A Sleeping Saleswoman 1644 - 1667

Gabriel Metsu painted "A Sleeping Saleswoman" using oil on canvas in the mid-17th century. Oil paint allows for meticulous detail, built up in layers to create rich textures, and Metsu certainly uses this to his advantage. But what is the social context for such a scene? We see the fruits of labor everywhere in this composition. The fish in the basket, soon to be sold, but also the clothing worn by the saleswoman. Even the surface of the painting itself depended on the extraction of raw materials, and the labor of those who processed them. The painting is relatively small, reflecting the intimacy of the domestic scene, and also the likely scale of Metsu’s studio. His attention to detail—the scales of the fish, the woman’s weary expression, the watchful cat—are all a testament to the hours of work invested in this small panel. It's a reminder that even in fine art, the hand of the maker, and the context of production, are always present.