The Dentist (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- This is a genre painting. It depicts a scene from everyday life.
- This scene makes fun of the dental profession. When the painting was created, dentists were known for pulling teeth unnecessarily and charging money to do it. The patient appears to be at the mercy of a greedy, unqualified dentist.
- The artist, Jan Miense Molenaer, was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter.
- During the Dutch Golden Age, most of the Dutch population was Protestant. Molenaer’s audience would likely have been amused by the patient’s trust in his rosary (a string of beads used especially by Roman Catholics and Buddhists to count prayers).
Learn More
Genre painting is a style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life. Sometimes genre paintings depict calm interiors, as seen in the works of Johannes Vermeer. In other examples (like this one), genre paintings criticize or joke about an aspect of daily life. The art of genre paintings was developed during the Dutch Golden Age. Many of the paintings created during that era reflect the cultural, economic, and scientific domination of the Dutch.
In this comical scene, the artist portrays an attentive dentist, a smiling woman, and a patient writhing in pain while gripping a rosary. The dentist is shown wearing clothing that is overly theatrical, exposing him as a fraud. Part of the amusement of this work is the patient’s clutching of the rosary. As a result of the Reformation, the Dutch population was largely Protestant. They would have considered the patient’s trust in his rosary beads to be foolish.
Jan Miense Molenaer was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter. He is considered to be a predecessor to Dutch painter Jan Steen. Both artists created works that were intended to show the amusement of common situations.
Molenaer shared a studio with his wife, Judith Leyster, who was also an artist. She painted genre scenes, still lifes, and portraits.
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers:
- Read an article about genre paintings in Northern Europe.
- Read an article that explores the term “Dutch Golden Age.”
- Read a short biography of Molenaer.
Resources for Students:
- View additional paintings by Molenaer.
- View an online gallery that features humorous works by Jan Steen.
- View a work of art by Steen that features a similar subject.
Images
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The Dentist