Metsu was born at Leiden, where he was probably trained by Gerrit Dou, the leading local painter. He became a founder member of the Leiden painters' guild in 1648 and produced (until about 1655) religious and mythological scenes, as well as the domestic subjects in which he later specialised.
Metsu was the son of a painter of Flemish origin. He lived in Leiden (except for a short absence in 1651) until 1657, when he moved to Amsterdam, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Metsu's earliest paintings display little relationship to the work of his master, Dou. He was an eclectic artist and his paintings show at different times the influences of Jan Steen, Nicolaes Knüpfer, Dou and ter Borch. Most of his pictures are genre scenes but he also painted religious subjects as well as a few portraits, still lifes and game places.
Gabriel Metsu
1629 - 1667
Paintings by Gabriel Metsu
A young couple seem about to strike up a duet. The woman, seated at the keyboard of a virginal, hands her partner a musical score, presumably the part for the violin on the table next to him. Scenes of music making among young people were common in seventeenth-century Dutch painting, and they wou...
Metsu has highlighted the woman seated at the table – light from the high window falls on her bright red bodice – to confirm her as the centre of our attention.Her companion or teacher tunes his violin in the background, catching our eye with an inscrutable stare. It isn’t clear whether the viola...
Not on display
This woman is engrossed in sketching a stone bust; hanging over the edge of the table is an engraving. Copying sculpture and images such as this was part of an artist’s training. In the background we can see an easel, as well as books, a globe and a classical arch and column, which evoke a wider...
One of Gabriel Metsu’s great strengths as an artist was his ability to absorb ideas and influences from other artists. Here he has borrowed a device from Gerrit Dou, who had probably trained him in Leiden a few years earlier.Dou had found success with a series of ‘niche paintings’ – scenes, somet...
Not on display
From the world of outdoors, a horseman – dashing, smart and confident – has stepped into the gloomy interior of a blacksmith’s shop. He strikes a superior pose and his status is underlined by his expensive scarlet coat, its gold braid and the hilt of his sword glittering in the dim light. While t...
Not on display
The objects on the table – an innkeeper’s slate, playing cards, a pipe, a silver cup, a tankard and a backgammon box – imply that this is a tavern. The sleeping woman might be the innkeeper’s wife, a barmaid or, possibly, a prostitute, and the painting is drawing attention to her vices. Cards and...