The Painter's Studio

The subject of this painting refers to the practice of art connoisseurs visiting artists in their studio. The object of such visits was not to buy a work from the artist but to discuss art with him and with like-minded devotees. This is the subject of Mieris's painting depicting a black-garbed visitor who is not looking at the unfinished painting on the easel but a piece of sculpture standing on a covered table. The connoisseur had evidently come not just to admire the painter's work but also to examine a variety of intriguing artefacts of art and science, which are accordingly arranged in lavish display in most studio scenes.