 24-25, color repro.

1937

  • Jewell, Edward Alden. "Mellon's Gift." Magazine of Art 30, no. 2 (February 1937): 82.

  • "The Mellon Gift: A First Official List." Art News 35 (1937): 15.

1941

  • Duveen Brothers. Duveen Pictures in Public Collections of America. New York, 1941: no. 211, repro.

  • Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 134, no. 57.

  • Held, Julius S. "Masters of Northern Europe, 1430-1660, in the National Gallery." Art News 40, no. 8 (June 1941): 12, repro.

1942

  • Martin, Wilhelm. Rembrandt en zijn tijd: onze 17e eeuwsche schilderkunst in haren bloetijd en nabloei. Vol. 2 of De Hollandsche Schilderkunst in de Zeventiende Eeuw. 2nd ed. Amsterdam, 1942: 170, 227.

  • National Gallery of Art. Book of illustrations. 2nd ed. Washington, 1942: 57, repro. 28, 240.

1948

  • Bernt, Walther. Die niederländischen Maler des 17. Jahrhunderts. 3 vols. München, 1948: 2:no. 516, repro.

1949

  • National Gallery of Art. Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 90, repro.

1960

  • Baird, Thomas P. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art 7. Washington, 1960: 30, color repro.

  • The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 23.

  • Bernt, Walther. Die niederländischen Maler des 17. Jahrhunderts. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Munich, 1960: 2:no. 516, repro.

1962

  • Grinten, Evert F. van der. "Le cachalot et le mannequin: deux facettes de la réalité dans l’art hollandais du seizième et du dix-septième siècles." _Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek _ 13 (1962): 170-173, fig. 23.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 315, repro.

1965

  • National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 90.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 78, repro.

  • Schneede, Uwe M. "Gabriel Metsu und der holländdische Realismus." Oud Holland 93 (1968): 47, 50.

  • Gudlaugsson, Sturla J. "Kanttekeningen bij de ontwikkeling van Metsu." Oud Holland 93 (1968): 13-42, 27, repro.

1969

  • Bernt, Walther. Die niederländischen Maler des 17. Jahrhunderts. 3 vols. 3rd ed. Munich, 1969: 2:no. 752, repro.

1974

  • Robinson, Franklin W. Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667): A Study of His Place in Dutch Genre Painting of the Golden Age. New York, 1974: 56-57, 67, 181, repro. 133.

1975

  • National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 232-233, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 286, no. 379, color repro.

1976

  • Jongh, Eddy de. Tot Lering en Vermaak: betekenissen van Hollandse genrevoorstellingen uit de zeventiende eeuw. Exh. cat. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1976: 195, no. 3.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. "Review of Robinson 'Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667): A Study of His Place in Dutch Genre Painting of the Golden Age' (1974)". The Art Bulletin 58 (1976): 456.

1978

  • Wright, Christopher. The Dutch Painters: 100 Seventeenth Century Masters. London, 1978: 140, color repro.

1979

  • Bernt, Walther. Die niederländischen Maler und Zeichner des 17. Jahrhunderts. 5 vols. 4th ed. Munich, 1979-1980: 2:no. 805, repro.

1983

  • Southgate, M. Therese, M.D., ed. "The Cover: Gabriel Metsu, The Intruder." Journal of the American Medical Association 249, no. 6 (11 February 1983): 740, cover repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 287, no. 373, color repro.

1985

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 268, repro.

  • Robinson, Franklin W. The Letter. San Diego, 1985: unpaginated, repro above fig. 8.

1986

  • Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Washington and Grand Rapids, 1986: 310, repro. 463.

1989

  • Tortora, Phyllis G., and Keith Eubank. A Survey of Historic Costume. New York, 1989: 157, fig. 10.9.

1991

  • Ydema, Onno. Carpets and Their Datings in Netherlandish Paintings, 1540-1700. Zutphen, 1991: 138, no. 129.

1993

  • Todorov, Tzvetan. Éloge du quotidien: essai sur la peinture hollandaise du XVIIe siècle. Paris, 1993: 76, fig. 45.

1995

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 164-168, color repro. 167.

1997

  • Southgate, M. Therese, M.D., ed. The art of JAMA: one hundred covers and essays from the Journal of the American Medical Association. St. Louis, 1997:140-141, repro. 211, 740, cover repro.

1998

  • Roberts, Helene E., ed. Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 1:326.

  • Tortora, Phyllis G., and Keith Eubank. Survey of Historic Costume: A History of Western Dress. 3rd ed. New York, 1998: 215, fig. 9.10.

  • Winkel, Marieke de. "The Interpretation of Dress in Vermeer’s Paintings." In Vermeer Studies. Edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker. New Haven, 1998: 326-339, fig. 3.

2001

  • Chapman, H. Perry. "Home and the Display of Privacy." In Art & Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt. Edited by Mariët Westermann. Exh. cat. Newark Museum; Denver Art Museum. Zwolle, 2001: 145-147, repro.

2003

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake. Facsimile edition of London 1854. London, 2003: 2:183.

2004

  • Schavemaker, Eddy. "Eglon van der Neer, 'A Lady, Washing Her Hands'." In Senses and Sins : Dutch Painters of Daily Life in the Seventeenth Century. Edited by Jeroen Giltaij. Exh. cat. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main. Ostfildern-Ruit, 2004: 271-272, no. 76, fig. 2.

  • Bergvelt, Ellinoor, J.P. Filedt Kok, and Norbert Middelkoop. De Hollandse meesters van een Amsterdamse bankier: de verzameling van Adriaan van der Hoop (1778-1854). Exh. cat. Amsterdams Historisch Museum; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Zwolle, 2004: 35, fig. 28.

2007

  • Waiboer, Adriaan E. "Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667): life and work." Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 2007: 230, 762-764 (no. A-130), 1179.

2010

  • Scholten, Frits. "Metsu's marmer." Kunstschrift 54, no. 6 (December 2010/January 2011): 40, 47, col. fig. 45.

  • Waiboer, Adriaan E. Gabriel Metsu. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; National Gallery of Art, Washington. New Haven, 2010: 21-22, 125, 126, 128, 130, 131, 156, 167-170, 176, 195, no. 34, fig. 92.

2011

  • Pergam, Elizabeth A. The Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857: Entrepreneurs, Connoisseurs and the Public. Farnham and Burlington, 2011: 313.

2013

  • Sebag-Montefiore, Charles, with Julia I. Armstrong-Totten. A Dynasty of Dealers: John Smith and Successors, 1801-1924: A Study of the Art Market in Nineteenth-Century London. Arundel and London, 2013: 21-22, 72, 75-77, fig. 36.

2022

  • Gifford, Melanie, Dina Anchin, Alexandra Libby, Marjorie E. Wieseman, Kathryn A. Dooley, Lisha Deming Glinsman, and John K. Delaney, "First Steps in Vermeer’s Creative Process: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art." _Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art_14, no. 2 (Summer 2022): figs. 4 and 6.

  • Gifford, E. Melanie, Kathryn A. Dooley, and John K. Delaney. "Methodology & Resources: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art." Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. 14, no. 2 (Summer 2022): fig. 6.

Inscriptions

lower center on step to bed: G. Metsu

Wikidata ID

Q20177513

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