The Life of Dominicus Smouts
Dominicus Smouts was a Flemish painter of genre scenes who was active in Antwerp between 1683 and 1733. Born into a family of artists, he was the son of the painter and art dealer Lucas Smout the Elder and Anna Maria Tijssens. His brother, Lucas Smout the Younger, was a painter of country and coastal scenes, while his sisters married painters. Smouts was registered in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke between 1683 and 1684 as a pupil of the history painter Godfried Maes. By 1700-1701, he was registered as a wijnmeester of the Guild. His last records in the Guild's books date to 1733. He remained a bachelor and left his drawings, sketches, and prints to his nephews, Franciscus and Carolus Casteels, in a will made in 1742.
Artistic Themes and Subjects
The works currently ascribed to Smouts are genre paintings that primarily focus on two specific subjects: artist studios and the miser. His depictions of the miser often incorporate the theme of death and the miser, a subject dating back to the 15th century. In these compositions, Smouts utilizes lavish still lifes featuring precious objects such as:
- Expensive metal plates
- Antiques
- Globes
- Coffers likely filled with coins or other treasury
These items are often combined with vanitas symbols, such as still lifes of game or the physical presence of Death in the form of a skeleton. Additionally, his work includes depictions of a philosopher in a studio, a piece previously attributed to the circle of Balthasar van den Bossche.
