Lot 67: FRANS VAN MIERIS THE YOUNGER

AN INTERIOR WITH A WOMAN DOING NEEDLEWORK AND A YOUNG BOY WITH A HOOP
signed upper right: F. V. Mieris Fecit.

48 by 39.1 cm.

oil on panel

Delft, Oude Kunst- en Antiekbeurs der Vereniging van Handelaren in Oude Kunst in Nederland, 1951 (with A.J. Boer).

With D. Katz, Dieren;
With St. Lucas, The Hague, by 1951;
A.J. Boer;
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Mak van Waay, 24 March 1953, lot 88;
Offered, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 1992, lot 83;
With Gebr. Douwes, by 1997;
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Glerum, 13 November 2005, lot 44.

In this charming interior scene Van Mieris the Younger shows himself an accomplished follower of both his father Willem van Mieris (1662-1747) and his famous grandfather Frans van Mieris the Elder (1635-1681). This painting, which was painted well into the 18 (th) Century, illustrates how Van Mieris the Younger convincingly carried on the tradition of the Leiden Fijnschilders, both in subject matter and in execution. Although his compositions are not always as spirited and refined as those of his father and grandfather, in this painting the soft modelling of the figures, the pastel colour palette and the attention to the different materials and textures, attest to the painter's own artistic skills.

The domestic setting gives the spectator an enjoyable insight into a typical Dutch family home, with the typically Dutch cupboard-bed in the background, the birdcage, and the numerous beautifully observed objects on the floor and on the table. The barn interior with the drunken peasants on the back wall should evidently be read as a direct reference to the celebrated Dutch painters of the 17 (th) Century.