Young Man Eating Porridge

Entry

This statuette was purchased in 1883 together with a terracotta of a Young Woman with a Lamb (BK-NM-5346) from one M. de Maan of The Hague. The statuette with the lamb bears the signature J: Smeltzing Leide, unlike the present terracotta, which is signed with the monogram JS. Both sculptures were clearly modelled by same hand, with authorship to be credited to one of two possible Leiden sculptors: Johannes (‘Jan’) Arendsz Smeltzing (1668- after 1732), or his older cousin by twelve years, Johannes (also known as ‘Jan I’) Quirijnsz Smeltzing (1656-1693).² Both men received their training from Arend Smeltzing, a coat of arms engraver and the father of the younger cousin. While Jan Arendsz succeeded his father as municipal coat of arms engraver, in practice his activity appears to have been limited to the carving of basic stamps used for wax and lead seals.³ By contrast, Jan Quirijnsz stands out as one of the most renowned Dutch medallists of the seventeenth century.⁴ Given his presumably superior skill in the modelling of clay, the elder of the two cousins emerges as the most likely sculptor of the two statuettes. Both terracottas were conceived, not as models, but as independent works of art, a conclusion affirmed by the high level of finishing and the inscribed signatures.

It has previously been suggested that the terracottas, both of equal height measuring 29 centimetres, are pendants of one another, the young woman (a shepherdess?) embodies sweetness and the porridge-eater repulsiveness.⁵ The notion that the two sculptures once formed an ensemble, however, seems highly improbable, if only when acknowledging the marked difference in the form of the plinths. Furthermore, while the iconographic theme of a young woman with the lamb does have a traditional basis, namely that of Humilitas (Humility);⁶ the porridge-eating boy, by contrast, is the sculptor’s own invention. Had the sculptures been conceived as an ensemble, the pendant of the young woman would logically be a personification of Superbia (Arrogance), the standard pairing with Humilitas. In fact, only one of the two works appears in the catalogue accompanying the sale of Leonard van Heemskerk’s estate in 1771: ‘A woman playing with a Lamb on her lap, by the same [J. Smeltzing], height 11 ½ thumbs.⁷ The terracotta was sold, not with a young man eating porridge, but together with ‘A Gallanting Man and Woman, by J. Smeltzing, height 12 ½ duim for f. 5.5’, further belying a purported thematic link between the young man and the girl.⁸

The catalogue for Van Heemskerk’s sale featured no less than six terracottas signed by Smeltzing and an additional eight works by Pieter Xaveri (c. 1647-1673), a native of Antwerp active in Leiden from 1670 up to his premature death in 1673. In various ways, Smeltzing’s sculptures are highly similar to those of Xaveri.⁹ The latter’s terracottas were also conceived as independent cabinet pieces, a genre new to the Northern Netherlands at this time. The two sculptors also favoured the same kinds of subjects, in Xaveri’s case, ranging from commonplace humour to sweetly allegorical themes. The visual motif of the overturned wicker basket on which Smeltzing’s porridge-eating boy sits was perhaps even directly derived from Xaveri’s Two Laughing Jesters (BK-NM-5667) or his Hurdy-Gurdy Player (BK-1978-36). Moreover, Smeltzing’s young woman feeding rose petals to the lamb at her side corresponds thematically with Xaveri’s Flora (BK-NM-5155).¹⁰ Undoubtedly, Smeltzing was very familiar with Xaveri’s work, perhaps even in the capacity of an apprentice. Around 1673, Xaveri was commissioned for a number of major projects in Leiden, including the sculptural decoration on two tympanums of buildings in the city. By that time, Smeltzing was precisely old enough (14-17 years) to have been among the sculptor’s pupils.

Bieke van der Mark, 2025