A maid, seated small three-quarter length by a table in a kitchen, grinding coffee

As described by J. Immerzeel in his De Levens en Werken der Hollandsche en Vlaamsche Kunstschilders, Beeldhouwers, Graveurs, 1842-43, II, p.161-2, the Bruges born painter J.J. Lauwers studied in Paris and Rome. In the French capital he acquainted a well-to-do Dutchman who convinced him to move to Amsterdam. There Lauwers practised genre-scenes inspired by Dou and the Leyden school, of which the present lot is a typical example.

See colour illustration