MAES, NICOLAS (1632-1693)

This article appears in Volume V17, Page 298 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: LUP-MAL

MAES, NICOLAS (1632-1693) , Dutch painter, was born at

Dordrecht

DORDRECHT (abbreviated Dordt, or Dort)

, and went about 165o to Amsterdam, where he entered Rembrandt's studio.- Before his return to

Dordrecht

DORDRECHT (abbreviated Dordt, or Dort)

in 1654 Maes painted a few Rembrandtesque genre pictures, with life-size figures and in a deep glowing

scheme

SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

of colour, like the " Reverie " at the Ryks Museum in Amsterdam, the " Card Players " at the National Gallery, and the " Children with a Goat Carriage," belonging to Baroness N. de Rothschild. So closely did his early style resemble that of Rembrandt, that the last-named picture, and other canvases in the

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

and Budapest galleries and in the collection of Lord Radnor, were or are still ascribed to Rembrandt. In his best period, from 1655 to 1665, Maes devoted himself to domestic genre on a smaller scale, retaining to a great extent the magic of colour he had learnt from Rembrandt. Only on rare occasions did he treat scriptural subjects, as in the

earl

EARL

of Denbigh's " Hagar's Departure," which has been ascribed to Rembrandt. His favourite subjects were women spinning, or reading the Bible, or preparing a

meal

MEAL

. In 1665 he went to Antwerp, where he remained till 1678, in which year he probably returned to Amsterdam. His Antwerp period coincides with a complete

change

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. 冠 urmu', to bend)

in style and subject. He devoted himself almost exclusively to portraiture, and abandoned the intimacy and glowing colour harmonies of his earlier

work

WORK

for a careless elegance which suggests the influence of Van Dyck. So great indeed was the

change

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. 冠 urmu', to bend)

, that it gave rise to the theory of the existence of another Maes, of Brussels. Maes is well represented at the National Gallery by five paintings: " The Cradle," " The Dutch Housewife," " The Idle Servant," " The Card Players," and a man's portrait. At Amsterdam, besides the splendid examples to be found at the Ryks Museum, is the " Inquisitive Servant " of the Six collection. At Buckingham Palace is " The Listening Girl " (repeti;.ions exist), and at Apsley

House

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

" Selling Milk " and " The Listener." Other notable examples are at the Berlin, Brussels, St

Petersburg

PETERSBURG

, the Hague, Frankfort, Hanover and Munich galleries.

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