Judith Leyster and The Proposition

'The Proposition' (1631) by Judith Leyster; Mauritshuis, The Hague

Judith Leyster, born on 28 July 1609, was one of the few female painters of the Dutch Golden Age, at least still known to us. She painted genre scenes, portraits and still lifes and was influenced by Frans Hals and the Utrecht Caravaggisti. She was very succesful in her day and one of the few female members of the Haarlem Painters' Guild. She also took on students of her own. The story goes that she sued Hals succesfully for a breach of ethics after he stole one of her students. The artwork I chose for today is probably Leyster's most well-known painting. 'The Proposition' is a genre scene from everyday life. Leyster depicted a man offering money to a woman who is doing needlework. The man's seductive smile, the coins in his hand and the intimate candlelight might suggest that the man is offering money for love. This was a popular theme in Dutch painting. But nothing else in this work of art indicates that this might be a brothel scene (no cheerfulness, revealing clothing, hidden sexual symbols, etc.). The woman doesn't seem to be interested in what the man has to offer. Even more, she ignores him and doesn't look up from her needlework. It could have been just a domestic scene if it weren't for the coins in the man's hand. Leyster might have wanted to show the woman's virtue and strong character with this ambiguous work. I think this is a great painting from a great feminist painter who lived in a time when women were suppressed and uneducated.