A Woman scraping Parsnips, with a Child standing by her
- Artist: Nicolaes Maes
- Date: 1655
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "A Woman scraping Parsnips, with a Child standing by her" painted in the Dutch tradition by Nicolaes Maes. Painted in 1655, it's an oil on wood work that captures a moment of everyday life.
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.
Maes' depiction of domestic calm was different from the views held by Calvinist preachers at the time. While they advocated for a more strict approach to child-rearing, Maes and his contemporaries showed a gentler attitude towards education. The painting wasn't necessarily meant as a lesson in child-rearing but rather as an image of desirable domesticity.
The woman's clothes are simple and modest, while her hair is immaculately styled. The child wears an apron to keep her clothes clean. A ceramic jug standing alone on the window sill draws our attention due to its isolation and the lighting that makes it glow.
It's possible that Maes was showing a virtuous, hard-working woman who's bringing up her child to be a good housewife and mother in difficult circumstances. However, another interpretation is that we're looking at the maid of the household.
See it in person
A Woman scraping Parsnips, with a Child standing by her hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
