Nicolaes Maes

1634 – Dordrecht  - Amsterdam – 1693

Portrait of a young lady, said to Dorothea Volmarijn

Oil on Canvas,  24 ½  x  19 ¾ inches (62.5 x 50.2  cm)

Signed and dated  1691

Provenance:

Collection of R L Findlay Esq.,

 Note:

Maes trained with Rembrandt, and was in his studio from about 1648-1652. But between 1660-65 he was in Antwerp, in part with Jakob Jordaens, and under the towering presence of the works of Rubens. These influences totally changed his style and view of how paintings should be.  By the time he got back to Amsterdam in 1673, his palette had become much brighter, more colourful and lively.  He was resident in Amsterdam for the rest of his life, but it is also said that he may well have come to England, perhaps interrupting his sojourn in Antwerp; a dating sometime in 1662 is suggested.

At first he had painted golden coloured genre pictures, during the Rembrandt phase. But he became a highly fashionable portrait painter, especially of attractive women and children. But these are still executed with meticulous care, considerable naturalism and ease, reminiscent of his earlier genre style. His fluid technique and ease of drapery is always attractive and his works have been much admired at every period.  He had many patrons among the Dutch burghers but also quite a number of English sitters, partly from the exiled court at The Hague.

The present painting may be compared with the portrait of Adriana Pompe van Meerdervoort (1664-1737), dated 1690[1].

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