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A Woman scraping Parsnips, with a Child standing by her

Nicolaes Maes (1634–1693)

The National Gallery, London

A Woman scraping Parsnips, with a Child standing by her

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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At first glance, this dark room might seem bare and forbidding but the deep brown of the walls encloses the two figures in warmth and serenity. There's just enough light to reveal them, but Maes doesn't show the window, so the comfortable atmosphere isn't disturbed. The concentration of woman and child, their gaze directed intently downwards, takes our own eyes to the woman's hands. She holds a parsnip delicately, scraping it away from her so that the peel lands in the dish in her lap. And we, like the little girl, learn how it should be done.At this time, Calvinist preachers recommended that 'the devil should be beaten out of a child', but genre pictures of this kind showed a gentler attitude towards their education. The painting wasn't necessarily hung on a wall as a lesson in child-rearing, but it would have been seen at least as a picture of domestic calm to be held as a desired end.

The National Gallery, London

London

Read more on The National Gallery, London
Title

A Woman scraping Parsnips, with a Child standing by her

Date

1655

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 35.6 x W 29.8 cm

Accession number

NG159

Acquisition method

Bequeathed by Lord Farnborough, 1838

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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Artist or maker

Nicolaes Maes

1634–1693

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