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The Herring Seller
Also titled De haringkoopvrouw
Gabriël Metsu (Leiden, 1629–1667)
c. 1661 - c. 1662
- Medium
- panel, oil paint (paint)
- Classification
- painting
- Dimensions
- height 37 cm x width 33 cm
- Museum
- Rijksmuseum
- Credit line
- Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt
- Rights
- Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
About this work
With a critical eye, the woman in this painting inspects the herring being offered to her by a herring merchant. Unlike what is common today in the Netherlands, fish was primarily consumed in the morning and afternoon during the 17th century. Additionally, there was an abundant supply of fresh fish on Catholic fasting days such as Fridays, when meat was not eaten.
