The Smoker 1655 - 1680

Curator: What a character! There’s a gruffness, an immediacy to "The Smoker." He feels pulled right from a dimly lit tavern and plunked before us. Editor: This genre painting by Ary de Vois, probably from the latter half of the 17th century, certainly speaks to the Dutch Golden Age’s fascination with everyday life, but through a lens of social commentary too. Smoking at the time had clear class associations, especially with men. Curator: Mmm, you know, I see beyond the social signifiers. It's the casual intensity that hooks me. Look at the lines around his eyes—a life lived, stories etched on his face. And the way he holds the pipe. There’s something vulnerable there, too. It feels surprisingly intimate. Editor: But that intimacy, that "vulnerability," is coded, isn't it? Consider who gets represented and how. Men smoking pipes became almost allegorical in paintings from this period, symbolic of leisure, privilege, even virility. Where do women fit into this narrative of relaxation and ease? This image reflects those structures. Curator: I guess, but it's not dry for me, like just some historical treatise. The oil paint itself almost vibrates with texture! The warm browns, the creamy highlights on his skin...the way the light catches the pipe—he comes alive. Do you not get a sensory hit, just visually? Editor: I notice instead the active choices in defining and confining “art,” and even ideas around leisure, and maleness. It prompts me to question who profits from the romanticizing or even, “harmless” acts. In some ways, these depictions can glorify the past. Curator: Oh, glorify? I see this as a window. And maybe a little wry wink? He is just a chap relaxing, that's art too. And it prompts some meditation around ideas like... identity? Authenticity? What happens to my experience of these ideas if I change the frame, swap his pipe for a… cupcake? That, for me, feels useful. Editor: Exactly—to analyze who is even invited to tea at the proverbial table. Painting history helps us understand these codes. But there is power in reimagining how we value pleasure, power and access, if it can push for change. Curator: Beautifully put. I came away feeling an unexpected connection, while you remind us about the systems always subtly—or not so subtly—in play. Always a great balancing act.