A Young Woman seated drawing 

Gabriel Metsu painted this scene of a young woman drawing in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-17th century. The woman, likely from an affluent background, is shown in a domestic interior, surrounded by the tools of artistic practice. Looking closer, we see a plaster cast, an artist's mannequin, and what appears to be a portfolio of drawings. This composition reflects the growing accessibility of artistic training outside the traditional guild system in the Dutch Golden Age. While the guilds maintained control over artisanal crafts, fine art academies were starting to offer instruction to a broader segment of society. The rise of a market for art among the Dutch middle class provided new opportunities for artists and an increasing number of women were now able to train as artists. To understand this image better, archival records of art academies and guild regulations of the period would be invaluable. The historian's task is to uncover the social context that gave rise to this scene of artistic creation.