Joost Cornelisz. Droochsloot Utrecht 1586 - 1666

Lord Arundel of Wardour;
With Colnaghi, London, 1953.

The subject is taken from Matthew (Chapter 25: verses 1-13). The story concerns ten maids of honour, who, according to eastern wedding custom, had to accompany the bride to the house of the groom. Five of the maids had forgotten to bring oil with them and were obliged to go and purchase some. When the groom returned to his house at midnight, the five wise virigins were able to enter the house, but the five foolish virgins returned too late to be admitted. The parable is normally interpreted as Christ's warning to his listeners to be prepared for the Second Coming, the hour of which could not be foretold.

With its clear moral strictures, the subject of the Wise and Foolish Virgins enjoyed widespread popularity among Netherlandish artists in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Among those who treated the subject were Lucas de Heere (Copenhagen, Museum of Fine Art), Pieter Lisaert (Seville, Conde del Sacro Imperio), Pieter Claessins (Bruges, Covent of the Black Sisters) and Frans Floris (Prague, National Gallery). Although Droochsloot included a wide variety of Biblical subejcts in his oeuvre, this would appear to be his only known representation of the subject. In it, he has chosen to depict the Wise Virgins in sombre practical dress and engaged in a variety of virtuous and practical household tasks such as weaving and sewing. By contrast the foolish Virgins are richly and fashionably dressed, their thoughts only occupied by frivolous and ephemeral pursuits such as playing cards, backgammon and making music. Their respective rewards are clearly shown in the background where a large temple-like structure is used to depict the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ is shown welcoming the Wise Virigins, while their Foolish counterparts are met only by a closed door and and an admonishing angel.