Skip to main content

Nicolaes Maes Art

Dutch, 1634-1693

Nicolaes Maes was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre and portraits. He was born in Dordrecht, the son of Gerrit Maes, a prosperous merchant, and Ida Herman Claesdr. In about 1648, he went to Amsterdam, where he entered Rembrandt's studio. Before his return to Dordrecht in 1653, Maes painted a few Rembrandtesque genre pictures, with life-size figures and in a deep glowing scheme of color, like The Reverie at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, The Card Players at the National Gallery, and The Children with a Goat Carriage. So closely did his early style resemble that of Rembrandt, that the last-named picture, and other canvases in the Leipzig and Budapest galleries and in the collection of Lord Radnor, were or are still ascribed to Rembrandt. In his best period, from 1655–65, Maes devoted himself to the domestic genre on a smaller scale, retaining to a great extent the magic of color he had learned from Rembrandt. Only on rare occasions did he treat scriptural subjects, as in Hagar's Departure, which has been ascribed to Rembrandt. His favorite subjects were women spinning, or reading the Bible, or preparing a meal. Maes had a particular fascination with the subject of lacemaking and made almost a dozen versions on this subject. While he continued to reside in Dordrecht until 1673, when Maes settled in Amsterdam, he visited or even lived in Antwerp between 1665–67. His Antwerp period coincides with a complete change in style and subject. He devoted himself almost exclusively to portraiture and abandoned the intimacy and glowing color harmonies of his earlier work for a careless elegance which suggests the influence of Van Dyck. So great indeed was the change, that it gave rise to the theory of the existence of another Maes, of Brussels. His registered pupils were Justus de Gelder, Margaretha van Godewijk, Jacob Moelaert, and Johannes Vollevens. Maes died in Amsterdam. Maes is well represented at the London 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 Rijksmuseum, is The Inquisitive Servant of the Six collections. At Buckingham Palace is The Listening Girl (repetitions exist), and at Apsley House Selling Milk and The Listener. Other notable examples are at the Berlin, Brussels, St Petersburg, the Hague, Frankfort, Hanover, Ottawa and Munich galleries.

to
3
1
4
4
1
1
1
1
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
3
3
3
3
1
4
4
6,934
3,279
2,514
1,213
4
4
4
4
Artist: Nicolaes Maes
A pair of Dutch 17th century old master portraits of a husband and wife
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Bath, Somerset
A rare pair of three-quarter length 'marriage' portraits by one of the foremost dutch portrait painters of the 17th century, Nicolaes Maes (Dordrecht 1634-1693 Amsterdam). The gentleman signed middle left 'Maes 1679'. Oil on canvas in dutch style ebonised frames. Dimensions 58 x 47.5cms each. The gentleman is shown in a landscape at dusk, leaning against a stone capital, wearing a white chemise decorated with lace, a black coat and a brown silk cloak draped across his body. The lady is elegantly dressed in an ivory silk gown decorated with jewels on the neckline and shoulders, the contrasting sleeves in gold fabric, with a rose pink silk cloak draped over her shoulder and bodice. She wears a pearl necklace and earrings with her fair hair worn up with ringlets falling down onto her chest in the fashionable style of the day. She stands with one hand touching a lock of her hair as she rests her arm on the bowl of a stone water drinking fountain...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th century portrait of a lady
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a lady richly dressed in a purple silk gown with white sleeves, a gold coloured cloak draped across one shoulder, her blonde curls worn up...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17th century portrait of a lady
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a lady by Dutch Golden Age painter Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693). Half-length, within a feigned oval, the lady wears a pearl necklace and earrings, an ivory silk gown adorned...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Noble Lady
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in New Orleans, LA
Signed and dated "N MAE / 1691" (lower right) Oil on canvas A masterful example of 17th-century Dutch portraiture, this magnificent oil on canvas comes alive with luminous color, dramatic contrast and extraordinary detail. The work was composed by Nicolaes Maes, an artist widely regarded as the most prominent portrait painter of his era in Amsterdam. Fashionably styled, Portrait of a Noble Lady exemplifies the mature style of Maes, executed with the same artistry and attention to detail he imparted on his most important private commissions. This work by Maes comes from the second half of his career and follows in the rich tradition of the great Flemish Baroque painters Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. Like these artists, Maes excels at not only capturing his subjects with a technical perfection but also their inherent elegance and grace. The sitter is draped in luxurious white and red silks and pearls, underscoring the importance and prosperity of his wealthy clientele. She is placed against a dark backdrop, enabling a striking chiaroscuro effect characteristic of the artist’s portraits. Maes’s immense talent for detail and composition is clearly evident. In both palette and proportion, it embodies the somewhat austere style preferred by the artist, which emphasized a painstaking study of the costumes, hairstyles and accessories of his subjects. Such elaborate and highly detailed costuming in portraiture was a fashionable way to show one's wealth in the 17th century, particularly among the emerging class of wealthy merchants. Similar works by the painter can be found in the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), National Gallery (London), National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) and Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others. Nicolaes Maes was born in Dordrecht in 1634 to a prosperous cloth merchant. Around 1848, he moved to Amsterdam to study under Rembrandt for several years before returning to his native Dordrecht, where he established himself as a painter of genre scenes and portraits. In the 1650s, Maes traveled to Antwerp where he studied the work of Flemish artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens...
Category

17th Century Baroque Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Related Items
Huge 17th Century Spanish Old Master Oil Painting Wounded Pilgrim with Angel
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Pilgrim and Angel Spanish School, 17th Century oil on canvas, gilt framed framed: 48 x 37 inches canvas: 43 x 32 inches provenance: private collection, Barcelona, Spain condition...
Category

17th Century Baroque Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

G Negri called Il Boccia Baroque Figurative Painting 17th century oil canvas
By Girolamo Negri called Il Boccia
Located in Florence, IT
Oil on canvas, 62 x 51 cm (without the frame) Even if on the background there is an attribution to “Francesco Gessi pupil of Guido Reni” by the bolognese art historian Guido Zucchini (dated 1945), recent studies are tending to add it to the corpus of Girolamo Negri called Il Boccia (Bologna 1648-1718) due to lots of similarities with his style (the pale and warm palette chosen, the profile) The painting represents a lady on profile wearing a brown turban, a yellow clock...
Category

Late 17th Century Baroque Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Young Gentleman and Pet Dog c.1680, Antique oil on Canvas Painting
By (Circle of) Mary Beale
Located in London, GB
The portrait genre was valued particularly highly in English society. Neither landscapes nor allegorical pictures were ever priced so highly at exhibitions and in the trade as depictions of people, from the highest aristocracy to scholars, writers, poets and statesmen. This charming portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, of a fashionable young gentleman and his faithful pet is an excellent example of 17th century child portraiture in England. There is a remarkable beauty and sensitivity to the portrait. The face, particularly well rendered, has captured the character of this young man – both charming and at the same time mischievous. Only the playful attention of a small dog suggests anything less than patrician dignity. Symbolism was important in portraiture and it provided a pointed and aspirational narrative that would not have been lost on contemporary viewers. For example, the presence of the dog, which was likely the boy’s pet, is at once a charming pictorial device and also a clear allusion to fidelity, trust and loyalty. The hairstyle and the attire, notably the type of cravat with the blue ribbon, help to date this portrait to between 1670 to 1685. Until the late eighteenth century children were dressed as adults - boys were dressed like men in breeches, vests, and coats between four and seven years of age. The expensive lace is an indication to his family’s wealth. Held in a good quality and condition antique gilded frame. Born in Suffolk, Mary Beale, nee Cradock (1633-1699) was employed by many of the most distinguished persons of her time including nobility, landed gentry, and clergymen. Technically accomplished, her paintings are noteworthy for their honest and sympathetic portrayal. In 1651 she married Charles Beale...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Male and female portrait, both in silk kimono, possibly textile dealers
By Christoffel Lubieniecki
Located in Amsterdam, NL
CHRISTOFFEL LUBIENIECKI (1659-1729) Pair of portraits of a gentleman and a lady, both in silk kimono, before a country house (circa 1680) Indistinctly signed “C.......” on a box under the man’s left hand Oil on canvas, 79.5 x 67 cm each Both sitters are portrayed wearing a silk “Japanese” coat. During the second half of the seventeenth the Japanese silk coat, an adapted Japanese kimono, became a real vogue in the Dutch elite. The exclusive Dutch trade contacts with Japan can explain the popularity of the kimono-style silk coats in the Netherlands. Everybody who could afford one, dressed in such a fashionable and comfortable coat and, like the present sitters, some proud owners had themselves portrayed in a “Japanese” coat often together with an oriental carpet to underline their standing and international connections. These portraits are the work of the Polish-born portraitist Christoffel Lubieniecki (also known as Lubienitski, Lubinitski or Lubiniecki) Lubieniecki was first trained in Hamburg under Julian Stuhr and after 1675 in Amsterdam under Adriaen Backer and Gerard de Lairesse. He specialized in landscapes, generally of an Italianate character, and in portraits. The loving execution of these contented burghers, enjoying the garden vistas of their country house, places him alongside Amsterdam portraitists such as Constantijn Netscher and Michiel van Musscher...
Category

1680s Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

18th century portrait of the painter Nathaniel Dance
Located in London, GB
Collections: Robert Gallon (1845-1925); Private Collection, UK. Oil on canvas laid down on panel Framed dimensions: 11.5 x 10 inches This highly engaging, previously unpublished portrait by Johan...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel, Canvas

Portrait of Lady Caroline Price
By George Romney
Located in Miami, FL
DESCRIPTION: Perhaps the best Romney in private hands. If Vogue Magazine existed in the late 18th century, this image of Lady Caroline Price would be ...
Category

1970s Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Giovanni Morosini (1719 - 1789), Italian school. Late 18th century
Located in Firenze, IT
Portrait of Bishop of Verona Giovanni Morosini (1719 - 1789), Italian school. Technique: oil on canvas painting, relined canvas. Late 18th century. Represents a church man. The fig...
Category

Late 18th Century Baroque Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Continence of Scipio, Erasmus Quellinus, School Rubens, Baroque Art, Old Master
By Erasmus Quellinus the Younger
Located in Greven, DE
Erasmus Quellinus The Continence of Scipio Oil on Canvas The painting is included in the Catalogue Raisonné of the artist. The Roman commande...
Category

17th Century Baroque Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait Of A Noblewoman. Attributed To Carlo Ceresa. About 1640.
By Carlo Ceresa
Located in Firenze, IT
Portrait of a noblewoman. Attributed to Carlo Ceresa. (1609 - 1679, Bergamo) Oil on canvas. Size cm 110x86,5cm with frame Around 1640. This portrait depicts a middle-aged woman w...
Category

Mid-17th Century Baroque Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

19th century portrait painted in St Petersburg in 1819
Located in London, GB
Signed, inscribed and dated, lower right: 'Geo Dawe RA St Petersburgh 1819', also signed with initials, lower centre: 'G D RA'; and signed and inscribed verso: 'Geo Dawe RA Pinxit 1819 St Petersburgh'; Also inscribed on the stretcher by Cornelius Varley with varnishing instructions. Collections: Private collection, UK, 2010 Literature: Galina Andreeva Geniuses of War, Weal and Beauty: George Dawe...
Category

19th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait of Lady, Grace Saunderson, Viscountess Castleton Oil on canvas Painting
By Studio of Sir Peter Lely
Located in London, GB
Portrait of Grace Saunderson, Viscountess Castleton (1635-1667) c.1665-67 Sir Peter Lely and Studio (1618-1680) Titan Fine Art present this work, which formed part of a collection of family pictures and heirlooms of the Saunderson, Viscount Castleton family and their descendants, the Earls of Scarbrough, at their magnificent family seat Sandbeck Park, where the Earls still reside today almost four hundred years later. It was painted in the studio of Sir Peter Lely...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Rebekah at the Well', Follower of Luca Giordano, Early 19th Century Figural Oil
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
An early 19th century, figural oil of a young woman with chestnut hair, shown wearing a headscarf and glancing towards the viewers left. A detail from a copy of 'Rebeca at the Well',...
Category

19th Century Baroque Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Masonite, Oil

Previously Available Items
17th century Dutch old master portrait of a noble lady ca. 1680
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Antwerp, BE
Very fine Dutch 17th century old master portrait of a young lady by Nicolaes Maes This three-quarter length portrait depicts a raven-haired beauty, seated in an elegant and mysterio...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Young Dutch Gentleman by Nicolaes Maes, Oil on Panel, Old Master
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Stockholm, SE
In late 17th century Amsterdam, no one could rival Nicolas Maes (1634– 1693) in the art of portraiture. As one of Rembrandts most accomplished pupils, Maes explored both genre painti...
Category

1680s Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil, Oak, Panel

Portrait of a Gentleman, Dutch , 17th century.
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, in a feigned oval wearing a red velvet coat under a brown cloak in a landscape. Signed and dated lower right 'N. ...
Category

17th Century Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil

The Cradle
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original hand-colored copperplate engraving on wove paper after Dutch artist Nicolaes Maes (1632-1693) titled "The Cradle". Engraved by English artist Le...
Category

1870s Old Masters Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Copper

Portrait of a Young Lady Beside a Fountain
By Nicolaes Maes
Located in Bath, Somerset
Portrait of a young lady, half-length in a landscape, wearing a red cloak, beside a fountain. Signed and dated lower right 'N. Maes 1675'. Oil on canvas in a painted oval. Provenance: Agnes Duncan Miller, London Anonymous sale, Christie's London, 4th December 1936, lot 32, sold to Mitchell Edward B. Taggart, by whom gifted to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1963 and deaccessioned, Christie's New York, 16th June 2009, lot 20 Private collection, Dallas, USA Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693) was born in Dordrecht and was the son of Gerrit Maes, a prosperous merchant. In c.1648 he went to Amsterdam and became a pupil of Rembrandt, learning from his masters use of deep intensity of colour in his work. In this period he painted mostly genre scenes such as women lacemaking or reading the Bible, before returning to Dordrecht in 1653. In c. 1660 Maes began specialising in portraits, moving away from the Rembrandt style...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Nicolaes Maes Art

Materials

Oil

Nicolaes Maes art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Nicolaes Maes art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Nicolaes Maes in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 18th century and earlier and is mostly associated with the Old Masters style. Not every interior allows for large Nicolaes Maes art, so small editions measuring 14 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Studio of Sir Peter Lely, Sir Godfrey Kneller, Flemish School, and 17th Century. Nicolaes Maes art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $20,386 and tops out at $88,500, while the average work can sell for $50,965.

Artists Similar to Nicolaes Maes

Recently Viewed

View All