One of the last lingering influences of Rembrandt is seen in the
art of Nicolas Maes (1632-1693). The genre pictures of his early
period are so vastly superior to his later portraits that it was
formerly assumed that there might well have been two artists of the
same name. He certainly delighted in painting several versions,
which vary considerably in size, of _Grace before Meat_ (No. 2454).
In his pictures we see the mind that broods, and women who meditate
rather than act. The best examples of his domestic scenes are finely
graduated, although the sadness of advancing age becomes monotonous in
time.
[Illustration:
PLATE XXXV.—PIETER DE HOOCH
(1629-1677?)