Artwork
The Smoker
The Smoker is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Hendrick van Someren. It dates from 1620 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is classified as an allegory, indicating that the figure and his activity carry symbolic meaning beyond a straightforward portrait of a smoker.
The Smoker depicts a man smoking a Gouda clay pipe. The work is classified as an allegory, indicating that the figure and his activity carry symbolic meaning beyond a straightforward portrait of a smoker. The clay pipe, a distinctive product associated with the Dutch city of Gouda, may carry connotations of Dutch mercantile culture or everyday life in the Netherlands during the early seventeenth century.
As an allegorical genre painting from 1620, the work likely uses the act of smoking as a vehicle for broader moral or philosophical commentary, a common practice in Dutch and Flemish painting of this period.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1620, this allegorical painting utilizes oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 128.5 cm in height and 101 cm in width. Stylistically, the composition focuses on a solitary male figure engaged in the act of smoking, specifically depicting him with a Gouda clay pipe.
The piece is classified as a painting that merges portraiture with allegorical themes, characteristic of the artist's output during this period.
History & Provenance
The Smoker was created in 1620 and is attributed to Hendrick van Someren, though Wikidata also lists Jusepe de Ribera as a possible creator. Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 128.5 cm in height by 101 cm in width and depicts a man smoking a Gouda clay pipe; it is classified as an allegorical piece. It is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available sources, nor is any exhibition history documented.
Overview
Created around 1620, The Smoker is an oil painting by Hendrick van Someren, a Dutch artist active in early‑17th‑century Amsterdam. The work belongs to the Dutch Golden Age and is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection. It presents a solitary figure in a dim interior, rendered with a strong contrast between light and shadow.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Hendrick van Someren, or Somer (1615 in Amsterdam – 1685 in Amsterdam), was a Dutch painter active in Amsterdam.
