Portrait of a Gentleman 

Nicolaes Maes painted this “Portrait of a Gentleman” using oil paints, a medium that allows for a remarkable rendering of textures and light. Consider the details of the gentleman’s costume. The soft, flowing wig and the ornate lace cuffs speak to the skilled labor involved in their making, and the gentleman’s ability to afford them. Oil paint, with its capacity to mimic these qualities, elevates these aspects of materiality and social status to the level of art. Maes’s mastery is evident in the way he captures the reflective quality of the gentleman’s satin robe, achieved through layers of glazing. The very act of painting, with its own demands of labor and skill, echoes the broader economic realities of 17th-century Dutch society. It reminds us that the creation of luxury goods and artworks alike are both the products of human work, and markers of social position. By emphasizing material culture and its making, we can appreciate how paintings like this one reflect a complex interplay of artistry, labor, and consumption.