Drawing Post #3: Nicolaes Maes: Back with a Vengeance

Visual analysis of artworks is interesting to me because the visual devices I write about are clearly present, but when anyone views a piece for the first time the brain processes these devices almost immediately. We don’t need to analyze works for visual devices in a composition to be effective, and they often work before we really “know” they are working. I would like to say that the inclusion of the cat in Maes’ Woman Plucking A Duck was what initially attracted me to the painting, but the absolute initial attraction was probably based on my eye catching a contrasting color or the scene’s light source. My brain would never have registered the cat if some other compositional element hadn’t caught my attention first. I’d say I was initially attracted to this piece by the atmospheric Vermeer-type lighting and the reds and oranges that stand out. Other than red and orange, the colors of this piece are predominantly black, brown, and grey. The atmosphere created by the light source and Maes’ handling of the light reminds me of late afternoon, when the sun isn’t really setting but is low. This time of day tends to be a very contemplative time for me, and can often be extremely depressing or unsettling. On a personal level, this painting draws me to moments where I have been simultaneously content with life and sorrowful because I know it has to end.
If the museum’s smell affected my perception of this piece, the effects were largely subconscious. But I did notice that much of the museum smells vaguely sweet and lived-in without being dirty or old. The room’s comfortable temperature made feel closer to the work rather than alienated from it, so temperature probably affected my perception even more than smells.
I think the paintings are grouped by region or time period, but I did find it surprising that this piece is on a wall filled mostly with landscapes. Of nine paintings, three are genres among the landscapes. These are all sized similarly enough that their close arrangement doesn’t really detract from the viewing experience. Maes’ painting is on the far left of the top row, and is placed slightly above my eye level so it was a little awkward to view. Although it is out on the fringe and up in the corner, the limited palette in comparison with the surrounding landscape paintings does make this one stand out considerably.
During my second visit to this piece, I was lucky to be around when a tour guide stopped to talk about it with her group. According to her, this seemingly innocent genre painting is actually full of 17th-century Dutch innuendo: the open vessels and open windows suggest sexuality as well as the mischievous cat. In combination with the cat, the painting apparently also sends a moralizing message about sexuality causing domestic turmoil. Once she pointed this out, I felt really thick for not considering the symbolism. Innuendo in art is obviously nothing new, but this makes me think of Bosch’s “vessel on a stick” in Ship of Fools.