Jacob Duck - Interior with Soldiers and Women [c.1650]

Jacob Duck - Interior with Soldiers and Women [c.1650], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Framed by an arched doorway, two soldiers sit smoking, drinking, and chatting with a young woman who sits casually on tiled steps. Behind the woman, a warm light enters to permeate the setting and the objects and figures within. To the right, another woman descends a dark staircase and prepares to enter the room. In the foreground a jumble of objects, rifles, armour, a drum, a pipe, an overturned pail, and yellow drapery, form a more complicated still life grouping. On the back wall, a wooden rack holds pewter plates, crockery, and spoons. This genre scene, an unidealised view of everyday life illustrates Jacob Duck's (c.1600 - 1667) shrewd observation of costumes, setting, and objects, as well as his ability to render the surfaces of metal, stone, cloth, and wood.

[Paul Getty Museum - Oil on panel, 16.5 x 24 inches]