Jacob van der Sluys

Under a stage-like canopy of curtains, a courtesan has fallen asleep; a cavalier in a broad-brimmed hat seizes the opportunity to stare at her partially exposed bosom through a pair of glasses. The satirical subject of a beautiful sleeping woman spied on by a male protagonist has enjoyed enduring popularity, in countless guises, since the Renaissance and Van der Sluys gives a new interpretation of it here. He may have been inspired by Frans van Mieris’ Sleeping courtesan of 1669, in the Uffizi, Florence, which similarly features a splendid golden skirt.¹ The composition also echoes another, late composition by his fellow townsman Van Mieris, which depicts a monk seeking the favours of a courtesan.²

A true exponent of the Leiden 'fine painting' tradition, Van der Sluys has here lavished considerable care on the rendering of the woman's silk satin skirt, and the smooth surface of the metal support is perfectly suited to the artist's desired effect of shimmering brilliance. 

Born an orphan, Van der Sluys was raised in the Holy Spirit Orphanage in his native Leiden. According to a document of 1680 the orphanage was paying for his training with Jacob Toorenvliet, while his biographer, Johan van Gool, lists Ary de Vois and Pieter van Slingelandt as his teachers. In the summer of 1685 Van der Sluys registered with the Leiden Guild of Saint Luke, where he undertook a number of positions in the years thereafter.

1. O. Naumann, Frans van Mieris the Elder (1635-1681), Doornspijk 1981, vol. 2, pp. 89-90, cat. no. 75.

2. This painting, still known through a copy on paper, was lost in 1864 in a great fire that destroyed many paintings in the Boymans Museum in Rotterdam. See Doornspijk 1981, p. 109, cat. no. 99.