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Smoker, ca. 1655

  • oil paint, canvas
  • 69.5 x 54.5 cm
  • Inv. S-74

Public Domain

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The man with the sly smile in the painting holds a lighted pipe in his left hand. A trail of smoke escapes from his mouth. In the other hand, he holds a knobbed glass beaker slightly askew, thereby spilling a few drops of the contents. Both Calvinists and Catholics had mixed feelings about smoking and alcohol. Alcohol and tobacco were seen as overly pleasurable, and it was feared that they would lead to moral degeneracy. Just as in this day and age, the government attitude was one of ambivalence. Both alcoholic beverages and tobacco were subject to excise duty. The painting not only refers to Taste and Smell, two of the five senses, but also to the transience of life.

Artist

Aelbert Jansz. van der Schoor RKD
Utrecht 1583 - 1603 - Utrecht 1672 - 1692
painters (artists)AAT

Title Smoker
Date ca. 1655
Period 17th century
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings signatures (names) centre below: AB VAN DER / Schoor
Collection paintings AAT
Object type oil paintings (visual works) AAT
Inventory number S-74
Acquisition credit
onbekend
Current whereabouts Work on display
Permalink https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/S-74
IIIF Manifest https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/6853/manifest.json
Art & Architecture Thesaurus 300139140 genre pictures AAT
Keywords Iconclass 31A247 looking over the shoulder Iconclass
31A71 male sex; man Iconclass
31B62313 smiling Iconclass
31D14 adult man Iconclass
41B162 smoke Iconclass
41C714 beer, ale Iconclass
41C74 tobacco Iconclass
41C741 pipe ~ tobacco Iconclass
41C76 scents, perfumes ~ stimulants, drugs Iconclass
41D221(FEATHERED HAT) head-gear (FEATHERED HAT) Iconclass
480 symbolic representations, allegories and emblems ~ art; 'Arte' (Ripa) Iconclass
School / Style Baroque AAT
Caravaggism AAT
Notice des tableaux du musée de la ville de Gand, situé au local de l'académie royale de dessin, sculpture, architecture, etc. - Gand : D.J. Vanderhaeghen-Hulin, 1846 (nr. 55)
Geschiedenis der Antwerpsche schilderschool / Frans Jozef Peter Van den Branden. - Antwerpen : J.-E. Buschmann, 1883 (p. 887)
Rubens, Van Dyck und ihr Kreis / Gustav Glück. - Wien : Verlag von Anton Schroll & Co., 1933 (p. 252)
Museum van Schoone Kunsten : Catalogus ; Oude Meesters, Schilderstukken, teekeningen, plaatsneden (met geschiedkundig overzicht) / Maurice Dupuis, Georges Charles Nicolas Marie Hulin de Loo, Fritz Van Loo. - Gent : Drukkerij F. De Vos, 1938 ; Gent : Stad Gent, 1938 (p. 114-115)
Caravaggio und die Niederländer / Arthur Von Schneider. - Amsterdam : B.M. Israël, 1967 (p. 108, 138)
The international caravaggesque movement : Lists of pictures by Caravaggio and his followers throughout Europe from 1590 to 1650 / Benedict Nicolson. - Oxford : Phaidon, 1979 (p. 84)
Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart / Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker. - Leipzig : Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, 1907-1950 (dl. 28, p. 220)
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : Catalogus schilderkunst ; Deel I: 14de - 18de eeuw ; Deel II: 19de - 20ste eeuw / Robert Hoozee, Johan De Smet, Bruno Fornari, Ruth Monteyne. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2007 (dl. I, p. 148-149 (ill.))
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : De collectie (tentoonstelling vanaf 21 maart 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2021
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand : La Collection (exposition dès le 21 mars 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gand : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand, 2021
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