Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/331

ii GABRIEL METSU 307 Signed " G. M." according to Sedelmeyer's catalogue ; canvas, 13 inches by n| inches. In the Demeneix collection, Aix. [Compare I75/*.] In the possession of the dealer Ch. Sedelmeyer, Paris, 1899 catalogue, No. 27. Now in the collection of Adolphe Schloss, Paris. 174. THE MEAL OF OYSTERS. Sm. Suppl. i. A young lady, in a white silk dress, a blue velvet jacket trimmed with ermine, and a white cap, sits in a red leather chair at a table. She holds a fork in one hand, and with the other takes an oyster from a silver dish. A young cavalier in grey, standing behind the table and facing the spectator, offers her the dish. On the table, which is covered with a red Turkey carpet, are a large drinking-horn mounted in silver and a crystal cup. In the left foreground beside the lady is a spaniel. Behind the dog is a chimney- piece supported on columns. It is an exceptionally distinguished work of the best period. It is warm, and pleasing in colours, and especially successful in the rendering of textures ; the drinking-horn, the red carpet, the blue jacket, and the silk skirt are all equally excellent. Signed in full to the left at the top j panel, 22 inches by 16 inches. In the collection at the Schloss Altstadt, Kassel, 1783, No. 49. In the Malmaison collection. Now in the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 880, where it was in 1842 (Sm.). 175. A Lady and Gentleman at Table. They sit facing each other at a table covered with a handsome carpet, upon which is a china dish of fruit. The lady wears a short skirt trimmed with lace, a green under-skirt, a white apron, and a short cape. She holds a china jug with a silver lid in her left hand, and offers the man a glass of wine which she has just poured out. The man wears a soft collar with two tassels in the centre. At the back hangs a curtain drawn up on the left. Panel, I2| inches by n| inches. Sales. The widow De la Court, nee C. Backer, Leyden, September 8, 1 766, No. 22 (810 florins, Van der Velde). Amsterdam, April 26, 1769, No. 25. 1750. A Man and a Woman seated opposite each other. Sm. 32. The woman wears a yellowish jacket, and is about to fill a glass with liquor from a jug which she holds in her right hand. The man smokes his pipe and watches her. The figures are seen to the knees. 13 inches by inches. The picture agrees, according to the description, with No. 177 in the Van der Marck sale (see 175^), but may also be identical with No. 22 in the De la Court-Backer sale (see 175). [Compare also 175*.] Sale. De Beze, Paris, April 3, 1775 (1560 francs) (Sm.). 175^. A Girl drinking and an Old Man. Sm. 39 and Suppl. 10. In a room sits a girl in a brown jacket and blue apron with a white cap ; she holds a large brown jug in her lap with one hand, and a glass of wine in the other. An old man with a pipe, seated near her, appears to notice