17^th Century Dutch

Painter of mythological themes, religious works, genre scenes, interiors, portraits, still lifes; printmaker and drawing artist.

Also known as Mieris the Elder, he is the most distinguished member of a family of artists and goldsmiths. He was the most outstanding pupil of Gerrit Dou, and like the latter, he devoted himself to genre scenes and domestic interiors, highly popular among the bourgeoisie of the time.

He enjoyed a considerable reputation, and was invited by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, the elector palatine, to work for him in Vienna, as well as by Cosimo de’ Medici, grand duke of Tuscany.

In general, he painted small format boards, with a particular mention for his mastery in the treatment of fabrics. His refined technique is patent in his great care for detail while his use of chiaroscuro is simpler than that of his master. If we are to find a difference between his earlier and later works, the conclusion would be that the former are lighter and more delicate in the depiction of flesh, and made with great compositional wealth, while the latter are often darker, more livid in the shadows and rather more schematic.