Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1634-1693
Dutch painter. The son of the prosperous Dordrecht merchant Gerrit Maes and his wife Ida Herman Claesdr., Nicolaes Maes learnt to draw from a 'mediocre master' (Houbraken) in his native town before he studied painting with Rembrandt in Amsterdam. His training in Rembrandt's studio must have taken place between 1648/50 and 1653. By December 1653 Maes had settled in Dordrecht and made plans to marry, while a signed and dated picture of 1653 confirms that the 19-year-old artist had completed his training and embarked on an independent career.
