Interior Scene

Jacob Duck was originally trained as a goldsmith, and began his studies as a painter with Cornelis Droochsloot at what was then the advanced age of twenty-one. At that time, painting in Utrecht was largely the domain of the Caravaggisti, but Duck took a different direction, modelling his style on the works of the Amsterdam artists Pieter Codde and Willem Duyster. He concentrated on contemporary genre scenes, particularly those of guardrooms and interiors with elegantly dressed figures, as visible in the present painting.

Although long considered a work of Gabriel Metsu, this painting, which depicts a brightly lit interior with gentleman presenting a snuff box to a lady stringing a pearl at a table draped in colourful fabrics, exemplifies Jacob Duck’s controlled style as well as his restrained yet striking palette.