Jan Cossiers, The Smoker

by Atelier Liesjes

On the left stands a man in a wide-brimmed hat with a white plume, his head tilted back and a long pipe between his lips; holding a burning candle in a brass candlestick, he is lighting his tobacco. His attire is sumptuous: a pleated white collar, a blue-green robe with gold buttons and a red cloak draped over his shoulder. On the right, a boy with curly hair looks straight at the viewer; he holds a pewter jug at an angle, from which a thin stream of liquid falls onto the floor, and points towards the man with his free hand. The background is almost entirely dark, with only a red curtain in the top right-hand corner. The hands of both figures are large and emphatically painted. The light comes from the candle and from an unseen source on the right, causing faces and hands to be illuminated from the darkness. This chiaroscuro, with warm skin tones set against deep umber and black, betrays the influence of Caravaggio, whom Cossiers studied during his years in Italy. The scene is a genre piece without any overt moral message: smoking, drinking and boasting, with the young page as a silent witness. The atmosphere is both intimate and theatrical, like a scene from a play in which the candle flame is the only real light. The brushstrokes on the fabrics are precise yet loose, so that the paint remains alive.
Jan Cossiers (Antwerp 1600 – Antwerp 1671) learnt his craft from Cornelis de Vos, travelled via Aix-en-Provence to Rome and returned to Antwerp in 1626, where he became a master of the Guild of Saint Luke in 1628. He painted portraits, genre pieces and religious scenes, and collaborated with Rubens on the latter’s late commissions. Such dimly lit scenes were highly sought after by private collectors in Antwerp. A warm, dark painting that takes on a remarkable depth when displayed in a well-lit interior.