Nicolaes Maes
A Little Girl Rocking a Cradle
From $100
This painting is deep red, brown and white linen, and a cheap copy crushes the shadows. Our Maes Idle Servant print was graded from a high-resolution master so the pots, the cat and the faces stay clear.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
12x16 inch, 18x24 inch, 30x40 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its tall shape suits a study, a hallway or a living room wall. The reds, browns and whites look rich with cream, slate and walnut, and a black or dark walnut frame suits it.
About the painting
The Idle Servant by Nicolaes Maes
Asleep on the job
After cooking a big meal, a young maid has fallen asleep on a stool, her head in her hand, pots and pans all over the floor.
The pan and the cat
Behind her a cat reaches for a raw goose. A Dutch saying warned that a kitchen maid must watch both the pan and the cat. Her mistress just smiles and shrugs.
A room beyond
Through a door and up a few steps, a smarter meal goes on: one of the first views of its kind. Richard Simmons left it to the National Gallery in 1847.
Read the story
A young maid has fallen asleep on a stool, her head resting on her hand. She has just cooked a large meal, and heavy pots and pans are scattered across the floor around her.
Her mistress stands beside her. But she does not look angry. She smiles and shrugs, and holds out her hand towards us, as if to say: what am I to do with her?
Look behind the maid. A cat is reaching up to steal a raw goose. There was a Dutch saying at the time: a kitchen maid must watch both the pan and the cat. This one is watching neither.
Nicolaes Maes painted this in 1655, when he was about twenty-one, not long after leaving Rembrandt's studio. The maid's pose was a traditional one for Idleness, but the whole scene is a gentle joke, not a sermon.
And look at the back of the room. Through a door and up a few steps, we glimpse another room where a proper meal is going on. It is one of the first pictures to open up a house like this, a room beyond a room.
Richard Simmons left this painting to the National Gallery in London in 1847.
The Idle Servant. Nicolaes Maes, 1655.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
