A high place among the painters of “Conversation-pieces” must be
accorded to Gabriel Metsu (1630?-1667), a shortlived artist who was
born at Leyden and learnt the first principles of his art from Dou. As
early as 1644 he seems to have earned some reputation as a painter,
his signature appearing on his _Court Physician_ in that year. He came
under the influence of Rembrandt, and in later life practised as a
painter at Amsterdam, where he died.
Metsu, whose work is at first sight not easily distinguishable from
Terborch’s, acquired a facility in the control of the expression and
the ever-varying gesture of the hands in his pictures, that was denied
to many of his contemporaries. Instances of this are the figure of the
Christ writing a long Latin inscription on the ground in the _Woman
taken in Adultery_ (No. 2457), the ease with which the young lady in
a white satin dress runs her fingers over the keys of the spinet in
the _Music Lesson_ (No. 2460), and the treatment of the _Dutch Lady_
(No. 2462), who holds a jug in her right hand. The last-named panel is
evidently the companion to the very thinly painted _Dutch Cook peeling
Apples_ (No. 2463), which is signed “G. METSU.” Perhaps his best
outdoor scene of humble life is the _Vegetable Market at Amsterdam_
(No. 2458), although his handling of the trees suggests that his forte
was the Conversation-piece of Dutch tradition, and that he would not
have risen to high rank as a landscape painter. The placing of the
signature on a letter, which in this instance lies on the ground, is
a favourite device with Metsu. He has derived much pleasure from the
treatment of the textures of the tablecloth, the curtain, and the chair
in the _Officer visiting a Lady_ (No. 2459). The _Alchemist_ (No. 2461)
may be the companion picture to the _Sportsman_ in the Gallery at The
Hague. Much speculative criticism has been indulged in by critics as
to whether the so-called _Portrait of Admiral Cornelis Tromp_ (No.
2464) represents that admiral, and some doubt has also been cast on its
attribution to Metsu.