Man with Pipe at the Window 1658

Frans van Mieris the Elder painted this scene of a Man with a Pipe at the Window in 1658, using oils. What does it mean to see a man, seemingly of the merchant class, enjoying tobacco at a window? The Dutch Golden Age was a time of booming trade, and the Netherlands was arguably the most powerful maritime nation. This small painting captures a moment in the daily life of a successful, if not wealthy, Dutchman, whose prosperity depended on international trade, facilitated by the Dutch East India Company. The painting depicts an individual enjoying the rewards of empire. It’s no coincidence that the growth of tobacco use was tied to the growth of colonization and the exploitation of overseas labor. A social historian might research the records of the Dutch East India Company to better understand the impact of trade on Dutch painting. What other kinds of clues might paintings such as this one offer?