Sotheby’s will offer Dutch painter Gabriel Metsu’s “An Officer Paying Court to a Young Woman,” one of the finest Dutch genre scenes remaining in private hands, during its Master Paintings sale in New York on May 26, with an estimate $6–8 millionPainter circa 1658-60, the work is described by Sotheby’s as “a quintessential example of the artist’s unique style.” Set in a quiet moment inside a tavern, “An Officer Paying Court to a Young Woman” depicts a silent exchange between an elegantly dressed man and woman.The painting entered the Viennese Rothschild family’s collection by 1866, descending in the family for decades. It was removed to Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1938 when the contents of the family’s Vienna palace were targeted and seized by the Nazis.The Rothschild Metsu was selected for Hitler’s planned museum in Linz, but when this treasure trove was in danger of Allied Bombing, the Metsu along with some 6500 other paintings were moved to the salt mines in Altaussee. They were later recovered by the Allied Forces’ famed Monuments Men.According to Sotheby’s, under the restitution laws introduced in Austria in 1998, the Rothschild family was able to reclaim the paintings they had unwillingly donated in 1948, including the Metsu. It was sold to the current owner in 1999.Christopher Apostle, Head of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings Department in New York, said: “Gabriel Metsu ranks as one of the most important painters of his day, and An Officer Paying Court to a Young Woman is both a beautiful and quintessential example of his best work.“The painting represents a near perfect distillation of the class Golden Age genre scene, containing many of the hallmarks of this category: two elegant people dressed in rich fabrics, a dog – representing fidelity, or in this case a lack thereof – jugs and wine glasses, all set in a typical Dutch interior space.“No finer work by the artist has ever been offered at auction, making our May sale a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire such a masterpiece.”
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