Entry by
Susan Anderson,
completed November 01, 2017:
Cornelis Dusart was a painter, draftsman, and printmaker specializing in peasant genre scenes during the last quarter of the 17th century in Haarlem. Here he depicts a lecherous man caressing the chin of a reticent woman. Amorous couples appear frequently in Dusart’s oeuvre, either with a refused caress or with an eager embrace. In this sheet, the man’s angled standing posture and tipped hat, together with the seated woman’s downward glance and nearly spilled pitcher and roemer (a type of drinking glass), indicate that his rapid advances were startling and ill-received. The scene takes place in a nondescript interior, although the waffles on the table—commonly seen in 17th-century Dutch images of couples—suggest a festive and indulgent occasion.
An unknown hand inscribed this sheet with the false signature “JSteen,” referencing the popular and often moralizing painter Jan Steen (1626–1679), who frequently created scenes of excessive merrymaking. Today, only a small number of drawings can be securely connected with Steen’s paintings, which suggests either that Steen did not typically draw or that his studio material is almost entirely lost. Dusart’s earlier drawings, like this one, drew inspiration from Steen’s comical character types. Later collectors or owners would therefore frequently add Steen’s monogram or signature to these sheets. The thin line, approach to the depiction of drapery, and the facial features and expressions are typical Dusart, however, and are in keeping with his sheets from the early 1680s.
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