An Old Woman Dozing over a Book
c. 1655
Artist, Dutch, 1634 - 1693
Nicolaes Maes, one of the foremost portrait painters of the second half of the seventeenth century, began his career as a painter of religious subjects and genre scenes. These early works reflect the influence of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), with whom he studied in Amsterdam between 1646 and 1653. In numerous paintings Maes explored the theme of a dozing woman who shirks her responsibilities. Here, the signs of sloth are subtle: the household keys, indicating worldly duties, dangle idly from a nail in the wall, and the opened Bible remains unread, suggesting that she has closed her eyes to the word of God.
Many of the props Maes used in this work reappear in other paintings from this period, as does his elderly model. Her identity is unknown, but she may have been a relative. Perhaps Maes followed Rembrandt’s example and used his mother for his representations of older women in his moralizing images of the mid-1650s. These didactic works were made after Maes returned to Dordrecht, where he married the widow of a preacher in 1654. Dordrecht was a Calvinist stronghold, so paintings that stressed moral responsibility probably had a ready market.

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 51
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall: 82.2 x 67 cm (32 3/8 x 26 3/8 in.)
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Accession
1937.1.63
More About this Artwork
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Antoine Delacoux de Marivault [1771-1846], Paris; (his sale, Salle Desmarets by Le Brun and Jaluzot, Paris, 9-10 June 1806, 1st day, no. 29, probably bought in);[1] (sale, by Pérignon and Chariot, Paris, 28-29 March 1816, 1st day, no. 49, bought in); deposited 1817 with (Frederic Quilliet, Paris);[2] (Quilliet sale, by Henry and Jaluzot, Paris, 15-17 April 1818, 1st day, no. 188). possibly (sale, Edward Foster, London, 7 June 1833, no. 69).[3] (Anonymous sale, Worcester, 1856); Thomas Grove Smith [d. 1879], Rashwood House, Droitwich, Worcestershire; by inheritance to his son, Herbert George Smith [d. 1918], Apsey House, Batheaston, Somerset;[4] (Arthur J. Sulley & Co., London); sold 25 September 1919 to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); sold 15 January 1920 to (John Levy Galleries, New York).[5] Nils B. Hersloff, East Orange, New Jersey;[6] consigned April 1933-May 1934 and January 1935-April 1936 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York);[7] purchased 16 April 1936 by The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] The early provenance of the painting, through 1833, was kindly provided by Burton B. Fredericksen in a letter to Arthur Wheelock, dated 18 December 2002, in NGA curatorial files. Marivault's collection was offered for sale en bloc in January 1806; concerning this exhibition/sale, and the June 1806 sale and confusion surrounding its dates, see also Burton B. Fredericksen and Benjamin Peronnet, eds., Répertoire des tableaux vendus en France au XIXe siècle, one volume in two parts, Los Angeles, 1998: pt. 1:32-33, 35-36, cats. 96 and 109. William W. Robinson, in a letter to Arthur Wheelock of 12 March 1996 (in NGA curatorial files), noted a sale record in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), The Hague, that gives the dates as 10-11 June 1809. However, the description of lot number 29 is identical to the description in the 1806 catalogue, so the 1809 date is likely in error. Frits Lugt (Répertoire des catalogues de ventes publiques, 4 vols., The Hague, 1938-1964: vol. 1) cross-references three sales to each other--Lugt numbers 6281, 7604, and 8017--that all likely refer to the 1806 sale, which is Lugt number 7119.
[2] Fredericksen and Peronnet 1998, pt. 1:32, cat. 96.
[3] As Fredericksen points out in his letter (see note 1), the paintings in this sale are described as having been "just imported from France," but the description is brief and the dimensions are not given, so the painting's identity is uncertain.
[4] The provenance from 1856 to 1919 comes from a three-page typewritten pamphlet concerning the work written by W. Roberts in 1919. It was probably produced for Sulley and Co., London, and is in the library of M. Knoedler & Co., New York (copy in NGA curatorial files).
[5] Stockbook no. 5563, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London. A handwritten note by Frits Lugt in a copy of the 1935 Knoedler exhibition catalogue that included the painting (now at the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague) reads: "fraai, heb ick bij Agnew 1920 gemist."
[6] N.B. Hersloff, then resident in Pinehurst, North Carolina, wrote to Duveen Brothers, Inc. on 15 November 1930 to ask if the dealer would be interested in buying the painting. He was told, however, in letter of 20 November 1930, that the firm did not buy works by the artist. (Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: reel 321, box 466, folder 2; copies in NGA curatorial files)
[7] On 7 April 1933 the picture was received by Knoedler, on consignment from "H. B. Hersloff, Compania De Trafico Y Formento" (no address given, transaction no. CA 513 in the stockbook). It was returned to the consigner on 8 May 1934, but returned again in January 1935 (transaction CA 768, again from "H.B. Hersloff"). However, the painting is listed in the 1935 Knoedler exhibition catalogue as having come from the collection of "Nils B. Hersloff, Esq.," rather than "H.B.," as was entered in the normally reliable Knoedler stockbooks. (The stockbook information was kindly provided by Nancy C. Little, librarian at M. Knoedler & Co., New York).
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1900
Autumn Exhibition, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, 1900, no. 41.
1935
Exhibition of Twenty Masterpieces (1400-1800) in Aid of King George V's Jubilee Trust, M. Knoedler & Co., London, 1935, no. 10.
1993
Bilder vom alten Menschen in der niederländischen und deutschen Kunst 1550-1750, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, 1993-1994, no. 44, repro.
Bibliography
1900
Victoria Art Gallery. Autumn Exhibition. Exh. cat. Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, 1900: 9, no. 41.
1919
Bode, Wilhelm von. Die Meister der holländischen und vlämischen Malerschulen. 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1919: 68.
1924
Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Nicolaes Maes. Stuttgart, 1924: 72, no. 33, repro.
1935
M. Knoedler & Co. Jubilee year exhibition of masterpieces through four centuries (1400-1800) in aid of King George's Jubilee Trust. Exh. cat. M. Knoedler & Co., London, 1935: 16: no. 10.
"Old Masters that Are on Show in London, Notable Pictures to See." The Illustrated London News (22 June 1935): repro.
1941
Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 118, no. 63.
1942
National Gallery of Art. Book of illustrations. 2nd ed. Washington, 1942: 63, repro. 28, 240.
1949
National Gallery of Art. Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 89, repro.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 314, 339, repro.
1965
National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 80.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 71, repro.
1974
Slive, Seymour. "Dutch School." In European paintings in the collection of the Worcester Art Museum. Edited by Louisa Dresser. 2 vols. Worcester, 1974: 1:112-114, ft. 3.
1975
National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 208-209, repro.
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 286, no. 380, color repro.
1979
Sumowski, Werner. Drawings of the Rembrandt School. 10 vols. Edited and translated by Walter L. Strauss. New York, 1979–1992: 8:4066, 4084.
1983
Sumowski, Werner. Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler in vier Bänden. 6 vols. Landau, 1983: 3:2021, 2022, 2094, no. 1368, color repro.
1984
Robinson, William W. "‘The sacrifice of Isaac’: an unpublished painting by Nicolaes Maes." The Burlington Magazine 136 (September 1984): 540 n. 6.
Sutton, Peter C. Masters of Seventeenth-Century Dutch Genre Painting. Edited by Jane Iandola Watkins. Exh. cat. Philadelphia Museum of Art; Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin; Royal Academy of Arts, London. Philadelphia, 1984: 241 n. 2.
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 287, no. 374, color repro.
1985
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 240, repro.
1993
Berger, Ursel, and Jutta Desel. Bilder vom alten Menschen in der niederländischen und deutschen Kunst, 1550-1750. Exh. cat. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, 1993: 174-175, no. 44, repro.
1995
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 160-164, color repro. 161.
Liedtke, Walter A. Rembrandt/not Rembrandt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: aspects of connoisseurship. Vol. 2, Paintings, drawings, and prints: art-historical perspectives. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995: 2:126-127, fig. 77.
2000
Krempel, León. Studien zu den datierten Gemälden des Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693). Studien zur internationalen Architektur- und Kunstgeschichte 9. Petersburg, 2000: no. 37, 361, fig. 27.
Inscriptions
upper right above keys: N. MAES
Wikidata ID
Q20177396