Maes's Work as a Portrait-Painter.—Maes was a pupil of Rembrandt and became a very successful portrait-painter by copying the master's style. He soon became rich by his talents, his wit, his polished manners, and by flattering his sitters. He charged high prices for his pictures; and he deserved his great reputation. The chiaroscuro of his paintings is very vigorous. If the shadows are not heavily massed as with Rembrandt, they are at least strongly accented; and, as the half-tones are very summary, the passage from light to dark is very brusque, and by this means the painter attains a powerful effect and strong relief.
His Visit to Jordaens at Antwerp.—Having become rich, and getting tired of everlastingly painting the rich burghers of Amsterdam and their wives, Maes thought he would like to go to see the works of the great artists of Antwerp, who at that time were so much talked about throughout Europe. Having been initiated into the high freemasonry of art by Rembrandt, he was cordially received by the Antwerp painters and soon recognized by them as a brother. Among others, he went to visit Jordaens and was shown into a room filled with pictures, which he examined while awaiting the appearance of the latter, who was watching his visitor through the keyhole. When he entered, Jordaens said: "I see plainly that you are a great connoisseur, or perhaps an able painter, for the best pictures in my gallery detained you longer than the others."
Maes simply replied, "I am a portrait-painter."
"In that case," replied Jordaens, "I sincerely pity you. So you also are one of those martyrs of painting who so richly deserve our commiseration!"
In fact, Maes's weariness at having to put up with the whims of human vanity probably had much to do with his turning to genre, by which he is now best known and for which he is most highly prized.
Maes's Pictures of Familiar Scenes.—The average art-lover, however, cares little for the portraiture of Maes, but prizes him as a painter of familiar scenes, like Pieter de Hooch. Although less varied and less supple, but not less robust than the latter, Maes was his equal in the power of his effects. The triviality of the subject which he often selects is relieved by the charm of an astonishingly vigorous and spirited execution. Burger says:
"On passing through a kitchen, perhaps, you see an old woman scraping carrots, having various kitchen utensils about her. If you have seen this humble interior in one of Maes's pictures, it will be impossible for you not to halt and spend some time in looking at it. The painting of Nicholas Maes is one of those that become encrusted in the memory. The light gleams in it, the canvas glows, the subject stands out, the eye runs over it, and if the figures were of natural size one would go forward to meet them, so strong is the impression, so solid is the tone, so palpable, and modelled in relief are the forms.
"In his little familiar scenes, Maes is not always insignificant or vulgar in his choice of subject. Most often, indeed, his composition is ingenious, witty, and piquant. In the first place, it is set in the most picturesque corner of the room; the painter likes to take up his position in a place whence he can see at once the house from top to bottom,—both the stairs descending to the cellar and those mounting to the first floor. Then the figures he brings into the scene usually have some malicious trick to play, some secret conversation to overhear, some theft to discover, or some infidelity to discover."
Samuel van Hoogstraaten.—It is singular how few pictures are known by Rembrandt's remarkable pupil, Samuel van Hoogstraaten (1625-78), a versatile painter of landscapes, portraits, marines, architecture, fruits, flowers, and, more particularly, interiors, in which he followed Pieter de Hooch. In his Lady in a Vestibule he has demonstrated his knowledge of perspective, of which he was very proud. The chief feature of the picture, however, is the beautiful chiaroscuro, for which he has to thank Rembrandt's teaching. The lady is walking in a portico of very fine architecture, and reading. With one hand she is holding up her straw-colored dress. This figure is only two feet high, while the spaniel that accompanies her is life size!
Effects of Rembrandt's Teaching on his Pupils.—Thirty of Rembrandt's pupils made great names for themselves by copying that great master in one or other of his manners. Some made a system of what with him was merely a mood or caprice. Not being able to follow him in the expression of the human soul, they made a specialty, some of portraiture, some of costume, some of chiaroscuro, some of genre, and some of landscape.