plate no. 2136

The Vegetable Market

oilBaroquegenre paintingfiguresmarketvegetablesbuildingsstreetdog

recreation guide

Nicolaes Maes’s *The Vegetable Market* (1655) is a quintessential example of Dutch Golden Age genre painting, a category defined by the depiction of ordinary people engaged in common activities, often with realistic or romanticized elements that appealed to the middle class (Source 6). As a student of Rembrandt, Maes’s work from this period typically exhibits a strong chiaroscuro and a focus on the tactile qualities of objects and figures, consistent with the Baroque style’s emphasis on dramatic lighting and texture. The painting likely employs the traditional oil painting techniques of the era, which prioritized the 'fat over lean' rule to ensure the stability of the paint film, where each successive layer contains more oil than the one below to prevent cracking (Source 1). The work reflects the artist’s mastery of medium, using oil paint’s capacity for illusionistic depth while maintaining the expressive vitality of the brushwork, avoiding mere deception in favor of artistic expression (Source 8).

estimated time

40-60 hours over 8-12 sessions, allowing for proper drying times between layers as required by oxidation drying

materials

7 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (artist grade)	Primary medium for color application	—
Linseed oil	Medium to thin paint and increase oil content in upper layers ('fat over lean')	Stand oil or refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	Solvent for thinning initial layers ('lean') and cleaning brushes	Odorless mineral spirits
Canvas or panel	Support surface	Linen canvas or oak panel
Charcoal or thinned paint	Initial sketching of the subject	Vine charcoal or raw umber thinned with solvent
Paintbrushes and palette knives	Application and scraping of paint	Hog bristle brushes and flexible palette knives
Rags	Removing wet paint or blending	Lint-free cotton rags

preparation

surface prep

The surface should be prepared with a ground suitable for oil painting. While specific ground recipes for Maes are not detailed in the provided sources, traditional practice involves a stable base to support the oil layers. The artist must ensure the ground is dry before beginning to prevent issues with adhesion. The quality of the oil and ground leads to a strong and stable paint film (Source 1).

underdrawing

Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint (Source 1). Maes, working in the Dutch Golden Age tradition, likely employed a precise underdrawing to establish the composition of the market scene and the figures within it. This initial sketch serves as the structural foundation for the subsequent layers of paint.

underpainting

The artist may employ a grisaille (monochrome underpainting) to establish values before applying color. Source 3 describes a method where the artist mentally extracts red and yellow colors, creating a monochrome base. Once this grisaille is quite dry, the artist glazes and scumbles with oil to add the yellow and red tones. This technique allows for a luminous quality and depth, as the underlying painting makes itself felt through the semi-opaque scumbling (Source 3).

color palette

Earth tones (Umbers, Ochres)

Raw umber, burnt umber, yellow ochre

General use in this artist's palette for shadows and mid-tones, consistent with the 'extracting red and yellow' method described in grisaille preparation

Whites and Light Tones

Lead white or titanium white

Highlights and flesh tones, essential for the chiaroscuro effects typical of Maes

Reds and Yellows

Vermilion, red lake, yellow ochre

Glazing and scumbling over the dry grisaille to introduce color, as described in Source 3

Blues and Greens

Ultramarine, verdigris

Backgrounds and vegetable details, used sparingly to maintain harmony

composition

Genre paintings like *The Vegetable Market* depict ordinary people in common activities, distinguishing them from history paintings or portraits (Source 6). The composition likely focuses on the interaction between the figures and the abundance of vegetables, a common theme in Dutch genre scenes that often included moral or everyday themes. The artist characteristically uses lighting to guide the viewer’s eye, consistent with the Baroque style’s emphasis on dramatic contrast. Specific compositional details such as the exact arrangement of vegetables are not described in the sources, so the artist should rely on the general principle of depicting 'aspects of everyday life' (Source 6).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the composition of the market scene onto the prepared surface using charcoal or thinned paint.
Tip — Ensure the proportions of the figures and objects are accurate before proceeding.
Initial sketching

underpainting

step 02
Apply a monochrome grisaille layer, focusing on values and forms while mentally extracting red and yellow colors.
Tip — Allow this layer to dry completely before adding color to prevent muddiness.
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Begin applying color using glazing and scumbling techniques. Glaze with transparent coats of color, particularly reds and yellows, over the dry grisaille.
Tip — Use oil as a medium initially; ensure each layer is 'fatter' (more oil) than the previous one.
Glazing

refining

step 04
Scumble semi-opaque paint over darker areas to create coldness or grey blooms, allowing the underlying painting to show through.
Tip — Watch for the 'grey bloom' effect described in Source 3, which adds depth and atmosphere.
Scumbling

finishing

step 05
Refine details and adjust tones using the 'fat over lean' rule to ensure proper drying and prevent cracking.
Tip — If a layer contains less oil than the one below, the painting may crack and peel.
Layering

varnishing

step 06
Apply a varnish once the painting is fully dry to protect the surface and enhance the sheen.
Tip — Ensure the painting is completely dry to the touch, which may take two weeks or more.
Varnishing

critical techniques

Fat over Lean

Each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying and prevent cracking. This is a basic rule of oil paint application.

Glazing and Scumbling

Glazing involves applying a transparent coat of color, while scumbling is a semi-opaque painting technique that allows the underlying layer to show through. These methods were practiced by old masters to achieve depth and luminosity.

Grisaille Underpainting

Creating a monochrome base to establish values before adding color. This helps in mentally extracting specific colors and focusing on form and light.

common pitfalls

→Applying layers with less oil than the previous layer, which can lead to cracking and peeling (Source 1).
→Adding color before the grisaille underpainting is completely dry, which can result in muddied colors and poor adhesion (Source 3).
→Over-modeling or becoming too tied down to the outline, which can detract from the expressive quality of the painting (Source 4).
→Attempting to deceive the eye with mere illusion rather than expressing the vitality of the medium, which is not considered fine art (Source 8).

what the sources don't tell us

Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.

·Specific pigment recipes used by Nicolaes Maes in 1655 are not provided in the sources.
·The exact dimensions and aspect ratio of *The Vegetable Market* are not specified, though Maes’s other works suggest standard formats.
·Detailed visual description of the specific vegetables, figures, and their arrangement in *The Vegetable Market* is missing from the sources, requiring the artist to rely on general genre conventions.
·Information on Maes’s specific brushwork style for this particular painting is not detailed, though general Baroque and Dutch Golden Age practices are inferred.

grounded in

The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Grisaille underpainting, glazing, and scumbling techniques
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- XX MATERIALS — applied to Philosophy of using oil paint for expression rather than mere deception

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to General oil painting techniques, fat over lean rule, drying times, and materials
Wikipedia: Genre painting↗
- Genre painting — part 1 — applied to Definition and characteristics of genre painting, including everyday life subjects
Wikipedia bio — Nicolaes Maes↗
- Nicolaes Maes — part 4 — applied to Context of Maes’s style and period, though specific details of this painting are not covered