The painting is anecdotal in character, with two men present, one singing to the accompaniment of the theorbo. The association between music & love is a frequent subject in Dutch genre painting. Here, as in many of ter Borch's pictures, the relationship between the figures is deliberately ambiguous. The viewer is invited to decide whether is is just a happy domestic scene, or possibly a scene taking place in brothel. Though influenced by the work of Metsu, the painting is more elaborate in composition & psychological resonance than comparable paintings by Metsu. Judging from the style & the fashionable clothes, the painting is probably a relatively late work, dating from the late 1660s. ...

Sorgh worked in Rotterdam & specialised in peasant scenes. This is one of a pair of paintings
- the other is ' Two Lovers at a
...

Create your own bespoke print of Robert Campin's A Woman from our collection. About this painting A Woman, about 1435 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in Bought, 1860 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

A woman in an interior, perhaps a kitchen, scours a pot on top of a barrel. The attribution to van den Bosch is based on comparison with a signed picture of the same subject in Berlin (Staatliche Museen, Gemaldegalerie). The picture has also been attribute ...

During the years 1654-59 Maes painted small-scale genre paintings showing simple domestic scenes. These employ a restricted palette dominated by browns & reds & a rich 'chiaroscuro' (Italian for light-dark, meaning the balance of light & shadow), reflecting the training Maes had with Rembrandt in Amsterdam in the years around 1650. After 1660 Maes devoted himself exclusively to portraiture. On loan to the exhibition ' Rembrandt? The Master & his Workshop' at the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen from February to May 2006. ...

The association between music & courtship, familiar in Dutch genre painting, is here underlined by the presence of the rose, a symbol of love, on the table. There is a painting in the background, the only visible part of which shows two bare legs. Both the style & the costume suggest that the picture was painted in about 1665-70. Schalcken's early work was in the style of his teacher Gerrit Dou & this picture is closely based on Dou's domestic scenes. ...

Behind the couple hangs a painting of a wooded landscape, & above the doorway is a bust. The woman's dress is the same as the one depicted in 'A Woman playing a Virginal', also in the National Gallery, & its style suggests a date in the late 1670s. Oc ...

Dujardin visited Italy between 1640 & 1650, & his knowledge of the landscape of the Roman Campagna formed the basis of his Italianate landscapes. This work was probably painted shortly after his return to Amsterdam in the early 1650s. ...

This composition is characteristic of Hobbema's approach to landscape painting: a forest scene with a view towards a clearing in the middle distance, illuminated by strong sunlight, & a picturesque farm building in the middle ground. Another version of ...

This is one of Hobbema's favourite compositions. Three other versions with slight differences are known (Washington, National Gallery of Art; The Hague, Mauritshuis; formerly Engl&, Robarts collection). Hobbema's composition shows a domestic landscape of trees, houses & villagers. The narrow path leads to a clearing illuminated by strong sunlight. There are picturesque farm buildings & prominently placed figures. At about this date Hobbema was developing his style away from that of his teacher Ruisdael. His landscapes became increasingly decorative both in colour & composition. ...