Young Man Smoking and A Woman
Pouring Beer
Gabriel Metsu(Leiden 1629 – 1667 Amsterdam)ca. 1656–58
oil on panel
37.6 x 31.2 cm
faintly inscribed with the back of a brush alongtable edge: “G MEtsu”
GM-108© 2024 The Leiden CollectionYoung Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer
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How to cite
Waiboer, Adriaan. “Young Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer” (2017). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 3rded.

EditedbyArthur

K.

WheelockJr.

andLaraYeager-Crasselt.

NewYork,

2020–23.

https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/ (archived December 2023).
A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive is managed by apermanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrative occurs.

In this convivial tavern scene, a young man dressed in a bright red shirt, brown shorts

Comparative Figuresand stockings leans forward in his seat to light his pipe from the hot coals in thebrazier he holds in his left hand. An attractive waitress, who stands behind themakeshift table in front of the youth, smiles endearingly at him as she pours him aglass of beer from an earthenware jug. The hat resting on the back of the man’s chair
indicates that he has just arrived in the tavern and has settled in to enjoy his drink andtobacco.
Dutch artists frequently depicted figures smoking in their genre paintings, but theplace of tobacco in that society was a subject of great debate. On the one hand,
medical experts had drawn attention to the benefits of the plant, which had first been
imported to the Netherlands in the late sixteenth century. In his widely read Schat dergesontheydt (Treasury of Health) of 1636, Johann van Beverwijck argued that tobacco

Fig 1. Gabriel Metsu, A Man and a
Woman Sharing a Meal, 1655–58, oilon canvas on panel, 30 x 28 cm,
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, SK-A-249

was a prophylactic against one of the deadliest diseases of his time, the plague.[1] On
the other hand, the recreational use of tobacco was criticized because the effects ofsmoking were considered to be similar to those of consuming alcohol.[2] Moreover,smoking carried a social stigma, as initially it enjoyed popularity among sailors,soldiers and the lower rural classes, precisely those groups from which the middle
class preferred to distance itself. Over the course of the century, however, the tobacco
industry expanded, and smoking became a widely accepted leisure pastime, evenamong the upper classes.
In this painting, Gabriel Metsu seems little concerned with making a moral judgment
about the young man’s enjoyment of smoking, and more interested in depicting thegentle rapport between him and the appealing woman serving him his beer. TheFig 2. Gabriel Metsu, A Man Smoking
a Pipe at a Fireplace, 1656–58, oil onpanel, 27.5 x 23 cm, Gemäldegalerie
Alte Meister, Staatliche© 2024 The Leiden CollectionYoung Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer
Page 3 of 9length of the man’s pipe even hints at his somewhat respectable status. Poor people

Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, 1737

could afford only unpolished short-stemmed pipes, whereas members of the middle
classes used pipes with longer stems that cooled off the smoke and softened thesomewhat bitter taste of burnt tobacco.[3]Metsu painted this work in 1656–58, during his early Amsterdam years when he often
depicted men and women enjoying tobacco or alcohol in public houses. His firstpainting of a couple drinking together is A Man and a Woman Sharing a Meal fromthe Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (fig 1), which draws on an inn scene from about 1650
by Gerard ter Borch (1617–81).[4] Metsu subsequently made two variations of thesubject: the present work and A Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace (fig 2). Asidefrom the different times of the day depicted in these works, they also differ in thecharacter of the relationships of the two protagonists. In the Leiden Collection
painting the scene depicts a waitress and a young customer, and nothing more.[5] In A
Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace, however, the smiling interactions and postures ofthe young man and woman suggests that an amorous tension exists between them.
In the eighteenth century, when each of these paintings was first recorded, the valueof Young Man Smoking and a Woman Pouring Beer was substantially higher than thatof the night scene. The Dutch painter and art dealer Philips van Dijk (1683–1753)
sold the two paintings to Johan Hendrik Graaf van Wassenaar Obdam from The
Hague in 1730 and 1734, at which time he received more than double the price for
Young Man Smoking and a Woman Pouring Beer (315 florins) as he did for the night
scene (150 florins).[6] Van Wassenaar’s heirs sold the latter picture after the collector’s
death in 1653, but they held on to Young Man Smoking and a Woman Pouring
Beer for some 20 years, eventually selling it in 1769. The difference between the sales
prices is again telling: A Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace sold for 283 florins, while
the present painting fetched again more than twice as much: 605 florins. This work
then passed through several prominent eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collections,
including those of the Duc de Choiseul-Praslin, the Baron de Beurnonville, andEdward Cecil Guinness.

- Adriaan Waiboer, 2017

© 2024 The Leiden CollectionYoung Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer
Page 4 of 9Endnotes
1. Johann van Beverwijck, Schat der gesontheydt (Amsterdam, 1636), 150.
2. The Flemish physician and botanist Rembert Dodoens, for example, pointed out that inhaling smoke led
to a state comparable to drunkenness (Rembert Dodoens, Purgantium aliarumque eo facientium[Antwerp, 1574], 349–51).
3. On the connotations of smoking in the Low Countries in the seventeenth century, see Ivan Gaskell,“Tobacco, Social Deviance, and Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century,” in Looking at SeventeenthCentury Dutch Art: Realism Reconsidered, ed. Wayne Franits (Cambridge, 1997), 68–77; and Eddy deJongh,“Vluchtigerook

vereeuwigd:Betekenissen

entabaksgebruikinzeventiendeeuwsevoorstellingen,” in Rookgordijnen: Roken in de kunsten van olieverf tot celluloid, ed. Benno Tempel (Exh.
cat. Rotterdam, Kunsthal) (Rotterdam, 2003), 85–126.
4. Adriaan E. Waiboer, Gabriel Metsu, Life and Work: A Catalogue Raisonné (New Haven, 2012), 62. For
Ter Borch’s painting, see ibid., 44, fig. 15.
5. Other paintings by Metsu featuring a woman and a younger male figure also do not show theminteracting with each other or reciprocating glances. See, for instance, Adriaan E. Waiboer, GabrielMetsu, Life and Work: A Catalogue Raisonné (New Haven, 2012), 185, no. A-35; 210–11, no. A-67,
both ill.
6. Everhard Korthals Altes, “Philip van Dijk, een achttiende-eeuwse Haagse schilder-kunsthandelaar met
een lokale en internationale clientele,” Oud Holland 116 (2003): 51, 52, published the receipts of thepaintings Van Dijk sold to Van Wassenaar on 11 February 1730 and 16 July 1734. The receipts arepreserved in the archives of Castle Twickel in Delden (inv. no. 542, 12). For more on Van Dijk’s
dealings with Van Wassenaar, see ibid., 35–41. It should be noted that Korthals Altes erroneously
assumed that Van Wassenaar’s “Een stuckie van gl metzu zijnde Een toback Rookertje en een vrouwtie
dat bier schenkt etc” (A piece by Gabriel Metsu being a man smoking tobacco and a woman pouringbeer etc.) was identical to “een stucke van gl metzu een nagt ligje” (a piece by Gabriel Metsu [depicting]a night light). As argued here, these concern two different works.

Provenance(Philip van Dijk, The Hague), sold to Johan Hendrik Graaf van Wassenaar Obdam, The Hague, 16 July1734; by inheritance to Unico Wilhelm Graaf van Wassenaer Obdam, Delden, The Hague, 1745; (hissale, Amsterdam, 25 October 1769, no. 20 [for 605 florins to Huybert Ketelaar]).
Antoine Poulain, Paris.
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Armand Frédéric Ernest Nogaret (his sale, Le Brun, Paris, 2–5 June 1780, no. 26 [for 3,801 francs toAlexandre Joseph Paillet]).
Renaud César de Choiseul-Praslin (1735–1791) (his sale, Paillet, Paris, 18–25 February 1793, no. 64[for 3,350 francs to his son, Antoine-César de Choiseul-Praslin]).
Antoine-César de Choiseul-Praslin (1756–1808) (his sale, Paillet, Paris, 9–10 May 1808, no. 20 [for4,001 francs to Alexandre Joseph Paillet]).
Earl of Granville, by 1835 (his sale, Christie’s, London, 21 June 1845, no. 8 [for £231 to Faulkner]).
Baron E. de Beurnonville, Paris (his sale, Féral, George, Petit, Paris, 9–16 May 1881, no. 365 [for20,000 francs to Sedelmeyer Gallery]; by whom sold in 1881 [for 25,000 francs to Sécretan]).
E. Secrétan, Paris (his sale, Boussod, Valadon, Sedelmeyer, Féral, Mannheim, Paris, 1–4 July 1889, no.
142 [for 64,500 francs to Thomas Agnew & Sons on behalf of Edward Guinness; purchased byGuinness for £2,844.9]).
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, London, 1889; by inheritance to Arthur Ernest Guiness,Holmbury House, Holmbury St. Mary, Surrey, 1927 (his sale, Christie’s, London, 10 July 1953, no. 62[for £7,350 to Duits Gallery and Marlborough, London]).
Count Hans Christopher von Seherr-Thoss, Litchfield, Connecticut, by 1958; by descent to Sonia P.
Seherr-Thoss, 1992 (sale, Sotheby’s New York, 25–26 January 2007, no. 15 [Johnny van Haeften, Ltd.,London]).
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2007.

Exhibition History
London, British Institution, “Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch and French
Masers, with which the Proprietors Have Favoured the Institution,” May 1835, no. 111 [lent by EarlGranville].
London, Royal Academy of Arts, “Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters ofthe British School; Including a Collection of Water Colour Drawings Illustrating the Progress of the Artof Water Colour in England: Winter Exhibition,” 1891, no. 90 [lent by Lord Iveagh].
Paris, “Sedelmeyer Gallery, Illustrated Catalogue of 300 Paintings of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, Frenchand English Schools, being some of the principal pictures which have at various times formed part ofthe Sedelmeyer Gallery,” 1898, no. 89 [lent by Lord Iveagh].
London, Royal Academy, “Dutch Pictures 1450–1750,” Winter 1952–53, no. 505 [lent by the Hon.
Ernst Guiness].
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, “Chefs-d’Oeuvres de la Curiosité du Monde: 2e Exposition
Internationale de la C.I.N.O.A.,” 10 June–30 September 1954, no. 28, [lent by Duits Gallery].
© 2024 The Leiden CollectionYoung Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer
Page 6 of 9Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, on loan with the permanent collection, January 2011–August 2015 [lentby the present owner].
Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, “Work, Pray & Admire: New Views on Calvinism and Art,” 11November 2018–26 May 2019 [lent by the present owner].

ReferencesDescamps, Jean Baptiste. La vie des peintres flamands, allemands et hollandois, avec des portraits Gravésen Taille-douce, une indication de leurs principaux Ouvrages, & des Réflexions sur leurs différentes
manières. 4 vols. Paris, 1753–64, 2:242.
Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French
Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829–42, 4: 87, no. 42; 9:519, no. 11.
Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch and French Masters, with which the Proprietors
Have Favoured the Institution. Exh. cat. London, British Institution. London, 1835, no. 111.
Blanc, Charles. Le Trésor de la Curiousité tiré des Catalogues de vente de Tableaux, Dessins, Estampes,Livres, Marbres, Bronzes, Ivoires, Terres Cuites, Vitraux, Médailles, Armes, Porcelaines, Meubles, Émaux,
Lacques et autres Objets d’Art. Avec diverses Notes & Notices historiques & biographiques. 2 vols. Paris,1857–58, 2:19, 161, 243–44.
Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School; Including a
Collection of Water Colour Drawings Illustrating the Progress of the Art of Water Colour in England:
Winter Exhibition. Exh. cat. London, Royal Academy of Arts. London, 1891, no. 90.
Sedelmeyer Gallery, Illustrated Catalogue of 300 Paintings of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French andEnglish Schools, being some of the principal pictures which have at various times formed part of theSedelmeyer Gallery. Exh. cat. Paris, Sedelmeyer Gallery. Paris, 1898, no. 89.
Von Wurzbach, Alfred. Niederländisches Künstler-Lexikon:Auf Grund Archivalischer ForschungenBearbeitet. 3 vols. Vienna and Liepzig, 1906–11, 2:150.
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of
the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. Edited and translated by Edward G. Hawke,
1:305–6, nos. 171, 203c. 8 vols. London, 1907–28. Originally published as Beschreibendes und kritisches
Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols.
Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28.
Krönig, Joseph O. “Gabriel Metsu.” Revue de l’art-ancien et modern 25 (1909): 222.
Holmes, Charles. Pictures from the Iveagh Bequest and Collections. London, 1928, xv; no. lviii.
Dutch Pictures 1450–1750. Exh. cat. London, Royal Academy of Arts. London, 1952–53, no. 505.
Plietzsch, Eduard. “Review of London 1952–53.” Kunstchronik 6, no. 5 (1953): 130.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Chefs-d’Oeuvres de la Curiosité du Monde: 2e Exposition Internationale de la© 2024 The Leiden CollectionYoung Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer
Page 7 of 9C.I.N.O.A. Exh. cat. Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Paris, 1954, no. 28, fig. 18.
Gudlaugsson, Sturla J. Gerard ter Borch. 2 vols. The Hague, 1959–60, 2:201, under no. 219.
Gudlaugsson, Sturla J. “Kanttekeningen bij de ontwikkeling van Metsu.” Oud Holland 83 (1968): 32.
Robinson, Franklin W. Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667): A Study of His Place in Dutch Genre Painting of theGolden Age. New York, 1974, 48, 166, fig. 114.
Bénézit, Emmanuel. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveursde tous les temps et de tous les pays par un groupe d’écrivains spécialistes français et étrangers. 10 vols.
Paris, 1976. Revised edition by Jacques Busse. 14. vols. Paris, 1999, 9: 537.
Ingamells, John. The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Pictures: IV, Dutch and Flemish. London, 1992,206.
Edwards, JoLynn. Alexandre-Joseph Paillet, Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle.
Paris, 1996, 274–75, 322.
Fredericksen, Burton B., and Benjamin Peronnet et al., eds. Répertoire des tableaux vendus en France au
XIXe siècle. 1 vol. to date. Los Angeles, 1998,1: 687.
Waiboer, Adriaan E. “Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667): Life and Work.” 4 vols. PhD diss. New York
University, 2007, 1: 122–23, 455–56, A-37, 4: 1086.
Waiboer, Adriaan E. Gabriel Metsu, Life and Work: A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, 2012, 62, 199,no. A-54.
Eekhout, Marianne. Werk, bid & bewonder: Een nieuwe kijk op kunst en calvinisme. Exh. cat. Dordrecht,Dordrechts Museum. Dordrecht, 2018, 57, illustrated.

VersionsEngraved
1. Henri-Emile Lefort, after G. Metsu, Intérieur hollandaise, 1881, etching (first published in salecatalogue, George, Petit, Paris, 9–16 May 1881, no. 365, and reproduced in F. W. H. Hollstein, Dutch
and Flemish Etchings, Engravings, and Woodcuts, ca. 1450–1700 [Amsterdam, 1949–], 14:16, no. 32).

Watercolor
1. Cornelis Buys after Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, watercolor (lastseen in 1810, apparently lost).

Versions and Copies© 2024 The Leiden CollectionYoung Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer
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1. After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 37 x 30 cm,
formerly Galerie Internationale, The Hague, 1961.

2. After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, (support unknown), 38 x 32.5
cm, formerly D. L. van Hengel, Arnhem.

3. After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 35 x 30 cm,possibly formerly Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris, 1898.

4. After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 38 x 32 cm,
formerly Baron Konigswaerter, Vienna.

5. After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 37 x 30 cm(probably equivalent with Version 4, or Version 1).

6. After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, untraceable, 39.4 x 31.8 cm.
7. After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, untraceable.

Technical Summary
The support, a single plank of vertically grained, rectangular oak, has bevels on all four sides.[1] The panel isunthinned and uncradled. Three small rectangular wood blocks reinforce worm tunnels along the right edge.
The panel has remnants of a red wax seal, two paper labels, a black stencil, and faint machine toolmarks, but
no import stamps or panel maker’s mark.
A light orange tone in various places suggests a light warm-colored ground has been thinly and evenlyapplied. The paint has been applied smoothly in thin layers. The red drapery has a red surface glaze in places,
and the blue drapery appears to be richly colored.
No underdrawing is readily apparent in infrared images captured at 720 nanometers. The images reveal faintcompositional lines in the fireplace above the young man. There is variation across certain elements, such as
the young woman’s face, her white shawl, and the young man’s right boot that are not clearly evident innormal light.
The painting has a faintly inscribed signature along the table edge, which is slightly clearer in infrared. The
letters have been scratched through the brown paint and allow the ground to show through.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2007 and remains in a good state of preservation.[2]Technical Summary Endnotes

1. The characterization of wood is based on visual examination only.
2. Entry based on 2012 examination report by Jevon Thistlewood, Ashmolean Museum, University ofOxford.
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