Plate [XXXIX] represents The Music Lesson, by Terburg, in the National Gallery, London. Here we have an ordinary sitting or living-room of a well-to-do household. The bed in the background resembles those in Plate [XXVI] and Plate [XXXVII]. On the wall hangs a picture in a rich frame. The fair musician sits on a low-backed chair with her foot on a foot-warmer. The table is covered with a very handsome carpet. Upon it stands a handsome candlestick.
Plate [XLI], The Breakfast, by G. Metsu (1630–67) (Dresden Gallery), shows us the interior of an inn, with comparatively little furniture. The chair on which the woman is sitting is a good example of the period. The table, on which a “buire” stands, is of the most primitive kind. The birdcage hanging from the ceiling is similar to the one represented in Plate [XXVII].
Plate [XLII], by Jan Steen, representing a jovial company, is chiefly interesting for our purpose on account of the chair in which the host sits, the tablecloth and the larder at the back of the room, on which stand a mortar and pestle, a vase with flowers, a pot and two plates. In the right-hand corner stands a bed, and from this hangs the legend on a piece of paper: “As the old ones sing, so will the young ones pipe.”
Plate [XL], by J. B. Weenix (1621–60), shows a simple interior from the Brussels Museum—a lady at her toilet. The chair on which she sits is very interesting, with its low back, carved top rail and spirally turned stretchers. The “table carpet” is a superb Oriental rug, and the mirror with its massive frame is a magnificent example of carving and gilding. The candlestick is also massive. The windows, flush with the walls, are set with small panes, and are furnished with a curtain.
A very interesting interior of the seventeenth century occurs in a picture by G. Metsu in The Hague Gallery. In a room with a very fine chimney-piece supported by marble pillars, and above which is a fine picture and a beautiful chandelier, a lady is standing improvising upon a lute. Another lady seated at a table is taking down the music, while a man looks over her shoulder. The lady is seated upon a low-back leather chair studded with heavy nails. Her foot rests upon a foot-warmer. The table has heavy ball-feet connected with stretchers, and the heavy cloth or carpet is pushed back carelessly. A tray or “standish,” holding the ink bottles, etc., is carelessly placed upon the folds of the cover. The lady holds a quill pen in her hand.
Plate XXXIX.—The Music Lesson, by Terborch.
NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON.
No subject was more congenial to the Dutch painters than scenes of home life and familiar interiors. Not only were Jan Steen, Teniers, Dou, Metsu and others of like rank attracted to the home, but an army of mediocre masters devoted their talents to this subject. If the works of the “Little Masters” found their way into royal and princely collections, the works of more obscure painters decorated the homes of the citizens, country people and colonists. The stranger who visited the Dutch cities was amazed at the many interiors and landscapes that were exhibited in the booths, at the fairs, and under the verandahs in front of the houses of the masters. These were often bought for a small sum by travellers, who sold them in their own country at considerable profit.
When a bride went to her new home, she often found that it had been furnished from top to bottom; but this was not always the case. As a rule, wealthy burghers did not do this. The young wife, accompanied by one or two of her near relatives and followed by a couple of servants and a truckman, went about from shop to shop to select what she needed. This was called “ten huisraet vaeren” (going furnishing), and De Vrij devotes a chapter to this pleasant occupation under the title of “De vrou vaert ten huysraet” (the wife goes out to furnish). In his time the old simplicity had vanished in favour of a general luxury hardly equalled to-day. De Vrij, therefore, allows his wealthy lady to purchase “down beds, fine plush and wadded coverlids, costly hangings, large Venetian mirrors, Indian crackle porcelain, lounging chairs, Turkish carpets, Amsterdam gold leather, costly paintings, a silver service, a sacredaan cupboard, an ebony table, a curio cabinet, a napkin kas, a large quantity of napkins, tablecloths and other fine household linen, and a thousand other articles.”
One has only to glance at the contemporary inventories to realize the wealth and luxury of the period. It is only in a few instances, such as the old Castle of Develstein, when occupied by Cornelius van Beveren, that the old simplicity rules; for the old grey town on the Merwede (Dordrecht), although the richest and oldest, was not the most luxurious in Holland. It conserved its own customs, while Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft and other cities vied with The Hague.