From miniature tins of polish in Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House to Old Master paintings, take a closer look at how cleaning has been portrayed historically through Royal Collection objects
A Maidservant Scouring a Brass Pan at a Window
Dated 1663Oil on panel | 16.6 x 13.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404618
In this painting by Dutch artist Gerrit Dou, a former pupil of Rembrandt’s studio, the artist depicts a scene he may have often observed in the streets of Amsterdam: a maid seen through a window, momentarily distracted from the task of cleaning a pan. The fictive trompe l’oeil picture frame around the girl was used as a visual trick on the viewer. George IV, who acquired this painting in 1814, was particularly fond of Dutch scenes of everyday life, which he hung in prominent positions in his London residence, Carlton House.
